Tweet
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
I didn't mean you write to much.....I wish I could write that kind of detail
I didn't mean you write to much.....I wish I could write that kind of detail
-
Cognizant Dissident -
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Woweee. I crushed a 5 gallon bucket by sitting on it. And, you can ask Chad this, I don't weigh 140 soaking wet. All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't see this driving by because you would've heard a big crash in your front lawn.Originally posted by std
Am I the only one that thought this was a little scary?
I think you used more words in this post then I have in all my posts!
That is a sweet carBS'er formally known as Rebeldryver
Resident Instigator
sigpicComment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Dwayne - thanks for posting your experience with ramps. I've been waging a one man war against those things for years. A HS friend died while working under a stout set of them and another friend has a '66 Dodge A990 car as a result of the original owner getting crushed by it - working on ramps. Folks - DON'T use the damn things. They CAN kill you. Glad you're OK, Dwayne - sounds like you learned your lesson. I think the short A-frames are a good thing. They look very strong and have a wide base.
DanComment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
I'm with Dan, threw my ramps out years ago. Have stories to back that up, but suffice it to say, don't trust your life to the #($* things!
Dwayne, good to see your project over here. Go big or go home!
Chris S
Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.Comment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
My truck - I've owned it since 1985.... still not on the road - but now that the bathroom's done(ish) I'll be back on it
I also have a 51 sitting around here that's owned by a 17 year old kid - I had to get him started correctly, his parents own Nissans..... his will probably be on the road first.....
wow, it's been awhile since I've updated his truck - he's got a McCullough supercharger and 259 that he's working on putting in the truck with a t-5. Right now, it's the 6.... zero to 60 is measured on a calendar ;DDoing it all wrong since 1966Comment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
After the suspension was finished and the mock-up engine in place, it was time to figure out what
to do about headers. The car had Sanderson block hugger headers with 1 7/8" tubes, but these
short headers probably didn't do much for horsepower. The car also had a full 3" crush-bent exhaust
to the bumper with a crossover pipe and Flowmaster mufflers. This system was ok, but there was
a lot of resonance at highway speeds. Potter thought I needed to build a set of 2" or even some that
stepped up to 2 1/8" mid way to the collectors. I had read all I could find on the net and purchased
a header guide from Headers by Ed. Ultimately I decided to build a set of 2" x 2 1/8" stepped headers
with a 3 1/2" collector. I purchased some J bends and a box of bend mistakes from Stahl headers to
see what I could come up with. My header flanges are 3/8" laser cut from Torque Inc., and are made
so that the 2" pipes will slide right in with only a little corner work needed afterwards. I drug my feet
for several months trying to get the courage to get started as I had never attempted anything quite
as complicated as a set of headers on my own before. From early on I had wanted to have an exhaust
cut-out at the back of the front fenders, but as much as I wanted that in the end I wasn't sure I would
pull it off. There's another item to regret because it would have been just one more notch cooler. I
also really want the car to cackle without being unbearable at cruising speeds. The overdrive trans
and tall tires should make noticeable differences in the noise level. But I still wouldn?t mind if it made
a baby cry when I drove by! (That's actually a goal of mine, lol) I started by locating my collectors
even with the bottom of the frame rails so nothing would hang down to be seen or scrub. To do this
I had to move the collectors back beside the transmission, which made for a couple long tubes but I
figured they needed to fit more than they needed to be equal length! I went out 14"-15" from the
flange with 2" and stepped up to 2 1/8" for the rest of the way to the collector. After a couple tubes
I was in a groove and they kinda just went together. The hardest part was convincing myself to get
started! The headers and complete exhaust turned out great and I'm pretty proud of that... One
unique aspect of the headers is the way three tubes from each side are paralled to bottom of frame
with one tube from each side looping up behind the flywheel housing and into the collector. That tube
ended up about 42" long on each side but the rest are between 36" and 38" total. Potter asked me
if I could change to 32" primaries, lol, wasn't gonna happen! I figured I had about 80 hours total in
fitting, cutting, welding and grinding to make these headers.
I them came straight off the collectors thru QTP 3 1/2" electric cutouts to dump the open exhaust
when needed. The 3" exhaust system Y'd off the collector extensions into an X pipe configuration
and then into a pair of Dynomax Ultra-Flows. In order to route the exhaust like I wanted and maximize
ground clearance, the rear foot-wells were replaced with flat sheetmetal. Going over the rear axle
with mandrel bends also required a little to be cut from the trunk floor. After finished I then carried
the entire exhaust and headers to Jet Hot in Pascagoula, MS (they've since moved to the midwest)
for some of their sterling silver ceramic coating. It all looks awesome and I can't wait to hear it fire
up! I hope I like the mufflers because it'd just mess things up to change them now!
I used copper gaskets with stainless nord-lock washers on the header bolts which should make for
leak and trouble free system. I also used the wide band clamps at each connection on the exhaust.
A friend of mine used them on his Camaro with great success. Was too easy with no flanges...
DwayneAttached FilesLast edited by 53 Studillac; February 10, 2013, 07:47 PM.Comment
-
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Hey Buickguy,
I've installed an S-10 T5 behind a 259 in a 52 Studebaker truck for my dad. Give me a call or email
if you want details! Turned out slick... 662-803-35thirteen.
DwayneComment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Beautiful Work! Love those headers!61 Olds 88, 69 Plymouth Roadrunner, 68 Pontiac Firebird, 95 Buick Roadmaster LT1Comment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Thanks that would be quite helpful - it may be the kid who owns the truck who calls as well -Originally posted by 53 Studillac
Doing it all wrong since 1966Comment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
excellent headers and pipework. like the whole project.... always on the verge of building a street/strip bulletnose... eventually.....Comment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Yet another thing that drove me nuts about this car was the fuel tank. Supposedly the stock
pancake of a tank held 16 gallons. Funny that I could run out of gas and it only hold 10? And
it would stumble when going up a hill with less than a half tank. I think the pickup was broken
off inside the tank and the outlet was at the front so gas was always being push away... Well
that wasn't gonna be acceptable and I needed more fuel for cruising range. I had already went
the fuel cell in trunk route before and wanted something nicer for this car. But I didn't want the
tank hanging down and being too visible from the rear either. I have a friend into Mustangs
and noticed the way the tank bolted into the trunk floor so I devised a plan. I cut out the trunk
floor and made a cardboard mock up giving plenty of exhaust clearance and getting the proper
rear site line. Using that shape I determined how tall it needed to be to give me 20 gallons of
usable fuel. I also wanted to retain the stock filler location. I needed to protrude into the trunk
about 2" to satisfy my demands. With carpet the new tank will be easily hidden. I almost forgot
about the trunk floor. Since I cut away the center and needed some clearance for the exhaust a
new section of trunk floor was fabbed to fit around both. I also had to add a small bump to clear
the center link of the rear suspension when fully bottomed out.
With the fuel tank shape taken care of I had to decide on what to do about a fuel pump. I was
intrigued with what I saw from Tanks...
I purchased a pair of them to try. Yes a pair because they are only rated at 500 hp each! After
I received them I tried to make them fit my design but ultimately decided not to use the complete
assembly but was going to use the pumps. The other option was perhaps one big Aeromotive
pump but am thinking that I can stage the second pump on with an RPM switch and if my primary
pump ever gives up the ghost I can just swap wires and still make it home on the secondary pump.
I let a guy talk me into building the tank out of aluminum. Big mistake, well it wouldn't have been
if he had followed thru with what he had told me. "Don't worry I will weld it" and about 3 months
later I gathered up my parts and tried to find another welder. For some reason TIG welders are
rare in rural MS. I ran across another fellow who said they could weld it and he made about 6" of
weld and it wasn't pretty. So I took the warped up pieces home, sucked up my pride and called
Ricks. I sent them drawings of my tank and even the fuel pumps I already had and they delivered.
The only thing they didn't do that I requested was a drain plug in the bottom. I'll manage without
that... One bad thing about the SS tank is that it weighs 70 lbs! At least the weight is in a good place.
Notice the receiver hitch, its there when I need it tucked behind the tag...
With two fuel pumps in my trunk, trying to keep the plumbing neat proved to be another challenge.
I needed to tee together the pressure and return lines at the tank and then split the line back to
each fuel rail at the engine. Yes she is fuel injected but that will be another post! The available Ys
just didn't fit my vision so I designed some fuel Ys that keep the lines parallel while using straight
hose ends and less angle than the 45 deg Ys offered. -6 lines come from the pumps and thru one of
my Ys into -8 lines to the engine. Just in front of the door on the driver side is another Y to split with
a pair of -8 lines to the fuel rail along with a pressure sensor the the gage. For filters each pump has
a sock on the suction and I have a 10 micron Aeromotive filter in the pressure line. One thing to note
is initially I purchased 20' of Earls Pro 350 black nylon braided hose. After using all of it, I decided to
try the Summit brand instead as it was considerably cheaper. Not saying it isn't good stuff but the
Summit hose is definitely lighter and more flexible. I'll stick with the Earls hose in the future, but I like
the Summit hose ends. Time will tell...
DwayneAttached FilesLast edited by 53 Studillac; February 10, 2013, 09:08 PM.Comment
-
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Here's some better pics of the receiver hitch and a 1953 MS tag that is registered to
the car now to hide it... I found a 1953 MS tag on ebay and sent it to The Tag Dr in GA.
He did a great job on the tag restoration. Its a farm truck tag. The standard car tags
from MS had the county name on the bottom and I have not found my county yet. But
they let me register this tag so all good for now. I also found a 1953 trailer tag that
I will use if the need ever arise... I hope to build a tear drop trailer to pull behind
the car.
DwayneAttached FilesLast edited by 53 Studillac; February 10, 2013, 10:25 PM.Comment
-
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
With the engine out a few unnecessary holes were welded shut and the firewall modified to properly
secure the steering column and hydroboost, the firewall needed some re-smoothing. A plate had
already been welded in to smooth the firewall by the previous builder but it wasn't very flat. I also
added some down tubes from the firewall to the front frame horns hoping to stiffen the frame some
and add a race car vibe to the build. I took the car to Mike Goldman Customs in Meridian, MS. They
re-smothed the firewall, made some custom aluminum inner fender covers and mounted the radiator.
And speaking of radiator, I went all out making the frame horns wider to accept a custom Ron Davis
dual pass radiator built to my specs with dual 14" Spal fans. After finishing some other details the car
was taken to Manning's Paint and Body in Noxapater, MS to spray some glossy black on the firewall
and repair the ramp damage on the front bumper.
DwayneAttached FilesLast edited by 53 Studillac; February 10, 2013, 10:54 PM.Comment
-
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
holy cow - all this in a car port -
this makes me feel even more worthless and weak with the mediocre crap I've churned out of my pole barn!There's always something new to learn.Comment
-
Re: 1953 Studebaker / Studillac project...
Definately putting my carport hack job to shame :P That is some incredible work.Escaped on a technicality.Comment
Comment