1928 President Model FA/FB – Rock River Valley Chapter SDC

This first President Eight was introduced in the New York Auto show in January of 1928. It was first offered in five body styles. 5 and 7 passenger sedan, 5 and 7 passenger State sedan and a Limo. The State sedans were equipped with six wire wheels, while the regulars sedans has wooden wheels. The Wheelbase was 131 inches. The prices ranged from $1,985 to $2,450 FOB the factory. The double belt line moldings, enclosed a contrasting color panel. The fenders were crowned and beaded and a new double bar bumper was installed. A new “8” badge was mounted to the fender crossbar, later mounted to the headlight cross bar. Exterior bright work was chromium plated. New instrument panel was designed and by June the State Cabriolet, Tourer, and State Tourer models were added.

Standard interior features were, silk curtains, assist cords, upholstered arm rests, engraved jeweler finished hardware, molding and door panels in two-tone walnut or two-tone lacquer, silver medallions on the door panels, an upholstered foot rest, heavy ornamental robe rails, and large pockets on all four doors.

The FA’s engine displacement was 313 cubic inches making 100 HP, running with a 2 5/8 inch crankshaft, in five main bearings. The connecting rods were offset to allow greater main bearing width. The compression ratio was 4.9 to 1. The camshaft was mounted in six babbitt lined bronze backed bearings and was gear driven off the crankshaft by a Textolite fabric gear for quietness. Lubrication was full pressure to rods, mains, and camshaft, with spray lube to the piston pins and cylinder walls. A Schebler carburetor, AC fuel pump (run off a lobe on the camshaft), Delco-Remey distributor (with both manual and automatic advance), Warner transmission, and Bendix brakes were used.

Mid-year 1928 the entire Studebaker line was restyled. The cars received a Polo Cap over the windshield, a flat winged radiator cap replaced the “Atalanta” type, and the winged motif was carried over on the headlights and cowl lights. There were now two wheelbases, the FA on 131 inches and the FB on 121 inches. Both models used the FB engine, which was now was rated at 109 HP, by increasing the displacement to 337 cubic inches. The water pump moved from the front of the engine to the left side, driven by the generator shaft. Fafnir ball bearing spring shackles were added to eliminate squeaks and rattles. A large selection of new colors were added to both the car and the belt line panels. A roadster was added to the line-up in the FB model only. The State Tourer was only available in the FA Model. Late FA and FB models are often mistaken for 1929 models, but can be identified by their unique wheelbases of 131 and 121 inches respectively.

When data was available from Turning Wheels (TW) or Studebaker the Complete Story (STCS), it is used. Else, The Classic Car Database (TCCD) & The Standard Catalog of American Cars (SCAC) is used.
→Information between the arrows is from “This is a Studebaker Year Vol. 3 by Bill Cannon←
What we can be fairly sure of is that the same body styles, depending on the source, were sometimes listed in different terms. SB=South Bend, LA=Los Angles, and CAN=Canada

1928 Model FA President
Model	Doors	Passenger	Price
State Limousine (M)	4	7	$2,450.00
Regular Sedan 5-pass (W?)	4	5	$1,985.00
Regular Sedan 7-pass (W3)	4	7	$2,085.00
State Sedan 5-pass (S1)	4	5	$2,250.00
State Sedan 7-pass (W1-W2)	4	7	$2,350.00
State Cabriolet (E)	2	4	$2,195.00
Regular Tourer (T1)	4	7	$2,285.00
State Tourer (T2)	2	7	$2,485.00
1928 Model FB President
Model	Doors	Passenger	Price
Regular Sedan (W3)	4	5	$1,685.00
State Sedan (W1-W2)	4	5	$1,850.00
State Victoria (C1)	2	4	$1,850.00
State Cabriolet (E)	2	4	$1,850.00
Sprot Roadster (R)	2	4	$1,850.00
→The early 1928 FA President started production sometime in January 1928. It finished production sometime in mid-year of 1928. The 1928 2nd edition FA President and the new FB President started production sometime in mid-year 1928. It finished production sometime in January of 1929. Studebaker assigned 8,600 SB serial numbers and 350 and CAN serial number to the early FA Models. They (Studebaker) assigned 4,400 SB serial numbers and 150 and CAN serial number to the later FA Models and assigned 13,500 SB serial numbers and 200 and CAN serial number to the new FB Model. Engine Serial Numbers are FA-1 to 8,925 for the early FA models and FB-1 to 17,775 for the later FA & FB models. Most of the data in the chart is from Cannon’s This is a Studebaker Year Vol. 3←. Cannon did not provide production numbers, however early FA serial number and engine numbers 8,950 & 8,925 would suggest that early FA production was slightly less the 9,000 cars. The combined 2nd gen FA and the FB serial number total was 18,250 and both used the FB engine with 17,775 serial numbers assigned, one could fix the later FA & FB production at around 18,000 cars. The prices for the early FA’s & later FA’s come from TCCD & SCAC where both agree except they both listed an early State Berline at $2,350 which Cannon did not list.