Projects "Saving" a Studebaker

Is your 44 a limited slip? We put a limited slip carrier in my son's '54 and used the stock 4.27 gears. With the OD it was great. The 44 carrier came from a '68 GMC 4x4. I'm going to put those gears back in a GM 44 housing for my roadster, same tranny too. He went to a T5 & 9".

 

The 3.31 is a limited slip & the 4.56 has a locker. The rear tires are like 29" tall, so that will be fun!

 

Since last mentioned, I've come up with a simple solution to the tire issue.
I determined that the original wheels, 15x6-1/2, would give me the semi-straight profile that I like:
I've seen the sidewalls "bulgey" due to a wider wheel, I've seen sidewalls that are "sucked in" due to a narrower wheel... and then the combination that gives the "semi-straight" profile that looks juuuuust right!
So I took a leap of faith after cleaning and smokin' a little black on the wheels, had the tires mounted, and to me they're juuuuust right:

Then I selected an old pair of pliers I got from my Grand-Dad along with a pair of wide bill channel locks and proceeded to bend the inner lip of the fender opening a little at a time. I was able to do so without messing up the outer surface at all and gained a ton of room between the tire and the inner lip of the opening.

It took a little shuckin' & jivin' to wiggle the tire into the opening, but on it went. I did a bit more adjusting of the lip and have gained enough clearance that I can easily get my hand between the tire and the fender. And as Frieburger would say; "That's a win!!"

 

I think you made the right call there. Now, just hope it don't rain.

 

That looks awesome and I'm glad it worked out with the wheel. I just got a 15x6 WV wheel I ordered in October (got its match back then) so I know the pain of stuff not working out the way you want.

 

That really looks nice. I don't use the word "perfect" often but I'm tempted to now. What is it like at the top where the flair meets the body. The suspension on these things don't have much side to side slop.

There is a lot of folklore about the tapered & keyed axle/ hub fit. I have read that early Ford guys lapped the hub to axle fit and that some didn't use keys at all just the press fit and axle nut torque? I broke a few ford banjos but never completely lost a wheel. My son had one in his '54 Stude that loosened over several thousand miles. It didn't fail but would have if we hadn't discovered it while servicing the brakes. When we did we had ruined a hub & axle with an enlarged sloppy and slightly spiraled keyway. Just mentioned this because the Studebaker version of the Dana 44 has one more place to pay attention to especially with a healthy engine & sticky tires. It doesn't make hem bad or weak. In fact I'll take then over some more modern units.

 

O.K., that's set. Now, back to the engine... I had to return the 1st oil pan gasket I'd ordered, & the replacement arrived today. It's the right one. I also got the rocker arms. Check.
I learned that a short water pump helps to hold the roller cam/ button in place, where a long pump does not. I'll use a stout timing cover to hold the roller cam in place. The Cloyes cover has an adjustable cam button and it's stout. Cool.
I wanted to use a N.O.S. gear drive that I've had for a while, but the Cloyes cover doesn't clear the idlers... go figure. So the gear drive goes back onto the shelf and the double tooth timing chain set will go on.
The stuff I have laying around got mocked into place for a change of scenery.... Miller time & pick it up tomorrow.

 

One old time way of making more clearance is find a wooden baseball bat in insert it at the beginning of the clearance issue then carefully roll it along into the quarter. It SHOULD gently open the clearance as you manually roll it toward the tightest spot.

 

If it runs as good as it looks you have a winner.

 

Thanx a bunch, Six! Fingers crossed... I've got a long way to go, but then again I've come a long way. Progress has been a bit of a hodge-podge of moving from one area to another while waiting for parts and what not.
At least I can get the bottom end of the engine nailed down now... I'm not real sure about the intake so I'll chew on that whilst I get the dash board and clutch situation figured out.

 

The gear drive is back on the shelf... oh well. The double roller is in place, but I need different fasteners to mount the timing cover. The correct oil pan gasket came. The harmonic balancer is cleaned & painted. Again with baby steps in the right direction...

 

Cam sprocket's torqued, timing cover's installed... that's it.

 

That is progress! All the small steps must be done but not all at once.

 

A bit more done; The oil pan is installed. I can have the engine up-right now and it's starting to look like something.

I need to harvest the clutch linkage from "Whitey" to see if mechanical clutch actuation is in the cards...

 

A few more small steps forward... time to work on the car has become a premium with the R&R of the kitchen, dining room and guest bath starting... plus we're getting a puppy. Yeah, I know...

 

I get it. I have a bathroom redo coming up this month. Along with 2 miles of road work, landscaping, fire season prep.........

 

"Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome."

- Arthur Ashe

 

I lost sight of the destination years ago but I think I can see the tunnel at the end of the light from here.

 

I still haven't seen the light....

 

Hopefully it's not the headlight of a freight train!!

 

While in the process of dis-connecting the dash in the white car, I've noticed the wiring in there is B.U.T.-full! I'm going to unhook the wires at their farthest point, and, leaving it all connected @ the dash, pull it out and re-install it in the green one... it's that nice!

 

That is really cool! Treat it with extra care it could look better than it is once you start moving it.

 

Well truer words were, most likely, never spoken... I know experience when I hear it!

 

As y'all can see, the wiring is... well, let's say "interesting". I've never seen a factory wiring harness from Studebaker that was neat & tidy, so I'm not really surprised.

The engine bay is no different...

So after a little rippin' & pillagin', I have a somewhat cleaner slate to begin with.


I've managed to get a bit deeper into this project than I'd originally planned. When I started I figured a down & dirty "get 'er runnin'" agenda would be fun and rewarding. I obviously didn't know I was going to have all the extra, better parts that I am harvesting from the White organ donor. It's all good and I like the direction we're going... it's proving to be more fun & more rewarding than I'd originally planned. I believe in the end the car will be much better as a result.
That being said, it's now time to delve into some "dirty work"; cleaning & repairing where necessary, a splash of paint here & there and getting to a point where I can start putting this lil' rascal back together!
Speaking of "Lil' Rascals", I have a new assistant; This is "Bear" he's going to make sure I'm protected from lizards, birds and cats while I'm working. I feel very safe!

 

Every man needs a pardner, in the old west sense. A partner is not the same thing. Dogs make the best pards. The Stude is looking good.

 

I think while I had that dash out, I’d paint underneath it and the firewall with white or some other light color. Would really help when you’re looking under there hooking things up.

Good looking pup there. He should make a good shop dog.

 

Yeah, I couldn't start pulling wires through that firewall without at least a quick scrub and polish.

 

You are all invited to the scrub & paint party!

 

Nor would I... further developments to follow.

 

W... Wait... there's a party? I wanna go to the party!!!