Technical Stude Pickup Warehouse Find

Fun thread, Bob! Did you ever get the DMV registration taken care of on this truck?

 

Tks for showing p***enger side carb linkage. Now if I can just figure out gas feed all will be good. (Smile).

 

I’m embarr***ed to say, no. I had no luck with the DMV registration guy that I dealt with at first and I haven’t pursued it since. My policy has always been to not spend any money or time on a car that isn’t legally in my name but I didn’t comply with my own policy this time. I hope it doesn’t bite me in the ***. I know the history and the family so I should be ok when I finally bite the bullet and register it. Or not.
Oh well, I could use a ranch truck anyhow.

 

I appreciate your dedication to keeping it just the way it's built, but I totally get why you'd ditch the TreadleVac system. I've never really heard good things about them.

 

Here’s what I came up with for a T-V replacement. The mounting flange of the Mustang M/C doesn’t fit between the torsion bar and the frame, so it has to be just above or just below the torsion bar. Turned out just above works best but the lid retaining clip hit the floor. A little persuasion with a BFH made some clearance. There’s a bump in the floor but insulation and carpet will cover it. The stock Stude m/c access cover will work fine.
The m/c and the pedal are kinda close together but moving the m/c rearward isn’t an option because the crossmember for the torsion bar anchor is right there. The pedal goes where it goes and it dictates the pivot position, so there it is. It just fits in the area available and the pedal will actually be in a more natural position.

I write notes to myself so I can pickup where I left off the next day. I moved the pivot up to push straight on the m/c. The M/C rod is just a placeholder to visualize the angles.

 

Everything fits great so I can go ahead and weld it all up….
It will be welded to the inside of the frame, bolting it in would require drilling through holes and welding tubes in the frame and there’s virtually no access for drilling accurately. It turns out that the frame surface is slightly tilted off of vertical, so the bend in the pedal looks a little “off” and the m/c had to be tilted slightly to remain level side to side.
I decided to steal the old Olds pedal off of the Treadle-Vac ***embly. I like the larger size and it’ll help retain at least the vibe of the original setup. I’ll have to modify the current pedal pad a little.
I’ll weld the spacer onto the lever to align the pushrod with the m/c. I’m not thrilled that the rod end won’t be in double shear but I’ve seen, owned and driven worse. The free end of the pedal pivot shaft will have a removable bracket to support the that end.
BTW, with everything installed and the bracket welded to the frame, the master cylinder is easily removed and the opening in the floorboards allows the pedal to be removed also. Waddaya know.

 

It's welded up, one last fit check and positioning of the pedal return stop. You can see the notch for the torsion bar.

I mentioned that there was too much in the way to bolt the pedal ***embly in.

 

When I went to weld up the brackets, I was out of MIG mix (gas) so I went to the welding supply. Replaced the tank and boom, I'm out of wire. I didn't realize that I was on my last spool and didn't have a spare. Not wanting to drive across the county, I just went to Ace Hardware and bought some wire - wrong size! Damn, it doesn't fit in my machine. Did I mention that I live out in the boonies....
I thought that I was out of Argon, but I had enough, so I just TIG welded it together, but I'm still going to need MIG wire to weld it into the truck, the TIG won't reach out there.
I let it cool down, then I clamped it in place so I could make the new brake lines. Keep moving forward, right?
I get the brake lines done and I realize that I didn't install residual check valves. Drum brakes, m/c is down low, its gonna need those. Checked my box of brake parts - no valves. Ordered some. Man, some days you just can't win.
So, I took it apart and painted everything. I also made a real M/C pushrod and gathered up the bolts, nuts and washers that I'm going to use.
It's all welded up and painted, ready for pictures and final installation.

 

Today I finally got it all welded in place. I'm waiting for the residual check valves to come, then hopefully - BRAKES AT LAST!!!
I still need to doctor up the piece of floor around the pedal and check the access for putting in brake fluid.


Does anyone have any tips for bleeding the MOPAR twin wheel cylinder drum brakes??

 

I welded up all of the miscellaneous holes and put the floor piece back in. I opened up the factory M/C access hole and it'll work for filling the new M/C. Just waiting for the residual valves to arrive.
There are still a few holes in the firewall and the floor to address. Once it moves on its own, I'll drive it into the shop to fill some holes and add some carpet to make it more hospitable inside.
Before:

After:

 

Wow, close, huh? The headlights don’t look canted, still has the divided windshield (I like that better) and they cut the grille opening for the tube grille. Same color. I love the chrome wheels, thin WW and knock-offs, I’m headed in that direction. So far, my old paint isn’t coming back but that’s ok, I think I’d like it better with a shiny new coat of single stage 1965 Daytona Blue.
Thanks for digging up the photo!

 

Well, we’ve been having unusual weather for California, lots of rain and wind. Myself, I caught the cold my daughter brought home so I’ve been away from my projects for the most part. The old Stude is on my outdoor hoist on the shady side of my shop. It’s a wind tunnel out there.
I got fluid in the brake system, fixed a couple little leaks, and with the help of my lovely wife, I got the brakes bled. Wow, I thought I was never going to get there. I pulled out all of the unneeded vacuum hoses and junk cleaning up the engine and firewall.
I added a new negative side battery cable and a jumper from the frame to the engine. I bought a new Exide battery and (holding my breath and crossing my fingers) hooked up the battery. With the partial rewire, I was hoping that the ignition switch and the neutral safety switch would now work like they’re supposed to. I turned the key…. Nothing. Damn. Just ’cus, flipped the battery cut-off to the other position… ahhh. It cranked with the key!!
A little starting fluid and it started enough to pull fuel from the new fuel system and fill the carburetors. Once I got it running and the idle turned up some, it ran ok and you can reach in the window, hit the key and it fires right up and idles. Good to have it running again.

 

I’m getting itchy to drive it….but.
A couple things are still in need of some work. I tried to put some water in the radiator. Too quickly, it was full. I had the radiator cleaned out and pressure tested, they said it was ok. I replaced the freeze plugs so the block should be empty. I probably just need to run it until the thermostat opens. A job for tomorrow. (Unless it rains)
It still has an obvious miss at idle. You can hear it spitting at the exhaust outlet on the p***enger side. When I got it, the freeze plug above the starter had a half inch hole and the system didn’t hold water, now that I can put water in it I can warm it up and adjust the carbs and stuff. If it persists after some tuning, I’ll run it and pull plug wires one at a time until I find which cylinder is missing.
The burning question: should I change the transmission fluid before I drive it or just take it for a little ride and change the fluid later? And what fluid should I buy? These old transmissions don’t seem to like the modern fluids.

 

And what fluid should I buy? Been a lot of conversations across a few threads about this. Phil has been trying a couple different types to solve some issues with his Pontiac lately. See post 1899 here
Projects - Mild custom '51 Pontiac Chieftain | Page 64 | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)

 

Old school automatics I have never used nothing but type F in all brands of transmissions.

 

Thanks Walt, I’ve been a faithful follower of Phil and his Pontiac. He had some luck with the 20w from Tractor Supply but I noticed that he balked at the Chalet stuff. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking about starting with Type F regular, not synthetic and see what happens. Always open to suggestions.

On the missing at idle, I think I’m going to pull the valve cover and watch the valve action. It might have a flat lobe and one valve is just barely working. That’s easy to check.

 

The weather man said no rain in the morning so I hustled out to get going on the Stude. I fired it up and let it warm up a little. I did the old “pull plug wires one at a time” trick. #2 was the dead one. Then I pulled the p***enger side valve cover and hooked up the remote starter switch. All of the valves moved and seem to move a similar amount, no obviously flat lobe on that side. Whew.
I replaced the plug wire - no effect. So I pulled the spark plug- nothing remarkable but I put in a different one anyway. I started it up and it seemed to run better. Hmmm.
I adjusted the carb mixture and idle speed. Better, but not perfect. Still has the different puffing out the p***enger side exhaust. Good enough for now, I want to drive it!

 

My thinking is synthetics are slicker, softer shifting. Which is more slippage.

 

I cleared the way and put it in Reverse. It took a moment but it backed off of the hoist ok. For a few minutes I just exercised the trans, Park - Forward, Park - Reverse. Moving it around on the driveway. It wasn’t happy. It hesitated to go into gear each time. I put it back on the hoist and looked underneath. No ATF leaks. So I checked the fluid. It was waaay down now. It took 3 qts of High Mileage fluid!!
Now, it’s responding. It jumps into gear like a healthy AT. I backed it off the hoist and did more “exercises”. It seems fine, I want to drive it down the driveway and around the block.
Ominous rain clouds are closing in and I’m home alone so I decided not to chance it. As I was covering it with the tarp, my wife and daughter get home from their walk at the lake. I took the tarp off and tossed the tow strap in the truck. They followed me on a short run.
It ran and drove ok. Steering fine, stopping ok. I didn’t feel the trans shift but the engine speed/car speed seemed appropriate as it accelerated. It has great power. We got it back home and back up on the hoist.
Hey, the Posi works!

We got it parked and covered up just in time, it started pouring. Time for lunch.
Man, I still have a lot of work to do.
The exhaust pipes are very close to the frame and bed and with the engine idling so poorly, especially in gear, it rattles like crazy.
It seemed pretty hot when I got it home, I need to install a mechanical temperature gauge.
The motor mounts are junk, the engine is jumping around when you put it in gear. I have new ones to install.
I need to do another compression test, I think it has a blown head gasket. That may be why it got parked or it might just be from 50 years of storage.
It was great to finally drive it!! It fits me well and I like how it drives. This is gonna be fun!

 

I am all for driving them !

 

Great thread, and me bets that once you drive it a bit that "puffing out the p***enger side" might just go away...hope so for Ya!.

 

That little drive got my juices really flowing. As soon as the rain stopped, I got out there and swapped out the driver's side motor mount. What a *****. I could hardly get a wrench on the bolts going into the block, but I finally figured out the combination. The rubber had squeezed out to touch the bolt heads, I had to cut away the rubber with an X-acto knife to get a wrench on them.
I needed to lift the engine a little and I have a neat tool that I made and used at my shop that sits on the pan rail and safely raises the engine with an under car stand but could I find it, hell no. I'm sure I'll find it later this week.
The new mounts are slightly different - of course. There's a strip of material along the bottom that interferes with the ch***is pad and won't let them sit flat. I tried a 1/4" spacer but the angle made it so I couldn't start the bolt. I cut and ground off the excess. The main bolt is 1/2" instead of 7/16". No access to re-drill the holes, so I had to file it bigger - in little 2" strokes. Ugh.
I don't care for the way the engine is mounted. It's sound but it's ugly and servicing stuff down there a PITA.

One side done, I'll do the other side tomorrow in between cloud bursts.

 

It got cold and dark so I went on a mission upstairs to see if I have any gauges left that I would put in a '60s truck. My stock is getting pretty depleted, but I came up with some candidates. Small ones and 2 5/8" ones. If I use the small ones the temp gauge is electric - I don't like that. I'll probably search for a mechanical one. I don't have a panel for the 2 5/8" ones, I'll have to see what's out there on eBay or make something. I could put the big ones in the dash, it's flat and plain, but the Bros didn't build it like that, so I don't know. Tomorrow I'll take a picture of the dash and post it. Open to suggestions. Being a senior citizen, of course I lean towards the bigger ones.

Oh yeah. They used a Corvair gauge panel when they built the truck and it has idiot lights. That's ok, and it seems like they are working, but I like a little more information. And I was always a ****er for a few SW gauges in a hot rod. Pictures tomorrow.

 

I was able to put my SW gauges behind the factory bezel in my car for a factory look. I ran with a mechanical water and oil under the dash for a while until I was sure the electric SW gauges in the dash were accurate, when I was satisfied they were, I put them in a homemade stainless box under the hood so I wouldn’t have to keep running back and forth if I was working under the hood. I think mine are 2.25”, I bought a bimetal hole saw to make the under hood box panel. If they had of been SW’s instead of no name ones, I would have used them in the dash because I like mechanical ones better, too, but they didn’t match the SW’s.

 

I’ve used electrical temp and oil pressure gauges in my boats, but only once in my car. With a 180 thermostat, my old F100 showed 200 degrees in normal driving. When I finally checked it with a mechanical gauge, it was really 180. I installed a mechanical gauge. Much better.
That kind of inaccuracy isn’t ok. That was years ago, with the questionable quality and origin of today’s parts, it’s a **** shoot I suppose.

 

I just completed this thread... very enjoyable. What a cool truck/awesome score. Those headlights/ tail lights remind me of my '56 & I think they are a great improvement over the stockers.
I admire your patience (stubborn-ness?) with that treadle thingy, but waited patiently for you to pitch it! I dealt with a unit like that on a late 40's Chevy shifter... P.I.M.A. for sure.
Looks like you're really close to going for a spin!?

 

Thanks for following. I had to laugh at the stubborn-ness comment, I sometimes figure, “hey, it worked fine back in the day, people drove them everyday” but the same can be said for wooden wheels and a lot of other junk from back then that you wouldn’t want on a vehicle that you want to use everyday today.
I drove it briefly yesterday for the first time. I’ve been messing with this stuff all my life and there’s still that huge excitement in that first drive. Nothing like it.

 

It was clear when I came out this morning after the F1 race but we are supposed to get a deluge today. I better get steppin'.
So here's the whole dash. Early Corvair gauge cluster and a Corvair steering wheel. Pretty bare, but very nice as it is. I'm not sure how a row of 2 5/8" SW gauges would look in the dash. I'll have to cut out some paper dolls and mock it up.
Note the nuts as spacers between the dash and the steering column. I need to pull those out and adjust the column, it will give me just that extra little bit of leg space that I need.
Studebaker guys: is there supposed to be a trim piece along the bottom of the dash pad?

After pictures, I finished installing the p***enger's side motor mount. Thankfully it went in a whole lot easier than the driver's side did. Someday, when I've got nothing better to do, I'll try to figure a way to raise the front of the engine an inch or so. That would improve clearances in a lot of places.

 

Next, I wanted to do another compression check. So, I pulled the plugs. So much easier without that huge generator in the way. They don't look great or bad at this point. At least there aren't any oily ones.
P***enger's side....


Driver's side....


And here's today's lucky numbers.... Not too bad for waking up after a 50 year slumber.
With black clouds rapidly moving in, I put it back together and covered it up. Just in the nick of time. Literally.