Golden Jubilee
Posts: 2028
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:52 pm
Interbaker
My "partner" old wrecking yard in Orange Cove, CA (Donaldson Auto Wrecking--Steve-/great guy) had an early 1960s Stude Champ PU in the yard. The man that had owned it "rebuilt the motor". He had worked at an ag chemical place (Gar Tootelian) and had left SOMETHING in the cab for years. Whatever it was, it melted the interior plastic pieces and the metal floor. Took all interior paint off. Rats didn't mind, though. They moved in and had lots of fun living there.
I just wanted the truck for the frame and mechanicals and maybe some electrical stuff..."rebuilt motor"..I had no idea how WEIRD Studebaker is...and I'm an IHC Nut!
I also had a D-2 SWB pickup from the mountains. Great old lettering on the door.
So you know where this is headed...
I marched off wheelbases and they're really close...the Champ has a straight front axle with one of the prettiest drops I've ever seen. So far, so good.
Stude used a really peppy 289 V-8. This one has an overdrive. I'm ready!
First challenge was that the Stude V-8 was too far forward to fit inside D-2 engine bay. I used heavy angle and slid it back. Now the valve covers are close to firewall. Of course I had to cut the driveshaft myself. The Stude shaft was bent from being loaded by a forklift. (I HATE forklifts around old trucks). I found another shaft of the same ID and cut it with a Makita Cut-Off saw. I make my own shafts all the time. I use a piece of channel and a wire to determine run out.
The hardest piece of this so far is mounting cab on Stude frame. Stude is WEIRD! It has a "cascading" frame with at least four levels. Really hard to KNOW where to mount cab, anyway. As usual, centering front fenders over tires shows you where cab has to go. I just refused to give up. Radiator support had to be sectioned about four inches in order for hood to fit and line up.
I'm in the middle of trying to retain Stude disc wheels and cool S hubcaps yet put disc brakes on front.
There ARE kits for Stude. 5x5 pattern. But you can't use Stude wheels. I'm cheap. It's cheapest to use Stude hubs and "halo" discs and make your own brackets. I'll report what fits, if anything. The stock Stude disc wheels have a taper that doesn't allow for a big disc w/caliper. Stock Stude drum brakes are a mystery as to how they ever stopped the truck, Stude brake parts are NOT plentiful. The drum appears to float loosely on the hub. I suspect some pretty hairy stopping scenarios! The drum has to stay concentric to the spindle and hub, sheesh. Just a weird drum/ hub arrangement.