need studebaker ideas

[hagar]

I just picked up a '52 Stude tudor that I need as a beater driver.I need ideas on a front suspenion swap and engine swap that would save the firewall..........open to ideas

[Paul]

rebuild the worn suspension parts and soup up the stock motor.

Champion or Commander?

3 speed OD or Auto?

I had a '50 Champ with the smoothest column shift I ever drove

I lowered it and drove it stock original for a few years,

fun old car, damn near everybody had a dad, uncle or grandpa that had one,

or so it seemed by what the public said

Paul

[Rocky]

52 is a crossover year for Stude. Had the '50 style body with the 53 style shovelnose. Kinda weird lookin. I can talk because I got a 53 Champ coupe.
I got a buddy here in the Omaha area with a 50-51 4 door sedan that's stock. He lowered the suspension a little, painted the car a dark maroon and put full moons on it with black tires. It's got mexican blankets on the seats. That's all it needed to look really cool. He rebuilt the stock flathead 6 banger and cruises slow and low. No problem.

[fargoguy]

I agree with both of the above posts. The studebaker front end is a solid design that has a nice ride to it. No need to switch to a subframe. Soup the flathead and make sure you have a stude overdrive trans behind it. A stude flathead and OD is a very reliable and quiet powertrain. There are also split manifolds, dual carb setups and other soup-up modifications that can be done inexpensively. Congrats on the Stude- now when do we get to see a pic?

[I go pogo]

Do This. The mill is a flathead Studey of your vintage.

[Crease]

I will make you the same considerate offer that I have made to several folks with dreadfully inferior motors. Put that thing in a box and send it to me. I will dispose of it properly. Im such a nice guy, I'll even pay shipping. Please include the motor mounts, tranny and rearend.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Crease
Barons So Tex

[drgnwgn289]

If you start putting down some real power with that motor, you may want to put a commander tranny on it. All the overdrive and everything hooks up the same, its just a little stronger (and a little longer). The suspension on the studes (starting in '50) is really stout and really well designed. You can get a set of "Durlin" bushings that will replace the stock ones and that will make it ride and handle even better

[drgnwgn289]

also...check out Cathcart's Studebaker (http://www.studebakervendors.com/cathcart.htm) for speed equipment for that motor like a head, headers, cam and multiple carb intakes.

[RocketDaemon]

if u find the 52 front to be ugly the 50-51 front is bolt on
aswell as the earlier models aswell..