I have read many times on our forum, people getting their nose out of joint when someone posts a desire to swap out a Studebaker engine. While I enjoy using a Studebaker engine and really like being able to make them run well, I also like a well pulled off swap. The 65/66 Studebakers are an example of a well engineered swap. When I was 16 I had a 55 Chevy 1/2 ton panel truck with a very tired 235 six. Instead of rebuilding the six I installed a 56 Pontiac 316, 4 barrel V8 for a few reasons. I got the engine for nothing from a neighbor. It was fun making everything fit and work, and the truck was a blast to drive afterward. A year later I put a 421 Pontiac in my 57 Chevy 2dr sedan. I bought the car without an engine and I got the 421 from a wreck. It was less than half the price of a HP 327 or the just released 396/427. I helped more than one friend put a 348 in his tri-five Chevy. I have witnessed a 401 nailhead Buick put into a 53 coupe. It fit really well and the car was fast. A local guy years ago put a 426 Chrysler Hemi in an AMC Gremlin. It too was fast and stunned people when the hood was opened. Rarely is the swap candidate a pristine original car. My requirement for a swap is it should look like it could have been done by the factory. Sometime you use what you have and it makes for a nice ride. I think if a swap gets a Studebaker on the road rather than languishing in a garage, behind the house, out in a field, I'm all for it. I guess I'm still a product of the 50's/60's when many cars had engine swaps.
What do the rest of you think? I'm interested to hear others opinion. I think I could make an argument either way.
What do the rest of you think? I'm interested to hear others opinion. I think I could make an argument either way.
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