Engine Rebuilding

[bonehead007]

Have most of my Avanti ripped out under the hood. Now the big question. Debating weather to get the engine rebuilt, has 65000, on it. What would be the approx cost of getting an R1 rebuilt/remanufactured and is there anyone in the New York/New Jersey area that works on Studebaker engines ?

[DEEPNHOCK]

Opinions may vary, but a 'freshen up' of your engine would be a great thing. Then you would know the condition of all the components, and any corrective action, if necessary could be taken. Rings, bearings, and a full gasket set are sold by vendors for around a grand, and labor is labor. If you could mentor under a Stude engine guy, you would learn about the engine itself. Just re-sealing the engine would be worth the teardown.
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by bonehead007

Have most of my Avanti ripped out under the hood. Now the big question. Debating weather to get the engine rebuilt, has 65000, on it. What would be the approx cost of getting an R1 rebuilt/remanufactured and is there anyone in the New York/New Jersey area that works on Studebaker engines ?

[bonehead007]

The reason I'm thinking of the rebuilding is I feel that if I'm going to get the body work done on this, blasting, repainting, etc., I might as well do it right the 1st time instead of having to kick myself 2 or 3 yrs down the road after its back together. I wish I was more knowledgeable in the engine dept. I'm like most people, tune ups & oil changes.

[ROADRACELARK]

If you have the shop manual, you'd be surprised at how simple these engines are. Unlike the "new" stuff, these are basic, easy to under-
stand engines. True, there are areas that require some very accurate
measurments and procedures as well as some special tools that are needed, but again, following the shop manual covers every area of the engine...don't sell yourself short, look at it as a new challenge
Don't forget, you have a lot of support out here, and probably someone in your local area you can go to for assistance. You'll find it'll be fun as well as gratifying having done the work yourself[)]. Hope this inspires you!
Dan

[Roscomacaw]

bonehead, 65K is just broken in well for a Stude V8. Did you do a compression check on it? Have you heard it run before you tore it out?
The old adage "If it ain't broke - don't fix it" comes to mind here. And I can produce some pretty well-respected names from Studedom that would agree with me.
New gaskets and seals while it's out - great idea. But to just summarily throw a bunch of cash at that engine.... Of course, it's YOUR cash.[}]

I was just relating to someone, the tale of the engine in my Transtar. In '88 I pulled that V8 out of a wrecked 64 Cruiser. I really had no use for it but I bought it partly because it had a PowerShift tranny coupled to it and both the engine and trans were remarkably clean. Paid all of $125 for the duo at the time. Turned around and sold the PowerShift to a vendor for $150! (Wheeler-Dealer!)
A year later I bought this very sad-looking 57 Transtar which had a very tired 259 in it. So tired that the oil lite wouldn't go out.[xx(] I swapped the Cruiser engine into the truck thinking how cool it was that I had such a great replacement engine just waiting to go into my truck! (Remember - I said how clean the engine looked when I pulled outta the '64)
When I first started it, it didn't sound too hot. Turns out it had a burnt valve. Fact is, all the valves were adjusted too tight and that's probably what caused that problem.
It WAS clean inside tho and since I was about to move from the LA area to the valley, I wasn't about to go any further into the engine if I could avoid it. With the valves redone, it proved a very able, sweet-running powerplant. And I drove the daylights out of it until some dolt totalled the truck on a June morning in '95.
I rebuilt the truck thru the next two years and in the course of things I decided maybe it would be wise to look inside the engine. Remember, I had/have no idea how many miles this thing really has on it. What I found was that the lower end was in great shape. The engine HAD been blowing a wisp of oil smoke when shifting and I figured that was valve stem seals. Actually, it was worn rings.
After removing the ridges on the cylinders (they weren't bad) and honing the bores, I stuck new rings in it and buckled the whole thing back together. And it's STILL going strong, 10 years later!
The damned thing's showing about 25lbs of oil pressure - hot - AT SPEED! Of course, it wasn't until about 5 years ago that it acquired an oil pressure gage. Prior to that it just had the idiot lite. But I suspect it's always been on the low side, oil pressure-wise. I know an oil pressure reading like that would cause many to buy knee pads to protect them from injury because their knees were knockin in fear. Thing is, I've towed with this engine (many have seen pics of that on this forum) and I regularly wring it out thru the gears (although that's been a bit tempered of late by 3.30 a gallon gasoline[:I])and it just keeps on goin' without hesitation or complaint.

Think about it before you just toss alot of bucks at it. In this neck of the woods those bucks don't came as easily as I'd like.

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[bonehead007]

Actually, Mr Biggs, your the second person that told me if it ain't broke don't fix it. I appreciate everyones input. I'm going to tinker with it during the summer and probably get the body work done over the winter. I'm just looking at my options b4 I send it off for the body work. I'm not looking to fix it up and sell it to make big bucks, yea right, on Ebay. I've always wanted an Avanti since I was a kid. I just want to make sure I get it done right the first time. Thanks again everyone for the input and suggestions. If your ever in North Jersey, drop me an email & stop by....

[bams50]

I agree... a proper inspection, i.e. compression test, visual measurement of bearings by someone knowledgeable, etc. is all that's called for if it already runs good. Remember, rubber and plastic items, and gasket materials age and fail, regardless of mileage or care; so replace gaskets, belts, hoses, and seals.

If you're caring for and maintaining it properly, that's all you should need for MANY years to come!

Robert K. Andrews Owner- IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2358680/1

[wagone]

My two cents worth (or in my case maybe its a penny and a half) is that my R2 Avanti was burning oil at 250 miles per quart when I bought it and the former owner had jusy paid something like $250 to have the seals replaced before he sold it. I had the engine completely gone through (.020" overbore) to the tune of $3300 and it now gets 600-700 miles per quart!!?? So I'm not sure it is worthwhile to spend a lot of money on these engines--re-ring them and get the crank clearances right and make sure the pump is ok. That sort of thing. I'm old enough to remember when these engines were current but my memory is shot and I can't remember how many miles on a quart they got when new--but I'm guessing maybe 1,000 miles.[?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?]

wagone and the R2 Avanti

[Kdancy]

My dad's 62 wagon with over 100,000 miles used one quart between oil changes every 3,000 miles. It was a 259 with standard trans.

53commander HDTP
53 Champion HDTP
61 Cursed Purple Hawk
64 Champ long bed V8
64 GT

[bonehead007]

Talked it over with the Boss last night and showed her the responses..She agreed with all of you..It stays put..Thanks again for your input...

[blackhawk]

quote:Originally posted by bonehead007

Talked it over with the Boss last night and showed her the responses..She agreed with all of you..It stays put..Thanks again for your input...

Here is one more testimonial. I bought a Cruiser in 1991. It had 140,000 miles on it at the time and the engine had never been apart. I dropped the pan to check bearing clearances and they were within specs. I now have 250,000 on that engine and it still has not been rebuilt and is in daily use. It smokes a bit despite new valve stem seals t hat I put in a few years ago and oil pressure is low, but it still keeps on going. Dale

[wagone]

Dale, But what is your oil mileage? You neglected to mention that! I've seen engines smoke and still get very respectful oil mileage and others not smoke and do lousy on a quart of Texan's "black gold".

wagone and the R2 Avanti