Featured Projects Project Zelda: 1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe

Those gauges have a nice look to them.

 

The gauges must be from at least 1958 as it says it fits a 348 Chev motor a**** others. 58 was the first year for the 348's.

 

I was going to ask the seller about the pegged temp gauge, but me brought it up right when I walked through the door. He said they were his father's, and they always worked without issue, so...better than a shrug I guess.
I was reading last night about older King-Sealy(sp?) gauges which had the same pegged issue, and the consensus seemed to be that was normal for them. Not relly sure honestly, but I have some time to figure it out.

The stock flathead six cusrrently has an even cheaper/modern plastic oil pressure gauge (and the dreaded plastic line) hooked up on the right side of the engine, so at least I can quickly verify oil pressure once I get the engne running again. There is some residual oil visible inside the plastic line, so that's always a good sign.

I saw AutoZone carries a 72" long, 1/8" copper tubing roll and br*** fittings for $17, too.

 

It wasn't clear to me if the installation kit was part of the gauge set or not, but I figured since it mentioned Edsel, it was old.

Thanks, I thought so, too. They kind of remind me of the half-sweep Sun tachometers, which, I may eventually end up adding in the empty space where the optional clock would normally reside. The chrome plated bullet on mine is not in great shape, but the opening is directly in the line of sight, so that seems like a great place for a tach:

 

Off came the left door, then I had to see for myself why there was a quarter-inch of filler on the body between the fender and door:





And a hole at the bottom:



Some rot where it meets the floor inside:


The door jamb area looks surprisingly good. The lower half of the weatherstrip flange is rusty and separating, but I see no obvious signs of this area being pushed in:



I guess it could have been worse. It seems odd someone drilled three holes but made little-to-no effort to pull out the dent. Maybe an attempt with a slide hammer had no effect and they gave up? I do have some access from the inside, at least in the center, so maybe I can work out most of the dent.

 

Just like a box of chocolates! You never know what you're going to find. Some flaky body men did that as a professional rust repair. Ask me how I know.

 

Did you ever get it running yet? Does the engine knock?

 

Some old school bondo slingers would drill holes in a panel where thick mud was going to go, in an attempt to get some to push through a little and help hold extra thick filler in place. Could be that, although those holes do seem lined up for a slide hammer.

Some old bodywork just defies explanation. That doesn't look bad at all though, should be a pretty straightforward fix.

 

No, not yet, but I have watched video if it running last year and there was no knocking. It turns over freely and I can feel compression building in the cylinders, so I'm not too worried. The holes in the floor are my biggest concern currently.

I did some side-to-side comparison and measuring, and they both came out nearly identical, so I don't fear for any major collapse/movement. I should be able to get things mostly straightened out, but the door also shows signs of filler, so, there's that snow ball effect again. I have to get back on my exterior remodel project very soon, so this car may get pushed to the back burner within the next week or so.

 

...but before that happens, more parts.

Picked up another 8" Ford carrier (open 3.00, I think) just to have as a spare:







On Sunday I took a long drive with the dog to buy an 8" Ford housing and QP axles:







^This one might go under the Nash, but I have some test fitting to do on both cars first. The axles are 31-spline, not 28, but I would want to get a new differential and gears anyway. Definitely a bit overkill for my needs, but not the worst problem to have.

Also gave the car a pressure wash bath today, and to my slight dismay, the body was prepped well before the burgundy paint was applied. I was hoping for m***ive amounts of peel off, but it was not to be. Ah well, at least I was able to wash off most of the dirt in all the nooks and crannies and the mildew, too:





Doesn't really look any better, honestly.

 

That’s just cool…. Great progress!
A couple weeks ago I saw a really nice ‘52 2dr hardtop for sale for a real attractive price and somewhat local but I exercised great restraint and didn’t go buy it. The ‘52s are strange but I’ve always liked them.

 

I aways thought the body should be turned around on the frame . Then there would be a huge windshield and suicide doors .

 

Charlie Smith kinda-sorta had that idea in mind in the late '80s:

 

I remember that illustration. Must've struck a chord with me at the time.

 

Executive decisions were made:







I didn't want to spend any more time nor money on things I was eventually going to change or remove, so today the stock engine and trans came out without much of a fight. The crusty battery tray, the fuel line and a few other engine compartment bits were removed, just to tidy that area up a bit. The fuel tank was drained, as that will need to come out, too.

 

@In_The_Pink just read the whole post.Good luck with the old girl,she's!!

 

Keep up the good work! I had a Stude once, good car!

 

Opportunity to Upgrade??? & we're talking the stude6 here, btw... .
Marcus...

 

I would go Stude V8 first, but, sorry, not for this car.

The fuel tank was removed, then I drilled out all of the spotwelds holding the spare tire well in place, and, gone:



The underside of the trunk floor looks solid, too:



The factory crossmember, with the center driveshaft support will need to be tweaked, as removing the crossmember seems ill advised. I should be able to clear out some space in the center and beef it back up a bit:



I ordered new '60 Corvette rear leaf springs Tuesday, as the stock springs are 76(!) years old and only 1-3/4" wide (but are seven leaves thick). According to my math and online research comparing leaf springs specs, these should work out. Front and rear segment lengths and overall length limited my choices somewhat, and I didn't want a custom made spring, so I went with something close, with a firmer/higher spring rate, and enough load capacity.

I needed to install the eye bushings first to know which front hanger brackets to order, so I will order those from Barnes 4WD-- I used some of their brackets on the Nash, and was very happy with the quality.

 

Best of luck on your build, I like old Studebakers. I knew a guy in high school who had one powered by an 8 cylinder Cadillac engine.

 

I removed most of the black paint from the firewall, exposing the original Grove Green(?) color:



The color looks greener and less grey/neutral when flooded with light (as in the image above), but in the flesh, it's more drab and neutral, I think. Either way, it looks a bit cleaner now, with a bit more color present.

An overall engine bay shot makes it clear this car was designed with a compact I6 engine in mind, leaving no room for the additional width of a V8...not ideal:




Hmmm, what should I do, @nrgwizard ??:








I have at least 2-1/2 Olds 215s in my ba*****t, with two sets of 4-bbl heads, three cranks, and so on. In the back of mind, I've have a plan/hope for an Olds 215 powered Studebaker, so time to make that happen, even if it takes until 2027 for everything to come together.

 

you will def make the post on here about unusual engine swaps!!

 

Me, I'd go w/a hot-rodded Stude6... Turbo'd/supercharged/etc... .

Yup, '50 Studes don't accept v8s easily, & then have to be side-offset on top of it. A real narrow one can work. Usually some oil pan mods n oil pump pu tube location-change.

However, those Alum v8s are a nice choice. I like 'em... (Beats the hell outts a chev8 mill). They work well, good power for what they are, reliability too, + fuel economy. "Since you're in there anyways... may as well polish the whole thing - for effect, ya know... ;D , & easier cleaning!". Wow-the-troops & the whuh-fohs... . I do know, via the hard way, that the buick/poncho version is narrower than the olds, by a fair amount. & a buick will get you a switch-pitch 'glide - & olds had a 3sp auto(which is why we went w/an olds = big mistake when swapping into an MGB + trans is a lot larger = ooops), if you're willing to use oem. Lots of Alum Olds/Buick/Poncho v8 comments in RyanAK's thread, ~ '23-ish, fwiw...

I think you'd be very happy w/a ~60s' Alum v8 mill in there. Good on you.
+ the "adding Lightness" component will improve handling, or at least it's a good story... . W/o chasing #s, I don't think the Al mill's heavier than the Stude6, although the trans-weights might even it out some. .

Thing is, a ~'47->'52 Stude doesn't need a lot of power to go from here to there. . There's a guy in Iowa that transplanted a late-model hi-po GM turbo'd 4 cyl(A**** other things like an s-10 ch***is, Shhhh... ) into a '50 2dr. Works fine, & @~250-ish+ hp, is all he wants. .

Marcus...