1932 Studebaker Indy car build

[Gary_Ash]

Yes, it is very fibrous, though the fibers seem to be close to the same diameter.  The thickness is about 0.035".  I couldn't pick up a weave pattern.  Could it be actual leather?

 

[Bloo]

I suspect it is leather! In any event, I would probably use leather.

 

.

[trimacar]

Could very well be leather, from the other view I just assumed a type of oil cloth.  I’d go back with leather.

[Studemax]

Probably leather. Real fabric doesn't stand up to the sun's heat very long without crumbling.

[Gary_Ash]

I've been playing Rosie the Riveter with the belly pan.  I mounted the flanges on each side of the front section of the pan with 5/32" aluminum rivets on 1.5" spacing.  As with some earlier riveting on the car, I used my Aircraft Tool Supply 3X rivet gun and a 3 lb rivet buck made of hardened 4160 steel.  Over the last couple of days, I center-punched locations and drilled 70 holes, deburred them by hand, put in Cleco clamps to hold the flange in place, and placed all the rivets.  As I've gained experience at this, I found it helps to use some clamps next to the rivet hole to bring the two pieces of metal tightly together before pulling the trigger on the gun.  By feathering the trigger, I've finally been able to get good "shop heads" on the rivet shanks with uniform diameters and thickness.  It's not an airplane, so no safety risks, but it's nice to have them all look alike and not pop out later.  I think Rosie would give me a passing grade.

 

I'll be off to the Pro Shaper shop this weekend to make the support wings for the tail end of the belly pan, then bring them home to rivet them on.  These are the last sheet metal pieces to make for the car, a three-year process.  About a dozen 1/4-20 bolts will have to be threaded in to the lower edge of the frame rails from the inside to act as studs to retain the belly pan with acorn nuts along the forward flanges and rear support wings.

 

Thanks to forum member TexRiv_63, I was able to obtain the proper Studebaker radiator badge through one of his Ebay auctions.  I attached a #8 flat head screw to the back side of the emblem with low-temperature silver solder.  My small Meco acetylene torch with its smallest tip gave enough heat in a few seconds to melt the solder and give a firm grip.  A Nyloc nut (not visible) retains it.  There are still a number of little jobs like this to do before the car is close to being finished.

 

Oh, and I got my first COVID vaccine shot yesterday, Moderna version.  My arm was a bit sore last night, but no other after-effects.

 

Holes drilled with Clecos and clamps in place to mount flange, a few rivets done.

 

The 3 lb steel rivet buck, 5/32" shank diameter rivets, and ATS rivet gun.  The car will have 300+ rivets when done.

 

The inside of the belly pan showing the "shop heads" after forming.  Previously riveted panels can be seen on the car.

 

Rivet heads along the flange on the outside of the belly pan.  The "wall art" in the background near the ceiling is 

the left side of a 1956 Studebaker Sky Hawk to remind me of the 1953 Commander hardtop I owned nearly 60 years ago.

 

Riveting finished on the front section of the pan.  The notches in the front of the pan are to clear the flanges on

the frame rails and back end of the engine at the back of the oil pan.  The inside of the pan will be left unpainted.

The car has to be jacked up 8-10 inches to get the back of the pan under the rear axle.

 

The glass enamel-on-copper grille emblem in place.

[Gary_Ash]

The belly pan still needed the "wings" in the back to support the back of the pan and attach to the underside of the frame rails.  I was able to use the same cardboard pattern that I used for the wings on the tail and cut the shapes in 0.063" thick 3003-H14 aluminum.  The flanges needed to be bent along a gentle curve to match the shape of the belly pan and tail, so they couldn't be bent in a brake.  I used a steel tipping wheel, wrapped in electrical tape to prevent marring the metal, against a rubber roller to gradually form a 1/4" radius bend along the line on the wings.  Due to interference of the tipping wheel mounting hardware, I could only get the bend to about 75 degrees in the wheel, then finished up with a leather-backed oak slapper to move the bend to a full 90 degrees.  Now they need to be riveted to the pan, trimmed, and drilled for the mounting studs.

 

The right side hood panel still needed to be cleaned up.  The process of welding the bulge for the carburetors along the elliptical shape led to substantial deformation, lots of little wrinkles and bumps.  We had given the bulge a pass with the shrinking disk to get rid of many bumps, but the rest needed hand work.  My tools consisted of several body hammers of various shapes, a "bar of soap" dolly, a small shot bag, a heavy steel slapper, a pair of magnets, some Sharpie pens, and a 1/4" thick aluminum disk with fine sandpaper glued to it.  With the giant Sharpie, I coated a few square inches of the surface, then used the sanding disk to take off the ink on the highest spots, leaving the low spots black.  Picking a black spot, I put a magnet on the outside surface of the aluminum and guided the other magnet to stick to the back side directly under the top magnet.  After marking the inside spot and removing the magnets, I gently tapped with a hammer where the inner magnet had been to raise the surface on the outside.  A pass with the sanding disk revealed if I had tapped enough in the right spot - or not.  For some small spots, I held a rounded corner of the dolly on the back side and used a hammer or the slapper to bring the surface up.  You know you have the dolly on the right spot when you hear a "tink, tink" sound, even when you can't see the dolly.  In the event I tapped too much, the slapper on top and shot bag underneath flattened the surface.  

 

I spent two entire days and evenings leveling the hood surface.  It took me a while to understand that my taps had to be extremely gentle so as to not move the metal too much.  It's good enough now that the thinnest coat of filler will be sufficient to produce a good final surface.  Most people would not have spent the time working the surface, as Bondo would take car of the evils, but Wray insisted that I learn how to do this and minimize the amount of filler needed and to get the larger-scale waves out of the surface .  There are very few areas on the body that will need any filler at all.

 

These were the last pieces of sheet metal to be made.  The gas, brake, and clutch pedals still need to be installed before mounting the belly pan and re-installing the hood.  Once the body is fully assembled, I'll haul the car out to Wray's shop for a final "tuning" of the panels.  The it will be time to attend to upholstery and paint.

 

     

Support wings for the belly pan.  The circular cutouts still need to be annealed and curved to meet the upper wings

at the back end of the chassis.

 

A section of the hood panel coated with ink before gentle block sanding.

 

The hood panel after sanding leaving the Sharpie ink in the low spots.

 

Hood panel after much adjustment, still a little more work to be done, but looking pretty good.

 

[alsfarms]

Looks to me like the old saying is true....."patience is a virtue"!  Your work will sure net a great end result.  And that result will be something to be proud of and the rest of us to enjoy.

Al

[Gary_Ash]

I've been working on making and installing the bits to make the clutch work - a piece of 3/4" round bar, some 1/4"x1" bar for the pedal, and a bracket formed from 1/8" plate.  Not much to show just now, but pics to follow when I get it installed.  

 

Meanwhile, my daughter Erin has been writing and playing songs.  It seems her friends have a little contest to write a song every day during February.  She's been dashing them off, and I found that one of them even included some lines about me building cars.  Here's two minutes of fun.

 

 

[Mike Macartney]

Fame at last Gary! There are not many of us on this forum that have been mentioned in songs - I liked it. 

[Gary_Ash]

The last two weeks have been spent on making the gas pedal, clutch pedal, and brake pedal, plus the linkage pieces.  I've put this off for way too long, was put off by the lack of space and the lack of clarity in solutions.  But, these rose to the top of the priority list, so I got them done.  I'm about 85% satisfied with the solutions, may need to re-do a few bits, but I think they will all work.

 

The clutch pedal linkage was daunting because I couldn't do it the way the later 1930's cars did it with multiple rod links nor the way the original Studebaker Indy cars did it in 1932, as they had different engines and transmissions.  But, following the general idea of the 1937 cars, from which I have the engine and bell housing, I cobbled up a 3/4" diameter steel bar, bored it for 1/2" i.d. for the clutch shaft and the outer support end, welded on a pedal arm and some stops, and fabricated a bracket to support the outer end.  It actually works very well, has enough adjustments, and moves the way I wanted it to.

 

I bought a Wilwood brake pedal bracket set up to hold the master cylinder in reverse position.  I've got it mounted on the firewall at what I think is a usable height.  It won't lead to easy heel-and-toe use of the gas pedal and brake pedal, but it should be OK.  If it doesn't work out at its current height, I can remount it lower on the firewall.  I did have to take out the positive battery lead feedthrough from the firewall to mount the pedal bracket, but that was because I jumped the gun on putting the cables in - they should come later.  I'm thinking the Wilwood pedal looks too modern, may have to fabricate a plain steel pedal arm to look more period correct and replace the forged aluminum Wilwood arm.

 

The gas pedal was really a challenge.  There was little space to mount it, no good way to have the pedal at the best angle, and no commercial assembly looked appealing.  I made some 3/4"x3/16" steel bars for the pedal support arm and pedal shaft, cut a 2" x 3" ellipse from 1/8" steel for the pedal, and welded up an assembly.  In the engine compartment, I made a link with a pair of clevises and 3/16" steel rod.  The rod rotates the shaft that links to the four carb arms.  Under the cowl, I placed an arm on a 3/8" shaft and linked it to the pedal with a pair of Heim joints on a 1/4" shaft.  Although Heim joints didn't appear until WWII, the pedal arm and shaft arm didn't move in the same plane, so a flexible link was required. 

 

I need to adjust the linkages for least friction and add some throttle return springs, but I think most of the linkages are now under control.  

 

 

The carb linkage shaft and one of the carbs.  All four cars are tied to this shaft.

 

The rod next to the firewall to rotate the carb linkage shaft.

 

Clutch pedal linkage and return spring.  The pedal shaft rides on a 1/2" diameter shaft coming out of the bell housing. 

 

The Wilwood reverse-action pedal and dual master cylinder.  All of this will be hidden under the cowl. 

 

Clutch, brake, and gas pedals installed.  The Heim joints allow easy movement in multiple planes

for the actuation rod.

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[Gary_Ash]

For quite a while I had been trying to contact Thomas Kunz, the owner of the #46 replica car in Switzerland.  We had exchanged emails and had phone conversations several years ago after he had bought the car from a German owner.  All my Google searches turned up nothing but a few photos.  I finally found another video taken from the passenger seat of the car in a vintage event in Switzerland, so I found the maker of the video on Facebook and messaged him.  He got back to me with the unfortunate news that Thomas Kunz had died of cancer two years ago.  No one has seen the car since then.  Kunz had wanted to be part of a reunion of the Studebaker Indy cars and would have shipped his car to the U.S. for such an event.  I never had the chance to meet Kunz in person.  R.I.P., Thomas Kunz.

 

  

Thomas Kunz at the wheel of #46, a replica built with the assistance of the Indy Speedway Museum.

 

Thomas Kunz and #46 at an old car event in Switzerland about 2017.

[Autofil]

That was a sad ending. I hope #46 will re-surface and are taken care of in the same spirit as Mr.Kunz. Some times we connect with particular interesting individuals over our belowed Studebakers. Same did I as my 1935 ACE truck journey stumbled into a to come dear friend of mine, Jim Proffit. I am very glad I was able to visit him and his wife in Poland (ex-american) before he unfortunately passed away in 2018. An very special mechanic (by his own terms), his legacy surpass the term in many many ways. He had several driving and mechanic experience for Brooks Stevens 33 Studebaker Indy car #34 when Brooks owned the car. Not too far from your 32. Prowd to have gotten to know and meet the gentleman. Too bad these relations never last. 
 

Hope it is ok to share a picture of Jim in his favourite element; speeding!

[Gary_Ash]

Autofil:  The #34 car is now owned by August Grasis III and is raced in vintage events.  I've been in the car at high speed, a great thrill to hear the engine roaring through the 4" exhaust pipe.  I didn't know of Jim Proffit, thanks for the information.  Here is a link to some information about him:

https://vintageracecar.com/pre-war-bmw-expert-jim-proffit-passes-away/

 

[Gary_Ash]

After much fiddling, trimming, and adjusting, I finally got the carb linkage to work smoothly.  There are now many springs and I was worried that the pedal action would be too stiff, but with the long pedal arm, it seems OK.  Here is a short video showing the bits and pieces with comparison to the original #37 Studebaker Indy car from 1931.

 

 

[Autofil]

With the foot force vs finger force action, this will work very well Gary. It is much better to have sufficient spring force connected to ensure easy throttle return. Looks very nice!

[alsfarms]

You have made a good show out of different motions needed to actuate the carbs.  Very nice. 

Al

Edited March 23, 2021 by alsfarms
spelling (see edit history)

[Gary_Ash]

Trying to finish up the gas tank-to-carbs hardware, I worked on mounting the investment cast bronze gas filler.  I really had not worked out all the details of how to mount this.  The filler needed to be supported from the fuel cell, so I eyed the 1-1/2" x 1/8" steel straps as a support base.  While working on welding the tail section together some months ago, I had used a miniature plumb bob and some magnets to mark the location of the center of the fuel cell filler on the tail skin before we welded the seats in place.  I printed out a top view of the filler and its appendages from my CAD program, traced it on the tail, and sawed out the hole.  As there is no way to access the fuel cell or its connections with the tail in place, I had to figure out a way to locate the supports.  

 

I made a kind of table from a 10" x 10" piece of 1/8" steel plate, welded on four legs made from 3/4" square tube, and fabricated four angle tabs from 1" x1" steel angle iron.  After cross-bolting the tabs to the legs, I mounted the 3D-printed prototype of the filler to the table (so I wouldn't scratch the real one), lifted the tail enough to shove the table over the fuel cell, and put the tail back on its mountings with the filler sticking up through the top side of the tail.  By gently sliding the filler, I was able to center it in the opening with about a 1/8" gap all around.  Now the problem was how to mark where the tabs should be welded on?  Eventually I crawled under the car and reach up and around the fuel cell to mark around the tabs with a Sharpie, even though I couldn't see where I was marking.  I lifted the tail off and saw that the marks were good for locating the table.  I had to grind off some paint on the straps, but I was able to weld the tabs to the straps without burning up the fuel cell or its foam filler material.  I'll have to repaint the straps, but that is a small task.  If anything needs to be changed in the future, I can unbolt the support table from the fuel cell.

 

I put the chromed casting in place with the 2.5" i.d. clear plastic hose and bolted everything down.  I still need to put on the hose clamps to seal everything up tight.  It looks like I can put the tail on and take it off with just enough clearance for the filler.  I've ordered some black rubber U-channel to go around the opening in the tail and close up the small gap while preventing scratching the filler.  The cap and levers need to be removed when mounting or removing the tail, but it's only three screws.  With the tail and belly pan in place, there is absolutely no access to the fuel cell or its connections.  I was sweating this job, but I think it's been done OK.  It won't wiggle or jiggle, and the support table is more than strong enough for the job.  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!

 

Oh, and it was great to be able to open the garage doors today and work with warmer air coming in.  Temperatures around 60 are pleasant for doing heavy work.  It's not really full spring yet, but the wood frogs and peepers are croaking loudly in my pond next to the garage. 

 

3D printed gas filler prototype on steel support table.

 

Support table and prototype filler after welding above fuel cell filler location.

 

Chromed bronze fuel filler in final location with 3" o.d. plastic fuel hose.  Still needs clamps.

 

Original 1932 Studebaker Indy car #37 with fuel filler on tail.

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[Gary_Ash]

I had to do a little rearranging of the gas line to incorporate the manual shutoff valve, but a little cutting of the 5/16" copper-nickel-iron tubing, some flares and I was good to go.   That left the brake lines as a major plumbing job.  I had ordered specially-made 20" long flex lines for the front brakes, had to fabricate some mounts from 1/8" plate for the free ends.  Fortunately, I found some bolts already through the chassis that could be used to hold them.  I modified a mount for a Tee fitting, bolted it to the chassis side rails, and started fabricating tubes from 3/16" o.d copper-nickel-iron tubing to connect the wheel cylinders to the master cylinder.  I ran the tubes up the left side of the chassis, crossed the right side tube over below the radiator.  Long ago, a friend put me on to using coat hanger wire to prototype the brake lines.  I bent up pieces of coat hanger to fit the paths I needed to follow, then bent the Cunifer tube to match.  While copper-nickel-iron tube is easier to bend than stainless steel, it is still harder than pure copper, so some grunt work was involved.  I bent the Cunifer tube to match the coat hanger wire, cleaned up the cut ends, and put a double flare on each end - after being sure that I had put the nut on the tube end.  I've bought good quality Cunifer tubing direct from Fed Hill, though Summit Racing seems to carry the 0.028" wall thickness tubing.  The Cunifer tubing is resistant to work hardening and breakage that pure copper tube is susceptible to, is DOT approved. 

 

I was able to use my ancient coiled-spring tube bender to free-hand form the bends in the Cunifer tube.  The paths were tortuous, but I was able to get the nuts threaded into the fittings and tighten everything up.  We'll find out later if there are any leaks. 

 

While I had long ago ordered a pressure reduction valve from Wilwood Brakes for the rear brake lines, I decided it was too complicated for what I wanted and ordered a simpler one via Summit Racing.  Summit is the retail seller for Wilwood and many other vendors, has less than list prices, ships quickly.  Once the new valve arrives, I can finish the connections to the master cylinder.  I'm getting close to the end on mechanical stuff, feels good.   

 

Coat hanger wire prototype and formed Cunifer tubing for left front brake. 

 

Left front brake tubing installed.

 

Left front brake tubing at Tee junction.

 

 

Right front brake tubing runs under radiator support to Tee on left side.

 

Rear brake tubing and flex hose.  Fuel cell above - the hose clamps arrived!  Gas line on right side.

 

The bare chassis after installing brake lines.  Now to put the skin back on with the belly pan.

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[Gary_Ash]

With the throttle linkage in place, I realized I had to hook up the choke levers on the four carbs.  I studied the photos of the original Studebaker Indy cars and came up with a plan.  I drilled another 3/8 hole in the dash and installed a push-pull wire.  That piece of 1/16th inch thick engine-turned stainless steel proved to be amazingly hard to drill through, even with a cobalt bit.  

 

I turned some pieces from a 1/2" brass rod to create a 0.161" diameter shaft to mate with the choke levers and left a 1/4" long piece of the rod to be drilled for the 1/16" wire and a 6-32 set screw to lock on the wire.  The next challenge was to drill holes for a 1/16" cotter pin in the 0.161" shaft, a 0.106" hole to tap a 6-32 thread for a set screw, and a hole for the 1/16" wire to go through.  I found an aluminum block about 1" x 1" x1" that I had cut from a previous task, drilled it to accept the 0.161" end of the brass part, and made a shallow pocket for the 1/2" diameter.  Then I cross drilled the block as drill guide with the proper hole sizes. 

 

I set things up in the Rong Fu mill/drill machine and got most of the holes drilled.  However, as I was drilling the last of the 0.078" holes to clear the wire, the drill bit broke in hole.  This pinned the brass part into the drill block.  I was afraid I couldn't save the brass part or the block.  It would take hours to make another brass part and a new block.  But, I pushed and pulled on my brass part, poked at the end of the broken bit with a sharp probe, and kept tapping the block on a hard steel surface.  Much to my surprise, the end of the broken bit started to move and eventually fell out of the drill block.  I could then pull the brass part out, clear the holes, and continue.

 

With all the holes drilled, and the set screw holes hand tapped, I assembled the pivoting cylinders into the choke levers and locked them in with some 1/16" cotter pins.  I shoved the push-pull wire through the dash and into the four cylinders, then tightened the set screws.  I was happy when I could grab the push-pull knob and move the choke plates as they needed to be.  Ah, there was joy in Mudville!

 

Here's a video after it was all done:

https://youtu.be/u87tObYGN7c

 

 

 

The small wire mounts after they were done.  I think I lost the "before" photos...

 

Drilling the small 0.078" holes for the wire using the aluminum drill block.  I inserted the drill bit

through the 0.161" shaft so I could visually align the hole locations.

 

Drilling the holes for the 1/16" cotter pins.  The clamp was to keep the brass part in place.

 

The choke actuator wire through the four choke levers.

 

Closeup of the pivoting cylinders and actuator wire.

 

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Looks good! 

[Gary_Ash]

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking things over in the cockpit and, to my great surprise, I noticed the needle from the water temperature gauge was missing - just gone!  I went back and looked at some old photos: the needle was there when I rebuilt the gauge, it was there when I assembled the dash, it was there when I first put the dash in the car.  I removed the gauge from the instrument panel, looked inside the enclosure, disassembled the entire back of the dash panel, but no needle appeared.  It could be that in trailering the car back and forth to the metal working shop for the body that the needle vibrated free and fell out.

 

This is a restored Stewart-Warner gauge from a 1932 Studebaker President, so finding another needle was not going to be easy.  I sent out a few emails, but no one offered up a needle.  I grabbed a piece of thin brass sheet from the workshop, thought I could cut and file something to shape.  I realized that was going to take many hours and it would then need to be carefully soldered to a new hub.  But, the lightbulb went on in my head:  I have a 3D printer and some white PLA filament!  I brought up my CAD program on the PC, imported a photo of the gauge face with its needle in place, and traced over the needle to scale.  The CAD file then got converted to a GCODE file that the printer could use.  In just 4 minutes of printing, I had a needle in my hand, though it was a little flimsy with the needle only 0.020" thick.  A quick adjustment in the files and I modified the needle thickness to 0.040".  Then it took 5 minutes to print, so I made a couple.

 

The shaft on the temp gauge is only 0.038" diameter and 3D printing isn't accurate for small holes, so there was only a very tiny hole on the back of the needle hub, just enough to mark the location.  The smallest drill I had was 0.040" - and that is already pretty small.  Of course, I didn't have a set of pin vises (just ordered some), and the chuck on my drill press wouldn't grab anything smaller than about 0.090".  The tailstock chuck on my little HF lathe went down to about 0.062", so I pulled the chuck out of the lathe, wrapped the drill with a bit of paper, and clamped the 0.040" drill bit in the free chuck.  I put my eye loupe on, put the tip of the drill on the hole in the back of the needle hub and hand drilled the hole to the proper depth (I guess).  I applied a little Crazy Glue to the meter shaft, pushed on the needle, and let it dry a few hours.  The gauge is now back in the dash, and I hope the needle stays in place.

 

Needles printed with 0.040" drill in lathe chuck.

 

New needle installed on water temperature gauge.

 

Water temperature gauge re-installed in the dash panel.  Just below the gauge is the newly-installed choke actuator knob.

 

[edinmass]

Great fix.......would have never thought of it. The joys of restoration and custom builds never ends. 

[pacho]

Hi Gary, this is my first post here. I really enjoy to read your restauration process. I am plannig to make a indy car but with pontiac engine 8 (1939). I would like to know wich carburators do you use, diameter of thoat and cfm. 

Thanks in advance and congratulations. Please could you share a engine running video?

Regards and happy easter 

 

Pacho 

[Gary_Ash]

Pacho:  I am using four Stromberg EX-23 carbs, probably about 200 cfm rating each.  I believe these are 1-5/32" bore.  They were used on 1937 Studebaker Dictator engines and similar models 1935 & 1936.  Four of them make a lot of carburetion for my 250 cu in engine.  I haven't started the engine yet, but will soon.  I will have to adjust jet size to get proper gas/air mixture.  I would love to post a video of the engine running, but patience is required.  I think the 1939 Pontiac straight engine has almost the same displacement as my Studebaker engine.  I expect to get 190-200 hp with 8:1 compression ratio.  I think Pontiacs of your vintage used Carter W-1 carbs. 

 

 

These are the intake pieces I made for my engine.  I have these parts available for sale if they fit your engine.

 

Stromberg EX-23 carb and custom linkage parts.

 

[RansomEli]

Gary,

Thanks for posting all this information. It's a priceless education for those of us who don't have a mechanical background.

 

I have a couple of questions and would like some advice. 

 

You mentioned your little Harbor Freight lathe. Is that the Precision bench top mini lathe? Would you recommend it for someone just starting out with a metal lathe?

 

Also, what 3d printer/software are you using? You seem to be doing a lot of nice reproduction work with it.

[Gary_Ash]

RansomEli:  Some years ago, I bought the HF 7x10 lathe thinking it would do many small jobs for me.  It turns out that a 10" bed isn't long enough to have a chunk of metal in the lathe chuck and put a 1/2" drill in the tailstock chuck.  Additionally, the nominal 7" swing was limited by what could be grabbed in the 3" chuck.  So, I ordered a 16" cast iron bed and leadscrew plus a 5" 3-jaw chuck from The Little Machine Shop web site.  I transferred the drive motor, tail stock, and cross slide to the new bed.  The changes make the lathe useable.  It's still not an industrial grade lathe, but I can stuff 1-1/2" steel bar stock in it and machine it, though cuts of 0.010" to 0.020" are about the limit with the available motor torque.  I don't have space for a real lathe, much as I'd like one.  Serious machining I send out to a local shop.  These days, buying the 7x16" lathe directly from Little Machine Shop is a better deal at $1200 and provides gearless drive.

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=5100  

 

 

The Harbor Freight 7x10 lathe converted to 7x16 with a 5" chuck.  The plastic chuck safety guard had to be removed.

 

The 3D printer is a Creality Ender 3, currently on sale on their web site for about $175.  It will print up to 8" x 8" x 10".  It's been very reliable, simple to operate.  I design things in TurboCAD Pro Platinum, a very capable program, but has gotten pricey at $1500.  For many things, you can get by with their DesignCAD product which will do a lot of 3D design for about $200.  Even DesignCAD will import/export AutoCAD and SketchUp files, as well as STL files for 3D printing.  To go from a CAD-generated .STL file to the 3D printer, I use Ultimaker Cura 4.8.0.  It lets you import a file, locate the object on the virtual print bed and orient it for best printing, plus scaling.  It then "slices" the model according to user-selected parameters (temperatures, print speed vs detail level, etc.), and creates a GCODE file which gets loaded into the printer via a memory stick.  Cura is a free download.  Most of the things I print are done in PLA plastic, though I have also done ABS and nylon.  Before I bought the 3D printer, I used Shapeways.com and i.materialise.com to print from my .STL files, but I didn't like waiting a week or two to get parts, and the Creality printer was so cheap it paid for itself almost immediately.  Shapeways and i.materialise can do prints in full-color ceramic material and in several metals.

 

Some 3D printed parts on the Ender 3 printer.  The part on the right was printed in clear PLA with only 10% infill,

was used as the pattern for "lost PLA" casting in bronze of my radiator outlet fitting.

 

I also have a 3D scanning device that attaches to my iPad.  It's a Structure Probe sensor from Occipital.  You can scan objects or people by walking around them for a minute or so.  Using their itSeez3D software, a full-color 3D model is created.  Much of the processing is done online from their website, but then you can download the 3D model to your computer.  I've scanned small parts, heads of some people, my daughter's dogs, etc., and printed them out on the 3D printer or at Shapeways.  It hasn't worked on chrome or other shiny parts, nor have I been successful in scanning an entire car.

 

The dogs Buster and Poppy 3D scanned and printed.  I had to catch them when they were both sleeping.

[pacho]

Hi Gary

Thanks for your comments and explanations, very clear. You are right, the Pontiac 8 had Carter W1. I am not sure yet what kind of carburation system I will use, I have 2 possibilities:

Option 1: Only one manifold intake and the 4 carb mount, solid linkage, not progressive. All works together. I will have to select the carb with cfm minor to cfm to W1, I think so.

Option 2: One carburator for two cylinder, like yours  (I prefer this)

In option 2, I do not know very well (I am not carburator expert), which is the cfm correct to select the size of the carb. I think you will have a high idle. I suppose…

What do you think about it?

Thanks and Regards

Pacho

[carbking]

Gary, while Stromberg did not publish CFM ratings on the EX-23's, Zenith did publish CFM ratings on their equivalent models. A Zenith S.A.E. size 2 with a 1 5/32 venturi would flow approximately 183 CFM on the single barrel scale, or converted to the 4 barrel scale most folks use, would be about 129 CFM.

 

Your 250 CID with the individual manifolds as you have pictured would require approximately 145 CFM per thousand RPM at 100 percent V.E.; thus 129 times 4 is 516 CFM, so the carbs should easily be good for 3600 RPM with no restriction and would be perfectly happy with a bit of performance loss at a 1000 RPM above. Hope you post a video after you fire the engine!

 

Pacho - the 1939 Pontiac 8 used a Carter type WA-1, a luxury upgrade from the 1938 8 cylinder Carter W-1. The 1938 W-1 used a 1 5/16 venturi, which is significantly larger than the 1 5/32 Gary is using. If you use W-1's, and I personally believe it is an excellent choice, I might suggest rather than the Pontiac W-1 (Carter 400s) that you consider the 1946~1948 Chevrolet W-1 (Carter 574s). WHY? The Chevrolet version is common as dirt (read inexpensive) and MUCH easier to match a set of 4, all parts are readily available, including tuning parts, AND the Chevrolet carb is a manual choke whereas the Pontiac carb was automatic choke. The Chevrolet carb is slightly smaller (1 1/4 venturi), but still significantly larger than those Gary is using. If the carbs MUST be from the same year for some reason, then the Chevrolet 420s from 1939 would be virtually as good as the 574s.

 

The 1939 WA-1 would be MUCH more difficult to tune than the W-1. And, while slightly more common than the Pontiac W-1, still would be difficult to match a set of 4.

 

Jon

[Gary_Ash]

Jon, thanks for your insights.  Any suggestions how to tune four carbs and select jets in applications like these?  Is a Uni-Syn the right tool?

 

[carbking]

Gary - yes, the Uni-Syn is an inexpensive tool that works well (there are more sophisticated ones, that I could never afford  ).

 

Unless you, or someone you trust explicitly has built an identical engine, then ALWAYS build the carbs with the stock calibration. Now you have a repeatable baseline, and you can adjust from there.

 

Tuning 4 carburetors is NOT difficult, as long as you have good compression and good ignition, and the carbs are reasonably correct in size for the engine.

 

Once you have fired the engine, and synchronized the carbs; TEST!

 

Don't start buying jets (although I have them available  )

 

Acquire a number of different thicknesses of fiber washers that will fit the fuel valve seat. By changing the thickness of the fuel valve seat gasket, you can change the float height thus the fuel level for testing. Approximately 1/16 change in the fuel level (not the float setting) is approximately equal to one calibration size (0.002 inch). Thus, you can see what a jet change will do for you without actually buying jets. (That tip costs you a cup of coffee if we ever meet in person  )

 

DON'T BEND THE FLOAT ARMS (disregard this advice on these ancient floats, and I have floats for sale also, but they are not as inexpensive as jets!).

 

Jon

[pacho]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your comments and advisor, they are very appreciated.  I am considering use Carter W1 in my Pontiac.

I have some doubts about your Friday´s post:

when you said: “Your 250 CID with the individual manifolds as you have pictured would require approximately 145 CFM per thousand RPM at 100 percent V.E.; thus 129 times 4 is 516 CFM, so the carbs should easily be good for 3600 RPM with no restriction and would be perfectly happy with a bit of performance loss at a 1000 RPM above. Hope you post a video after you fire the engine!"

 If I use apply formule: 250X 1000 / 3456 = 72.  I can not see 145

Sorry, repeat I am not carb expert.

I will open a new post, for my carburator doubts

Thanks for your support

Thanks and regards

[carbking]

Pacho - be careful with the equation

 

The well-known equation CFM = (RPM times CID) divided by 3456 (at V.E. = 1.0) is for a four-stroke multiple cylinder engine of at least 4 cylinders.

 

With four individual manifolds, in effect you now have (4) 2-cylinder engines of 72 CID each.

 

With less than four cylinders, the equation is modified by multiplying the result by (4/n) , where n is the number of cylinders. Since n is 2, one needs to multiply the result by 4/2 or 2.

 

The change in air requirements is due to the "pulsing" of individual cylinders.

 

Jon.

 

 

[Gary_Ash]

There is still some electrical work to do.  I ordered a pair of teardrop-shaped 7" headlights from Summit Racing.  Of course, the original cars didn't have headlights, but I'd like to drive on the highway at night sometime.  The housings are polished stainless, look pretty good.  I got them with small running lights/turn signals on top; they even came with stainless flexible conduit for the wires.  There is a tilt/rotation adjustable 1/2" stud on the bottom for mounting.  Then I had to figure out where and how to mount them.  I hate just drilling more holes in the chassis, so I found a place in front where one of the crossmembers is bolted in.  It will be easy enough to pull out two bolts on each side to mount/dismount the lights.  There will be plugs on the cables.

 

From a project I did some years ago for the local land trust, I wound up with a couple of 4 ft x 4 ft sheets of 1/8" steel plate.  It's been useful for making lots of brackets, etc.  My little Craftsman electric sabre saw amazingly works well enough to saw out pieces of the plate.  First, I made a prototype mount from cardboard, then traced the outline on the steel, cut them out, and drilled the holes.  For stiffness, I folded in two planes, then welded the joints.  I was able to use my 12-ton Harbor Freight hydraulic press with a heavy-duty finger brake from SWAG Off Road Products to bend the steel plate.  I've bent 1/4" x 2" bar in the brake and lots of smaller stuff.  They make some interesting, fairly inexpensive add-ons for some HF tools and others.

 

Cardboard pattern and the two 1/8" plate bracket blanks.  The circular notch allows bending into the corner without wrinkling.

 

The brackets formed and welded.

 

I cleaned up the parts after welding, put on some self-etching primer, and followed up with some rattle-can black paint.  It was a nice, sunny, warm day, so I left the parts to dry on a sheet of cardboard next to the driveway.  Of course, the wind came up, flipped the cardboard and parts into the pine needles and dirt.  Fortunately, the paint wasn't very tacky at that point, so I was able to brush off the dirt and shoot another coat of black.  I put some weights on the cardboard.

 

The headlight brackets after their second painting session.  I'll put a small sheet of 1/16" nitrile rubber between the bracket

and chassis when they are mounted to prevent scratching the paint.

 

It seems that everything I want to attach to the car needs a bracket designed, formed, machined, welded, and painted - sometimes twice.  Those TV shows where they build a complete custom car in four weeks (allegedly) never show this part of the work and how long it takes for little bits and pieces.  Anyway, I'm happy with how the headlights will look.  Now to do the tail lights.  Also, the fire extinguisher from H3R arrived today, will need a bracket.  It has a 2.5 lb charge of Halotron fluid.  It will put out gasoline and oil fires but doesn't have any dry powder to cause corrosion or other mess.  Not cheap, but very good.

 

 

A headlight test fitted before the the brackets were painted.

 

 

    

[Gary_Ash]

I started wiring the plugs for the headlights, realized I needed to connect the battery to test things out.  I had never powered anything up before.  Hoping that I didn't have any major short circuits, I connected the battery and tapped the horn button.  Nothing!  I started tracing wires, realized I had never connected the horn button to ground on one of the terminals.  Once correctly wired, we had music - or at least a blast of the horn.  Here's a video taken by my wife:

 

https://youtu.be/T3xJ7Z1mvhM

 

With that, I checked out the headlight assembly, tapped the starter button, tested the electric fuel pump, watched the dash lights come on and adjusted the dash light dimmer.  Progress!

Edited April 9, 2021 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[Gary_Ash]

Let there be light! And the tail lights work, too.  I think the electrical work is now complete.

 

 

[Studemax]

Looking good, Mr. Ash.

[Gary_Ash]

I finally got all the parts together to install the rear shock absorbers. It was a real team effort.  Rex Miltenberger supplied the large Houdaille shocks used on 1929-33 Studebaker Presidents and the shock links constructed from formed housings and hardened ball ends.  The shocks went off to Lazar at Apple Hydraulics where they were rebuilt.  Lazar had bent the front arms for me, but I knew the rear ones would be tricky to estimate the exact bend needed.  My local metal cutting and forming shop, Den-Mar, laser cut the spring plates with a tab for the shock link mount from 1/4" steel plate.  Unfortunately, I had trouble figuring out how much to recess the mounting tab, so Den-Mar had to make the plates three times - and not for free - but eventually they came out right enough.  I had struggled to get the ball ends out of the links until I finally figured out the trick of stuffing my biggest screwdriver in behind the ball and levering them out.  I wound up with a few links but was missing a couple of parts, so Rex sent me another whole link which I cannibalized.  

 

Cleaning old parts with 90-year old grease is my least favorite pastime, but I did get everything cleaned and repainted.  New rubber grease seals from Tom and Dave Shrock were installed with the ball ends.  As hard as they were to get out, pushing the ball end back in against the heavy spring also took some doing.  I used the bench vise to push them in, but several times, the bronze seat would slip, flip sideways, and go flying off into space.  I learned to install the cap part way to keep the pieces captive.  Then I mounted the links to the new spring plates, took off the old spring plates, and put on the new ones.  The 9/16" U-bolts got torqued to 90 ft-lbs while I was lying on my back under the car. 

 

The shock arms needed to mate and align with the links, not collide with the rear axle, and hug the chassis rails.  Once I knew where the socket for the ball end needed to be, I heated the forged shock arms with the acetylene torch and bent them in my small hydraulic press.  Everything went together smoothly then.  I'm glad that job is done!

 

I ordered a Uni-Syn carburetor airflow meter from Summit Racing.  It came today and looks like it will work well to synchronize the four carbs when the time comes.  With a little luck, it won't be long.  I just need to bleed the brakes and attend to some details before starting the engine.

 

Prying the ball ends out of the shock link with the BIG screwdriver.

 

Link re-assembled and mounted to the spring plate.

 

Shock arm after bending and link attached to spring plate.

 

Top view of shock arm and link.  There is enough clearance above the brake line.

 

The Uni-Syn placed on top of the carb.  It's a fairly simple device, but useful.  It's basically a vacuum gauge.

 

 

 

[alsfarms]

Be sure to have your cell phone set on "video" so we can share your success when it comes to life!

Al

[pacho]

Excellent!

Congratulation for the job. I am waiting for the carbs tunning. Please share  a video. 

Regards

Pacho

[Gary_Ash]

in preparation for the day when I can get the car painted, I've ordered some graphics from Vistaprint and Signs.com.  I would have preferred to have someone hand-paint them onto the car, but that is nearly a lost art, don't know where I'd find a real sign painter, so these will be adhesive vinyl.  Fortunately, we have a number of good photos from 1932 that show how the graphics looked on the cars.  Mine will be silver with a little fine metallic in it (no fish scales), the numbers 25 will be blue with a black outline, 16" high.  I'll get the graphics next week, but it will be a while before they get applied.  The script will go on now, though. 

 

Interestingly, nearly all the old photos are of the left sides of the cars.  I did review one right-side photo today and realized that the numbers on the hood are only on the left side because the exhaust manifold is on the right side.  The tail has numbers on both sides.

 

A color photo from Studebaker's "Wheel" monthly magazine showing the five original cars.

 

Car #25 at Indy with Tony Gulotta at the wheel.

 

Artwork for the numbers.  It was as close as I could get to what was painted on the original car.

 

The Studebaker Special script, will be about 4.5" high x 20" long.

 

The wheel logo will be about 12" diameter, two on order.