I just purchased a 1929 Essex Challenger Super Six 2dr coach and the engine is stuck. Where can I find parts for it?
essex parts are super hard to find. i restored a 27 essex boat tail speedabout 1of 6. it had most everything though, the hamb family should be able to help you out. if the engine is complete but stuck you are ahead of the game. jet it rebuilt by an old timer whe knows whats up. good luck...
Here is a picture of our 1928 two door. There use to be a place out west where you could get Essex parts, I will look and see if I can find it.
Egge Machine lists an engine kit containing piston rings, timing chain, valve guides, valve springs, and pin bushings. They also list forged pistons. Are you going to hop it up? I always thought a ‘20s Essex would be a cool gow. They were really popular when new, and you hardly see them today.
I think we will be leaving it stock. It would be a shame to destroy something that has survived this many yrs. Even the upholstery is in good usable condition.
how stuck is it? pull the plugs and expose the valve train so you can treat them with a rust loosener. check for mice nests in bellhousing.
I pulled the cylinder head, put the car in 3rd gear, jacked up the right rear tire and tried to turn it. Even with a 6 ft pry bar through the spokes, it will not turn.
I wasn't thinking "toss the fenders, Z the frame, chop the top" so much - but maybe add a second carburetor and reverse the spring eyes, subtle stuff that could easily be reversed.
Boy do I have pictures!!! I hope they come through. I have never tried to upload pictures to H.A.M.B. before. Oops, got a picture of my 2000 Indian in there too. Sorry about that. JB80 is like WD40 only a lot better.
I'm glad to see you are thinking about leaving it stock, don't have a thing against hot rods, have had several and building one now but would be a shame to take that nice of old car and hot rod it.
hicarbs, I just bought a 29 essex 2 door coach. I am also looking for parts to get my engine going. I have been looking for a oil pump-dist drive gear with no luck at all.Finding parts for the essex engine will teach us patience.As you take it apart, be sure to mark and bag engine parts. The rods have shims that are used to set clearances, you need to keep them with the rod you take them off. also same thing on the main bearing shims. DO NOT THROW ANY THING AWAY.Keep in touch with me as you go along,maybe i can help you with parts locating. RC
HooRa, the engine is freed up!!! I put the car in 3rd gear, chained my forklift to the front and put a little tension on the engine then I used a 2x2 and a mallet and tapped on each piston a couple times. Then used the forklift to push the car in the other direction and tapped on the pistons again. I got to piston #5 and she let go. Happy days are here again!!!!!!!!
I got the engine running and we have been driving it. Can only go about 10 miles before it over heats. When it idles, it blows air bubbles out the top of the radiator, even when cold. Not a lot, but enough to cause it to overheat. I had to reuse the old head gasket, that is probably the problem. Can a person spray the old head gasket with something when reusing it? It is a copper gasket.
Yes you can but i dont know the name for it in English Shelack is the name in Sweden thats what they used in the old times. If its the old style gasket made of 2 layer of copper with asbestos sandwisched in the middle boil it in water 5 minutes it makes it swell back then brush on shelack and install Probably works with permatex or Hylomar to
If the head gasket is copper a coat of grease might do it. My dad's 29 Durant (similar line I think) had a Continental engine. Does yours???
Seems to me, Hudson had brought Essex into their fold in the early '20s. And they used the fading marque as a test bed for public acceptance of more "closed" cars. It kept Essex alive nearly a decade. I do not know if Essex used Continental engines toward the end, before Hudson phased in the new Terraplane replacement.
good job on keeping with it and keeping it original. i just bought a 27 essex coupe a week or so ago i am planning on putting a twin h 308 i have in it.
Hey, hicarbs; Glad to see you got one, & are keeping it original. Not *all* old cars need/deserve to be hacked. Might be a good idea to join the HET club. (Hudson/Essex/Terraplane). Can be a source of good info. Also, Hemmings is worth scouring - or at least it was... As mentioned, Egge can also be of some help. Could try running a couple of ads in the NSRA monthly, along w/the other magazines mentioned, + here on the HAMB, of course, asking to buy the leftovers from the Rodders. Iola & both Jefferson swap meets can be useful, although are rather "spotty". I never got to Iola (but have been told that by those who went), but the Jefferson ones were interesting. Best one that I know of, is the Hershey meet. Always wanted to go, never could swing it. I have a '29 Essex business coupe. + most of another frame 'n' parts. May as well do that one as a streetrod version (for a body swap - as the mood requires), keep the original one complete. Has a '30 engine, but have a rather damaged '29 mill too. Just takes skill 'n' cubic coin to bring back to life. Body/fenders are/will remain stock. Watch out for the wet clutch (something like ~ 50 coke-bottle-cap sized cork discs on the clutch face. Works great when kept up properly.). Mine was rebuilt, but guy didn't store it properly, so it's seriously stuck to the flywheel. Need to keep the "Hudsonite" in it, (~ 50/50 mix of kerosene & 10w non-detergent engine oil -- IIRC), & if storing it very long, also block the clutch partly away from the flywheel, & rotate it through the fluid periodically. Another reason the mill is stuck, too. Didn't get the cylinders oiled before I got it. So it's getting done - slowly. . Essex used thermo-syphion cooling, so stuff has to be in good shape. Make sure nothing has been/is blocked in the cooling system, so stuff flows. You should be able to re-use the head gasket, but carefully & lightly wire-brush it by hand, & having clean head & block surfaces, put a dbl coat of either Aluminum or Copper paint on both sides of the head gasket, then assemble while paint is still tacky, & torque down properly. If that doesn't solve problems, time to look real hard at/for cracks in the block & head, esp around the exhaust valve area, & maybe going into the cyl walls. Overheating in Spring from forgetting to open the grill shell louvers when it was hot or even only warm out, & then boiling off the water & maybe alcohol "antifreeze" - if used, resulting in frying the mill, was a common issue w/the Essex mill. & why they were so frequently replaced... As was mine. HTH. Marcus...
Forgot to add: I don't believe Hudson used Continental mills in their stuff. I'll check later, but IIRC & AFAIK, the "families" of : Studebaker, Packard, Hudson, & maybe Nash, (Possibly some other independents too. For this discussion, I'm leaving out the GM/Ford/Chrysler families here); designed, cast, machined & assembled, their own engines. (There was some inter-trading going on in the 50's, but I'm talking about in general). Trannies & diffs were sourced from Dana, Spicer, Borg Warner, & a few others. Also sourced were batteries, some of the gauges, & other smaller items. FWIW. Marcus...
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