Potomac Chapter The Commander Drivers Club Volume 48 Issue 6 June 2016 Hershey Day Trip

May 14th, a beautiful spring morning, found Ruth and Darrell Carr, Nadine and Mike Farris, Ron and Don Hoff, Bob and Donna Johnstone, Karen and Paul Johnson, Shirley and Terry McDaniel, and Pat and Larry Merhaut gathered at the Burger King at Thurmont, Maryland. The caravan lined up and pulled out exactly at 9:15 as sched- uled heading north on US 15, a friendly and scenic drive. After crossing in to Pennsylvania, at York Springs the - avan headed off toward Carlisle following Route 94. Those who had not been on that route were very im- pressed by the beauty of the Adams County orchard lands, all in all a very scenic route. At Carlisle the caravan joined Interstate 81 and headed east. Af- ter a few wild lane changes enroute in the Harrisburg vicinity caravaners exited 81 north of Hershey and headed down Route 39 toward Hershey. With a number of traffic lights and heavy traffic be- tween 81 and Hershey some intrepid travelers got widely separated, but not to worry. Ruth Carr’s excellent directions got all to the first stop, Hershey Gardens with no problems. Hershey Gardens is beautifully located on a hill top overlooking the town and Hershey Park. All enjoyed the beauty of the Gardens with wide, very accessible paths and very unusual plants, imagi- native sculptures and more. All in all Hershey Gardens is a very worthwhile destination in itself. Keeping right on the carefully timed schedule, the caravan left for lunch at a Panera Bread restaurant nearby. Again the heavy traffic broke up the group, but also again, the great directions got everyone to the restaurant. As the group gathered to depart Panera, a wild wind and rain suddenly came up making everyone run to the . Leaving Panera wasn’t a problem though and the caravan moved on to the final stop, the AACA Museum.

President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Activities Director Karl Veit Steve Geiger Mike Farris Murray Welsh Terry & Shirley McDaniel 3703 7th Street South 2010 Kings Forest Trail 4313 Landgreen Street 24121 Ridge Road 580 Welltown School Road Arlington, VA 22204 Mount Airy, MD 21771 Rockville, MD 20853 Germantown, MD 20876 Martinsburg, WV 25403 703-979-4763 301-829-5155 301-460-4341 301-253-3723 304-263-3915 (hm) [email protected] [email protected] david.farris @verizon.net [email protected] 304-671-6704 (cell) [email protected] Membership Historian Web Master Editor Nadine & Mike Farris Ed Lemanski Bob Johnstone Lynda Welsh 4313 Landgreen Street 7875 Red Jacket Way 12161 Holly Knoll Circle 24121 Ridge Road Rockville, MD 20853 Jessup, MD 20794 Great Falls, VA 22066 Germantown, MD 20876 301-460-4341 301-776-9893 703-450-0754 301-253-3723 ndfarris [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Steering Column

Summer is upon us, with the wonderful food, drive-ins, and car meets! And by the time you are reading this we probably have kicked off summer and ended spring with our chapter spring pic- nic at Hedgesville Presbyterian Church. Bring a friend (a potential new member?) and lots of that great home-made food. Last Saturday was fantastic weather and the Orphan Car Tour. Our chapter was well represented with four (with Frank Philippe, Steve Walters, Hal and Kathy Herman, and Mary, Forrest, and Karl Veit) plus a Golden Hawk from the Keystone Chapter present. We had time to gawk at a nice group of about 30 orphans before starting the drive. The tour included stops at two private homes with collections. The first stop included several garages containing many show rods and even an abused Avanti. The second stop included several post-war , other cars, and two fire engines. Our route included two historical colonial sites: an original school house and a reconstructed colonial port town near Annapolis (Londontowne). Since our family was not going to the conclusion dinner, we did not attempt to answer the mys- tery clues and were able to enjoy the drive down some beautiful country roads.

MEMBERSHIP CORNER June New Member Ken Davidson B'day 8-16 10026 Crystal Fall Dr. Hagerstown, MD. 21740 1960 Hawk 2 DSR. Karl Veit 6/7 301-791-525 Nadine Ferris 6/13 SDC# A01871D Lynda Welsh 6/14 Pete Rutledge 6/19 Jim & Molly Long Joanne Bullock 6/22 11210 Beach Mill Rd. B'days Jim 3-27 Molly(?) Karen Johnson 6/28 Great Falls , VA. 22066 703-798-6323 e-mail: [email protected] SDC# A018758L 1959 Studebaker Scotsman Pick UP

The Commander is the monthly publication of the Potomac Chapter, Studebaker Drivers Club. Subscription is by membership to the Potomac Chapter at $15.00 yearly. Canada/Mexico $20.00, all other countries $25.00. Direct all membership correspondence to the Membership Director. Direct all correspondence relating to The Commander to the Editor, who retains the right to edit or modify any contribution. Deadline date is the 15th of the month for the following month’s issue. The Commander is also an internet publication. The Potomac Chapter is an officially chartered chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc.; its by-laws were approved, and charter granted by SDC in June 1967. Membership is recruited from the States of Maryland, West Virginia, Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. And those from other areas wishing to join the chapter are welcome. Potomac Chapter, SDC Activities 2016 Event Date Contact

Hedgesville, WV June 12 Terry McDaniel Sully Plantation Chantilly, VA June 19 non SDC 52st SCD International Meet Warwick, RI June 26-July2 Terry McDanial Rose Hill Manor (car show) Frederick, MD August 14 (not confirmed) non-SDC *International Drive Your Studebaker Day Sept. 10 Terry McDaniel Fall Picnic Johnson, Martinsburg, WV Aug. 28 Paul & Karen Johnson Fall Tour Luray, VA Sept. 16-18 Murray Welsh Hershey Fall Meet Hershey, PA Oct. 5-8 AACA Bradfield Show Bridgewater, VA Oct. 9 Terry McDaniel Antique and Classic Car Show Rockville, MD (PC is one sponsor) Oct 15 Ron Salen & Bill Morgan Reedsville Swap Meet Reedsville, PA Oct. 28-29 Max Corkins Chapter Planning Meeting tbd Terry McDaniel Chapter Holiday Party Charles Town, WV Dec 18 Terry McDaniel

**Firm date-will always be the second Saturday in September

Facts for June

The birthstones for June are the pearl, alexandrite, and moonstone. The zodiac signs for June are Gemini (May 21 - June 20) and Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

The birth flower for June is the rose. June 14-Flag Day Historian TECH TIP By Ed Lemanski by Ed Lemanski

Frigate A.R.A. "Libertad" - Argentine Na- RADIATOR STRAIGHTENING TOOL - FIN COMB vy Training Ship OR FIN BRUSH Sail: 27 Frigate type sails in 3 masts, with a total surface of 2,652 square meters. Two As Studebakers age and get their engine worked on, diesel engines of 1,200 HP each, displace- the radiator fins may take a hit and get dinged. It doesn't affect the radiators performance much but it does look ment 3,720 ton, length 91.75 meters. unsightly. Now a days, most automotive supply stores and even the big box stores carry what they call radiator Tall Ships Visit Baltimore Harbor as part brushes or radiator combs. These can be used on both of Maritime Day during "A City Cele- radiators and A/C units. brates" One plastic tool I looked at while shopping in Harbor Freight was a set for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ... spacing per inch. July 7-13, 1990 Once you measure the radiator to be straightened you will know which part of the tool to safely use. Enclosed is a picture of a similar tool which is sold at WalMart in their automotive department. How well they work de- pends on your skill and patience. Hint: practice in a hard to notice location.

Fin Brush sold at WalMart and other stores.

Midshipmen: Dario Jose, Julian Silva, Victor Acasta

Stude Spotter- The Netherlands - June 3, 2016

http://blog.hemmings.com/

index.php/2016/05/27/the-netherlands-1960s/? Sitting in our 57 Golden Hawk, yes, they rode in it too. refer=news

My daughter Janet visited the Inner Har- bor of Baltimore when the tall ships were present in July of 1990. The midshipmen were encouraged to meet the Americans of the Baltimore area. So, with their captain's permission, Janet invited these three to dinner at our home in Columbia.

They all knew what a Studebaker was. They have lots of them in Argentina. Stude Spotter

The attached scene ran in "" (Thursdays, Fox) on 5 May (search for season 11, episode 14, about 22 minutes in). Agents Aubrey and Booth are leaving an auto shop, and what do we find in

On the 16 May episode of "Gotham" (Fox Tuesdays) what should wander onto the screen but this striking 1963 Avanti, carrying a young Bruce Wayne to a site of criminal activity. If anyone cares to watch the whole thing, go to the Fox/Gotham site and punch up Season 2 Episode 21; this is about 22 minutes in.

We're sure not everyone watches this thing - it's very dark - but they have an interesting mix of time in here - older technologies like cars and phones with newer stuff occasionally sneaking in because they aren't paying close-enough attention. The photo is dark because the WHOLE SERIES is dark - we've never seen a sunny day in two seasons' worth of episodes.

The purpose of this message is to entice more of our members to join in some Studebaker pride this summer in West Virginia. Karen and Paul, Anne and Bob, Pat and Larry, and Irene and I are planning on participat- ing in the Shepherdstown July 4th parade. Paul wrote an article about the parade that described the 2015 fun (see http://www.studebaker-info.org/PSDC/nl15/psdcnl0715/psdcnl0715.pdf). Here's a link for the parade registration (http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/Iea8C1bvcznf3J0N9P). To learn more about this year's parade please see: Shepherdstown Rotary Club - July 4th Community Parade and Picnic

These are YouTube videos of the Dover DE SDC Meet in 2014, view each separately.

https://youtu.be/fJna0PR9ssA https://youtu.be/n0bw4DbYqJk https://youtu.be/_dZc_n9QFr4

1932 , 1936 Brough Superior 8 take top honors at

Greenwich Concours d’Elegance

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2016/06/09/1932- studebaker-president-1936-brough-superior-8-take-top-honors-at- greenwich-concours-delegance/?refer=news HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS - 21 May 2016

Carspotting visits Kalispell, Montana, sometime in the 1950s. What Studebakers on Main Street can you identify? http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2016/05/19/kalispell -montana-1950s/

HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS - Four-Links – Midnight Modern, Oz Jeeps, W8 K70, VIN issues

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2016/05/21/four-links- midnight-modern-oz-jeeps-w8-k70-vin-issues/?refer=news

Alan Young

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Young He made an appearance at a Studebaker meeting in California, where he autographed copies of his book "Mister Ed and Me." Really nice guy. Studebaker's sponsorship did not last the whole show; it went over to Ford in 1965, after the South Bend closure. Bamboo Harvester, the horse who played Ed, died in 1968.

Tool Tip – T-Hook for Removing/Installing Studebaker Hood Springs By Pete Rutledge Studebaker hood springs, the big ones that attach to the hood hinges and are anchored in the wheel wells, can be difficult and even scary when it comes to removing or installing them. Yesterday I used a tool from my tool chest that made these jobs comparatively safe and easy. I just had to share this infor- mation. The tool is a T-handled hook from Harbor Freight that sells for $5.99 (even less with a coupon). It’s their item #95757 and they call it a “Headlight and Brake Spring Hook.“ It works like it was made for Studebaker hood springs. To remove a hood spring, just hook the tool over the end loop of the spring (upper or lower end), pull the T-handle to stretch the spring and disengage it from its anchor point, let the spring relax, and disengage the T-hook. To in- stall one, place one end of the hood spring over one of its anchor points, get the other end near its other anchor point, engage the T-hook and pull to stretch the spring and put its end loop over the final anchor point, and finally remove the- T hook. A “piece of cake.” The tool also good for headlight, brake, and other springs that need to be stretched. UPDATE #5: 1954 Regal Starlight Coupe Project By Pete Rutledge, Woodbridge, VA You may remember in the last installment that I took a step backward to prepare the car for the installation of a 4-speed transmission that I picked up at York earli- er this year. Well, it’s been a busy month or two and now we’ve taken a few ma- jor steps forward. The 4-speed transmission and “new” rear axle are installed, along with frame rust and leaf spring repair, but not without quite a bit of effort. First of all, I cleaned, painted, and installed new inner grease seals, two wheel bearing cups, and one wheel bearing in the 3.54:1 Dana 44 rear axle that I had traded with the fellow from WV who bought my old 3-speed T86, bell hous- ing, driveshaft, and miscellaneous parts to convert his ’54 Starliner from au- tomatic to manual transmission. While the rear axle was out of the car, I re- paired the left frame rail bottom plate in the area with the frame arches over the rear axle. I also replaced one leaf in the left leaf spring. Then I installed the “new” rear axle. Looks great and the gear ratio will be much more ap- propriate for the 4-speed than the 4.27:1 rear intended for the overdrive trans- mission that had been in the car since new. Installation of the 4-speed required the use of a “late model” Studebaker bell housing with the Ford bolt pattern to match the mounting holes on the late ’62- ’64 Studebaker Borg-Warner T10 4-speed transmission. I knew that might mean I would have to realign the bell housing with the engine. So I mounted the bell housing along with my homemade alignment fixture (which bolts to the crankshaft flange) and a dial indicator. After removing all 8 spark plugs, I manually rotated the engine 90o at a time and measured the misalignment. The tolerance is a maximum runout of 0.004”. I found the actual runout to be be- tween 0.009 and 0.018”—two to four times too much. While I was able to measure the misalignment with the engine in the car, I would not be able to fix it with the engine in the car (I was hoping the misalignment would be within tolerance, but it wasn’t). So one Monday in early May, I pulled the engine back out of the car (recall that I had only just installed the rebuilt ’62 Stude 289 engine late last year). The next day I aligned the bell housing and drilled and reamed the dowel holes for use of ½” dowels (made for Ford products). These dowels were bigger than normally used on Studebak- ers, but there was plenty of metal to accommodate larger dowels in the original locations of the dowels, and the use of readily available ½” dowels would mean the bell housing and block would never need to be redrilled for bell housing dowels in the future because off-set dowels are available in this size in the hot rod aftermarket. Before buttoning up the bell housing for the last time, I in- stalled the clutch disk and pressure plate using a NAPA universal clutch alignment tool. Later the same day I reinstalled the engine in the car, complete with bell housing and clutch assembly. Next came the installation of the 4-speed transmission itself. Before doing that I carefully measured the location of the shifter on the transmission and transferred those measurements to the underside of the car’s transmission hump, using a silver Sharpie to mark where I would need to cut the floor for the shift lever. I cut the new hole but before installing the transmission I welded in new steel to patch the old hole in the floor where I had mounted the Hurst -3 speed shifter. Then I was ready for the transmission installation. I mounted the transmission (it’s pretty heavy) on the transmission jack, which resulted in a pretty tall “stack.” Fortunately I had the car high enough on the jack stands that I was able to slip the transmission and jack assembly in behind the front wheel to the middle of the car and then to the rear into the transmission location. I wasn’t able to jack the trans- mission until I disconnected and moved out of the way the left exhaust pipe. I installed the throwout bearing inside the bell housing and proceeded to jack, align, and insert the transmission input shaft into the bell housing, through the throwout bearing, through the clutch disk, and hopefully into the bushing in the rear of the crankshaft. Well, not so fast. Despite careful alignment of the transmission on the jack with the bell housing, I could only get the transmission mated to within one inch of the bell housing. It wouldn’t go any further. I knew that the splines on the transmission shaft had engaged the clutch disk, as I had previously put the transmission in 1st gear to that I could feel the engagement by trying to turn the output shaft—if it wouldn’t turn, the splines were engaged. Remembering back to previous transmission installations, it’s often the case that the final one inch or less of the mating required pushing the clutch pedal, which frees the clutch disk and any slight misalignment it is causing (even though it was installed with an alignment tool), allowing the nose of the transmission in- put shaft to enter the pilot bushing. But I didn’t have a clutch linkage yet! I still need to locate the right parts. So I couldn’t push the clutch pedal. As a work- around, I put a lever in the retaining hole on the clutch actuating shaft, turned the shaft with the lever to release the clutch disk, and propped the lever in position with a wooden 2x2 between the lever and the floor. I was immediately able to push the transmission in all but the final ¼”. I put the four transmission mount- ing bolts in place and used them to pull the transmission home the final ¼”. The transmission was in. Very satisfying. I test-installed the Studebaker 4-speed shifter and found that the stick interfered with the seat such that it could not shift into 2nd or 4th gear. I removed the shifter, mounted it in a vice, heated the shift lever near the bottom with a propane torch and, using a “cheater pipe” slipped over the lever, bent the shift lever about 4” measured at the end where the shift ball mounts. Of course, I bent it in the wrong direction the first time, so had to reheat it and bend it the other way the second time. I reinstalled the shifter in the car and all 4 gears were readily accessible with adequate clearance to the seat. With the new transmission and shifter in place, I was able to reinstall the left ex- haust pipe and the “bat wing” cross-member. Next I go back to finishing rust repairs on both doors (the passenger door is almost done) and finding the necessary -4 speed clutch linkage parts. Then finish the up- holstery. Then the paint. Hey, how about rebuilding the front suspension? Al- ways plenty to keep me getting up (early) every morning. In Memory of Estelle Salen

My Dear friend Estelle, I was so shocked to hear of your death. I feel so lucky to have had you as a friend and I shall remember and treasure the many good times we had together. I don't remember you saying anything negative about others, but if you did, you always turned it into something positive. I remember Estelle saying more than once how great our club is and how it felt like family. How she loved doing things with the club, all the trips, tours, picnics and Holiday Parties. You were a special gal with special talents and you will be missed by all. Rest in Peace my friend. Submitted by Nadine Farris

1948

6 cyl...3 speed on column, overdrive, hill holder Interior good condition Little rust on body Garage kept Family owned since new Located in Pennsylvania If interested call: George Kachinski 540-748-5818 [email protected] (Hershey continued)

It was still raining and blowing when the group arrived at the muse- um, but after checking in as a group, we were assigned a guide, a vol- unteer docent “Tiger” Tom. Tom was a Studebaker owner so all hit it off well with his “family” connection and knowledge of the museum. He assured the group that he had checked the radar and our storm was a short-lived, quick-moving one and that all would be well upon our departure. However, the storm did disrupt plans for the muse- um because of a wedding. A large party had planned a wedding to be held in the Hershey Gardens and when that was blown away they quickly reserved the AACA Museum for the wedding and re- ception. That meant there were caterers, decorators, musicians, and more scurrying through the museum trying to set up the wedding. Tiger was still able to expertly guide the Studebaker group around in the museum after holding an orientation briefing in the plush conference room. The high- light was visiting the Tucker Room where the world’s largest Tucker automobile collection is dis- played. From there the group got somewhat split up with all the carts and such flying around and only a few made it to Tiger’s last area, the nation’s largest display of busses. As usual, travelers left on their own traveling different routes home. Everyone ran in to pretty heavy rains in spots, but all arrived home with no problems. A great trip ended happily for all with many thanks to Ruth and Darrell for the carefully planned and executed trip.

2016 Potomac Chapter SDC Membership Application or Renewal

Please complete this form and mail a check for $15.00, payable to POTOMAC CHAPTER SDC. Send the completed form and check to: Nadine & Mike Farris, 4313 Landgreen Street, Rockville, MD 20853 email [email protected] Phone: 301-460-4341

Yearly dues apply from Jan 1st to Dec 31st of each year

I am a member of I am joining SDC International at this time- SDC International National Upon receipt of your national membership #, Membership # Please send information to the address to email above.

This is a NEW Application Renewal/Update

Name: Spouse:

Address: Phone:

City/ST/ZIP: Cell:

E-Mail:

Birthday: Month Day Spouse: Month Day

I own the following Studebakers (including , , EMF, Avanti)

Year Make Model Body Style

YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF NATIONAL SDC IN ORDER TO JOIN ANY SDC CHAPTER The Commander 24121 Ridge Road Germantown, MD 20876

We invented Cool!!

FIRST CLASS MAIL

POTOMAC CHAPTER SDC SPRING PICNIC WHEN: Sunday, June 12, 2016, gather at 12:30 p.m. and eat at 1:00 p.m. WHERE: Hedgesville Presbyterian Church, 202 East Main Street, Hedgesville, West Virginia, (Directions: From I-81 take Exit 16W to Route 9W, approximately 4 miles, continue to the white church on the left as you enter the Town of Hedgesville, look for ‘63 gold Lark and turn left onto Josiah Street. Someone will be waiting to direct you to the picnic area.)

OTHER: Electricity and tables located in the pavilion. Bring lawn chairs and enjoy the cool breezes and scenic view. A history of the site will be available, and the 1893 church sanctuary will be open for an indoor tour, if desired.

Restrooms will also be available. Plates, napkins and eating utensils will be provided. Bring your favorite dish(es). Potomac Chapter SDC web site: http://potomacsdc.org

June 2016