1939 Studebaker coupe express - Page 28 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

barry12345 · #1 02-19-2014, 01:27 PM

I was siting here thinking the yellow you see may be overall tarnish from sitting. Or since the coating is so thin there may have been some interaction between the base metal and the finish metal over the years. I guess I have seen the yellow overall tint for want of a better description of it but never thought much about it.

As for cutting the reflectors down overall the last poster has experience where I do not. His methods seem very sane with much less chance of messing up the base metal in the reflectors. I have a low time 13 inch series 2000 utilathe and would use his method if the need was ever there. It just makes sense. Basically he was just scoring through slowly with no major metal upset.

I would do some research in the classic car area on reflectors. My understanding is that a lot of platers will plate reflectors but not use bright silver. You can also look up the reflectivity component or index probably of each metal. Chrome is considered an absolute no no but to our eyes looks like it would be a good reflector. That is really too bad as in general it is very durable. Prep time can be high with a lot of older reflectors.

Well back to the daily grind. Very late starting today as for whatever reason our snowplow guy came very late after a signifigant snowfall last night. Going to be another storm overnight as well it seems.

Sounds like the vehicle is moving right along and that is just great.

t walgamuth · #2 02-19-2014, 08:52 PM

I decided to send back the painless fuse box I had and ordered another with all the wires attached so all I have to do is feed them to the needed place and cut to length and attach.

I also have been studying the instrument panel and am back to using the original one. I can get the temp guage repaired and fitted with a fitting that will screw into the mb head. So I gotta figure out how to interface the other functions too.

Dan Stokes · #3 02-20-2014, 11:47 AM

I like that! I think it's cool to keep enough of the original vehicle so that you can relate to it but upgrade the rolling stock so it's safe and usable in today's world. Being able to look down at a basically stock dash reminds you that this IS a Studebaker.

Dan

t walgamuth · #4 02-20-2014, 03:36 PM

Does anybody know what the gear ratio of the stock 123 transmission drive is for the speedometer? I want to match it to my 39 Studebaker speedo head and presume I need a reduction or speed up gear to make them work together.

t walgamuth · #5 02-20-2014, 10:20 PM

Thanks Dan! I was thinking someone could do exactly that.

I think I will put my drill on the stude speedo and the mb speedo and see how different they read.

t walgamuth · #6 02-22-2014, 03:30 AM

I gave up on modifying the instruments I have and bought a new speedometer. I will have to have an aluminum panel made but it all will fit inside my stock dash trim panel. I'll have a 3 3/8" mechanical speedo with trip meter, water temp, oil pressure, fuel, and ammeter gauges. All with traditional black faces and white numbers and chrome or stainless bezels.

t walgamuth · #7 02-26-2014, 11:30 PM

Today it hit me to paint it light Khaki with a brown interior. We are ready to begin the painting process now.

suginami · #8 02-27-2014, 12:06 AM

Light khaki is a nice period color. I like it.

t walgamuth · #9 02-27-2014, 02:11 AM

Thanks!

barry12345 · #10 02-27-2014, 10:50 AM

Good choice from the perspective of body conditioning time. Black requires a lot more hours preparation as it magnifies any issues present greatly.

The amount of hours even a really good body man can spend especially getting an older vehicle ready for paint. Can be extensive.

I used to get a now deceased friend on mine to do things that were beyond my skill level. He could find things to correct that I could not even detect.

t walgamuth · #11 02-27-2014, 11:27 AM

The fenders and body of the Stude are covered with dings and dents. It has dents on top of dents, creases and a million small cracks. He has been straightening and welding as he went.

barry12345 · #12 02-28-2014, 11:23 AM

At least the base metal is thick enough to work and stay stable. I do not know how much room is available but some decent soundproofing of the cab might be a consideration.

Most old trucks had noisy cabs in comparison to what we have today. I guess that could be seen as having some appeal to some as well.

I would not want the unit to sound like a 240d on audio steroids myself if it were my truck. But again that is just me. Plus it is not my truck.

t walgamuth · #13 02-28-2014, 12:05 PM

We will insulate the cab.

t walgamuth · #14 03-12-2014, 01:58 PM

Yesterday I took the headlight reflectors from 1939 and dropped them off to be cleaned and re plated with nickel. I'll buy a kit to convert them to H4 halogen. I saw in the Speedway catalogue an amber turn signal bulb to attach to the side of the H4 to provide turn signal in the same fixture. Anybodyb have experience with these?

Today I went to look at paint chips. I looked at 67 to 71 mercedes samples for a nice color with no metallic. I like ivory but might end up with biege gray. I may couple that with tobacco brown for the dash and window trim.

ROLLGUY · #15 03-12-2014, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I looked at 67 to 71 mercedes samples for a nice color with no metallic. I like ivory but might end up with biege gray. I may couple that with tobacco brown for the dash and window trim.

That's gonna be nice!

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