Technical Stude Pickup Warehouse Find

if you do the 49 Ford Trunk Hinges , I have a NOS pair at home that were for my 49 Coupe.. PM...

 

I’m definitely interested! Could you post a picture of them from the side in the closed position?

 

will do when I get home from work... Ty Rob

 

Thanks!

 

Here’s one of the idiosyncrasies of early engines. Instead of the common press-in lip seal (supplied in the gasket kit), in 1962 Pontiac used a spring loaded cork seal that rides on the inside of the timing cover. A cork seal that is not supplied in the gasket kit. It’s the kind of thing that I would expect to see in a 1920s Chevy or Dodge. Apparently, it works pretty well, the current Stude engine (a ‘59 389) doesn’t leak up front after over 60 years.
We considered machining the cover for the new style seal but nah, it’ll be fine.
My buddy Willy, an old hand at old engines, told me to order from Best Gasket next time. They are better with gaskets for old engines.

If you enlarge the image a little you can see the spring washer inside.

 

here are the 49 Ford trunk lids hinges

 

I think they might work and they should look good. PM me and we’ll work something out. Thanks!

 

NOS...a thing of beauty really...I think they'd look spiffy Bob.

 

Any “improvements” that I consider I give the Carman Test. Is this something that Carman and the brothers would do? I think those hinges pass the test. It’s not that much of a workhorse, but I think Tony would have liked a working tailgate and those hinges are something Carman would have had access to and they do the job in a no nonsense yet attractive manner.

 

Bob if that truck had arms it would hug you......AND you're having fun with it! I like your passion and reaching out as if having a chat in the shop with the past owners...

 

Bob, I messed around with trunk hinges on the A trying to find those that opened flat. Some are left and right formed to accommodate the curve of the trunk to prohibit binding. Left and right have different part numbers usually. May not be an issue with the 49's. I have never worked with them.

 

You’re right Walt, they are made to match the contours of the car back there. But if I remember correctly, one of them, either ‘49 or ‘50 has little to no angle and I might be able to accommodate it.

 

I’ve always had a weakness for old pickups in general. I worked for Carman on and off for years and I saw how he approached the projects he had. I saw the Stude pickups when they were active and later when they had been retired. Carman’s truck sat outside at the Long Beach shop for a long time. It was hard to watch, knowing what was under the skin. Tony’s (now mine) was parked in his powder coating shop, thank goodness. From time to time I would ask about it and we’d go peel back the tarp and peek at it. They would say how they needed to get it out and get it running but it never happened.
I feel good being the current caretaker and the family is happy with the things that I’ve done and the things I have planned for it.

 

PM sent !

 

My decision to paint the engine something “non-stock” left me with the problem of what to do with the intake manifold. It’s a factory 3x2 intake and it would normally be painted the factory powder blue with the rest of the engine. But I thought it would be too much blue, painted in the Olds blue. I’m going to see my sandblaster/powder coater and see if he has a coating that will make this heavy old cast iron manifold look like as-cast aluminum. I spent some time today grinding off all of the vicious casting flash and breaking the sharp edges so that a coating will not chip. It came out great.
With malice and aforethought I drilled a vacuum port in an unused boss with vacuum access. I also drilled out the only boss with access to hot water so that I can install my S-W mechanical temperature gauge. They used 3/8” pipe threads for the factory electrical temperature sender. I opened it up to the 1/2” pipe required for the S-W sensor.

 

Today was my birthday. Three quarters of a century roaming the earth and relentlessly tinkering with stuff. To celebrate, I did some work on the new Stude engine. Pretty boring fella. In my defense, my wife and I did meet my sister for breakfast and bought some steaks for tonight on our way home.
All of the clearances checked out so I installed the crank. I used a modern seal from BOP. It’s all in and torqued. Everything was deburred before going to the machine shop. They did a commendable job of cleaning everything and I cleaned it all again (and again). It’s just in primer right now to prevent rust. I’m still on the proverbial fence about color choice - Oldsmobile blue (fancy) or good old fashioned gloss black (subdued, but all business look).

I painted the timing cover with the Olds blue as a test. The black SBC that it’s sitting on is responsible for my indecision.

 

blue!

 

Happy Birthday!

 

Happy Birthday Bob!!

 

Happy Birthday sir!

 

Thanks guys!! They sure come up fast these days!
I fit the rings and assembled them on the pistons. I’m ready to knock some pistons in if I can find my #;$&#+=* ring compressor. I swear I spend more time looking for things than actually working on things sometimes. Like looking for my Plastigage. I got both toolbox tops cleaned and reorganized and still ended up going to the parts store. I’m sure I’ll find it, after I get the engine assembled.

 

Happy B-Day... I like the blue... what about a cast or magnesium color for the manifold for contrast?

 

Happy Belated Birthday ! The blue looks great !
lol I still have those hinges if you go that route !

 

That’s exactly what I did, I had it powder coated like natural cast aluminum. It looks ok, maybe just a little darker than I had hoped. I haven’t completely unwrapped it yet to hold it up to the blue and black.

 

Nice, clean work. I like the blue as well.

 

Happy Belated Birthday Bob, engine building is a lost art, way to go!

 

I got the short block together (still unpainted), and bagged it up for now.
I uncovered the old Stude and put it on the rack with a couple tasks in mind: 1. major clean and wax of my chrome wheels and 2. Do something about the hideous knobs sticking out under the front end.
We all know all about cleaning custom wheels so never mind that. I’ve been wanting to do something about these since I got the truck.

It’s a ’58 Plymouth front clip and I guess they really wanted their front bumpers to have a solid foundation back then.

I’m going to put them on a diet while keeping a factory look even though they probably won’t show much once I get a bumper on there.
Once the excess was trimmed off I cut a chunk out of each piece to become the new frame horn.

I’ll give the new pieces some character before I weld them on. Also, I want to repair the torch work that they did while making the front sheet metal fit the Plymouth front clip before adding the new horns.

 

Bob
I did the same basic thing to the front bumper mounts on my 66 Suburban.
It's amazing what a little "tidying up" of these details will do to a project.

 

On the engine paint; I was surprised that most of the people who had an opinion liked the blue. I was afraid it might look gaudy in a dowdy old Stude and I was considering the amount of work it will take to make that crusty, undercoated engine compartment worthy of a custom engine. With the back side of the dash exposed, it’s a tough engine compartment to spiff up.
BTW, after hibernating under a cover over winter, I opened the hood to find a dusty, dirty old engine. It really has aged into the same patina as the rest of the truck. Lol.