Projects Studebaker 1961 259 v8 performance engine parts

Anyone got a contact for Stude performance parts?
Wanting to buildup my 259 but struggling to find any info/parts.
Thinking of heading to salt flats in classic production class if I can find some go gear for my engine!!!
Cheers
Jezza


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Is that a genuine RHD Stude ? I remember the Studebaker cop cars in Oz .

 

You might try these guys...https://www.b1heads.com/ . They are Mopar, but have built some Stude engines too.

 

Yeah mate RHD
111 wagons built in Oz in 1961
Only about 3-4 still in existence from that yr


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jez -

There isn't much..!

- Have someone do some "proper" cylinder head porting, and seat grinding. There's only a couple of us that know the Stude head well. What it takes to flow well. I've got MANY hours grinding and testing on a flow bench.
- Right now only "R2+" cams are commonly available, which is a reground R2 cam with a little more lift and duration. A few years ago, I had a bunch of roller cams made, but that's all gone now. You can still get roller cams, but they are kinda expensive. The block uses Chrysler lifters.
https://fairbornstudebaker.com/WP/
- Over on the Studebaker Racing site" there is a guy making adapters to use a small Chevy intake manifolds. Porting the cylinder heads and using a stock Stude intake manifold is like adding a big "choke" to the intake, so the addition of a better flowing manifold is a must with ported heads. Again, not cheap, but the only game in town..!
https://www.racingstudebakers.com/foo/index.php
- A few places to get good pistons Ross Racing is one place for forged pistons.
- There's a hand full of places to get good connecting rods. I got mine from Crower. Both "H" and "I" beam are available. I prefer the "H" beam for proper strength.
- Pertronix is about the only place to go for electronic ignitions. There's a Mallory distributor available, but I'm not sure if replacement parts are available. There is also an E-bay type company that sells a Stude distributor, but again, no real parts availability.

The Racing Site (above), might be a good place for general information, both on the car and the engine. I've also done a LOT of learning on what makes Stude heads flow well. I'm finishing up a set right now.

There is one guy that's well versed in Stude engines that can build you a good engine if that's of any interest to you. I recently did a set of heads for him. The engine went to England as I recall.
Jack Vines is his name. He can be found on the Racing site. He lives in Washington (I think!).

The Studebaker Drivers Site might provide some information, though most there are more into just driver type cars.
https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/

Good luck and have fun.

Mike

 

Jeff Rice, AKA Deepnhock here, converts "other car" manifolds to fit Studebakers. He does many Small Block Mopar conversions. Opens up several options.

 

Hi Mike
Thanks man that’s a wealth of knowledge.
I’ll do some research


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I have a pair of Jeff Rice "deepnhawk" ported heads and intake on my 289 (Now 299ci) and it runs great with the R2+ cam.

 

Record in “E” classic production at Bonneville 259” max is 203. I think your wagon will have tough time beating the aero of a Chevrolet Monza. Your car would need to meet all the safety rules for 200+ and your safety clothing too.

 

If you just want to go out there and have fun, build whatever you want and build it safe. If your goal is you actually want to set records/want into the 200 mph club, car choice and vehicle class choice become crucial to be effective. LOTS of guys try to set the world on fire with whatever they have laying around, and it usually is slow and expensive. Get a rule book, study it, and go look at the actually competitive cars you will be up against. If you can't out smart them, out work them, or outspend them, those goals will be very difficult. Not to discourage you, you can have a ball going well under your record, as long as you get great satisfaction running your own race. BTW I love Lark wagons!

 

I have 4 259 stude v 8 motors been trying to give them away . I also have misc. heads cranks ect pm me if you want anything

 

jez. Unless you just want to see how fast you can make it, the USFRA has a 130 and 150 mile classes which requires less safety equipment.

The SCTA demand all cars running in a specific class to meet the safety requirements of the record speed vehicle holding the record. Bear with when I say many thousands of dollars to qualify over 200 in safety requirements.

 

I know a guy looking for studebaker engine and trans.

 

I know a guy looking for studebaker engine and trans.

 

I had a Lark Daytona GT super chargered/Paxton with TT rear .
I ran "F-Stock"NHRA .I made my own headers<my design headers had 4 EX per head vs stock 3=center 2 tubes,I oval'ed/"D" going to center sim EX port,as part of those headers I made a tab that was part of header* that stuck into/inside EX center port ,as a divider. 1/4 mile F-Sock at 14 flat in 1967 was a vary good time on street tires.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/americas-best-v-8-engine-studebaker
and also this.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/studebaker-v-8
And for awesome; https://www.museumofamericanspeed.com/1953studebaker.html

 

259's are not hard to find as many Stude's get the retro fit Chevy motor at some point. Find a 289 for the rods if you want to build a bigger motor......look for the P in the serial # on the block - V would be a 259.

 

If you plan on racing the salt, contact the SCTA and get a rulebook....otherwise, you're wasting your time.

 

Not a prolific HAMBer, have a friend down here with a DLRA car

 

Hey, stillrunners;
FYI; Stude v8s used same rods. Except maybe for some of the few spl built by Granatelli. 224, 259, 289, 304 all same rods. I think the 232 rods were also the same. 232 n 259 used the same stroke crank. 224 crank was a super short stroke. 289 n 304 used same stroke crank. 224, 259, 289 were same bore. 304 factory hogged out, 232 mini bore. They used different pistons, each having different pin-heights.

& jez; Glad to see another Stude guy. Most of the multi carb aftermarket manifolds were made for the 232 sized ports. If you grind them out much to open them up to match bigger ports, you'll hit air. Adapting a cad manifold is hard because the manifold ports are off by 3/8" inches, so's you need dog-legged ports. Not good for performance, but can look good. Theibault has an "open" manifold, a copy from years ago, that would work as a base for a blower manifold.

Since studes respond very well to boost, that's why a lot have gone to turbos. Paxtons work, but are low boost, although that is offset by their high cost to acquire & especially to rebuild. Occasionally, you'll see a 4-71 or 6-71, but that you get to make yourself unless you either get the chevy adapters or can convince him to do another blower manifold.

Listen to Mike, he knows what he's talking about.
RacingStudebakers is a very good place to see what has, & is, been done as prototypes, & therefore what you could do also.
Fairborn, Dave Theibault, Ted Harbit, are honest guys. There's also a few others whose names escape me right now.
Marcus...

 

Thanks - so the crank is where they get the cubic inches for the 289/304 ? I always thought it was the rods.

 

And the bore for the 304's....

 

Rod length can't possibly change cid in any way. Affects breathing from the ports, piston speed in the bore, how long the piston stays @ tdc/bdc, torque generation in the rpm band, among other things. It's been awhile since I needed this info, so's it's not stuck in my mind, & I don't want to go thru the material & time to find it. Best I can do right now is from memory. Sorry. Bore for the 224, 259, & 289 was the same. 304 was a factory bored mill. I'd have to go look up specs. Studes had thick walls(was claimed to be able to punch them .125". Doubt I'd do that today.), although Packard v8s were the thickest( those could be punched .250". You read that right. After all these years n rust in the jackets/cyl walls - probably not anymore). A real popular Stude overbore for the 289 is to 299. WAG off the top of my head is .060 . Don't bet $$$ on that #, though.
Also, the 232 heads & the other larger bore v8 heads will interchange, but you'll have issues w/valve interference. 2 & 4 bbl manifolds will interchange, but you'll have port size issues. Nothing that some trickery won't solve if you want it bad enough. Cranks will interchange, you can get a ~200 cid(well, actually less if you're crafty... ) mill if you want. Still only weighs ~700lbs... . The rare spl/limited run cathedral-port heads aren't a consideration, & worse yet, they flow very little more than well ported std heads, need spl manifolds, but at least you'll have bragging rights on the depth of the financial hurt to your wallet. BTW, R2 heads are truck (low compression) heads. Nothing spl about them worth paying stupid $$$.
All Stude v8s use cam gears & solid lifters. The 232 used Stainless steel valves iirc, although they were small dia.
259 was probably the best stude v8 in terms of rod ratio, throttle response, fuel economy, etc. Still, not much beats cubic inches, except boost. Unless you add cubic inches to that. . Works up to a point, Studes are head-port breathing limited. Mike has figured out some good ports. Deepnhock is doing cnc ported heads, so they don't cost the moon & are probably 85+% of the way to max. Not bad. His altered Chrysler manifolds, or something that'll work w/the chev plate adapters, are needed to work well. Think that Jons' handle is 60elky on the hamb.
On the RacingStudebakers sites, you'll find almost anything you could want, if your wallet can stand the hit, since a lot of stuff is adapted, or is actually a one-off custom piece. Love me some Studes, nice torquey mills - & hardly anyone knows what they are. Bonus! .
Marcus...

 

Yea, It's a VERY rare block that will go to 304 inches...SAFELY.
While you "can" bore the blocks that far, the wall thickness will not support a stable piston ring for proper sealing. The bore will move, the rings will lose the proper contact pressure...there goes the power, right out the breathers..!

Mike

 

Thanks for the read/education and true - my little 259's have always been good little running motors in my trucks and cars. I do have a 1963 4 door that was ordered with the R1 and is low mileage runner that at some point I would like to put in my 64 Daytona - but that little 259 it has just keeps going !

 

Hey, Mike;
That's why I said I wouldn't do it today. Lots of difference 'twixt a factory newly-cast & a 50+ yo hi-mileage mill. Was iffy in the past, but folks did it. Used cheap fat soft cast iron rings, too. Sealed for a little while. Not exactly low-friction. lol. Thicker cyl are better, esp for boost.
Years ago I knew a guy who dirt circle-tracked, ran a chevy. Bored that thing so much, he said could stop the piston from sliding in the bore, by squeezing the bore w/his hands. I didn't ask how he'd do that on a uncut block, or how the rings would seal. 'Course, he also clearanced the rods' large end in a vice w/a large hand file. I'll pass, thankyou very little... .
Marcus...

 

the forged rods are all the same for all the v8s. The differences are in the forged crankshaft strokes and the piston wrist pin locations.
The 289 is the longer crank, shorter pistons, same rods

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"232 sized ports" .....
232 had the same intake ports as the others.
If you refer to tiny ports, that would be the really small exhaust ports with the very low roofs, and tiny valve seats for tiny valves. but the intakes use the same gaskets as all the later engines and can fit the same intake manifolds but not the same exhaust manifolds. 232 had tiny intake valves but "ordinary" intake ports.
232 = 1951-1954 -- small bore (3-3/8?), tiny valves, low exhaust roofs, BUT later 55-64 "big valve" heads bolt right on. same short stroke as the 259 3.25?

259 = 1955-1964 - same short stroke as the 232, but with the new 1955-64 large bore 3.5625 blocks. 3-3/8?stroke?? no, 3.25?? yeah 3.25.. I'll have to refresh my memory on that number

289 = 1956-1964- longer (3-5/8?) stroke crank with the 1955+ block with the same 3.5625 bores.

304 = 289 bored out (.187??or is that the 310?) , same 3-5/8 stroke as the 289s

all used the same rods. cams are all interchangeable. you can put Avanti R1 R2 R3 cams + heads in any 232, 259, 289, 304....

Piston heights and diam depend on the blocks + strokes.

There was a very small change in push rod lengths in the late 50s (58 maybe?) because of a tiny change in the rocker arm adjuster, but it takes a good eye to pick them by eyesight. Keep them in sets if you can.
Lifters never changed after they ironed out their early 1951 steel cam wear probs.

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259 power

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259 homemade intake

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I was cranking out Garage-built "Studebaker HEIs" when you couldn't buy them. almost two decades before you could buy the cheap knockoffs on every streetcorner.
The sizzle and crackle from mine would light up a dark room.



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