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]

Here's the engine I will be using. Its a 400 Chevy from Speedway Motors. My ex brother-in-law had it in a 71 Chevelle. He pulled it out when he sold the car. It had only about 10k miles on it. He left it at my sisters house and she called me one day and said for me to come get it out of her gargage. I said OK!

It was just a long block but the price was right. Free!

[bob w]

Nice project you have there. The pictures are excellent. Must be nice to have a good body to start with. Around here you can count on replacing the lower 6" of the body! It always surprises me that the firewall has to be moved back when replacing a 6 with a V8. I ran into the same thing putting a sbc in a '49 Plymouth. Keep posting as you make progress.

[chopper tom]

It's gonna be sweet !!!

[Tripper]

Originally Posted by dmw56

He left it at my sisters house and she called me one day and said for me to come get it out of her gargage. I said OK!

DMW,
Nice build & really nice motor there but if there's anymore just sittin' around in your sister's garage... please lemme know!!! ; - >

BoB