Projects All Studes, All The Time

My '60 is one piece. I really don't see a need for a two piece on a car with their wheelbase...

 

Pulled the stock driveshaft out this morning and picked up a donor shaft out of an almost on topic vehicle this afternoon.



It's a bit too short, so it will need to be retubed, but it has the slip section I need and is already set up with 1310 joints.

 

Welding up the center hole in the spring clamp plates did not go as planned. I sharpen both sides of my Tungsten so I can hot swap them if I ball one up. Managed to drop it and tried to catch it between my legs. Yeah. Caught it dead perpendicular to my legs and the balled up end pushed off of my right leg driving it a good 2-3 inches into my left leg.

Pulled it out and went running for the house. Thankfully it was still hot so it burned the wound closed. Also did not hit any important bits or arteries so that's always a plus.

 

Self-cauterization? ??? . Careful, them's doctor-techniques... . I won't say anything about no-license. .
At least it was working on a Stude, could've been worse... .

Hope you're ok. & it heals quick.
Marcus...

 

Back on its wheels again. I think the stance is just about right. I think my wife wants around a half inch more rake or so. One of these days we will get it locked down so I can set pinion angle and burn in the mounts.

Also my leg hurts, but we did a careful inspection of the tungsten and it was intact, so at least nothing was left in my leg.

 

Don't do dat!!!

 

Ouch! I can relate; couple weeks ago I was tack mig welding in a weird position and just after a tack the gun slipped out of my hand and the red hot wire stick out impaled my left forearm. Same deal, (self cauterizing), but only 1/2". Got my attention! Be careful out there!

 

Decided to add another main leaf to the pack. These old Avanti springs are pretty sagged out, so I don't think it will affect height much. I can stand on both together and they go dead flat. I'd like to add to the spring rate in the back.

Instead of just hacking the ends of I decided to rework the old eyes into half wraps. I figured I would rather have a second main with questionable (ruined) temper on the ends instead of having a stress riser where the second leaf meets the main. Overthinking it? You bet. Too much work? Probably. That's what we do around here. Hey, at least I didn't stab myself today.





Still need to finish up shaping it and trimming it to length, but I'm pretty happy with it. Now to do a second one...

 

Got the the second extra leaf spring finished up. Very happy with the match. They both had to be slightly tweaked to match up to the spring in the car.



I also found out that Avanti springs and Lark springs have slightly different center pin locations that required redrilling the "new" springs. Not ideal but it will work for what we are doing.



On the ground I am happy with the spring rate I achieved. Seems much more balanced with the front than before in the highly scientific bounce test.

Unfortunately the stance is not what I want anymore. I was hoping to come up around 1/4". Instead it came up a solid inch. I also think that the 1/2" setback is too much. The previous 3/8" setback was just right to my eye.





Switching to the drop perches will bring it down a half inch. I will try that tomorrow. Worse case I can bolt in a 1/4" or so shim bolted into the spring pack to fine tune it. Looking forward to getting this locked down and perches welded in.

 

It'll likely change with miles...

 

Took one more crack at this with the other perches. Axle is 1/8" further forward from before, and 1/2" lower. 3/8" back from stock overall. Very happy with this. Has good clearance while still subtly showing that it is a taller tire. Pinion angle is within a half degree of where it should be, pointed slightly down compared to parallel with the tail shaft.







Going to stop thinking about this and just burn the perches in so I can measure for the new driveshaft.

 

Yea, that 1/8” made a huge difference.

 

For those of you wondering, yes, I do have the "let me overthink this" bumper sticker on one of my supply cabinets.

 

Welcome to the "If it isn't exactly how you want it, it's the only thing you'll see" club! Now you can move on...

 

Last night I puller the rear axle out and got the petches welded on. Some of the welds even turned out OK I think. Still practicing TIG welding. I did not stab myself this time so I must be getting better.





I just ordered up rear leaf spring and shackle bushings too. Sounds like the shackle bushing will be a fun challenge to deal with. Anybody have ideas or tips for removal? Mine are absolutely destroyed so I need to do this while the car is apart.

 

Working on getting this axle ready for paint and assembly. Decided to run the stock brake hose from the chassis to the axle. There is a bolt hole in the top of the 8.8 that is almost perfect minus the fact that its metric and too big. I had all sorts of schemes to fix this including helicoils, or custom threaded studs. Then I realized that welders and silicon-bronze filler rod are a thing. Hacked up a 1/4-20 bolt and away we go.

 

Damn good lookin' weld!

 

I caved and decided to use a braided brake line. I would still like to find an OEM hosee in the future, but for now this will work. If anyone knows of an application for a 24" or so hose with a 3/8" or 10mm banjo non angled banjo fitting let me know.



I'm going to do a more thorough test fit on the car. If that works I am going to finalize the bracket design and order up a few sets.

I also drug the rear axle outside and got it more or less stripped for paint before the rain started. I have a couple small areas to clean still, but I'm planning on getting some paint on it tonight.



I only managed to drop it off of the stands twice so far.

 

Finished for the night. Managed to drop it off the stands one more time, but thankfully it was before paint flew. Next time I'm going to make an engine stand adapter for working on axles.

 

That Lark convertible is turning out great!
Reminds of one I had about 20 years ago. I fit it with a 327 Sbc, and a th350.
Often, at shows, I would hear someone say: “that’s a Rambler”, to which I replied: “actually, this is a Studebaker Lark” they would mumble: “same thing “…

 

When my wife spotted her first Lark convertible, I tried to direct her towards a Rambler American instead, but was informed they were not even remotely close in her eyes. 1960 Lark ragtop or nothing.

 

I realized a bit too late that the original brake line mounts on the rear axle were part of the sway bar mount. I did not like the thought of using two passenger brake hoses since the brackets would not be mirrored symmetrically front to back. I decided to use an mid 60's Thunderbird brake hose instead since I already had purchased one and it did not work on the front.



I also decided a direction for the front hoses. I spent way too much time on this before realizing that the stock frame side mount was not going to work. It put the hose in a perfect pinch point between the new large caliper and the frame. I modified the stock hanger by bending it over to a 90° angle, then notched and drilled the bottom frame flange to mount it out of harms way. I also had to file notches in to index the brake hose in correctly. My only concern is the possibility of a rub on the wheel lip at full lock. Time will tell.







I also drained the gas tank so I can get it pulled to install rear spring bushings. Could not find a good piece of hose so I had to get creative.



I also noticed that there are no body mount bushings in this thing. Double stacked 3/16" or 1/4" steel. Very strange. I'll add it to the list of things that need fixing.

Can someone with a chassis or parts book tell me if the drag link from a C / K will fit a Lark? I want to pull this hydraulic setup off and might steal parts from my '54 if needed.

 

It's looking like 1959-64 Larks use the same drag link. Anyone have a manual steering car they want to sell me parts off of?

Anyone in the market for a full factory power steering setup?

 

Spent some time with my wife this weekend de-rusting and painting parts. Also got leaf spring and chassis bushings replaced. Hopefully the rear end will start going in the car for the final time in the near future.

 

Subscribed...
I looked for about 15 years trying to find a '53 or '54 Commander in Goldilocks condition before I found a deal I couldn't pass up on a '55 President. I'm jealous of how quickly yours is coming together. Mine is very much a work in progress, but I've definitely got the bug now.

 

Nicely done!

 

Once you've gotten bit by the Stude bug - there's no remedy, but more! .
Marcus...

 

Basically a Ford guy, but, STUDES are VERY COOL. Fell in love with Hawks in the early 60s and Larks a little later when I drove a Lark with an R-2 drivetrain.........WOW !!!! My hat's off to you Studebaker guys !!!!!

 

I think I found my 'just right' sheen of chassis paint in the middle. Duplicolor low gloss engine enamel. Flat was too flat. Semi gloss was too glossy.

Giving the springs, axle, and some hardware a quick respray before it gets re assembled. Not going to retouch the chassis since that will escalate into a frame-off with the way I work.

 

On my off-road trucks I prefer to leave the spring and shackle bolts a little on the loose side, and then double nut them to hold them in place, with the first nit welded to the shackle. This lets the bolts and bushings spin freely with grease lubricating them and keeping them happy long term instead of tearing up the rubber in the bushing.



Finished painting everything and we got the springs and axle put in place tonight. Need to finish bolting things in and plumbing the rear brakes.



I also got the stock master cylinder pulled out. I was planning on using a Jeep CJ5 master cylinder since that's what most guys do on these, but I'm not really happy with how far it hangs down from the frame. I'm exploring different options at this time.



Speaking of Jeeps, I took some time out and gave the old Willys a long overdue valve adjustment. I definitely need to stay on top of this, as well as using lead substitute more regularly. Oops.