Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc

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Volume 28, Issue 2 November/ December 2012 Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc Inside this issue: President s Corner 2 Calendar of Future Events 2 October Meeting 3 Lakes Area

1 Volume 28, Issue 2 November/ December 2012 Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc Inside this issue: President s Corner 2 Calendar of Future Events 2 October Meeting 3 Lakes Area Cruisers 12th Annual Rod Run A New Wave of Shortages 4 6 Tech Talk 6 NEXT MEETING CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE HOLLANDS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2012 The Central Texas Chapter Christmas Party will be held at the Holland Party Barn in College Station on December 8, We ll put the coffee pot on about ten a.m., and lunch will be served at 12:30. The meal will be catered this year, so we re asking for a head count. Please B.B and Hazel at hollandb@verizon.net or call by Sunday evening, December 2. We need to give the caterer a head count on Monday. We ll have the traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, seasoned green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry N sauce, homemade rolls, coffee and tea. We re asking members to bring a dozen or so of their favorite Christmas cookies for dessert. Price of the meal is $5 per person. Please bring a wrapped gift valued at $10.00 for the Chinese Fire Drill exchange, or as Mark named it a few years ago, Take my gift if you can get it. Hope to see everyone here!

2 Page 2 The Hubcap PRESIDENT S CORNER By Mark Brians Wow! Where has this year gone? Christmas is coming up fast and I have not even started a list for Santa. Santa s helper, Lorraine, says not to bother. So instead I am inviting everyone to come join us for our Christmas Party Saturday December 8, 2012, at the Holland s Party Barn in College Station. Details are here in the Hubcap. We will have a catered meal so we are trying to get a head count. I got by last year by having enough food for a small army without a RSVP. Please or call the Holland s at hollandb@verizon.net or call and let them know if you plan to come. We will have our Crazy Christmas gift Exchange again this year so please bring a wrapped gift of about $10 for each participant. We always have a good time with this. We have Christmas ornaments again this year to take home. We will have plenty of door prizes to give out also. I hope you find the Tech Tips informative this month. We encourage anyone to send us your tips so we can get them in. Do not worry about your spelling or grammar; we will correct it as they do for me every newsletter. I know you ve got the knowledge, so enlighten us all. This has been a wild year on many fronts in this country and even our club. I hope the year ends with all the Studebakers you can handle, all the money you need to fix them, and Most importantly, you and yours good health to enjoy it all. I hope you can fit us in your party schedule and attend the Christmas Party to celebrate our good fortunes. See you soon. Mark Mark CALENDAR OF FUTURE EVENTS December 8 February 9 April For additional information call: or Christmas Party - at the Hollands, College Station, TX Meeting begins in Holland, Texas, at 10:30 am at the Slye Sign Museum. Lunch and chapter meeting in Oscar, Texas. More info to follow. Spring Tour - Waco area Details TBA June 30-July 6 49th International SDC Meet, Colorado Springs, CO THE HUBCAP In The Hubcap, our goal is to inform club members about club activities, offer news about Studebakers and Studebaker people, along with ideas and comments concerning both. Contributions are welcome from all club members, although we reserve the right to edit and select on the basis of topicality and general interest. Submit material to "The Hubcap, 6224 Los Robles, College Station, TX We can be reached by telephone at 979/ The Hubcap is published bi-monthly by the Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, but those of the particular authors or editors. President Mark Brians 254/ Vice President Ken Smith 713/ Sec.-Treasurer Hazel Holland 979/ Editor B.B. Holland 979/ Tour master Lorraine Brians 254/

The Hubcap Page 3 34TH ANNUAL PICNIC CENTRAL TEXAS CHAPTER OCTOBER 13, 2012 By BB Holland How time flies! Once again the picnic has come and gone. It always is amazing how many towns are represented.

The Bayou Cities Chapter was well represented for their October meeting which is held at our picnic every year.

3 The Hubcap Page 3 34TH ANNUAL PICNIC CENTRAL TEXAS CHAPTER OCTOBER 13, 2012 By BB Holland How time flies! Once again the picnic has come and gone. It always is amazing how many towns are represented. This year there were 82 people (by our best count) attending from 27 communities. In each of the last two years there were 75 people present, so this year was an increase of at least seven. The Bayou Cities Chapter was well represented for their October meeting which is held at our picnic every year. For the first time about nine members of the South Texas Hudson club joined us, as well as one couple from the Lone Star Packard Club. The following people were in attendance and their home town is listed if we know it: Ross Ball, Lorena; Mark & Lorraine Brians, Belton; John & Donna Brooks, Hamilton; Larry & Alice Brooks, Weatherford; Steve Brookins, Austin; Mike & Denise Carter, LaPorte; Joe & Karen Clark, Cameron; Terry Crain, Marquez; Mick & Sheila Curl, Bellville; Don Davenport, Cameron; Larry & Chris Dover, College Station; Nick & Sally Dynis, Flatonia; Barry & Pam Hackney, Houston; Charles Harrison, Richmond; Paul Hirschler, Bryan; B.B & Hazel Holland, College Station; Scott & Dawn Isensee, Austin; Gary & Donna Lowe, Belton; Frances Lenox, Bryan; Patrick Mahoney, Houston; Bill & Diana Osborne, College Station; Vic & Sandy Pochobradsky, Ennis; Brad Putchat, Leroy; Buddy & Joyce Pyle, Chappell Hill; Ken & Estella Smith, Hempstead; Kirk Smith, Cedar Creek; R.W. & Shirley Thornton, Ft. Worth; Herb Wahlberg, Houston; Jeraldine & Jason Walker, Cypress; Mary Ann Kiel and Margie Monis; Eugene Zaleski, Cameron; Bob Bucher & friend, Jerry, Spring; Tony & Shirley Darrow, Houston; Gordon & Jo Paul, Pearland; Charlie & Shirley Meyer, Santa Fe; Mark Thompson, Steve Eubank, Denny Eubank, Pat Paulson, Dennis Yeltan, Joel Yeltan, Rick Gairo, Dyer Taylor, Kenneth & Yolanda Cates and grandchildren, Isabella & Caleb Carlisle & William Keegan Hyde.

4 Page 4 The Hubcap LAKES AREA CRUISERS 12th ANNUAL ROD RUN NOVEMBER 16, 17 & 18, 2012 JASPER, TEXAS By BB Holland A group of 17 Central Texas Chapter SDC members attended the annual rod run in Jasper. This event benefits the Lakes Area Hospice, which received $10,000 from Lakes Area Cruisers in We enjoyed three days chock full of fun, fellowship, games, contests, good food and plenty of tire kickin. Registration is open and it s show and shine. Games include the money jar guess, candy jar guess, push rod drop, swing and drop, fuel filter toss, spark plug toss, commode race, header drop, and a fan belt toss. There are raffles, a live auction, live music and a Sunday morning devotional, so no worries about missing church. There are cash prizes awarded in drawings which includes all registered car owners for a Ladies Grand Prize, $250, and a Grand Prize Winner, $500. The hospitality area has a never-ending supply of goodies, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and water and two meals are furnished in the price of registration. The event culminates with a 50/50 drawing, and this year s winner took home over $ B. B. Holland and Bill Osborne took their Crosleys, which attracted a lot of attention. Bill s station wagon is a 1952, the last year they were made, and B.B. s vehicle is a 1948 station wagon converted to a street legal golf cart in They brought along a Crosley engine on a stand and other memorabilia about these cars which were built in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is one of the best car shows you ll ever attend. Those attending and their cars were: Mark & Lorraine Brians Joe & Karen Clark B.B. & Hazel Holland Bill & Diana Osborne Buddy & Joyce Pyle Doyle Smith Ken & Estella Smith Ed & Beulah Warner Onnie & Virginia Weaver 55 Studebaker Pick Up 54 Hudson 48 Crosley Station Wagon/Golf Cart 52 Crosley Station Wagon 98 Buick Riviera 50 Land Cruiser 37 LaSalle 48 Lincoln Continental 63 Avanti

5 The Hubcap Page 5

6 Page 6 The Hubcap A NEW WAVE OF SHORTAGES by George Hamlin Reprinted with permission from The Commander, Newsletter of the Potomac Chapter of SDC, Lynda Welsh, Editor We're all familiar with the usual shortages and difficult-to-find aspects of this hobby: shiny parts, certain electrical and mechanical things, upholstery that is available only from a notoriously slow source. This is a heads up on some other shortages that are approaching very quietly while your attention is on the shiny stuff. SEALED-BEAM HEADLIGHTS. Nobody has used the PAR-56 size (the larger ones, prequad era) of round sealed beams for some time, had you noticed? Every make seems to have its own design now. That has resulted in the stores' using their limited space for the faster-moving (and higher-margin) new stuff. Six-volt lamps aren't on the shelves at all, available mainly at swap meets - and we're now seeing prices north of $25 EACH for these things. Start stocking up if you haven't already; there are Websites that have them cheaper, primarily those catering to Volkswagens. And yes, this is starting to apply to the 12-volt lamps too. And eventually, the shortage will work its way up to the PAR-46 size that came in in 1958, so... WIPER REFILLS. Used to was, you wandered into the parts store, went down the display until you found your length, bought two, zipped them in, and Bob's your uncle. Forget that. Almost overnight, refills in varying lengths disappeared pffffft. That's because of the stylists too; each make has its own unique wipers now, and they're not using the same refills your car used. In their place, on one end of the rack in one lonely display, is a Trico product called "Break-to-Fit Blade Refills." The idea is, it comes in one length, you slip it into the blade, and snap it off. We're here to tell you that this product is unmitigated junk. The universality means that there's no substance to the metal edges; it's too slim to stay in the blade tracks; "breaking" it off will cause the product to disintegrate; and even if you use snips instead, the resulting assembly falls to pieces the instant you activate the wiper. If you can find some refills in the right size, stock up immediately; unfortunately, rubber has a limited shelf life, so we don't know how long you'll be able to use those wipers (get some Rain-X; the stuff really works). We wonder what the new-car owners of today will do in 20 years. TIRES. Once upon a time, tire shortages almost strangled the old-car hobby in its crib; the hobbyists of the early fifties were using truck tires, old tires, recaps, wrong sizes, anything that would go around. People like Ann Klein saved that particular bacon, and now we have lots of specialty tires - but not all of them are good tires. The act of desperation, if you're going to stay with first-rate rubber, is modern radials. Those products have a few problems of their own, like limited service life even sitting in the garage, and the gradual fattening of the design; it's getting hard now even to find 75%-section sizes that correspond to what suits the car. Because you can't make your own tires, we don't see this situation getting anything but worse, and the current administration's sudden imposition of a huge tax on Chinese tires has

7 The Hubcap Page 7 resulted in several radials of good sizes going off the market very quickly (this action was held to be illegal, but the damage is permanent). While you were sleeping, good substitutes have just disappeared; the 185, 195, 205 sizes all went away and suddenly, the only R15 tires you will find easily are for ATVs or trailers - and they're all BLACKWALL. If you're on the cusp of needing new tires, we'd suggest that you do it now, this week, while the warehouse might still have a set of four available. Oh, and here's a note of cheer: they're probably already four years old, so they probably won't last you to Happy happy joy joy. What we're really afraid of is those new-look tires, the ones with a very thin tread supported only by rubber-flap spokes. If those become standard, you can even say good-bye to tire shops. AIR-CONDITIONER REFRIGERANT. You already know about Freon's disappearance, of course, because it took several years. Now the good substitutes, like Freeze 12, have also been forced off the market. Without getting too deeply into the politics of this largely symbolic act, the fact remains that the only refrigerant you'll be able to find is R-134, which will leak out of your old system quite rapidly; in the end, you may decide to let the system go and just have it in the car for looks. FUSES. Those familiar cartridge-type fuses found all over your car are no longer used. A recent visit to a NAPA store to buy a simple 15-amp fuse resulted in a 15-minute search through the archival bins. Find all the fuses used in your car (they're listed in the owner's manual) and lay several of them aside while it's relatively easy. LITTLE LIGHTS. Do any new cars use any of the familiar small lamps you're used to, and which number dozens in your collector car? 57, 67, 1034, 1157, all those familiar lamps? Every lamp we see in new cars is a different (newer) design. Same recommendation as with fuses: your owner's manual lists every one in the car, so stock up. Won't cost you much.

8 Page 8 The Hubcap TECH TALK DISC BRAKES SYSTEMS By Dave Thibeault Reprinted with permission from The Studegram, October 2012, Dennis Jolicoeur, Editor, Ocean Bay Chapter The disc brake system used on Studebakers in 1963 to 1966 was an excellent braking system eve by today s standards. But it did lack the simplicity of todays. When properly set up the Studebaker brake system retracts the pads slightly to keep brake drag to a minimum. Other systems do not have this characteristic. The only significant drawback to this brake system is the lack of a dual master cylinder like what was used on the drum brake cars. This is easily corrected on the Lark and Avanti models but is difficult to correct on the Hawk models. Dual master cylinder conversion kits are available for Lark and Avanti models. Most of the problems and complaints that people have with these disc brakes are not the fault of the brake system, but instead are a result of neglect and improper repairs over the years. Rust is the most significant problem, both inside and outside of the system. The Dunlop Caliper cylinders are almost always rust pitted inside. This has been taken care of by the availability of stainless steel sleeved wheel cylinders for them. The piston inside also rusts and should be resurfaced where the seal sits to assure good sealing. All parts should be cleaned completely before reassembly. There are pad guides that usually rust and are easily bent. Glass beading the caliper bridge assembly will clean up good but care must also be taken to see that the pistons are assembled correctly or the pad guide will be forced into the rotor when the brakes are applied. The bolts that hold all the brake parts together are special and you should not use regular bolts, they are all Grade 8 hardware. Even the bolts that hold the caliper adapter bracket to the spindle are Grade 8. The bolts that hold the caliper cylinders on are a Grade 8 bolt that is not readily available even on special order, so be careful when removing. The best way to remove these bolts is with a six point socket. This allows them to be used even when severely rusted. The trouble spots that are most common when working on the front disc brakes are the shims and reversing bridge tubes. It will save a lot of time if you are careful about maintaining the position of the shims that are under the caliper mounting bolt when you remove the caliper. If you should have the rotors turned, then you will have to go through the process of readjusting the caliper position with the shims to center it over the rotor. The procedure and specifications are in the shop manuals. It is very common when assembling the calipers to reverse the bridge tubes. This usually results in the loss of brakes as the tube then rubs against the inside of the wheel and wears a hole in the tube. The bridge tubes run up the inside of the caliper not the outside.

The Hubcap Page 9 The rotors always seem to be turned when a brake job is done or as a result of a pulsating brake pedal that is caused by warped rotors.

9 The Hubcap Page 9 The rotors always seem to be turned when a brake job is done or as a result of a pulsating brake pedal that is caused by warped rotors. Never allow the wheels to be installed with an air wrench. This will warp the rotors. Torque the lug nuts evenly to 75 foot pounds using a torque wrench. Do not turn the rotors when replacing pads. If the mechanic insists because of rust, then have them glass bead blasted to remove the rust. The pads won t last as long but they cost $ A pair of new rotors costs $ If your rotors are warped try this. It works! Jack up the car and loosen your lug nuts, torque them to 75 foot pounds with a torque wrench. Drive the car normally for a week or more and do the same procedure. After about three times the warped rotors will be good again, or then they will have to be turned. But don t turn them without trying this first or they will just warp again. There are a couple of things to look for on the brake boosters to help maintain the quality of the brake system. On the Lark and Avanti models check for brake fluid at the bottom of the brake booster. It can leak out the back of the master cylinder and this will in short time ruin your brake booster. On the Hawk systems, remember that this booster needs to be lubricated. Remove the booster mounting bolts so the booster can be tilted up. On the back will be a little plug, add one ounce of Neatsfoot Oil and replace plug. Neatsfoot Oil is to soften the leather seals in the booster and is available at most sporting goods shops for softening baseball gloves, or can be had at shoe repair shop.

10 The Hubcap Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc 6224 Los Robles College Station, Texas Phone: Website: centraltexassdc NEXT MEETING - CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE HOLLANDS COLLEGE STATION, TX DECEMBER 8, 2012 Chapter Membership Application Central Texas Chapter dues are $12.00 per year payable in August of each year. ALL RENEWALS ARE $ The following payment schedule applies to NEW MEMBERS ONLY if joining in any other month. * Covers membership for more than one year. August $12.00 December $8.00 April $4.00 September $11.00 January $7.00 May $3.00 October $10.00 February $6.00 June $14.00* November $9.00 March $5.00 July $13.00* Mail chapter application to : Central Texas Chapter C/O Hazel Holland 6224 Los Robles College Station, Texas New Membership Renewal Name Spouse Mailing Address City State Zip Phone NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP STUDEBAKER DRIVERS CLUB National Officers President - Carl Thomason Vice Pres. - Mimi Halgren Secretary - Nita Ketchum Treasurer - Jane Stinson SDC welcomes anyone with an interest in Studebaker history and Studebaker produced vehicles. Membership is $31.00 per year in the U. S. and includes a subscription to the excellent national magazine Turning Wheels. All chapter members must join the national club. Send renewals, new memberships and changes of address to: Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc. P. O. Box 1715 Maple Grove, MN Please List your Studebakers below: Year Model Body Type Serial #

Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc

Volume 30, Issue 1 July/August 2014 Central Texas Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc NEXT MEETING 36TH ANNUAL PICNIC AT THE HOLLANDS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2014 Inside this issue: President s Corner