Studebaker Car Club Of New South Wales

Background of this Vehicle, and the British Double 12 Hour Race.

What is a Studebaker Brooklands Sports Tourer you might ask?

They are Studebaker President Eights with English Sports Tourer Fabric Bodies and cycle type mudguards.

These were imported into England as standard Roadster Chassis’s complete with bonnet, scuttle folding windscreen and headlights.  The standard exhaust was replaced with a Brooklands exhaust and the hydraulic shock absorbers were set to the firm setting, the sixteen imperial gallon fuel tank was replaced with a thirty gallon fuel tank, a radiator mesh and headlight meshes were added. The fuel tank apron, front dumb iron apron running boards and valances along with the front bumper bar was discarded, an attractive four passenger fabric sports tourer body was fitted with cycle guards. The end result was a very sporty tourer with folding windscreen and Brooklands aero screens, looking not unlike a Lemans Bentley from some angles. The wheel base is 125” the straight eight side valve engine is 5.5 litres ( 337 CI) 115 HP, rear axle ratio is 3.47-1 wheels are wire fitted with 600x20” tyres.

These cars were capable in excess of 90 mph (144 kph) and averaged 71 mph (113 KPH) for 24 hours during the race, and two similar cars were privately entered in the 1929 Brooklands Double Twelve.

Who raced these anglicised Studebakers?

The drivers and mechanics names were; A. Hollidgen, J. Laird, C. Johnstone and A. Walter.

As the drivers were amateurs one presumes the cars were not members of a factory backed team.

How did they fair?

First and second place in Class B (five to eight litre class), but due to their unfavorable handicap their position in the race was ninth and nineteenth. Unfortunately, large cars already handicapped to a formula and as well had to carry weights to compensate for two extra passengers. In fact, car No. 4, driven by J. Laird came 4th outright behind a Factory Team 4 1/2 litre Bentley driven by S.C.H. Davis and Ronald Gunter and two factory team supercharged Alfas driven by G. Ramponi and B. Ivanowski.

To give you some idea of the reliability of the Studies, two were entered and two finished. Five Bentley's were entered and two finished of five Alfas three finished and of two Bugattis entered none finished.

How did they perform?

Very silently, even with Brooklands exhaust. The two cars usually together handled particularly well frequently lapping in excess of 70 mph (112 kph) problems were only minor consisting of flat tyre a throttle pin and Shock absorber bracket coming adrift and the ignition timing slipping. The white overalls of the crews were the cleanest of any at the finish of the race.

Just how many Brooklands Sports Tourers were produced?

I don’t know but they were available to the public for seven hundred and ninety five pounds, obviously at least two were produced. I have photos of two cars, maybe three, unless one had modifications made. I have tried to find more information on these unusual Britianised Studebakers but to no avail. I would appreciate if anyone can help with information on either the cars or the crews or anything else pertaining to these cars.
 

The Studebaker Brooklands Sports Tourers were raced in the 1929 Brooklands Double Twelve, a 24 hour race run during daylight hours over two consecutive days because of noise restrictions at Brooklands.

The inaugural Brooklands Motoring Festival, The Double Twelve, was a resounding success with almost 15,000 visitors attending over the weekend.

The Brooklands Double Twelve, first run May 10~12 1929, was the Junior Car Club's (JCC) imaginative solution to the problem of running a 24-hour race at Brooklands.

Overnight racing had been banned at Brooklands shortly after the course opened in 1907 when SF Edge drove non-stop for 24 hours, setting a world record but earning the wrath of local residents.

In the Double Twelve, cars ran for two 12-hour stints from 8am to 8pm and were locked away overnight in secure garages so they could not be worked on during the resting period.

The JCC’s Members’ Rally in the 1930s featured complex driving tests laid out on various parts of the Brooklands circuit, and also included a half-mile high-speed run on the banking against a target time. Almost 150 cars, driven by a mix of notable Brooklands drivers and amateurs, took part in the last one in 1939.

The years of 1928 – 1929 were good ones for Studebaker. In July, 1928 four fully equipped President Eights averaged better than 68 mph (108 kph) for 19 days and 18 nights at the Atlantic City Speedway and in November 1928 also at Atlantic City two stock President Roadsters averaged in excess of 85 mph (136 kph) for 24 hours under strict A.A.A. Supervision. In May of 1929 two President Sports Tourers won their class in the Brooklands 12.12. and at Pikes Peak in September, 1929 a President Eight driven by Glen Shultz zoomed up the mountain at an average speed of 34.4 mph (54 kph) in a record 21 minutes 43.4 seconds winning the Penrose Trophy.
 

On to my 'Brookands' replica;

I knew nothing of the 12/12 Studebakers until the 1970s during the time I was restoring my 1935 Studebaker Commander Eight Roadster, and I bought a book from Greens Motorcade of Cars about Studebakers. This book consisted of reprints of Auto Car and Motor. On Page 67 there is an ad with a picture of a 1929 Brooklands President, winner of Class B in the 1929 British Double 12. The caption read "Studebaker now holds more world and international Class B records than any other manufacturer".

I would often look at that photo and think what a fantastic car and wouldn't it be wonderful to own one, but of course none of these cars have survived, not that I could afford one if they did.

Many years later still drooling over the photo, a crazy idea came to mind. Why not buy a 1929 President and build one.  Surely it can't by that hard!

I soon learned different. First of all, I could not find a suitable donor car. When I asked around I was told there isn't any, except in Cooma and they are definitely not for sale,

I read the Sydney Morning Herald with anticipation every Saturday and advertised in "Restored Cars" etc. One Saturday there was a 1936 President advertised with an S.T.D. phone number. As I was still restoring the thirty five Studebaker Commander 8, I thought that this may also be a thirty five, as people do not always know exact models. When I rang I was assured that it was in fact a thirty six model. It turned out I had rang the person in Cooma with all the twenty nine Presidents. I asked him whether he would sell one and he indicated that he would, but only after he had sorted out which car parts he would part with. After several months of fortnightly phone calls and winter approaching fast, I phoned him and said I would go to Cooma to see his cars. He phoned back within 20 minutes and said he wanted to sell the lot. I went to Cooma and parted with some money and ended up with 2 basket case twenty nine President 8 Roadsters and a twenty nine Commander 8 Roadster chopped into a ute. Loading them on to a semi and getting them home is another story.

The good news was that being Roadsters I had the correct cowl and folding windscreen plus the high ratio 3.46-1 differential. I still had the thirty five to finish and was about to go to Europe so the 12/12 project was shelved for 2 years, except for research. Whilst in England, I purchased several 10 x 8 photos of Brooklands Studebakers from the library at Beaulieu.

Two years later, with the help of these photos, I made a full size shape pattern including the hood bows from 10mm x 3 mm flat steel manipulating it until I got it right. I then constructed the frame and then covered it in aluminium, only needing some help with the blocking and wheeling the rear quarter panels.

Once the body was built I removed all the mechanicals from the chassis and had it sand blasted. I then primed it and sat the body back on the chassis. I dismantled the engine had it bored (one new sleeve) bearings re-metalled, new pistons, rings, valves etc.

The project was then put on hold for another 6 years whilst I sold the family business, started a new career and did some work around the house.

In 1995 I was back on the job with a vengeance. The chassis was painted in a dark red two pack. I bolted the body to the chassis, fitted the doors, fitted the reconditioned back axle, springs etc. The engine was assembled and I fitted the engine by lowering the chassis over it. The gear box and tail shaft reconditioned and fitted. I had new brake drums made, 5 new wheels, new windscreen frame and new cycle guards. I made the hood frame which took countless hours as did the mudguard, headlight and taillight and step tread brackets.

To get the car to the correct height to make the mudguard brackets I drilled my garage floor at each corner of the car and screwed 1/2” threaded rod into 'Loxin' masonry anchors in the floor and a bracket bolted to each comer of the chassis. Then screwing the car down to the desired height. Once the car was completed and driven, I removed the springs and had them tempered and reset to the correct height.

I made a new aluminium dashboard, scrounged around for suitable instruments and had them reconditioned and made the steering wheel from a piece of marine grade aluminium plate then had the wood rim made.

I made and bound the wiring loom myself using good quality heavy gauge Australian cable including flashers and stop lights.

I was able to acquire a pair of English bucket seats and modify them to suit the car. For the rear seat I made a plywood base and back to which the trimmer fixed the springs and padding. The hood frame and all the numerous other items were sent to Albury to be copper plated and chromed. Much time and money was spent on the radiator shell. The radiator badge went to Victoria to be enameled.

I varnished the hood bows, riveted the frame together and fixed it to the car for the umpteenth time.

The car was winched onto a tilt-tray truck and sent to the trimmer where the interior was upholstered in leather. The body was covered in black vinyl and the hood and tonneau covers were made.

November 2000 the car returned home where I removed the upholstery hood etc. sprayed the black vinyl covering with matching dark red vinyl paint, fitted the cover strips and refitted the upholstery. At this stage, I was spending every spare moment on the project and there were still lots to do. The cycle guards all the brackets etc. were painted in two pack red. I fitted all these items to the car plus the radiator, bonnet, headlights, taillight flasher lights and numerous other bits and pieces. This was exciting stuff as every piece I fitted was on to stay and by December the car looked complete.

The whole of 2001 was spent making and fitting accelerator linkages, brake rods, fuel tank, fuel lines, more cover strips kick plates completing the wiring, connecting lights and a 1,001 other bits and pieces; all those 10 minute jobs that take an hour each.

One of the highlights of the year was starting the engine, but with every high there is a low. The next couple of weeks were spent stopping all the oil and water leaks.

Then the big day came in December when I took the car out to get it registered.

Christmas came and went and it was now January. The springs had settled down. Now was the time to remove them and have them tempered and reset. This turned out to be a hit and miss affair. The rear springs taking two goes to get right.

Before we knew it, it was February. Time for it's first official outing to the VSCCA Opening Rally at North Head. We had an uneventful run to North Head and back except for some light rain on the way.

John Grant

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