I bought my first Studebaker!!

[candbstudebakers]

Dan, good for you, now the real work starts, and the spending of money get flowing, I hope you can find the parts you need and want....Bob

[Tom Bredehoft]

Great Car. I've loved that '53 coupe since at least '55. Had one since '59. Things to get to improve the car. Entire brakes from a '55-62 or so Commander, backing plates out. They will bolt on. When you achive the V8 you will need a new rear axle, the 6 cyl had a Dana 27, you can find Dana 44s if you look hard enough. Get to know Vern Ediger in Kansas, three one six, eight three oh, two two seven one. He will have many things you will need.
Get it to stop (replace all brake lines) before you get it to go.
Keep us posted on your progress.

[Roscomacaw]

Ya done good! Hey, I still get a boot outta drivin' my 3spd OD like a 5-spd. It doesn't take much work to learn how to shift it to optimum capacity, and it boggles the mind of many who've never seen such before. Heh - for that matter, so does three on the tree!

[starliner62]

I have some stuff you may be interested in. I have an early 4- speed, some nice finned front brake assemblies, a GT hawk dash (bare) and some other stuff. Good prices. Good for you for purchasing a great car. It will give you years of pleasure and it won't talk back!

[jclary]

..... and it's all mine
This may all blow up in my face ...... I hope you all will support me and my crazy decisions as I make my journey into studeom. Here's me and my new baby

Congratulations...YOUNG MAN! When I started my Studebaker journey...my wife had a few uncles who teased me about my Studebaker. The most often comment that stung my ears was, "He'll get over it!" Well...my face has lost its youthfullness, they have been in the grave for years...and, I STILL HAVE THAT STUDEBAKER AND MORE!

Speaking of face...looks like you are busting your gut trying to hold back that big grin just to look cool!

Best wishes to you and hope your Studebaker experience lasts you a lifetime.

[rockinhawk]

Well it would be different! Would it interfere with the OD at all? I can't see why it would.

There is a Hurst shifter on the market designed for 3spd trucks. i mounted one of those to a Studebaker 3od. It took some modifying but I got it to work on the workbench. I never installed it but later sold it to Pat Skelly. I think he had to do some more modifications but put it in his 62 GT. Last time I asked him about it, he said it was working great.

Yes it does interfere with the OD! You have to work around it.

[63t-cab]

Danny, I'm glad you found a car to get you "in deep" <G> most of us may have got started that way,I know I did and am not sorry as it's been a blast over the years of Studebakering !

[Flashback]

I'll post more when we go to pick it up. The guy said he'll deliver it for the gas.
Off subject but are three speed hurst shifted trannies as cool as I think they are?

Glad to see you worked it all out. Great looking start. YES, (in my opinion the Hurst shifted trannies are as cool as you think. Here is one shot of the one in my 53. I did a tech on this, as well as some others. Look in Bob Johnstones tech articles on a how to for this and a lot of other great info,

[Skybolt]

Congratulations on such a fine car, one of, if not the, nicest cars produced in the US, 6 or 8.

Depending on what year of Hurst shifter and style you plan on using will determine how easy it is to find one. I have a three speed "Indy" by Hurst shifter just sitting with a pile of trans stuff but I would not think it's any better than most other shifters. It's not got the body of the typical Hurst 4 speed we all know. The ones available through Hurst http://www.hurst-shifters.com/?wpsc_...%84%A2-3-speed are much better than the one I have. For the price though, it was free, I can't complain except it takes up space. I guess it was a cheaper model. If you were close by you could have it but shipping would be too much to find out it if it would or would not suit your needs.

There are so many options out there that what ever you run up against just post it and someone will probably have had a similar experience and a fix for it, as you have seen here before.

[PackardV8]

Congrats on the car. You chose well.

Yes, the Hurst-shifted 3-sp w/OD is the perfect tranny for a budget build. The T86 works fine if it is not abused. If you can find the rare T85 from a car, that's the best one. The more common truck T89 works well, but the 1st gear will always be a bit noisy. As previously mentioned, add a second OD kickdown switch in parallel with the floor switch. I put mine on the shifter knob itself.

No, because of the OD, none of the Hurst shifters are a bolt-on. It's easily possible to modify either the best early Dual Pattern SyncroLoc shifter or the good-enough currently available Indy to fit.

The easiest way is to have the tranny on the bench, make the shifter bolt up and work, then cut the hole in the floor to fit and build a console tunnel to cover it. Here's a T89 I just did for my C-cab pickup. It's mounted high and forward to avoid the long bent shift rods required for a low rear mount. This approach will require fabbing your own bracket, but that's as easy as the rest of the tasks to which you've set yourself.





You've asked many good questions and will get answers and parts locations from those who want to help you succeed and become a Studebaker Driver.

jack vines

[tony58]

Congratulations,on your first Studebaker.I followed your earlier thread and missed the part about your age(young).So my hat is off to you for getting your feet wet in Studebakers.Way to GO!!!
Tony

[Flashback]

Well we went out to Beresford today and gave it a real good looking over, we even unbolted the fender to check for inner fender rust, all the body work is done, and done well for what it is. It's gonna take time money, and alot of determination. But I think I can make it happen, I don't expect it to be going anytime soon but I want it to be at least drivable by IDYSD next year. I don't want to finish it before it hits the streets just get a running motor/ tranny in there, get it all sealed up, get it braking, you know start with the basics. I hope to find a decent parts car, preferably a GT Hawk, it'll make this much easier. The car in question is 1953 starlight champion coupe, and it's all mine
This may all blow up in my face in the end but I'm gonna try as hard as I can. I don't think it will though I don't plan refurbish anything that doesn't need it just make it usable and reinstall it. I think a parts car could make this happen a lot easier, and I plan to get one asap. I plan to find a 289/ 4 speed, and throw that in there, I'll settle for a 3 speed if I have too. I want to use a gt hawk dash if I can get one cheap enough. I think if I keep my standards low and keep number one goal driving it, then I think I'll get it going soon enough. I know a lot of people doubt me, and have good reason, but I hope you all will support me and my crazy decisions as I make my journey into studeom. Here's me and my new baby

By the way, This is a great photo

[LeoH]

Well it would be different! Would it interfere with the OD at all? I can't see why it would.

Totally different throw pattern,fwiw, but I liked the 3 speed floor shifter in our 75 Scout.

[jackb]

OK...next order of business: buy the complete shop manual for your ease of effort in fixing the car up. Also, buy your chassis and body parts' books. These can be found used here or on eBay.. but likely from someone in your nearest Stude club. If you remove "anything" take a quick pic for future reference. Get back to us here for help any which way...and GL !!

[GThawkwind]

I have some stuff you may be interested in. I have an early 4- speed, some nice finned front brake assemblies, a GT hawk dash (bare) and some other stuff. Good prices. Good for you for purchasing a great car. It will give you years of pleasure and it won't talk back!

Huh the shipping might be a killer but PM with some details. I want to try and find a parts first though.