1930's Seat Adjuster

[Tom Devoe]

Friends - attached is a picture of the seat adjuster on my 31 Studebaker.  I'm not sure if this part is make specific, but I have seen very similar adjusters on other cars.  What you don't see in the photo is that the block which the screw runs through is broken into 3 pieces, as the pot metal has deteriorated over the years.  Does anyone make an aluminum or cast steel replacement block for this style adjuster?  I would also entertain changing it to a more popular adjuster if need be.  I know I'm not the only person to run into this issue before.  What have you done to address this issue in your car?

[keiser31]

I would have a machine shop make a steel block. It will hold up a lot better.

[Mikefit]

Or one made of nylon 

[Dave Henderson]

Change to a Model A Ford adjuster.  Nice round knob, not clunky, and all parts are available off the shelf.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Dave Henderson (see edit history)

[Tom Devoe]

Thought I'd post an update to my seat adjuster issue. I found some acme rod and a brass block on ebay and modified them to resemble the original screw. Used some pretty crude tools (grinding wheel and hand drill) to 'machine' the parts. Finished the assembly tonight, and I'll install it later this week. Spent about 12 bucks in parts. The sheet steel brackets came from a parts car, so I didn't disassemble the original part. Seems to work well, although it's a single thread, not a double as the original was, so it'll take a few more turns to move the seat.

[FLYER15015]

Now that is cleaver !!!

Put a little white grease on the threads and it will last longer than all of us.

Congrats..............

 

Mike in Colorado

[Mark Wetherbee]

Excellent job! And it will last a million times longer than the pot metal one.