The Thunder Hawk Project is back on

[GrumpyOne]

"Hope to get back up there on Monday and do some more work on it. Sure was nice to be back working on it. This is the best therapy man can buy."


Best wishes with your therapy, (medical and hobby), as I hope to finish my long languishing '55 Prez State Sedan project within the next eighteen months. Your gumption is a true inspiration...

[Flipper]

I'm anxious to see where this goes. Has the frame work already been done? I'm thinking about looking at jag suspension myself.

[SilverHawkDan]

GrumpyOne, Thank you for the kind words. These last four years have been a real struggle. Been on chemo so long I don't know if I would be able to function if it ever ends. Just real happy that the new drugs are working great and the side effects are pretty minimal. My dad had a 55 Commander that he gave to my older brother. It was a nice car. I built the 299 engine that was in that car. It was the first engine I ever built. I was 10 years old at the time. Of course dad kept a watchful eye on me and made sure it was done right. Ran real good. Hope that you can find inspiration to get out there and work on it regularly and if I can be a part of that inspiration then all the better. That way we both get therapy that works.

Flipper, Yes the Jag set up has been fabricated in. You can check it out on the RacingStudebakers web site. It is in the forums and listed in the Studebaker Powered Performance Projects. It is The First Love Project. I used four Energy Suspension bushings and fabricated a mounting plate that bolts to the top of the Jag differential housing. I didn't want to mount the differential housing directly to the frame s some people do because I did not want the vibration. This is going to be a street car that will see lots of miles and ride comfort is big with us. I hope to be getting back to finishing the rear suspension by February. I will post pictures here as that work progresses.
Dan

[Flipper]

I found the thread and read it all the way through. Did you find a rack that will work with the narrowed front suspension?

[SilverHawkDan]

Flipper, Yes, it is a Mustang unit. I will put the part number and brand on the web as soon as I verify the information with the shop that supplied it. I will PM you the information.
Dan

[SilverHawkDan]

Not trying brag here....... Oh who am I kidding, I'm here to brag big time. My wife knows I have lots of tools and buy them all the time. She works in the shop with me so she knows most of what I have. She wanted to get me something I didn't have for Christmas so she really put some serious thought into this. She came up with these two cool tools.

The pliers tool will find a home in my truck to use for road side emergencies and my general hauling and parts chasing adventures. The drill drive is something I am still thinking up uses for. It is standard drive and I have a lot of adapters including ones for 1/4" sockets that just might make this tools handy for certain applications. She could have gone gift cards but not her. This is just another reason why I love her.

[SilverHawkDan]

We did the Secret Santa thing again this year. Somehow my Secret Santa found out I have a Studebaker and got me this:


Nice and warm. I wore it on my walk this morning and it kept me nice and warm while looking cool. Very Blessed.

[SilverHawkDan]

More work on the hood for the Thunder Hawk. Welded in a brace to make up for my mistake in cutting out the flange and support tube. This bar will keep the hood at the proper shape during the fabrication faze.

Next I cut out another 3" from the hood and cut off the flange so that I could see the angle while fitting the grille frame in place.

So here is the current angle. Not sure if this is where I stop but for now here it sits. I think I need to decide which headlights to use before proceeding further on the grille. The headlight area is going to be angled back to match the grille angle.

More as it happens. Sure feels good to be back working on it again.

[t walgamuth]

Looks like some great progress and great healing there Dan!

Congratulations!

[SilverHawkDan]

Still sick and home bound per doctors orders but hope to be released soon. So I got some incentive in the mail and now I NEED to get back to work on the Hawk.

Power bear claw latches to make it safe and handle free. Can't wait to get back up to the barn and see how these fit and work.

[SilverHawkDan]

I was working on these latches at my desk and found what could be a "fatal" flaw in one of them. I will post pictures and an explanation in the next day or two. If you have used these latches on your car you will want to see what I found.

[SilverHawkDan]

Ok you will have to look closely at the pictures but I think you will be able to see the problem. First pic is of the two latches side by side. The top one is the one that has the issue.

The problem is with the locking lever that is at the bottom of the latch. In the bad one the locking lever can move side to side yet the good one does not have that movement. Did a washer or shim get left out? Not sure and decided it didn't matter to me because even if I sent it back I would do the modification to both latches anyway. So here is the good latch up close:


And here is the bad latch up close, sorry the picture did not come out as clear as I thought it did:


If you look closely you will see a lot more of the gold anodized plate showing on the good latch. So here is the fix that I would recommend to anyone using these latches. Drill a 11/32 hole and tap it to 10-32 machine screw thread. Screw in a screw that is 3/4" long and include a nut to lock it in place. Adjust the screw until it comes within about .010 to .020" of gap and lock it down. Now there is no chance even in an accident that the latch will suffer an "accidental" unlock and open. Here is a pic of the "fix".

I welcome any inquiries as to how to perform this repair/improvement. I really feel this will make for even better "safer" door latches for Studebakers.

[SilverHawkDan]

Got home from training today and a Speedway Motors box was waiting for me. I got the Bear Claw door latch mounting plates and the adjustable door striker bolt plates. They will make the job so much easier. So what i thought was mistake actually saved me money. I bought the door latches with electric actuators on EBay for 46.00 and the plates for 30.00 so I saved about 69.00 over the price of the kit. So I am a happy camper right now. So as soon as the rain lets up and the cold gives up I can get these parts installed.

[sweetolbob]

Dan

If it would help, here's a post with my bearclaw install on my 54K.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?30158-Bear-Claw-Door-Latches

Good luck, Bob

[SilverHawkDan]

Thank you Bob. That helps me visualize the install. Can't wait to get at it. But the weather man is calling for rain the next 41 hours. That can't be right but he has been right the last month so I guess I will believe him until proven otherwise.
Dan