Studebaker Engine Rebuilding Tips pamphlet?

[Photoguy]

Saw this image on a craigslist ad lumped in with other images of a car for sale and was curious if anyone here may have more information on it and if there are any more of these books/pamphlets to be found.



Thanks,
Brett

[Skip Lackie]

It looks like one of Dick Datson's guides. Others included How to Drive a Studebaker Forever, and a number devoted to high performance engine mods. There were about 20 of them, some very good. I think I have a complete set of them around here somewhere.

[jrlemke]

Might be something for the SDC or Studebaker International to reprint? -Jim

[JoeHall]

I have a couple of DD's books too. But have not heard much from him since he publicly admonished another SDC member who had installed a Mopar motor in his GT, and called it "MoHawk". That was in 1992, shortly after that member had written an excellent article telling how he had accomplished the mod. That guy is still an SDC member, and still comes to IMs, but DD has apparently faded away.

Funny he was so critical of the MoHawk, after he had written books on how to modify Studes in just about every way imaginable.

[studegary]

Might be something for the SDC or Studebaker International to reprint? -Jim

I doubt that they could get permission from the author. I believe that it has been tried.

[Bob Andrews]

I have a huge pile of DD's writings- all typewritten on an old-time typewriter. He had some good ideas. I started reading through but lost interest when I saw him advocating fixing rusted metal with fiberglas. They're here somewhere.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Too funny.
DD just copied everyone else's ideas anyways....
But, because he photocopied and compiled the info, he is credited for the creation of that info...Which he did very little of.
I credit him for compiling the info and making a few bucks off of it, which is great.
Buy I won't anoint the man, because he is not the nicest person in the hobby.
That's all I will say.
I don't even know if he is still on the planet.
Atlantis was calling him, you know........

I doubt that they could get permission from the author. I believe that it has been tried.

[StudeNorm]

I corresponded with DD about 40 years ago and found him to be very charitable but I never met him. I did purchase his full collection of tips and techniques but don't recall if he tried to take credit for all the ideas or if he named other sources. I do recall noticing that the books seemed to be typed and published in a number of different fonts and styles so it did seem like they were pieced together from multiple sources.

I loaned those books out to an acquaintance and never got them back!

Too bad.... A wealth of information.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Glad you had a good experience.
Mine was quite different.

I corresponded with DD about 40 years ago and found him to be very charitable but I never met him. I did purchase his full collection of tips and techniques but don't recall if he tried to take credit for all the ideas or if he named other sources. I do recall noticing that the books seemed to be typed and published in a number of different fonts and styles so it did seem like they were pieced together from multiple sources.

I loaned those books out to an acquaintance and never got them back!

Too bad.... A wealth of information.

[LeoH]

MoHawk, that's actually rather clever.

[StudeNorm]

Ted Harbit... I do recall reading all about the Chicken Hawk in one of DD's books. I think they were called "Total Performance". An interesting read and a lot of info regarding how Ted developed his car.

I am sorry to hear that anyone should have a bad experience while pursuing our hobby. Unfortunately it has happened to me, too. Raw deal. I decided long ago not to let things like that jade my outlook too much. I would hope that we could all treat each other with respect and courtesy but people being what we are, that won't happen (though I do certainly try).

I for one would like to get my hands on another set of those books just to see if they do contain the knowledge my slowly fading memory attributes to them.

I have spent the last 20 years or so without really being hands-on with my Studebakers, but that is changing. A couple of years ago I sold off my old collection of project cars and most of my parts. I was actually Studebaker free for the first time in 40 years, but that didn't last... In August of 2013 I bought a '63 R2 Avanti and last month a '63 V8 Lark Regal.

Last week I installed Turner disk brakes and rebuilt the front steering/suspension on the Lark... Didn't know I still had it in me! Next is a 5-speed for the Avanti, or maybe not.

Now all I have to do is get out of the Arctic once again. Stuck in a place called Kugaaruk this time.

Great forum!

[Jessie J.]

I have over 1200 pages of Dick Datson published Studebaker oriented information, numbered and filed in order in 6 loose leaf binders. Plus a small collection of his latter produced turbo-charging booklets.
Some good information, some now outdated to the point of no longer being practical, and of course some ideas that simply did not pan out or turned out to be inadvisable. But then, no one is perfect.
It is a fact that towards the end, Dick in order to provide the monthly issues promised in his subscription solicitations, often employed quite a bit of Editorial and 'Atlantis adventure 'filler material'.
After all there really are limits on how much any individual can reasonably monthly or bi-monthly present that is both original and exclusively devoted to modifications and maintenance of Studebaker's, and by the mid-90s precious little new was happening in Studedom, certainly not enough forthcoming new information, nor project progress reports sufficient to fill up half a dozen issues yearly.

I can look through those issues and pin point where others contributed, and were named and credited repeatedly and extensively. I do not wonder that he would eventually move on and disassociate himself, given the constant barrage of criticism, heckling, and aspersions that were cast his way by certain persons.
Dick was one of the real pioneers in the modifying and racing of Studebaker's, and attempted to share that wealth of first hand experience and hard won Studebaker knowledge with anyone with the least interest.
I find it incredibly sad and pathetic that he was ridiculed, ostracized, and made a pariah of by the very people he tried so hard for so long to reach and teach. He deserved better. We deserved better.

[sals54]

I was an avid reader, subscriber and some time contributor to Dick Datsons books. I thought he did a great job EDITING the information for us to read and use. Remember, at that time, there was no one else compiling that sort of info for our Studes. That was back when we were using our Studes as daily drivers, so Dick kept us on the road when most parts suppliers were drying up. He helped us keep our cars running when we needed them most. Later, he helped us make our cars perform better than most other brand X cars. I used much of the turbo info when designing and building my turbo projects. They were all very responsive and a blast to drive. As an EDITOR, he simply gathered information from others around the country and Australia, while also adding his insight and decades of knowledge of Studebakers and kept a large family of Hi Performance Stude enthusiasts in touch with each other, well before the internet connected us. He may have had some quirks as well, but who of us doesn't?
Remember, that was primarily the 70s through the 90s that he was doing the books and newsletter. I love the fact that someone was going through the effort and I respect him for it.