1964 R2 GT barn find 2... picture heavy

[jbwhttail]

As many of you know we recently purchased this car as reported in an earlier thread.


Our 38 year old son tony instantly became interested in the car upon helping us with an inspection once it was removed from the barn.


When the car came home he had to get the dirt off as his whole career has been in the car wash industry, first working in high school at a car wash now today building them.


He told me, "I might as well learn how these things work as you aren't getting any younger, and I really like this car." So I now have a partner in this restoration! My goal is to be the adviser as much as possible, and of course the "money man". So in the past couple of weeks we have been prepping the car for removal of the engine, yesterday our goal was to get the engine out and on the engine stand.


"The engine and tranny are at to steep an angle to clear the car son...."



"Not a problem Dad"...
"

His "yankee" engineering works...


With the engine out we can begin the process of rebuilding it and the transmission. I shake my head at how this once beautiful car has deteriorated setting in that barn. We found that the battery had exploded and sprayed acid across the back of the engine. The carb crumbled apart in our hands upon removal. Bolt heads are destroyed in places, a total mess. The valve covers have rust holes thru them!


It's going to be a long process restoring the car, but with Tony's assistance it will be a fun project. Father and son team AND I am adding a new Studebaker addict. We will continue to update our progress as it moves along.

[BobPalma]

'Way cool, Joe; thanks for the updates. BP

[sweetolbob]

Father/Son project, it doesn't get any better than that! Good luck, Bob

[candbstudebakers]

Joe nice find in fact one of the best cars to find. in the future when pulling the engine get a angle adjuster tool from H/F for about $35. and you will make the job a lot easier used mine yesterday, good project.

[TWChamp]

That is amazing at how it deteriorated while in storage, but glad to see it will live again and is in capable hands. I'm still wondering how so many leaves got packed under the hood?

The worst storage I ever saw was a 1950 Champion that I looked at 2 years ago in northern Minnesota. It was covered with plastic and locked in a metal shed with a dirt floor and no ventilation. And to make matters worse it was in the middle of a large woods, and not touched for over 10 years. The complete interior was solid mold and the bottom 10 inches of the body and frame was rusted away. It was a nice restored car to start with. Amazingly the chrome was still good, so it was sold for $1000, and worth that for the chrome.

[jbwhttail]

All we can figure is the metal siding on the barn did not reach ground level, the property has many trees as well as an orchard and the wind and rain took leaves into the barn. from front to rear was packed with leaves, anywhere there was a space that would trap them. that or 25 years of some energetic rodents....lol. Also the interior was also covered in mold and my wife Naccy has been cleaning interior parts for over two weeks as in the pictures below. The interior will be used briefly at start up and testing then replaced as car gets torn down again for total restoration of body and frame.

Before.



After cleaning.

[plwindish]

Looks like a great father/son project! Best of luck with it.

[6hk71400]

Besides a respirator, what did Nancy use to clean that interior? It looks fantastic!

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[jbwhttail]

Nancy here, I used a product that we sell where I work called Citrus Oxygenated All Purpose Cleaner. Sprayed it on,let it sit a few minutes,agitated it with a brush,wiped it off with sponge & water. It is made by Warsaw Chemical here in Indiana. Any one that would like some of this cleaner, I could ship it to you. We sell Jan San products. After I used the Citrus Oxygenated, I went over the seats with a regular vinyl cleaning product & then a protector like ArmorAll. You can contact us at Hartman Supply @ 317-783-3217

Here is the back seat before I started


Here is the back seat cushion after I finished cleaning.


Hope this helps, Nancy

[Guido]

I hope the car has seatbelts, no one will be able to stay on that rear seat without them.

[jbwhttail]

Finally! Got the engine stripped to bare block, few issues with stuck pistons and deer season got in the way.



Now it is off next Monday to the machine shop and we start to bring it back to life. Ted Harbit found a set of rebuilt R2 heads her in Indiana and has been giving much needed advice..... Thanks Ted!

[jbwhttail]

Been a while since I updated the progress, so here is an update as to where we are just before CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS To ALL!

The engine has now been cleaned and evaluated, it needed a +0.010 on rod and main bearings, +0.030 on pistons with one cylinder sleeved as it had rust in it. I had asked the shop to keep it as close to original specs as possible. I had them check the "deck" and they came back with a variance of .0.025, The decks are now ground equal. Ted Harbit told me he had never seen one that far off, The engine shop said, "no wonder they went out of business", I just smiled and said ...."Do what Ted tells you to do, just make it right." We should have the engine back by the new year,

All the while we are getting the engine "right" we(My wife and I) have been scouring the net for parts needed, from body panels to obscure bolts and nuts. This "club" has been GREAT! We have purchased parts from the east coast to the west coast and several hard to find parts are coming from our friends across the pond in Great Britain!

A short list of vendors helping with parts.

Fairborn Studebaker, Phil Harris

Meyers Studebaker

Studebaker International

C and B Studebakers.

Lark Works(wiring)

Dave Thiebault

And finally all you folks who have parts hidden in closets.... you know who you are...........NOS body panels, gauges and chrome, we are overwhelmed!

The transmission is now being rebuilt along with the Torque converter. Our next goal is to remove and restore the gas tank, then on to the brake system, brake components are ordered. Goal is the wife on the road with it in the summer.........goal not commitment.........LOL.

A Happy and profitable New Year to everyone!

The Bacon clan.........

[nels]

It appears you folks are having a good time. I'm looking forward to the finished product, Joe.

[Sam Ensley]

A great car and a great project. I wish my son would be interested in Studebakers. At least my eight-year-old grandson likes them and likes to help me clean them. A very enjoyable story. Keep us informed.

[jbwhttail]

Received the block back today, now has new pistons, rings and all bearings installed. We are now ready for final assembly, will also pick up freshly rebuilt Transmission and Torque converter later this week.