I've worn the letters off the keys searching for comprehensive answers. I've got a 50 Stude Champion on its way. I've sent my thinking from using the stock front with upgrades, to a MII with stub, and now am considering a Corvette C4. The C4 really intrigues me. I have some questions that concern me tremendously, as I am that kind of worrying guy. The track width of the Stude is 56" The C4 has a wider track and uses highly offset wheels, so the WMS distance is wider than the track width. Will this geometry work with no offset; such as 8" wheels with a 4" backspace? I want to use 15" Halibrand type wheels. I have heard terms like tire scrub and other complicated terms that give me appprehension. Does anybody really know if a C4 setup can be narrowed and work with 0 offset? Or have any comments to give this Stude owner?
With the basement prices of Jag suspension nowadays, I'd look into that. The earlier XKEs had a narrow track. Do a search...
Yeah, I've heard about them. Just sorta gives me chicken skin to think about Limey parts though. Is Bloss Hospital still in Atwater? My wife used to work there. We had portugee friends that made the best grub! oH my.
Are those 4" reduced racks readily available? What track does a 4" reduction give? Will that work on a 50 Stude? If I sound uninformed, it's not because of lack of looking, I've really tried to find info. Look at me, I'm making excuses already.
I know a guy who put a Firebird front suspension under a Stude truck - said it nearly put itself on there. Or you can check the forums at the Studebaker Driver's Club or Studebaker Truck Talk.
No reason to worry about the Jag front suspension. It is strong and good design. Parts area available and not hard to find or expensive.
I don't recall the exact dimensions, but the early C4 (84-87) have different offsets from the later cars. The overall track should be pretty close, but just know that all C4 are not created equal. Smaller spindle and brakes on the early cars as well. Corvette Forums is pretty awful to read, but there are some useful sticky threads for reference.
Unless your going a full blown front & rear C4 there is no reason for the using just the C4 front. Go with the Mll and if you need more glamor or tricker handling parts there are many companies that make after market parts. I just did a '50 Stude Champion Vert. with a wrecking yard Mll ( no stub) only because that's what the customer wanted. If it was mine I would have added some up grades to it. Your over thinking the project. JMO
Overthinking is not a big problem around here. The size of the minds don't allow it. I just thought that the C4 would fit right in without major sub; stub, or at least less or sub-equal to the MII. Glamor is not a consideration. Performance is. Oh My.
You can narrow it to your needs. I did in my current 36 Dodge. You will want to use the early C4 front from 84-87 because it has the small rotors so you can run 15" or bigger wheels, regular offset is fine. You will want to get a 89-97 Cougar/T-bird rack to get the correct width, and the Corvette tie rod ends are the same metric thread, so thread the Corvette ends on the new rack and your set. This complete setup is alot cheaper than people would believe. Hope that helps, Bob
As stated, using a T-Bird rack and coilovers allows narrowing the front by several inches. The main priority in my 54 Conestoga build is handling so I went C4 all the way around. I cannot comment on your wheel choice since I went with the 13 brake option which requires 17 wheels and stuck with the stock offset mainly for geometry concerns. Yea, Im not the happiest with the wheel choice, but with Studebaker centers they will be OK. The width front and rear was narrowed about 2 which allows using 275/40 tires all around without altering the wheel housings. All things considered, if I had to do it over Id do it the same.
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