Early Automobiles

John Brunner · May 3, 2022

Thomas Stillhere said: ↑

I like the old Studebaker Cars and Trucks. Everything was overbuilt, for example toggle switches instead of push buttons. One model car had what was named a "Climatizer", a smaller radiator mounted under the front seat. The engine air cleaner systems looked like big truck air cleaner or even some early aircraft. The cars were unique and you didn't know which end you were looking at if you weren't familiar with the cars. My brother had an early President and it ran when he bought it in San Diego, engine went bad and he had it rebuilt and it sat in my Mothers garage for 10 years before he finally sold the car and engine. He had to buy one connecting rod new and it cost 75 dollars, now that was in the early 70s. I've seen similar high prices for modern car parts, like an Opel GT oil pressure switch after they were discontinued, it was 75 dollars from a San Francisco warehouse. When the car was new it would have been about 10 or 11 bucks. That was the 1.9 cubic inch engine, I think my memory is correct on the displacement. I hated working on the GT models, it was one of the first models in the USA that required the engine come down out of the car. No dealer was prepared to do that and had no equipment, it was up to the guy working on the car to devise a way to drop the engine without killing himself. In the past I have just laid the short block on it's side into the engine compartment and lifted it into place by hand, then installed the cylinder head, it was less work but still a pain due to restricted space.
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We had a couple of Studebakers. I believe we had a Lark, I'm not sure what the other one was...they had interesting names, like the President and the Dictator. I've known a couple of Avanti owners as well.

My father had a penchant for the off-beat cars (Simca, Vauxhaul, Nash Metropolitan.)

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Early Automobiles

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