Lets start from the beginning in 2005... I was eleven years old when we found this. Now I am 15 and have to finish in the next 8 months. The car has a 1967 Chrysler 383 backed up by a 727 and an 8 and 3/4 rear, a 74' Nova frontend, and the rest of the frame and body from a 54 Studie. This was taken Sept. or Oct. 09' but this is what the car basically looks like now.
In 8 months if you are 16 and that Stude is in the parking lot at school, you will have to beat the chicks off you with a stick. Looking good so far, -Abone.
Finding good steel fenders and hoods for ‘53/’54 coupes is becoming very difficult. When you do find good ones they are usually expensive. That said they are out there. An alternative might be fibergl***. There is some really good quality stuff out there. If there is a choice between race and street thicknesses I would use the street. From what I remember the street stuff is not much heavier in weight, but is thicker and holds up much better. The first two links are for fibergl*** body parts including hoods and fenders: http://www.the-glas-shop.com/ http://www.cl***gl***performance.com/53 Studebaker.html This link to Cl***ic Enterprises is a source of both steel, and some fibergl***, parts I don’t think they have a lot of outer body parts but stuff like floor pans and that kind of thing. http://www.cl***icent.com/coupes_hawks.php Here are a couple of forums that might be useful when looking for parts and general info. The first here is a site for guys who are into racing Studebakers both Stude powered and non Stude powred. Lots of experience and knowledge available here. Just ask the questions. http://www.racingstudebakers.com/stl-web/bulletin/bb/index.php This link is to the Studebaker Drivers Club forum. There several folks here that might have steel fenders and hood for you car. Again just ask the question. http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/ N<o>ow that I have written this I noticed your screne name. I believe you already frequent the SDC Forum don't you? If so some of the info. I put here maybe stuff you are already aware of. Good luck with your project.
Sorry guys, just don't see what all the fuss is about. They look like 2 row cornpickers to me..... The '55 Stude, now THERE is an automobile! Just kidding!!!! I love ALL the Bob Bourke coupes ("Loewy" Coupes my behind!). I own the "ugly younger sister" a '55 C body Commander Regal with the fish mouth so I had to get a jab in. Good luck on your search, you could always turn it into a '55. Here's a Photoshop of one with the front chrome toned down a few steps......... This is basically how the designer, Bob Bourke, wanted it. His original '55 was an upgrade of the '53-'54 and his home built prototype still exists, it was a good looking car but the execs wanted a new front and lots of chrome.
Other pics. Body off the frame for the first time 2006-Aug. 08 I believe. Body off the frame for the second time Sept. or Oct. 08 thru Late Spring 09. We bolted the body to beams in the ceiling using wood and the help of a bend pack, it worked great, was safe, and compact, and when we wanted to work on the frame we simply lowered the lift.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVisTraIMoI This is the first time starting the 383 in Oct. 09, there are other videos on youtube of THE first time starting the engine, but they aren't as good. I am the the kid who is at first on the near side and my dad is the one who started the engine. It took us hours to figure out the wiring because this is the first mopar anyone in my family has ever worked on other than a slant six back in da day. Other videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHF-suZ1Dow&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ud66jf4Uc&feature=channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD_KvcCav7A&feature=channel
Also forgot the interior which is right now in my neighbor's ba*****t. Crushed red velvet, the whole interior was on craigslist and we scooped up a deal.
Here is some history behind the car. It was made in Southbend 1954, I believe it was red with a white or black roof or solid red. It was a Champion (six cylinder), and was a basic low option car for what I could tell. The car was also built out out a few parts cars; one was a mint green 53 and the other was a 54 or 54 (past owner told me this). The past owner also told me that the car was a racecar at one point, and I also know this because the hood has patches where hood pins might have once been. In 2005 when we got the car all we thought at first was that we would need to do was put together the engine and do bodywork, we were wrong. The car had some damage, it was sandblasted once 20 or so years ago and prepared for paint by the previous owner, but was stored in a wet garage by a swamp where pinhole rust formed on the doors, rear fenders, and front fenders (I still need fenders and doors). When I went to work on the floor I found some hidden sin. From the front of the firewall to the B pillar area the floor was cheese that had a piece of metal poorly fibergl***ed in. Fortunately we had a solid trunk and rear floors, and we were going to move the heavy, behemouth MoPar 383 back 2" and down 1". So we tacked in a flat firewall (beautiful). The bends in the floor were made by backing the minivan onto the steel and bending it by hand. The transmissin tunnel is from a 1970 firebird auto car. Now back to the frame, to our suprise we learned that even though the stack frame was boxed, it could not support a 383, so we did a real fine bracing job. Now the previous owner had a Nova subframe installed 20 or so years ago and installed brand new coil shocks. I spent the most of the summer of 2009 getting the factory undercoating off of the car. To my suprise it was flammable, and the only thing that worked was heavy duty paint remover. We have two different bolt patterns, the front is GM, and the rear is MoPar. We are currently trying to find CHEAP solutions for this. We needed fenderwell headers to clear. And we are using fibergl*** leaf springs. The entire underneath and inside of the car is painted with a black, two-part, brush-on epoxy paint. The Summer of 2010 will be a garage marathon. I will not do much body work, but he is what's left. The braking system, a wiring harness, everything electrical, a radiator, transmission cooler, rubber and door gl***, bolting on the trim, intalling the interior and rebuilding the dash. This car should never exceed 10,000 for what I know, but I will always have work to do on it. I will try to keep updates, so please toon in every once and a while.
Update!!! This is from Oct. 2010. The first time I drove the Stude and broke it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJIYcW-XS58
The Jalopy Journal
