Early 1920s Studebaker ?

10 minute(s) of a 173 minute read

A Christmas card for you.

Good Morning and Compliments of the Season to All.

What a mixed year this has been. On the domestic front all has been rather quiet with our family busily pursuing their own activities. Now I know that many of you are waiting impatiently for  our Motoring News. 2017 started off badly with our beloved Lagonda Rapier tucked up in the garage with the engine out and all in pieces following the horror return journey home from the NSW, VSCC Dubbo Rally.  The outcome of this was a total engine rebuild that seemed to go on and on. In the process I had decided that I needed to do something about the carburettion and more specifically, the inlet manifold. This developed into one of those situations where the more I did the worse the problem got.  It was not until September that I got the Rapier running well enough for us to attend the VSCC’s “Wimmera Wander” a mid week touring event that took us along some completely new country roads.  This started in Hamilton, one of the principle Western District towns and one that we have visited a number of times in the past. It is a day’s drive from our home in suburban Melbourne . The “Wander” started with “out and back” drives for the first two days then into the Grampians where we spent the final night at Halls Gap. Un-characteristically, the Rapier decided to hold us up not once but twice on the same day. Firstly a clevis pin fell out of  the gear-change linkage, making it impossible to change gears. This I could rectify on the side of the road, using a nut and bolt out of the selection always carried in one of the pockets in the tool bag. Then later that afternoon the silencer and exhaust pipe decided to fall off!   Perhaps due to some late night workmanship when re-assembling the car after its engine rebuild.This could be put back temporarily but required further work after we had returned home.

On the return leg after the weeks motoring, I noticed that the engine was running too fast at an idle. As this did not improve with winding the adjustment fully back, I diagnosed this as an air leak somewhere in the induction side of things. First thing to be suspect was the ill fated modifications to the inlet manifolds. Taking these off the engine and placing them upside down of my work bench I could test them for air leaks using some methylated spirits. It showed that the site of my previous repair was porous permitting air to leak in. I was to eventually admit defeat and order a new pair of inlet manifolds from the Rapier Register “Spares” in England. While I was waiting for these to arrive by post. I could remove the exhaust system and weld  the slip joint that had failed while away.  When the new inlet manifolds finally arrived I could enlist our son Steve’s assistance in enlarging the ports both on the carburettor and the cylinder head sides. Finally It is all back together and running nicely but as this was not accomplished until mid November this has been our quietest year as far as our “Vintage” motoring is concerned.
 
On the restoration front it has been an equally unproductive year although it has seen some changes with regard to the cars. Firstly uncharacteristically I decided that I was never going to finish the 1912 Humber, as a result it was advertised on the PrewarCar website. Thankfully it sold relatively quickly and I spent a couple of weeks packing up all the bits for it’s sea voyage to the land of its birth, England. It is an interesting aside, that since arriving in England It has changed owners twice.
I decided rightly or wrongly that what I really wanted was a Vintage Light Car project, It did not take many weeks before I had a 1929 Triumph “Super Seven”. Sadly It only took a matter of two or three weeks for me to decide that perhaps the little Triumph was not all that super! It too very quickly found a new owner about as far away as possible without leaving the eastern side of Australia. Again I was gainfully employed packing it all up for the long road journey north to Cairns in Northen Queensland
I barely had time to sweep out the garage when our enthusiastic son Steve telephoned to tell me that there was a car advertised on “Gum-tree”,  he thought I should at least enquire about. After a short discussion I arranged go and look at a 1920 Studebaker,” Light Six”. Following short discussion we decided to buy it. 

Since having it safely at home I have been able to start a “thread” on the Studebaker section of the Antique Automobile Club of America’s internet Forum.  In the past I have made a habit of using the AACA’s Forum to uncover all sorts of information regarding my various project cars!   I now know that our “Stude” is probably the earliest surviving “Light Six” and also a rather special car. One of just a handful of surviving examples of its model but in addition to being right hand drive, it is fitted with the optional Wire Spoke wheels and Magneto Ignition. It shows all the signs of less than careful storage, It appears to have spent  most of it’s life since December 1941, while undercover, stored in various farm sheds and “Chook” houses. Firstly in Springvale from 1941 to 1969 or perhaps 1970. Then it \was sold to a man who ran a mixed farm/orchard at Merrigum, not far from Shepparton. Once there it was placed into another shed and left almost untouched until when it was sold at a Farm Clearance Auction in 2012. From Merrigum it was transported to Collingwood but while on the way, the Hood was removed and left in another farm shed at Gooram, not far from Echuca. The new owner parked the Studebaker in the vast garage. he did not even bother to jack the car up and put in “on blocks”. It stayed there, standing on flat tyres, until we bought it another five years later. 

Now, I have had all the wheels sand blasted, painted and fitted  with four new tyres. I can now move the car single handed. While the motor was “stuck” and impossible to move using the crank handle. Now after gently “rocking” the car with top  gear engaged, the motor turns over nicely. Perhaps for the first time in a great many years. The most surprising thing is the speedo reading, just 36,016 miles. Being a 1920 Light Six, one of the first two years production,it has an experimental engine fitted with an aluminium cylinder head. This motor was only used for a little over two years. One of the problems with this motor is that enthusiastic mechanics tended to over tighten the spark-plugs, in the process stripping the thread in the cylinder head.  The upholstery will need to be replaced. The seats have provided a safe and comfortable home for generations of rats & mice! Also some of the paint work will require some judicious “patching in”, to go any further would risk spoiling the wonderful “oily rag” patina of the car. 

We had  one more delightful sojourn, this time in Helen’s trusty VW Jetta, we set out to drive to Canberra to meet up with son Nicholas and his family, who live in Adelaide, for an enjoyable few days. But as is our custom we avoided the Hume Highway driving instead up the Melba Highway towards Yea and Mansfield. From there we followed the road past Powers Lookout,  through Beechworth to Wodonga where we stopped for the night. Next day we set off again taking the Olympic Highway  through Junee and Cootamundra before turning off on to some “interesting side roads to make our next stop at Binalong where VSCC member Stuart Saunders has the Motor Museum.  From there it was an easy drive through Yass to Canberra.  In Canberra we stayed at the Rex Hotel/Motel for four nights. Nic had hired a seven seater People mover and  given Canberra’s convoluted road system, we were happy for him to drive us each day. It was great for us to have so much time with Nic, Susannah, and their two, Julius and Helena. 

Leaving Canberra we chose to ignore the Highways again, instead we took the road through Wee Jasper, Tumut and Batlow where some of the best Apples in Australia are grown, our destination for that day’s driving wasTumbarumba. Rapier owner Neil Hamilton has recently bought a property about ten Kms south of the town, until they finish building their new house they are living in a rented house a little closer to the town.  We had a very pleasant evening with Neil and Grazysna. Next morning we set off again travelling South-West. Again we chose to find our way through the lesser travelled roads including Twist Creek Road that runs through some interesting country between Yackandandah and Beechworth.  A fabulous drive but not if you are in a hurry and not if you are worried about getting your car dirty. Oh yes! There are a couple of first and second gear bits too. One thing for sure,  the traffic will not be of concern! We enjoyed every km. but we would not attempt to drive it in Mid Winter or High Summer. From there we drove along the King Valley Road to Mansfield and finally back down the Maroondah Highway to home. 

My first year of being an Octogenarian was relatively uneventful and Helen still has another year  before she joins me in the OBE Club. We both feel remarkably well and still look forward to the future rather than back at the past.
Hopefully 2018 will bring some/a lot more enjoyable adventures for us.  Some in the Lagonda Rapier and perhaps in the Studebaker too. 

For now it will be another New Year of French and Strength Training for Helen and my Monday morning games of Petanque.  
All that remains is to wish you and your families an Extremely Happy Christmas and an Even Better and Healthy New Year.

Happy motoring in 2018.

For arm chair travel junkies:- go to your "search engine" and type in "Twist Creek Road Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia"