F-D Zernia

I anticipate a heat issue from the engine tunnel. I’m not to that point yet but have been looking at products used in stock car racing. Might I suggest you check with the racing community in your neck of the woods. They have the same problems with heat. I have seen reflective blankets and thin flexible insulation. We intend to insulate the inside of the tunnel so it cannot be seen by the casual observer. One thing I already did was wrap header tape on the exhaust header pipe to help on that side, but that will not save your leg. Another thing the racers do is wear heat insulated pants or suits. Our race season goes through the summer and it gets hot in those cars. If you look at the cars built lately the drivers compartment looks very similar to the Weasel’s. Good luck Fred

As Patrick stated timing is not the most convenient with the flywheel marks. I eventually did something different. I located the mark and painted lines with a paint stick. That helped some. The best was to index the mark centered on the pointer being sure it is top dead center. I used the camera on my phone for a better view. I only took the picture to verify location. Otherwise just look on the screen rather than use a mirror. Then with a marker I put a line on the pulley and another on the timing cover so they form a straight line. Now play with timing. No more bending over and looking in that difficult to see mark on the flywheel. Now I don’t mind adjusting timing. Fredas you can see from the picture I first marked with a V. Later I replaced it with a line. It shows up better.

Hi Darryl, I also had a sound near the front of the engine. My front fan pulley was not tight enough. After tightening the adjustable ring on the water pump pulley and tightening the set screw better the sound went away. The set screw was not tight enough and it moved in the grove and created a chatter. After 10 minutes of initial run we checked compression. It was 60 psi on all six cylinders. I think when the rings seat it may improve. I also had a time the starter solenoid would click and chatter. I moved the ground wire on the solenoid from the voltage regulator post to a chassis ground and it improved. One of the small wires on the solenoid is the trigger and the other is a ground. As far as priming the oil system and pump. I pumped oil into the line for the oil pressure gauge. While the oil was moving we turned the engine very slowly about two revolutions by hand. That seemed to do the trick. Double check the distributor rotation and plug firing order. My manual showed the distributor rotation direction on car engine. On the weasel with the 90 degree distributor adapter the rotation is reversed. Fred

Welcome on board. Looks like you have a good project. Fred

I was able to find an aluminum timing gear from StudebakerParts.com and just checked the website. It is still available. Russ is very knowledgeable and willing to talk. He has a little Weasel knowledge too.

I looked in the parts manual ORD 9 SNL G-179 page 41. Part A307776 Elbow, flair……………….0.063 restriction….. the restriction is on the male thread side. To find out if this is the problem you may replace the elbow with a plug and run the engine. My engine had no oil filter when purchased. I took the filter off another engine and then noticed the difference in parts. Some Studebaker car owners don’t use a filter. They change oil very often and feel it isn’t needed. And since some of these cars were delivered without a filter they feel it is authentic if left off.

When we primed the oil system the oil entered through a tee fitting in the oil pressure line right under the gauge. While pushing the oil in I slowly turned the crankshaft. While priming, oil pressure showed on the gauge. The brass fitting in the oil gallery to the oil filter is not full diameter. There is a restriction. The oil filter fitting is full size. The proper size part is listed in the parts book. I paid close attention to which fitting went where. If you did not have the restrictive fitting with the engine I learned it can be difficult to find the right one. It may be possible the oil is flowing through the filter too fast. Next I learned from speaking to members of the Studebaker club that a restrictor is required before the oil pressure gauge. My gauge happened to have the proper restriction built into it but I added a restriction fitting regardless after being told extra will not hurt. I hope this helps and possibly some one else has more information.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!! thanks for posting the ideas on how to make the weasels work Fred

This is the product I used along with the recommended primer, to fix the coolant leaks on the head bolts and timing cover. I did replace the head gasket as well. The manual calls for white lead which is not a readily available product any more. The machine shop that rebuilt the engine recommends the Permatex. After this change the leaks seem to be under control. I hope this can help someone else so a head gasket or timing cover will be sealed on the first try. Fred

these are the belts my vendor found for me. There were belts on my engine and a spare set tucked away. The Mitsubushi belts were a perfect match. It is tight getting the generator belt on but no different than the original. Fred

Sorry for the double videos. I didn’t know how to edit it out. this works well. I used a paint stick to highlight the timing marks. Then on the front pulley made two marks that correspond with the flywheel marks. I use the pulley marks most for timing and only verify the setting with the original.

I fixed leaks and had the starter freshened. There was a water leak on a head bolt and timing cover bolt. Of coarse plenty had to be removed to fix them. Removed the head and re did everything I used a Permatex liquid paste high temp Teflon product to fix water leaks. One valve cover had a small dent and could not seal so there was an oil leak too. That I straightened. I’m still learning about the carburetor adjustments. We bought a new universal carburetor that I think will be good for starting out. IMG_3274.mov IMG_3274.mov IMG_3276.mov All is good now. In the next few weeks we should be installing after I get a little more wiring figured out. For a radiator I bought a new one that is made for an International farm tractor. My original is not good enough to use and pricey to fix proper. The tractor radiator is very close in dimension and mounting brackets could be welded to the sides. I expect this one to be less trouble for now. Fred

Please understand my set up has not been tested yet as I’m still working on the engine. When I picked up my LAR tracks the advice repeated was bogie wheel alignment. There was no mention of how many shims to use only the end result. I imagine like an automobile alignment the shims used are not uniform from vehicle to vehicle. Not all frames are perfect only close. 1. Mike’s main instruction was to set the Weasel on the ground before track installation. I set mine on boards. 2. Use a 1” square bar to slide between the bogies where the track guide will be. This bar should be long enough to engage all bogies and move freely from bow to stern. At first it did not fit at all. I did both sides a little different but the alignment was the same. I must warn in advance you will probably be on you knees for a long time so be prepared for that. I found 2 bogie sets that were not straight to begin with. Check each set of bogie with a good straight edge and be sure the steel rims all touch the straight edge on 4 points when checking across both bogie wheels. If you find one just a little off it didn’t seem to matter. I put Jack stands under the hull but not to support the weight when resting on the bogie’s. Then used a plumb bob on the inside of the slot of the drive sprocket and put a long screw in the board to use later. Then did the same with the return wheel. I use this as a straight line from front to back. Now lift all the bogies and support them with blocks like the manual explains for track work. The hull now is resting on the jack stands. Place the steel bar on the board and use 2 more screws to keep the bar on the center line of the drive and return wheels. One at a time lower the bogie set and adjust it to fit over the 1” bar. It worked best to fit the front and rear bogeys first. This helped to keep the bar on center. Every time a bogie set is lowered have the mounting plate with the shims loose. The assembly will rock from left to right and then find the sweet spot. Shim according. Keep doing this until all the bogies are resting on the ground supporting the weight and the bar moves freely. Sometimes to get alignment the mounting pivot bolt holding the assembly needed to be removed and inserted catching the thread differently to move the entire thing about 1/8” in one jump. I did check when finished and another steel bar pressed against all the bogie steel rims touched all of the rim surfaces . This will be my quick check when the track is on. Or if I do a field repair. As I stated my Weasel is not moving under power yet. When that day comes I will post. What I have learned the bogies can be aligned with each other. It takes a lot of patience and time. Another observation, it didn’t change with or without engine weight. I aligned without engine then placed 500 pounds of bag water softener salt in the engine bay. The suspension squatted and the bar still moved freely. I hope some of this helps Fred

Looks like good fun. That is a great outing. Thanks for sharing. Fred

Another thing we did was purchase a new drain plug for the oil pan. This I found in stock at a vendor called; Studebaker Intl. in Indiana. I was able to drill it on center and use hot melt glue to secure the magnet in the hole. Originally I tried to drill the magnet but it was extremely hard and eventually split in two pieces. That is when I decided to glue them in the drilled hole. Now it is similar to the drain plug on the final drive and transmission. It is a powerful magnet and difficult to keep on center when installing. It tried to stick to the sides of the drain hole. I think it might be difficult to line it up through the access hole in the bottom of the hull during maintenance. It may be less work to change oil through the fill pipe with a suction device. Visible in one picture the magnet is coated with oil that includes small steel particles from the original break in. I expect this to be from the tappets and cylinder walls. No big pieces were found as of yet. Fred