1950 Stude Build

[dmw56]

Hey Everyone,

I gathered up the photos I've taken and got them sort of organized and thought I would start my build thread. The car is a 1950 Studebaker Custom Champion. Which was the lowest cost Studebaker Champion. It originally had a 169 cubic inch flathead 6 with a 3 speed transmission. My dad bought it in 1969 for $50 he was looking for a car and found this and couldn't pass it up since he had Studebakers before. He drove it for a few months before he found another car and parked this one. When I turned 16 the car had been parked for 3 years by then, I got it running and stopping again (brake job) and drove it to high school and then used it for a back-up cars as I got into Muscle Cars and was always wrenching on the ones I had at the time. Muscle cars seem to break a lot for some reason. The Stude pretty much sat for about 20 years before I finally began working on it again after I restored my 1970 AMX.

[dmw56]

More pics to come haveing trouble with photobucket!!!

[dmw56]

Finally got the pictures to load. I got a Fatman front clip with the Mustang II front suspension. It has the Stainless Steel a-arms with 11" disc brakes and power rack and pinion steering.


Flathead 6 removed from car


Front suspension removed from car



Preparing to weld in Fatman Front suspension



Fatman Front suspension Installed

[dmw56]

Here's the front suspension put together for now.


I got a got a good deal from a friend on the tires and wheels. They had only about a 1000 miles on them. They are Coker tires and Chevy rims the trim rings I had from my 95 Chevy pick-up. I kept them when I put new rims on the truck and saved them.

[dmw56]

I pulled the rear end out and made some new spring hangers for the front and rear. I have a 2003 Chevy S-10 rear end for it and it fit perfect. I was going to use the stock S-10 springs but they had too much arch and the back end was too high might have been a little stiff too. I didn't want to use lowering blocks so I got a pair of lowering leaf springs from Chassis Engineering. Those are the S-10 springs in the picture.


Close up view

[dmw56]

Once I got the front and rear suspension in I mocked up a Chevy Small Block with a 700R4 inplace to check for firewall clearance. I had to move the firewall back 4".

Here a shot from the front.

And one from inside. I'm using a Lokar shifter.

[dmw56]

Put on a new power brake booster this one is 7" diameter. The stock GM one was hitting the fender. As it I wll still have to modify the fender for clearance.



Steering Shaft using a SS Borgeson double universal Chevy splined to double D.


I'm using a support in the middle since it has 3 universals in the shaft. Lower universl is a SS Borgeson Mustang II rack to double D

[dmw56]

I have had this radiator but never took pictures of it. After some research I found out that a Chevy 55-57 radiator with the 6 cylinder mounts will work with some minor mods.

The size is almost exacty the same dimensions. It has the center inlet and passenger side outlet. It is aluminum with 2-1" cores.

[dmw56]

Well after a year of putting it off I'm finally back to work on the Studebaker. I spent the last 2 days clean up all the junk around the car so I can get work on it and have room to get the gantry crane over it to pull the body off.



I assembled the body dolly I bought. I know I could have built it but sometimes it's just easier and less expensive just to buy it.



The car is amazingly straight and rust free. But we have owned it since 1969 and it spent a good part of it's life in CA or garaged. I did finish all the body work and primered it back in 1977 but never painted it. It's been a Rat Rod for 32 years.

[dmw56]

I have already installed a Fatman front subframe and Mustang II suspension with disc brakes. All the suspension is pretty much completed. I just need to pull the body off and finish some frame work the transmission crossmember, run brake and fuel lines, rear shock mounts and clean things up.







Here is the engine for it. Speedway Motors 406 Chevy.