looking for some pics of 55 studes mainly tring to figure out a stance im doing mustang 2 onit now and ladder bar coilovers in rear.
I can't post photos for awhile as I'm away from my own computer . If you look in "cars for sale" under Studebaker Truck there are photos of my 2R with a Poncho front clip . It looks lower than it actually is because of the bumper which a much modified '92 Ford truck . Hope that helps
My wife drives a '55 Stude truck as her every-day vehicle--it's her ONLY ride. But it's NOT a hot rod. It's a stock V8 3-od truck with some "upgrades"-- a Valley Head Service "mild" 289, Pertonix ignition, 3:73 Posi Dana 44, a NOS T-85 tranny, a bitchin' base/clear paint job and a custom seat cover in leather and a Pendelton blanket. I think the Bob Bourke Stude truck (from '56 on back) is THE most beautiful post-war pickup and the '55 is THE most beautiful version of that design. I just wouldn't have the stomach for cutting one up--that's what Fords and Chevys are for!!!
I know what you mean about cutting one up I saved one from the crusher. I was just sitting in a field The other was in a guys back yard rusting away. SO I actually took two that qould have ended up being 'nothing' and will have one more to add to the Stude roll one day.
My 51 2R11 destined to have a 4 carb 289 Stude with a 5 speed maybe along the lines of the Bobby Green truck but with some guitar pearl interior accents???? Shop logo on the door, push bar for my 59 Chassis research Dragster& 54 Stude Bonneviile car
Yeah.. I kinda hope a lot of 'purist' look at it when they find out the whole story. My dad and I collected old cars since I was about 10 years old. Everyone of them was always original. This'll be the first one that was ever modified in any way.... But.. like I said.. it was two gone forever,.. or put two together,.. and keep some part of Stude history around. I think it'll be unique when it's done (even more so than a Studebaker is already LOL)
Only real difference in them from 49 to 60 is the grille. 60 or 61 they go to the half lark "Champ" body for the small trucks. The big ones may well keep on using the same old cab. I grabbed one because I like them, too, never did figure out what the whole "Scientific Operators" on the rear fenders was.
yeah you right... I got one of the 'older' ones... Mine is an M series... It's a 1946 Looks nothing like the R series (well if you know about Studes they don't) Fuuny how many people you run into that didn't even know Studebaker BUILT a pickup
I keep seeing one of those older ones sitting along the highway and thinking I should stop and bug someone about it before it turns into scrap metal. The cab would go right on an S10 frame, I'm sure.
yeah.. many of those old trucks fit well onto an S10 frame... I used part of an S10 in mine... but Me.. I'm unusual. I used the window from an extended cab one.. the little window that opens behind the door, I chopped my roof,.. and extended my cab 18". Decided I needed a little window in there to break it up so it wasn't all sheet metal from the door back to where the cab rolled around to the back. The little window looks good in there, and is functional.
Restored cars are nice to look at or sit next to ,my opinion is as long as you have fun with it and drive it its alll good!!!!
yeah.. thats my plan.. Thats why I am putting in a 350 SBC, and a 700R4 tranny. I wanted something I could get up and get out on the road with and not worry about just have to staying close to home.
I really don't see how a Brand-X V8 and automatic will be any more reliable than a Studebaker V8 and a Borg Warner T-85. I'd get in my wife's truck and drive it ANYWHERE. "Reliability" is no reason to drop in a Brand-X drive train. Now, if you're after cheap horsepower and cheap parts, that's another issue altogether. If you don't have a Stude motor on hand or if the trucks had the anemic flathead 6, then a Chevy V8 is as good a solution as any. By the way, if you want a Studebaker V8 and would be OK with a little 224 or 259, they're practially free as "cores" if you look around.
I have the original flathead V6 that came with the 1/2 ton. It hadn't been started in 7 years. We got it to run with little trouble. No knocks, no pings, no leaks... But like you said,... V6 just don't have the horse power to get out on the highway and run 75 mph and go very far... and if you need to fix it,.. it'll be hard to find parts,.. and could get expensive. Definately be harder to find parts the more years that pass...
Parts are no problem for Studebakers. You can pick up the phone right now and get every single item you can imagine for rebuilding a Studebaker "Champion" flathead 6 or the venerable Stude V8. And I mean EVERYTHING. The Stude V8 motor is EXTREMELY stout and everything inside is first-class high quality all the way. You get "stock" what you have to pay extra for when doing up a garden variety SBC--big, beefy forged steel crank with huge journals, high quality forged steel rods, solid lifters, gear driven cam. If you keep your Stude V8 full of oil the bottom end is pretty much unbreakable unless you try to spin it over 7000 rpm. The only weak part of the Stude V8 are the heads (where are held down by 18 head bolts!). They flow decently enough on the exhaust side even with the siamesed center port, but you have to do A LOT of intake port and chamber work to get them to flow at all and you have to use the "R3" sized intake valves as well. You can put A LOT of time and money into a pair of Stude heads and still be way short of what an off-the-shelf aftermarket SBC head will give you. I have great affection for the Stude V8. I've built over a dozen of them over the years and am continually impressed by both the design (given that it was introduced in 1951) and QUALITY.
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