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Brooks, my two phishing emails were addressed to my pierce-arrow.org *username*, not my password.
I’d like to emphasize Dave’s suggestion to add the plastic inserts to adapt the much narrower modern stems to the larger stem holes in our wheels. Tire stores which do a good amount of truck service have them.
And Robert Brown’s suggestion of having tubes specced and made for us, possibly through Bratten’s, is intriguing. Probably the most popular size for Pierce members would be 700/750 x 17, taking into account the drop center, and 650/700 x 18 a close second.
Stu, got mine from my local Big O dealer from whom I buy tires for my pickups. Don’t recall the brand–that was 9 years ago. Suggest you buy one or two extra tubes, which will prevent you ever having to use one. 
Most drugstore “talcum” is NOW actually cornstarch rather than talc due to medical issues arising from talc, so it’s better to find “tire talc.” Check the labels on drugstore talcum powder. I still have some “real talc” talcum powder in the shop from the days before its ban for personal use. And I’ve bben using it for many decades. Likewise, be sure to inflate, then deflate, new tubes before inserting the tubes into the tire carcasses.
Bravo, Greg! I was one of the first beneficiaries of your concerted research. This occurred as a result of two flats on my 1934 at highway speeds in very hot weather (first was 106* F in the Mojave Desert, second was a day later at 88*F south of San Jose returning from the 2009 Temecula Meet) with brand new 17″ tubes and tires installed on cleaned and painted interior surfaces of the wheels.
Both tubes let go on the bonded seams which were not in contact with the dropped center. Replacing the first tube in Bakersfield, we used a 16″ truck tube primarily because no 17″ was available, but also reevaluated what the drop center means to tube size.
As soon as I returned home, I replaced all 17″ new tubes with 16″ radial light truck tubes, although the tires are correct bias-ply, and have had no further tube difficulties in 10,000 miles.
Excellent for the eccentric on fans as well, but check the width of the jaws.
Ed, I once looked at a flathead Cadillac V8 with a sputtering exhaust (should be a very smooth purr) and the owner said, “That’s the famous Cadillac whispering exhaust.” I replied, “It’s whispering ‘I badly need a valve job.'”
Perhaps you mean Five Points? I had a set of Delco Lovejoys done for my 1934 and they have held up well. A bit pricey, yes, but they honored my request for a quick turnaround.
Bill, a California member had a similar problem and found that there was a piece of crud (technical term) in the valley (non-technical term) between two teeth. Flushing the transmission while rotating the gears solved the problem. The offending foreign matter may have been a fragment of a previous top cover gasket.
Robert, thank you for that link. That was indeed a basic intro to differentials. There are a number of other Jam Handy [production company] videos on You-Tube but I hadn’t seen that one.
I’ve bought GL-4 gear oil at NAPA (one day delay for a 5-gallon pail), and I understand O’Reilly’s has their house brand GL-4 on the shelves. Either will do, just be sure it’s GL-4.
Robert, your 1929 has a “hypoid” differential and thus you should use GL-4. Amateur recognition factors (other than the 1933 worm drive): On a “hypoid” differential, the pinion enters at the bottom of the “pumpkin”; on non-hypoid, the pinion enters midway-high on the pumpkin.
Let me somewhat disagree with Greg’s post above. Pierce-Arrow automobile rear axles 1929 forward (except those 1933s still equipped with worm drive) ARE hypoid and require Extreme Pressure (EP) gear oil. EP gear oils on today’s market have some sulfur which can be harmful to yellow metals. The most benign EP on the market today is GL-4. GL-5 is primarily for limited-slip and has more sulfur, so avoid it.
I use Gl-1 (straight mineral oil) in *synchromesh* (1932 forward) transmissions, free wheeling units, and overdrives.
Non-synchro gearboxes and differentials through 1928 originally used what is called 600W or steam cylinder oil, which comes out to SAE 180-210. EP additives are NOT required for these applications. Dave White and I have been trying to find modern gear oils without sulfur which exceed the capabilities and limitations of 600-W, which thickens over time and turns almost tar-like. Complicating this search is that viscosity of industrial gear oils is now rated in ISO numbers rather than SAE, with considerably different numbers. As yet, we haven’t found sulfur-free oil readily available other than in 55-gallon drums.
I don’t know of any transmission failures from using GL-4, but straight mineral oil GL-1 is certainly preferred. And of all things, my 1948 Jeepster’s owner’s manual is explicit than the trans and OD get only “straight mineral oil” whereas the differential must have “hypod” (EP) oil.
I had a bad experience with GL-6 synthetic in a 1930s hypoid rear axle despite the advice of a PhD chemist at a gear oil company, so avoid that as well.
Stu, glad it’s working for you, and thanks for sharing that method of hiding the K&N.
Bob, double congratulations! You have spent many years researching and getting every last detail right, and it’s time you were rewarded for your spectacular efforts!
This issue is superb! Congratulations to Roger Sherman and to the contributing photographers and writers. Bob K, I hope you’re bringing your magnificent 1937 to Rohnert Park next month!
The Onan part number for service in 1929-31 Pierces (possibly more) is 0312-0256 as identified by Greg Loftness (who once worked for Onan) in an old Service Bulletin. I believe these have the correct microfarad capacitance.
Again for the 668-E distributor:
From a 1932 AEA catalog:
* contact arm Delco 813238 (2 each)
* contact point, upper Delco 825452
* contact point, lower Delco 820558
From a 1938 Standard Motor Products catalog:
Sets: 1 ea DR1823X plus 1 ea DR1929X
Individual components: 2 ea DR118 + 1 ea DR123RH + 1ea DR129LH
Studebaker distributor cap number is Delco 825430, BUT your plug wires will have to be longer because the Stude cap has conventional towers rather than the OEM stick-10-holes-in-your-thumb lay-in-wires 3-piece cap.
I’ve used NORS points and modified Echlin/NAPA points, with good results from both. NORS points have fiber rubbing blocks (vs nylon for modern points) which wear more quickly–especially initially, so use an initial point setting of 0.022 or 0.021, which will quickly drop to .020 or .019 as the rubbing block wears to shape. I set the nylon rubbing block points at 0.020. When you Dremel off the vertical backing from modern points, it’s very difficult to get good point alignment on that set.
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
It’s important with either type to pop the distributor cap periodically (say every 3,000 miles) and use a Q-tip to add some ignition lube to the cam for the purpose of extending the life of the rubbing blocks.
Further to Greg;s post immediately above: The OEM metal cage was secured by acorn nuts, not wing nuts, which could be made more effective by using lock washers, or even star washers. under the acorn nuts. But because the cage is replaced by the rubber perimeter of the K&N filter, applying enough pressure to secure lock washers would crush the rubber perimeter of the K&N filter.
Accordingly, to get the benefit of the improved filtration of K&N over factory oiled copper mesh, it’s necessary to secure the filter element in place by the method Greg described.
1914-1920 brake linings specs attached (I hope). I forget where I got this….
I’ll bet we are behind Jim Sandoro’s Buffalo Museum of Transportation in trying to get the plaque, but it might be worthwhile to identify and contact the developer.
Make that 15 linear INCHES of wrap material.
K&N part number E-3380 is perfect for Pierce-Arrow 8s 1933-38. Remove the cage with the brass mesh, put it in the K&N box and on your shelf. This p/n MAY wok on Pierce 12s as well, check your dimensions.
My 1930 (updraft) came to me with a filter consisting of outer can with a cylinder of hardware cloth holding in fine-mesh brass screen–which keeps out boulders and large insects. I added K&N filter wrap material inside the brass screen (about 15′ linear if I recall) but also an inner cylinder of hardware cloth to keep the carburetor from sucking the filter wrap inwards. All you see is the outer hardware cloth (painted flat black) and the natural-color brass screen, about two layers. Note that the filter WRAP must have K&N oil added; the oil does not come with the filter wrap product.
