“. . . 1950/’51 — was the first time that Studebaker had a V-8 engine, and it was a catastrophe. They had a terrible time. They kept eating up camshafts and millions of dollars. Studebaker never ever gave any of the customers any problem. If they had made a mistake, they’d carry it to the ground and replace it forever. So, I think, it cost them, at the time, about 4 million dollars to get it straightened out, and they repaired the cars all over the country. There’s a couple of big, long stories about it, and I have a complete one, and that’s another story completely: what was wrong with it and how they corrected it, and that they had a hell of a time straightening the thing out.
One of the problems was that they could not get the particular metal that they wanted to grind the camshafts. They treat the metal after they’ve ground them. It was a hairline fine thing of a different grind, a different type of heat treating and also the spring tensions on the valves. Anyway, they finally got it ironed out, and it turned out to be a real good engine, but it cost them an awful lot of money.”
— Robert E. Bourke
RE:SOURCES
- Crippen, David; 1986. “The Reminiscences of Robert E. Bourke.” Automotive Design Oral History Project of the Automobile in American Life and Society. Conducted October 23; accessed January 20, 2015.
Be the first to comment