HarryJ Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Folks...I have a 1921 Studebaker "light six" which I recently acquired. The automobile is a well preserved orginal with it's original touring top and interior. Let me say I am a preservationist primarily, looking to keep a car on the road and enjoy driving it. This requires me to ascertain how it was originally built and keeping it that way. I have driven this car several miles and on a few sorties to check it out since my acquisition. One of the first times I drove it the right rear wheel fell of due to the fact that one of the previous owners had failed to put a cotter pin in the axel nut when he did some maintenance on it. Upon further review of the car after repair of the rear wheels and brakes; I noticed the motometer indicated an elevated operating temprature after operating the car for 10 miles or so. The car never steamed; however, the motometer indicated it was above the recommended operating temperature. I took this to mean, that the cooling system was not functioning properly. I pulled the water jacket cover off and discovered approximately 3/4 to 1 inch of mud in the engine block. From this I assumed the radiator must be clogged or the water pump was not doing it's job. Yesterday I began to pull down the cooling system to check it out and give it a good flush out. The water pump on this car is very similiar to cars of it's period. It is composed of a two part housing enclosing an inpellar. I proceeded to remove the housing bolts and then started to split the halfs. To do this, I employed a puddy knife and a hammer applied to the flange gap arround the two halves of the housing. One half of the housing is cast iron and the other is cast aluminum. The aluminium half has a flange over the cast iron. I drove the puddy knife in between the two parts. Well, upon this application of the universal fixit (hammer) I proceeded to bust the flange off the the aluminum casting. Now, I have a real problem as I have broken one of the castings. I relay the experience to you in hopes it will help educate some of us when considering the use of the hammer. Take your time, and consider the situation. Pullers, penetrating oils, and time work best ; don't hurry some disassembly procedures, take your time and study it carefully. I hope to pin and glue my casting back together; if not I may have to recast it or find a new part. either way, it will add a great deal of time to the repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles2 Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Thanks for the note. Yours is a lesson that I have to re-learn at intervals. When working on older cars, patience is both a virtue and a necessity. Good luck with your casting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyDale Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Dear Harry J,IMHO your car NEEDS a look-see from stem to stern BEFORE anymore road trips.diz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Harry, I agree with Dizzy. You may have other unforseen problems to deal with yet. BTW, my local car dealer is looking for a "Bad Wrench" like you. At least, you learn from your mistakes. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryJ Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 Progress report on the broken flange.....First thing today after downing a cup of coffee and smoking a couple of cigarettes, I proceeded to dismantle the assemblies that attach to the damaged aluminum housing. Not only does the water pump mount ot it; so does the distibutor, oil pump, and generator. Careful examination of the housing revealed someone in the past had also broken and partially repaired another area of the flange. My disaster was partially broken before I finished it off. Now I must proceed to my trusty machinist and get it fixed if possible. A couple other areas of concern were noted when I had the chance to study the dismantled assemblies; in particular, the generator end frame (while functional) is very swollen and has cracks in it due to the fact it is a zinc die casting succumbing to die cast disease. The unit is a Remy (not Wagner). Does anyone know if these end plates have been reproduced or are there any replacments out there? I also noted the distributor body has the same problem; although, it is not very evident as in the case of the generator end plate. I hope to have this car back on the road soon. It is a great runner. By the way, in case you didn't know the engine in this car was designed by Zeder, Breer, and Skelton right before they left Studebaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Sorry to hear about your pot-metal woes, Harry...I read Carl Breer's memoir "The Birth of Chrysler Corporation" and was fascinated by all the cross-over networking in the industry then...Walter P. working his way up through American Locomotive, then to Buick, and onto Willys before buying Maxwell-Chalmers...By the time the Musketeers were done "improving Studebakers", they were all set to build the first Chrysler...Hope you get your buggy rolling again ! (I've broken my share of parts over the years...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPrice Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 You may wish to contact Richard Quinn at the Antique Studebaker Review. That's the publication of the Antique Studebaker Club. I don't know his e-mail address, but if you type in Antique Studebaker Club on Google, it'll probably help you find Richard. Hope this is a help.Rog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryJ Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 RPrice...thanks for the lead. As to my situation, I went up to my machinist shop this afternoon; the flange has been welded back on and I watched him machine the mating surfaces flat again. I discussed with him having him remanufacture or machine another end frame for the generator. He thinks he can do it. It will not look exactly like the original die casting; however this is hidden under the car's floorboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryJ Posted June 5, 2005 Author Share Posted June 5, 2005 It is a good thing I started into this area of the car as I have also discovered when someone in the past had worked on the oil pump they had installed a thick paper gasket on the bottom plate of the pump resulting in an unacceptable gap between the pump gears and the bottom and top plates. The owner's manual says the car should develope 1 to 3 pounds pressure when operating. My dash guage at times would not register and at other times would. The end play in the oil pump might explain this. Also, there was excessive end play in the water pump shaft. This was remedied by machining a bronze thurst spacer washer. The end frame of the generator is still a problem. It looks like I am going to have to have a replacement custom machined, unless someone knows of a source for replacements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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