1951 Commander update

[lelshaddai]

Big shout out to all the guys that have been giving me assistance. The 51 is now drivable. She idles at a smooth 650rpm , timed, no smoke on start up or running. Only the occasional oil drip. No drip out of blowby tube. fuel pressure is good, upper fuel lines are insulated to hopefully prevent vapor lock, gas tank has been lined with KBS coating and does not leak. fuel gauge and sender now work. All gauges now work, including clock. Speedometer works, albeit a little jittery, will use graphite on it later. All fluids and grease have been replaced. Brakes upgraded to newer Studebaker brakes. Transmission works perfect, shifting up and down now, no shudder. Leaks a little but I will take that for now. All electrical works as it should. Steering box repacked in corn head grease and moves smoothly. Turn signals work. All in all very happy now with the progress. Need to finish the interior and buff out the outside(need a touch up on the roof) and she (Gracie) will make a solid driver.

Jim

[fatboylust]

Very pleased to hear of your success!

[6hk71400]

Dillengence pay off. Keep up the good work. I am glad you have the Detroit Gear working and not afraid to tackle the technical issues.

Bob Miles
Different by Design
Different by Delight

[gjamesk]

Great to see the progress Jim. Good job!

[StudeRich]

As I recall you had major issues with both the Turn Signals and especially the Detroit Gear Automatic.

Glad you got 'er done, can you share what was wrong, and the fix that worked?

[lelshaddai]

I had two different turn signal units. They did not have the same internals. One is for a different model. One was correct and was donated to me but it had a bad arm and no outside case. Barry sold me a bad unit but it had a case and an arm and I spliced the two together to make one unit. Soldered the connections, painted it and it works fine now.

The DG200 was missing all the linkage hardware for the governor. Once I was able to get that and the speedo gear I was able to dial the adjustments in. It took over 10 tries to get it correct. Bringing car in, lifting it and adjusting it. The shift linkage was off and also needed to be adjusted. That also requires lifting car up and adjusting. I emptied the transmission and torque converter and refilled it according to the procedure on this site with Decron. This seems to be a good transmission. Downshifts on acceleration. Good engine braking. Transmission was leaking at the pan. I sealed that up but may need the seals for the extension case. It seems to be leaking a drop or two.

[StudeNewby]

I'm so impressed with the results, Jim. You're certainly an inspiration to me.

[RadioRoy]

It's good to hear some success stories. Congratulations!

[Kurt]

Looking good. I need to get back to work on my 51

[lelshaddai]

Some pics of the different turn signal components. Last pic is of the final product

[gordr]

Nice going, Jim!