please excuse my terrible typing.... first, a little backstory..... I wasnt always close to my dad growing up. he was a stern, hard working man and i was a kid from the 80's. bmx, skateboarding and all that rebellious at***ude kinda kept us apart a bit. we were far from wealthy, dad was a steam engineer in southern ohio in the late 70's when it collapsed, and moving to texas in 1980 right when the oilfield began to die was terrible timing too. But my dad made sure we were fed and had a roof. By the time i got into cars, i had to save to buy my own, and my dad worked so much that he wasn't there to help me learn about them. But the one thing i always knew was that dad loved Studebaker coupes.53 and 54's were his thing! he couldn't afford one back then, and wouldn't have gotten one if he could, but he loved them! Shortly after my brother and I left home, and stopped living off of our folks, my dad bought a rough old 60 hawk. the paint was so thick, it probably would deflect bullets! it had a chevy v6 in it, and was pretty gutless, but my father loved that old car. he drove it daily for 10 years until an old man stopped at our house and said his dying wish was a 60 hawk and offered dad quite a bit for the old girl. I immediately began searching this website called "craigslist" for a 53-4 coupe for my father. We located a really nice original car that wasnt running and struck a deal. Dad finally got his 53 coupe. It needed work, it needed paint, it needed alot, but was a solid old car. About the time dad got his coupe, I opened up a car audio store with my father. We worked what seemed like 24hrs a day up there just trying to ger her off the ground. We had some success, had a few cars published in magazines, but it was just too much work for the pair of us to make it. We sold the business and to make up some losses, some of our personal toys.....and dad sold his stude. A couple years later, i saw an ad for a 54 commander regal coupe for a good price and i called on it. it was two miles from my parents house, so we drove over and looked at it. One owner, 70k miles, completely original car. No rust, running flat 6, etc....he bought it and drove it home! We put a small block chevy in it, lowered it a bit, new wiring and little things like that, but when i got stationed in virginia for a year, dad stopped working on the car, cause he didnt want to work on it without me. After i returned, my life kinda got screwy, a long seperation, divorce, and all the craziness that goes with that, so the stude sat. Now, dad loves to tinker with the car, but he's not a mechanic by any means, so not much gets done if i'm not there with him...but mabye thats the way he wants it anyway..... Now recently, with the economy downturn, my father lost his job building cabinets for aviation, and my mom who is a realtor...well, we all know how that market is, my father did the only thing he knew to do to save his house...he sold the stude........ But..... When my dad called me and asked me to put the stude on craigslist and here on the HAMB, i told him sure i'd do it and i went a took a few pics for the ad. On my way home, I called my friend "bubbaluv" a fellow hamber, and with the help of bubba, we sold the stude......to me! My father doesn't know that I have his coupe, and plan to do all the things he had planned for it and give it back to him on father's day next year! It's not gonna be a traditional build as i want him to have all the things he talked about...disc brakes, a/c, a fatman frame stub, i'm gonna do ls power , a custom interior, he likes the new rocket brand "fuel" wheels which look like a 17" "A" spoke torq thrust, and a smooth paint job. I'm buying and gathering parts while i'm working here in Afganistan, and can afford to give back just a little of the joy that my dad has given me these last few years. I've grown very close to my dad and can finally see how hard he worked through some really rough times to make sure we had what we needed. I've been blessed with a good job and now it's my turn to give back. Reading Ryan's post today inspired me to write this, so mabye my sons will be able to see what i was thinking at the time, as well. Bubba, i owe you big time, and i'm sorry if my dad hates you,haha....he'll change his mind soon enough!! i'll post some pictures when i find them on this computer of the stude, and once i get back home, i'll use it to show progress and mabye get some answers to some questions i have. I still need a good drivers grille surround,a set of 57-61 post doors, and if any stude guys could tell me what is a good disc rear to swap in, that would be great. Thanks for letting me ramble on, i hope i didnt bore anyone to death...
brother i think what you are doing is nothing short of great.i too was not very close to my dad. i was born in 55 so 70s was when i started my own way long hair and rockin roll. not my dads cup.calmed down some and got married in 78,life went on and i never really got close as i wanted to.lost him in 87.still kills me when i think all he really wanted is for me and him to be closer.we had our moments but ... i would give anything to have done what you are doing. that is about the coolest thing ive heard of in a long time. your a good son i sir applaud your efforts.
No help on the rear disc swap. Good luck on getting it put together. My dad and I are building this mess. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=473875&showall=1
This sort of thing makes the hamb great - be safe I'm a dad with a kid that is not interested in cars or me lately I did the single dad thing for years and I guess making him do homework brush his teeth and etc made me an a hole he's 26 going on 15 Now I have a few cool cars and have the reality that they are for me and the next owner - not my son. Sad part is he did some work on his own car with me once tune up and valve cover gasket and he was a damn natural ! He can think the job through and turn the wrench and worked clean. Now he wants to be a lawyer- maybe he'll make enough money to buy a Hawaiian shirt and gold chains ha ha
I used a Firebird GTA rear end in mine, but it was a ***** to narrow it and get all the bearings, it was some odd ball item I got for free. Consider rebuilding the stock front suspension with different springs and a sway bar, the suspension is actually quite good with a DB conversion. Good luck.
If you want to keep the Studebaker rear end contact Jim Turner.He sells a quality kit for rear disc brakes.Most Stude guys use his front brake conversions as well. http://www.turnerbrake.com/reardisckits.html
Well done Lad !! Just wait till you see the look on his face when he see's the Stude. Make sure someone has a video/camera !
IAM TEARING UP . Great story , if you are ever in KANSAS look me up & i'll buy you a cold beer. BE SAFE & THANK YOU.
Great story Matt! Keep us posted on your progress on the Stude and on the presentation of your Dads Stude back to him.
VERY cool! I had a chopped '55 coupe with original 259 Bearcat V8 for 10 years. Had a blast with that car. Props for hooking Dad up. You need someone with a video when you spring it on him....
Man, your story is Rad. I almost teared up a bit there. Good for you. Wish I still had the chance. All I have left is my old mans 34 coupe(in a million pieces) and memories. He had a m***ive heart attack and died when I was 15.
If I could meet you I'd shake your hand...hell, I might even give you a hug! Thank you for your service and for being a damned good person. I wish you all the luck in the world with this project and when you give the Stude back to your dad, get it all on video and share it with us (unless you think it's too personal, of course.)
i found a pic i took of the car when i was "putting it on clist", i have some others, but i think they are on my laptop that i left in the states. the car drives as it sits, but the trans is weak and the are some clearance issues with the "bullitt" wheels. it's really a solid old car. we welded up the fender vents as the promote rust, and sealed up the vertical "fold" at the back of the fender that traps dirt and rusts out. thats all the rust his car had. i know it's not hamb friendly, but dad likes the pro-touring kinda style, and i love the way these coupes look with the layback headlights installed. i dont remember the name of the guy who bulit the gold colored one with the mercedes light, but it looks pretty killer. if anybody has a pic, i'd love to see it again. my dad loves the color orange, so mabye a bright orange candy or metallic with a black roof and trunk like the 55 speedsters had. i guess that will all come together in the end. i appreciate the kind words fellas, and i promise to get dads reaction on camera.
Thats a great looking car, hard to believe, it was designed in the 50's, and all done with out a computer aided program! Your dad, must have done something right, cause you turned out just fine!
That's a fine thing your doing for your dad and I'm excited for you just hearing about your plans. I'm glad you had a good relationship with your dad as mine never saw eye to eye with me on just about everything. I tried to not repeat my experience and my son and I are really close. We shared the rebuilding of a real '69 Z-28 I gave him for his 16th birthday and now he's 46 and just started doing a pro-touring makeover on the same car with his son. I can hardly wait to see the result of your efforts to bring your dad's Stude to fruition and present it to him. Keep us posted. Frank
My son is a civilian contractor in Iraq now, and was one in Afghanistan for several years. Retired 3 weeks ago. I did a 55 Champion 2 door wagon about 10 years ago and the best fit I found was a late model Ford Explorer. Right width, right gears for overdrive, and factory disc brakes. Good luck, be safe, and don't trust Hodgie.
here's a couple more shots of the car. its got a few dents and dings, but overall pretty straight. i've got new gl*** for it, taillights, and a bunch of other stuff. i've spoken with "elpolacko" on the forum, and i'm gonna use one of his frame clips. if you haven't checked out his site industrialch***isinc.com , i suggest you do!! he seems to be a studebaker master!!
In reality, Elpolacko is the ch***is master. People bring cars to him to fix that were "built" by other so-called "experts". Steve knows his cars and he has had a few Studebakers through his shop in the last few years. Good work comes from his shop. He always thinks of unique ways to solve problems. Like to install bigger brakes on Dakota spindles, he adapted Explorer rotors and calipers.
That almost looks like the twin to my coupe! Great story, Matt. You're fortunate to still have your dad, and what you're doing for him is priceless. I'm going to follow your progress as you will probably finish yours before I get mine done.
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