1938 Studebaker State Commander 8A Restoration

[Pastor Matt]

Figured I would start a thread and start adding to it. My heart in this 1938 is passionate and because they are far and few between and because, honestly, most people interested in this car or those like it won't be around for much longer. Even most of the people I have dealt with for parts are 65-82 years old and many of them have NO ONE to replace them or take over their passion/business. So... I want to try to put things in here that I have had a hard time in my quest. There are little to no pictures or good information on this particular car and I want to at least make an effort to create one more path, one more opportunity for people to see parts or understand what they may need. This will take me quite some time and if anyone wants to join me (for just the 38 Studebaker Commander) feel free to join in on this thread with good pictures, good titles and as detailed information as possible.  Thank you all!!  I'll start with a couple pictures today.

 

This is a 1938 Studebaker State Commander 8A with stock straight 6 engine:

 

 

 

 

This is the Driver's Side REAR VENT WINDOW opening:

 

 

 

 

 

This is the rear vent window opening with some measurements for future reference:

 

[Pastor Matt]

This is a rear bumper on a 1938 Studebaker State Commander:

 

 

This is a body mount on the rear bumper:

 

 

 

This is another part on the rear bumper:

 

[Pastor Matt]

These are hubcaps for the 1938 Studebaker State Commander. They are nicknamed DOG DISH or DOG BOWL style. They are ribbed on the side as well.  They measure about 10 1/8" outer diameter and connect to the rim on a mount that is riveted to the rim and they fit the inside edge at about 7 1/2"

[Pastor Matt]

TRUNK LICENSE PLATE LIGHT for a 1938 Studebaker State Commander.

This is a beautiful piece of equipment on the car. Actually a fine addition to the car. It has a glass lens, the STUDEBAKER name is all brass and mounts completely to illuminate the license plate on the bracket system (bracket pictures to post later) It uses one bulb. This can be easily modified with an LED light now available to provide color options as well as better lighting.

[Spinneyhill]

The bumpers and over-riders or guards are also used on 1938 and 1939 Coupe Express, K5 & L5, as are the hubcaps, which are also on 1939 Commanders. Richard Quinn is reproducing the hubcaps, as is Dave Patten in NZ.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Spinneyhill (see edit history)

[Pastor Matt]

10 minutes ago, Spinneyhill said:

The bumpers and over-riders or guards are also used on 1938 and 1939 Coupe Express, K5 & L5, as are the hubcaps, which are also on 1939 Commanders. Richard Quinn is reproducing the hubcaps, as is Dave Patten in NZ.

Absolutely.. great update.. Thanks for adding to this!

[Spinneyhill]

Do you have a factory radio for the car? I see it has antenna holes in the cowl.

[fh4ever]

I'm curious too, mine has the antennae but no radio...have no idea where one would have been mounted.  

[SC38dls]

It is a Philco radio I have one in my 38. Mounts under dash by steering wheel with a slave dials and screen on dash. Speaker mounts above window. 

[Pastor Matt]

22 hours ago, Spinneyhill said:

Do you have a factory radio for the car? I see it has antenna holes in the cowl.

I don't , but my buddy does... he posted in this thread :-)

[studeq]

Actually there is no shortage of information about the '38 Commander. I have hundreds of factory documents, photos, production records and memorabilia of all kinds. I did a 4000+ word article with 12 pages and over 30 photos covering the 1938-40 Commanders and Presidents that appeared in the June 2010 edition of Collectible Automobile. Copies are still available for a nominal fee. After reading that just ask any questions you may have.

[Pastor Matt]

26 minutes ago, studeq said:

Actually there is no shortage of information about the '38 Commander. I have hundreds of factory documents, photos, production records and memorabilia of all kinds. I did a 4000+ word article with 12 pages and over 30 photos covering the 1938-40 Commanders and Presidents that appeared in the June 2010 edition of Collectible Automobile. Copies are still available for a nominal fee. After reading that just ask any questions you may have.

That's great and appreciate it..(Yes there are a few manuals available and such) I've been restoring my 38 for about 5 years and have googled for that long about specific items relative to my car/model, Ebay searched til my fingers have fallen off and have seen about the same 5 or 6 pictures and old photographs from 1938.   I"ve been restoring and modifying cars for many years....I'm just trying to post pictures and items that are not readily seen or available online..(especially as the culture moves to other vehicles that are more accessible.... if your article including photos and descriptions is still available digitally, I'd love to make sure a link is here in this thread too since it seems to be gaining some traction. Thanks for your support and look forward to checking out the article.

[studeq]

Matt; So far as i know the article I mentioned above is not to be found on the Internet. Not everything known to mankind is on the internet. For example the Antique Studebaker club has been publishing its magazine for over 45 years and none of those issues has been digitized. There is still much to be learned by networking and doing it the old fashion way that is ferreting out the information thru dogged research. As for that issue of Collectible Automobile I just checked ebay and find seven copies available starting at $9.99.

Sounds like a bargain to me!! And for my money I much prefer the hard copy to the digital any time. I always scan my articles for my own files. I am attaching here low resolution copies of the front cover and six pages of the 12 page article just to give you an idea of what is included.

 

 

[goatboy]

this will be fun to watch, as i have the exact car you do keep up the good work man

[Pastor Matt]

On 9/1/2017 at 2:15 PM, studeq said:

Matt; So far as i know the article I mentioned above is not to be found on the Internet. Not everything known to mankind is on the internet. For example the Antique Studebaker club has been publishing its magazine for over 45 years and none of those issues has been digitized. There is still much to be learned by networking and doing it the old fashion way that is ferreting out the information thru dogged research. As for that issue of Collectible Automobile I just checked ebay and find seven copies available starting at $9.99.

Sounds like a bargain to me!! And for my money I much prefer the hard copy to the digital any time. I always scan my articles for my own files. I am attaching here low resolution copies of the front cover and six pages of the 12 page article just to give you an idea of what is included.

 

 

 Thank you again for including this… I have seen all of these pictures on the Internet but it sure is awesome to see them all in one location and know who did it thank you for the work !! That took quite some time for you and appreciate the passion!!

[Pastor Matt]

Here is a sneak peek of my wheels freshly mounted... another surprise coming soon!! :-) 

[SC38dls]

The tires and wheels look good Matt.  Now lets see the painted, complete car!!  Bet you want to see that too ! 

Edited September 6, 2017 by SC38DLS (see edit history)

[fh4ever]

are those 6.00-16?  what brand are they....I was just about to order Coker Classics

[Pastor Matt]

3 hours ago, SC38DLS said:

The tires and wheels look good Matt.  Now lets see the painted, complete car!!  Bet you want to see that too ! 

 

3 minutes ago, fh4ever said:

are those 6.00-16?  what brand are they....I was just about to order Coker Classics

Yes indeed!! I shopped for a week before going with these... the white walls are bigger and they look incredible!!!

http://www.lucasclassictires.com/600-16-Lester-3-7-8-WW-65807L.htm?categoryId=-1

[SC38dls]

I just replaced 2 GENERAL JET AIR wide whites with Coker tires. Took it out today and they were fine. See my thread on General Discussion regarding "Problem Tires" to see why I did this. Stay away from GENERAL tires.   

[Pastor Matt]

Well everyone.. SHE'S ON THE ROAD!!!! Far from done.. but are they ever???!!!

I wanted to share this video with you all of my maiden voyage!!!

 

1938 Studebaker State Commander Maiden Voyage 2018

[SC38dls]

Looks and sounds great congratulations. Now drive the wheels off it. 

Dave S

[Pastor Matt]

Thank you!!! So excited to share!!

That raw 90 horsepower makes it hard to drive the wheels off, but we'll get there eventually! :-)

[r1lark]

Matt, good to see another Studebaker exploring the roads of North Carolina.Great car, and an even greater website! Stay strong Brother.

[Pastor Matt]

Thank you!!

[goatboy]

congrats matt

did you change to 12 volt system cause your lights look a lit brighter then mine !!!

also did you put a glasspack muffler on? sounds a lot louder then mine.

thx

goatboy

[Pastor Matt]

 I did both… I kept the gauges 6 V and converted everything else to 12 V :-)

[goatboy]

would love to know how to do that, where'd you learn this from?

[Pastor Matt]

I’ve worked on cars for years. But it’s simple really. All lights and other 12 volt items can be run when converting to a 12 volt alternator/battery and then anything that is 6 volt (like instrument gauges) can be run on a 12v to 6 volt converter. My friend Gary at Merritt Electronics builds fantastic ones at great prices. You can even buy 6v-12v converters too. If you’d like to know more, feel free to private message me for details.

[Spinneyhill]

@Pastor Matt last visited on April 8. You might have to p.m. him or quote something of his to get a response.