NEW Member 1950 Studebaker Retro-Rod

[s2dbkr]

My marriage has never given me the troubles this build has given me.

[GThawkwind]

That spider is freaking awesome!! I would totally do this on my cars.

[dimaxion]

I am a purist . You did save this from becoming 55 Jappo Scrappos . I am greatful . Nice rod and excellent custom . You are thanked for your efforts by me . Thanx ..

[Corvanti]

i absolutely love your '50!

she is giving me "bad thoughts" about my 51's drivetrain since it needs some work...

[s2dbkr]

I want to thank everyone for all the positive feedback, it's most reassuring.
Kerry ( Corvanti ), what did you have in mind. If you decided to do a mild modify, bear in mind the '50 frame will have to be reinforced if you put any solid horse power between the rails. You could get away with a mild SBC or find a nice R1 289 and keep it Studebaker. You'll need to change differentials for the added HP, and if you go with a 1 piece driveshaft you'll have to put a hump in the floor.
Let me know what you decide if you're going to modify, I can give you some advice on do's and don'ts.

[Corvanti]

thanks "s2dbkr" for the possible future support!

what i "want" to do and what i end up doing depends on the financial hardship right now (thanks mainly to the ex-Mrs. Corvanti and some health issues). also what i find in the engine and auto trans once i get in there and what i can do with my free "slave labor" or have to farm out. when i purchased her last year, the seller (Matthew) said the engine needed new valve guides/seals. it's still running/driving but has gotten a lot worse with smoking - loss of power, etc...

i do want to keep the engine (at least) all Studebaker. "i'd rather have a V8" but have also been looking at the Cathcart, or similar head, dual carbs etc. for the 6.

this was the late Tom Elliott's car, and it will always be "Tom's car", i reckon. i don't want to get too wild with mods, except for maybe a bit more chrome and stainless "shiny stuff" on the exterior, as some older pics showed it had.

in my location, i'm able to drive her year 'round and want her to be a daily driver in the sense that i could drive her anywhere if i wanted to.

so, we'll see how it goes!

EDIT: oh, forgot to say she's a '51 - from what i've learned, it's a lot different with suspension and other underbody parts, etc. than the '50...

[s2dbkr]

It's understandable you wish to keep it as stock or Studebaker as possible as you feel it will always be Tom's car, good on ya. I didn't know the undercarriage was different in '51. I do know the body ran from '47 through '52 with changes to the front sheet metal only. So it's quite possible as new suspension technology came into been, so did the changes to the years. All the Best with the upgrade. Look forward to seeing what you do between the rails.

[Xcalibur]

Who cares about the (radical) purists--fought that battle to death. It's YOUR car and it looks nice, imho. Thanks for showing it to us!!!

[s2dbkr]

Thank you Xcalibur, I must add though, the majority of the purists understand the drive and/or reasons for modifying cars and
are very supportive, as long as the vehicle is not over done and gawdy,
I've had many positive and uplifting comments from "the purists" regarding my mods and I certainly appreciate that.
However, I have had rude remarks from the odd purist with a holier than thou attitude, THAT, I can do without.
Like you said, " it's my car," and I'm proud of how the car turned out.
So I just ignore those people and let it go, it's water under the bridge.

[Corvanti]

i'd leave the spider as-is, with a clearcoat. the placement seems perfect!

don't worry about the "ultra-purists". i went thru "nasty-grams" about the Avanti, even though i purchased her - did not build - with a C-4 Corvette drivetrain and suspension installed (hence "Corvanti" when i joined the forum). i miss her - she was faster/handled better than my C-3 '80 Corvette "matching numbers" i had at the same time...

some pics: http://www.studebaker-info.org/AVDB1...1384x1110.html

[poppy]

hey, dont worry about anybodys opinion, its your car and thats the way u like it, I think its sweeeeet

[allstudedude]

NOICE Custom!! Excelent work there!