Technical Stude Pickup Warehouse Find

Bob...awesome news!

 

One other item I discovered as I was finalizing the adjustments getting it to idle nice. As I set the air cleaner in place I heard the idle drop noticeably. Really. I took it off and the idle returned to the way I had it. Put the air cleaner back on and the idle dropped. No way…. That much restriction??
These are reproductions of the GTO air cleaners from a well known source. I decided to leave it off for now. I instead pulled out one of the ever-present chrome bonnet air cleaners (with the little gold Made in Taiwan sticker). I tried blowing through the GTO element and the paper element, the difference was obvious. So I made a quick flat aluminum top to make the Chinese unit an “open element” type and put that on instead. No effect on the idle at all. I’m going to order Wix replacement filters, we’ll see if they are better.
The moral of the story is: do that quick little test on your air filter. If you can tell the difference in idle with and without it, you may want to look for a better air filter.

 

Thanks guys!! I just hope that my efforts will help someone else whose groping around in the dark for solutions to these irritating little problems. And thank goodness for Jon putting so much amazing information on his website.
My wife actually came out of the house and came over to the truck, “sounds great, did you find the problem?” Of course she got the full explanation. Her eyes didn’t glaze over….

 

I loaded up my drain oil and headed to Oreilly’s to get oil and filter for the family truckster. It’s about 30 miles round trip on 55 mph highway. The old Stude performed flawlessly. It had 60 psi at 55, ran at 185 all the way there, the speedo is 5 mph slow. The transmission worked great, a couple sluggish downshifts due to my attempted California stops. I’m really liking this Dual Coupling Hydramatic, it’s really nice. The rear end gear ratio seems perfect for daily driving.
They didn’t have the GTO air filters (gee, really?) and the girl wrote down the Wix number so I could get them off the internet. She’s cool.
It heat soaked to 200 degrees but started right up. The drive home was just as pleasant. It was nice and stable at 60 mph on our mildly windy roads.
After it cooled down, I pulled a few spark plugs and found them looking normal for today’s California gas. Victory!
I mentioned previously that the brakes require a little more muscle than I would like. I decided to lengthen the brake pedal to increase the ratio. The pedal could move up comfortably and if it works, I can keep the more common 1” master cylinder. It’s worth a try.

 

So glad you figured out the power valve thing. I had one giving me fits on an Autolite 2100. They will burn up a lot of gas if open! Sounds like you've turned the corner on this thing. I think a lot of old cars never get refined, guys just don't want to invest the energy to get things right. Good job!

 

good to hear that you found the issue in the power valve ... Great thread.. thank you for sharing .

 

Man, I tell you, although the biggest hurtles have been overcome and it’s driving like a regular truck, I gave it a good bath yesterday and made a To-Do list of things that still require some attention. The list is still substantial. Just a few items:
Read the plugs and change jets as req’d
Redo the brake pedal
Inspect and readjust the brakes
Check/repair the turn signals
Clean and install the road draft tube
Close up the remaining holes in the floor.
That’s just half of my list. I really need to get back to work on my roadster, so it’s going to have be fill-in work now.
I have a couple of questions for the m***es….
What works well to soften or treat rubber suspension bushings and window rubber?
And
What does everyone use to protect chrome such as bumpers and chrome wheels?
In years past, I used MacKay rubber lube on the rubber parts and DuPont Chrome Cleaner followed by a carnauba paste wax like Cl***ic or Meguires. Are there better products out there now?

 

Bob you may find that liquid silicone will liven up those rubber items. Need to soak them for some time. I did the wire separators on the Olds engine and it made them soft enough to reuse. Those items are expensive from the vendors.
It has everything to do with plastimizers IIRC

 

As already mentioned, silicone spray for ch***is stuff and hard to reach areas.

For things like weatherstrips and softer stuff, silicone and patience. GM service manuals have long recommended using dielectric grease. Using an old toothbrush to apply it makes it easier to work into tight spots and put it where you want it. You don't need to glop in on, but let it sit for a spell before wiping off the excess.

 

I’ll have to experiment with the dielectric grease, somehow I ended up with a big tube of it and I hardly ever use the stuff. It would be good to find a use for it.
I’m going to look on eBay to see if anyone is selling the good old McKay rubber lube too.

 

NAPA Ru-glide.

 

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

 

Just checking on what other list things you crossed off...

 

I’ve just been driving it to get some miles on it but the rear main seal is leaking badly. A friend of mine just resurrected two ancient Crosleys and used a product called Blue Devil Rear Main Sealer to stop the leaks once he got them running. It worked for him, I thought, why not? So far it hasn’t worked.
It’s been mighty hot here and the Stude is outside so I’ve been working on little projects in the shop in the A/C like carburetors for my Austin.
I did finally get my stuff back from the sandblaster, primed and painted it, but I’ve already replaced the oil pan so these two will hang from the rafters. You can see the two little holes that were leaking in the old pan. I ground the casting flash off of the extra 3x2 manifold and I’m looking for end carburetors to make up another complete setup that fits the ‘61-‘64 heads.
I haven’t found a backup set of ‘59-‘60 heads yet.

 

I forgot to mention, during most of the driving I’ve done with the old Stude it rarely goes above 180-185 on the old Stewart Warner mechanical temp gauge. It’s gone to 210 when parked after a run but stays around 180 when the engine is running. I did notice that it appears to be leaking a drop or two from the lower rear corner of the head gasket on the driver’s side. So little that it evaporates before leaving any telltale evidence. I noticed when a drop landed on my face. I considered adding a can of copper seal but I hate to gum up the block and radiator. Any better suggestions?

 

I have had good success with KW head gasket sealer. Get all the coolant out , add the sealer run it for a couple hours . I would then drain it out and let the cooling system set for a couple days with the hose off. Fill the system up and your done. I can't say I have done hundreds but I have done quite few.

 

You might try these GM/ACDelco cooling system seal tabs.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12378255

They aren't something used to fix a major leak but GM recommended them for seeping or weeping coolant problems on the Northstar and other engine designs as well. I think they suggested using them when replacing head gaskets on certain GM engines that were known to be troublesome. Should also probably still be available at most GM parts counters and used to only cost like $5 or $6. per package.

 

I have too, it’s been my go-to sealant, but I was afraid what I might find in the water jackets and radiator when I eventually pull the intake and heads.
I hadn’t heard of the GM tablets. My leak is just a drop about every 20-30 seconds when warm and pressurized.
Thanks

 

I checked in with a buddy of mine to see if tonight was the local cruise night and it was so I gave the Stude a bath, checked the oil and headed on over. It’s first car show….

There was a decent turnout but mostly cars that are not really HAMB friendly. Three Studebakers in attendance and two more that just didn’t come tonight. We may outnumber the Chevys, lol. As luck would have it, I parked next to my buddy Pat and his *****in chopped Chevy. He also has a Stude pickup.

I didn’t stay too long, it was hot and my wife and daughter had just gotten home from their camping trip to Bodega Bay so I headed home. Strangely, it ran a little hotter on the way home and was at 210 when I got it parked and shut it off. It might be leaking more than I thought.
The poor old Stratoflight is having trouble getting used to getting used….
It seems to struggle most with downshifting on hills and finding first gear at a stop. Sometimes I have to put it in Park and then Drive.
The rear main seal leak was a little better, I may add another bottle of that stuff and cross my fingers.

 

Man, time flies. I had mentioned on another thread that I was stalled on my ‘62 389 trying to decide what to do to get the compression ratio down a little. Well, after a week in LA away from 100+ heat, working on the other house, I came back clear headed and CCd the ‘62 heads. They are actually 73 CCs not 69. So I consulted my cylinder head guru, dug out my trusty old Craftsman die grinder and got to grinding.
Here’s the stock chamber….

Here’s the new one. I need to do a little more grinding and blending but that’s pretty much it.

These valves are ground thin to protect the valve seats from my wayward grinder.
They are now 83 CCs and the valves are significantly unshrouded. It didn’t take that long but I’m not looking forward to seven more sessions.

 

On the lighter side, my wife is not fond of Eau de Bleauby, the scent we wear after a short ride in most of my old vehicles. So I decided to do something about it, starting with installing the road draft tube that was in the bed when I bought the truck.
It didn’t take long to figure out why it was in the bed. There’s no way to snake that thing in there with the distributor and intake in place. So I made it a 2-piece. I just cut it near the existing bracket and made a slip-joint. Now I can install the top half and then install the bottom half from the bottom. I’ll make another support bracket that attaches to the trans pan.
I brazed it so it kinda looks like it was done during the initial build.

 

I am no expert on combustion chamber design but think I would have left more quench area above plug & removed from side of valves to bore size. Pontiac famous bath tube shape. Would love to see what others might say about opening chamber

 

Yep, from what I read, everyone has their take on what direction to go when opening chambers. I looked back at the early big block Chevy heads and how the “pros” handled it back then and some more modern approaches. But when I felt totally confused I consulted a good friend who has plenty of experience getting old heads to perform better in today’s world.
I needed to get a minimum of 10 CCs more volume to get my combination to the 9.8-10:1 static CR. I just barely got there with the chamber you see. We just have a lot more info, and access to that info than ever before.
It’s just a shop truck, not a racer so I’m making compromises as I go like most of us have to do.

 

Are you running just the draft tube and a breather? Or do you have the provisions to run a true PCV system?

 

Two good old Cal Custom valve cover breathers and the road draft tube.
I will create a PVC system for the new engine when it goes in. No easy vacuum source on the current intake.

 

I've got a pile of 2gc carbs. No clue if what you need...

 

Thanks.
I bought two matching big base Pontiac Rochesters at a recent swap meet with the intention of buying aftermarket bases and converting them. I would much prefer the real secondary carbs but eBay prices have been at the absurd level lately.
Here’s what they look like….

They have big bases, no idle mixture screws, small p***enger side fuel inlets and a small throttle lever on the p***enger side only.

 

Looks sweet!!

 

Thanks. It’s fun rounding up all the parts and re***embling the past. Hard to believe that neat stuff like that was available from the factory.

 

I got the road draft tube installed, it’s a tight fit back there but it clears the distributor so I still have full timing adjustment.

After that I filled all of the unused holes in the cab floor and fitted some insulation. What a difference. I drove it into town and back and when I got back, I didn’t smell like inside of the valve covers.