Other: 1950 Champion Racer

[Tn_Stude]

Hello! My buddy and I are building a 1950 Champion race car. Long story short, it had been sitting in his barn for 20 years, and a few weeks ago we randomly decided to get it out and start fooling with it. Wouldn't you know there is compression in that old straight 6, and the frame is as straight as an arrow. This got our minds rolling, and we want to build a full competition ready racer. I'm talking LeMons races, rally (dirt and tarmac), TSD rallying, if there is a race we want to run the old girl in it. We're both young (I'm graduating college this December, he graduated this past spring), and definitely biting off more than we can chew. Thankfully his dad is a lifelong Studebaker man and has forgotten more car knowledge than we've both ever learned. Here are some of my questions regarding getting it set up to race:

1. I've seen where it's very possible to turbo the flathead I6. Any suggestions on best types of turbos to use? Out of which donor car?

2. We want the suspension to be as stiff and firm as possible. What's the best type of suspension to use?

3. We'll have to upgrade the transmission. Any modern 5 or 6 speed alternatives?

4. What's the best rear end to run in it to go with the hopefully upgraded power?

5. We'll desperately need new brakes. We would need discs at least up front, preferably all around. Any options on that front?

We'd like to keep it Stude where ever possible. But ultimately we want speed and handling. We've both been doing research and gotten input from his dad, but we just keep hearing so many different things it's tough to keep it together. We're hoping to have it done roughly a year from now, and any input would be greatly appreciated!

[RadioRoy]

Welcome to the world of Studebakers.

Champion and racer are two words you don't often hear together. It would have been easier for you if it were a 51, as they had the suspension system that was pretty much the final design and for which all the upgrades have been designed.

The best rear end if you keep an overdrive is a 4:55 ratio.

The best bet is to secure the new parts before taking the car apart. Take it slow (I know, that is something youth and enthusiasm rail against) and find out what you have before deciding how and what to modify. Studebaker published some great parts books, which show every part in the car and how the parts interact. They are available from all the Studebaker parts vendors.

You will get lots of advice from folks on the forum and most of it will be pretty good.

Make sure you plan out what you want to do and vet the process before tearing into it. It's 100 times easier to take something apart than it is to put it back together again and many cars have been lost by taking them apart in a hurry, then finding out that what you wanted to do is not possible, or much harder than anticipated, then the project lies fallow, then the car turns into a parts car, or gets hauled away for scrap.

Most of all, have fun and be safe.

[Commander Eddie]

Welcome to the forum and Studebakerdom.

You might want to go to the racingstudebakers forum. You can get to it through the SDC website. There you will find all things regarding making Studebakers go fast. Specifically search out the Salt2Salt team. They run an early '50s Studebaker with a killer flathead 6 out at Bonneville. They probably know more about maximizing these engines than anyone. You can also start your own thread to track your progress and invite comment and advice. It is a cool site and you should get a lot out of it. Go where the experts hang out.

[Tn_Stude]

Welcome to the world of Studebakers.

Champion and racer are two words you don't often hear together. It would have been easier for you if it were a 51, as they had the suspension system that was pretty much the final design and for which all the upgrades have been designed.

The best rear end if you keep an overdrive is a 4:55 ratio.

The best bet is to secure the new parts before taking the car apart. Take it slow (I know, that is something youth and enthusiasm rail against) and find out what you have before deciding how and what to modify. Studebaker published some great parts books, which show every part in the car and how the parts interact. They are available from all the Studebaker parts vendors.

You will get lots of advice from folks on the forum and most of it will be pretty good.

Make sure you plan out what you want to do and vet the process before tearing into it. It's 100 times easier to take something apart than it is to put it back together again and many cars have been lost by taking them apart in a hurry, then finding out that what you wanted to do is not possible, or much harder than anticipated, then the project lies fallow, then the car turns into a parts car, or gets hauled away for scrap.

Most of all, have fun and be safe.

Yea, that's what we've heard about the 51's. Right now we've just got it stripped down, and painting it and will hopefully have it running by the end of the week. We definitely have a long way to go, but we're just trying to find where we should start on the performance front!

[Commander Eddie]

Here is the link to the Racingstudebakers site.

http://racingstudebakers.com/foo/index.php

[Tn_Stude]

Here is the link to the Racingstudebakers site.
http://racingstudebakers.com/foo/index.php

Thanks. I'll just copy and paste my question over there.

[gordr]

Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but if you are going racing, the modifications that you may or may not add to the car will be dependent upon which race series you plan to run in. I don't know if, for example, 24 Hours of Lemons allows a turbo, if the car didn't originally come with one. Before you turn a wrench, get a gander at the rule books for the race series that interest you, and find out what's permissible.

[Tn_Stude]

Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but if you are going racing, the modifications that you may or may not add to the car will be dependent upon which race series you plan to run in. I don't know if, for example, 24 Hours of Lemons allows a turbo, if the car didn't originally come with one. Before you turn a wrench, get a gander at the rule books for the race series that interest you, and find out what's permissible.

Though everything we've found, it all basically comes down to the safety requirements of roll cage, harness, etc. We're not really concerned with it being all completely original, that's not the point of the car. My buddy has a Commander and a Business Coupe that are both all original. This thing is meant to be a modern racer with a classic look and touch. I know it's not gonna corner like an Formula 1 car no matter what we do, but we want it to go around both left and right turns without looking like a boat coming around the turn.

[RadioRoy]

One thing for sure, it will be the most unique, and probably the coolest car in the race! I love the idea of a bullet-nose Studebaker race car.

To answer some of your original questions:

Turner brake kits are pretty much the standard for bolt-on Studebaker disk brakes, although many folks have designed their own. I have no idea if Jim Turner makes a mod kit for putting his system on the 50 Champion, but he posts here and might just chime in on the subject.

Lots of guys on this forum have added 5 speeds, or at least discussed them heavily on this forum. You could search on the subject. Most of the performance mods are on V-8 drive trains, but a lot of the info will cross over to the 6.

The front suspension is unique to 50 Champion, and the steering mechanism is unique as well - quite unique in fact. But it does take tubular shocks, so you can get some improvement there rather easily.

I would think your biggest challenge would be beefing up the frame. I know very little about frame beefing, but the 50 Champion frame is not known for being beefy to begin with. Can you find a 51-52 frame and suspension and transport the body?

You can get rear a sway bar from a 50 Commander, or 51-52 Land Cruiser and that will make a stock suspension handle much better.

Good luck and stay safe.

[Tn_Stude]

One thing for sure, it will be the most unique, and probably the coolest car in the race! I love the idea of a bullet-nose Studebaker race car.

To answer some of your original questions:

Turner brake kits are pretty much the standard for bolt-on Studebaker disk brakes, although many folks have designed their own. I have no idea if Jim Turner makes a mod kit for putting his system on the 50 Champion, but he posts here and might just chime in on the subject.

Lots of guys on this forum have added 5 speeds, or at least discussed them heavily on this forum. You could search on the subject. Most of the performance mods are on V-8 drive trains, but a lot of the info will cross over to the 6.

The front suspension is unique to 50 Champion, and the steering mechanism is unique as well - quite unique in fact. But it does take tubular shocks, so you can get some improvement there rather easily.

I would think your biggest challenge would be beefing up the frame. I know very little about frame beefing, but the 50 Champion frame is not known for being beefy to begin with. Can you find a 51-52 frame and suspension and transport the body?

You can get rear a sway bar from a 50 Commander, or 51-52 Land Cruiser and that will make a stock suspension handle much better.

Good luck and stay safe.

Well, turns out we came across a frame today for a 51' Commander convertible, which would fit the Champ Coupe perfect would it not? And thanks for your help!

[LeoH]

I have to think some of the racers who you read about on this thread might have some
tips and advice if you asked: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...a-via-Hemmings

don't forget Turbo Stude's site for information as well. http://www.turbostude.com/

[rockne10]

Well, turns out we came across a frame today for a 51' Commander convertible, which would fit the Champ Coupe perfect would it not?

Unfortunately, I'm thinking not! '50 Champion wheelbase was 113; '51 Champion/Commander was 115. That's not an insurmountable issue but,...what if you could find a police Caprice LT1 at auction? It fits the '50 Champion wheelbase and would give you the four corner disc brakes. Please note...my suggestion is only half baked solely on the wheelbase match.

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

Not to dampen your enthusiasm, but the first question to be answered is where or with what group will you be racing. Each racing organization has a lengthy list of rules regarding construction, safety, frame or engine interchangeability for a given make, and may have a rule regarding model year of the body. I can't imagine your car fitting into existing rules.
Now in Tennessee there must be plenty of quarter-mile dirt oval tracks. Some tracks will have a "old timer" division that may race full sized stock cars of the 30's through the 50's. In fact recently Circle Track Magazine had a picture of a '51 Commander Starlight that was being currently raced. This may be your best hope if you want to have a Studebaker on a race track.

[Skybolt]

I have seen a few 51's racing in the La Carrera Panamericana so there might be some mods they use that could be employed in your project.

[Stude Star]

Another option is buy a cheap early c4 Vette. Take the body off and you're left with the frame, suspension, brakes, engine, trans and diff as a designed unit.

Ok, it's a little too long and wide but cut the frame down the centre a few inches, you'll need to narrow the rack, half shafts etc. then cut the frame down the centre and through the prop.

Yes it sounds like hard work but it's a very cheap way of getting top quality parts that work together, just imagine how much that lot would cost you and the fabrication time in messing with the stock steering/brakes/suspension etc.

Your car will be AWESOME at the end.

I have a '51 with a front clip, Mustang 2 suspension, SBC, TH700r4, 8" rear etc and I can throw it around similar to a modern car.

I depends on the type of racing you want to do and what the regulations state?

Good luck and let us know how it goes


Just my 2 cents...