Surprising 1964 Engineering Facts

[BobPalma]

Dwain Grindinger just forwarded an official 1964 Studebaker Engineering Press Release he found somewhere. (Thanks, Dwain.)

It's four pages long, double-spaced, so a little involved to post the whole thing. But here's a couple items you may not know, copied ver batim from the release as they intended it to be printed in evening papers September 14, 1964:

"The new R-3 engine, according to Studebaker engineers, is now docile enough for passenger car use, although it develops a power output ideal for long-distance turnpike commuting and competition work."

"With it, Studebaker brings to market a milder version -the R-4- which is basically an R-3 engine without supercharger. This will enable owners to purchase an ultra-powerful engine with air conditioning and will fill a gap in the company's engine line. It utilizes all special parts of the R-3 engine, but supercharger equipment is eliminated and valve timing is properly altered. Thus, an air-conditioned Studebaker can now be expected to deliver the power "punch" previously found only in the supercharged R-2 engine."

Now there's a couple interesting curiosities, eh? Who would have ever imagined the R-3 being marketed as a commuter engine...but there you have it, folks, straight from the PR Department typewriter! And since no R-4 Studebakers were built with air conditioning, you have to wonder if they really cobbled one up to see if they could actually make it work!

Elsewhere in the release is this gem, which I am sure comes as a relief to all of us:

"Other engine changes for 1964, in both six and V-8 power plants, include use of improved gasketing and sealing materials and techniques to eliminate oil seepage and resultant loss."

Boy, is that good news! BP

[8E45E]

quote:The new R-3 engine, according to Studebaker engineers, is now docile enough for passenger car use, although it develops a power output ideal for long-distance turnpike communting and competition work."

What did they mean by its "NOW docile enough..."? Was Studebaker going to be the first to have Variable Valve Timing on an engine?[?]? I guess "the end" came before any of us could find out!![B)]

Craig

[Avantidon]

Very interesting and fascinating facts. I guesss this was an exciting time with Granatelli in the engineering department driving the engine development initiatives.

[Chucks Stude]

My garage floor is asking what changes were made to eliminate oil "seepage"? It says it sure hasn't noticed those changes[8D].

[Roscomacaw]

Really sad to read things like that - after how it really played out. They were pouring on the coal as far as performance was concerned - only to have the rug yanked from beneath the whole effort. Our fabulous team of Ted and George have carried on where Andy left off, and done so with a VENGANCE![}]

Miscreant Studebaker nut in California's central valley.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President two door

[Avantidon]

Seeing Studebakers on a drag strip and tearing uo the competition is a fabulous site and one all needs to observe. Even more satisfying is having people come to you and say things like i didn't know that Studebaker made cars that could run like that. This engineering bulletin just goes to prove Mr. Biggs' statement "they were truly were going all out on the performance side until they turned out the lights." So sad.

[StudeRich]

/Quote:/ "With it, Studebaker brings to market a milder version -the R-4- which is basically an R-3 engine without supercharger. This will enable owners to purchase an ultra-powerful engine with air conditioning and will fill a gap in the company's engine line. It utilizes all special parts of the R-3 engine, but supercharger equipment is eliminated and valve timing is properly altered. Thus, an air-conditioned Studebaker can now be expected to deliver the power "punch" previously found only in the supercharged R-2 engine."/Unquote/

This statement really makes me wonder if the planned Air Cond. engine was going to be a single Quad 304! [^] [^]
Although the PR dept. DID call it an R4, I wonder if Engineering actually had something else in mind...R4A? Because it just does not seem to make sense even at 26.9 cents a gallon (WOW! hard to believe today![:0]), to have that monster pair of four barrels for an Air Conditioned Commuter car! [^]

Yes, it really is a shame that MONEY or lack of it, got in the way of developing some really HOT cars! [^]

StudeRich -Studebakers Northwest Ferndale, WA

[r1lark]

quote:Originally posted by BobPalma

Dwain Grindinger just forwarded an official 1964 Studebaker Engineering Press Release he found somewhere. (Thanks, Dwain.)

It's four pages long, double-spaced, so a little involved to post the whole thing. BP

Bob,

You could scan it and post on a photo-hosting site so we can download it.....

Paul

[Warren Webb]

Things like this & the stillborn 340 makes one wonder & dream the "what ifs". I would like to know more about the 340 myself. The one & only time I heard about it was a couple years ago in an article by Jon Myer in Turning Wheels. Like any of us, we have an unsatible need for more when it comes to our favorite marque, no matter if its print, video, cd, or a cream you rub on your belly, if its had anything to do with Studebaker, WE WANT IT!!!!! Thanks Dwain for sharing.

60 Lark convertible
61 Champ
62 Daytona convertible
63 G.T. R-2,4 speed
63 Avanti (2)
66 Daytona Sport Sedan

[8E45E]

quote:Originally posted by Warren Webb

Things like this & the stillborn 340 makes one wonder & dream the "what ifs". I would like to know more about the 340 myself.

Yep, too bad![V] It was supposed to have an all-new chassis with coil spring suspension all around to go with that new engine.

Craig

[mbstude]

Last summer at the national meet, a guy drove up in the parking lot at 1:00 AM while a bunch of us were tailgating. He opened the back of his van, and a couple of his buddies unloaded an old Stude V8 block. It had never been machined, and the distributer hole had never been punched. He said that he had snuck into the foundry, and found the block while digging in the sand. He was going to tell everyone that it was the 340 engine.

quote:It was supposed to have an all-new chassis with coil spring suspension all around to go with that new engine.

Yep. And I really wonder what happened to the independent rear suspension setup in the prototype Avanti body, that's in the SNM. [?]

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[Mark57]

quote:Originally posted by Warren Webb

Things like this & the stillborn 340 makes one wonder & dream the "what ifs".

Kind of reminds me of a long playing local beer commercial with the line "Dare to dream Arnie, dare to dream!".

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar Deluxe
Vancouver Island

Are you planning to attend the NW Overdrive Tour in Parksville, BC
May 23-25, 2009?</h5>

[8E45E]

quote:Originally posted by Mark57

quote:Originally posted by Warren Webb

Things like this & the stillborn 340 makes one wonder & dream the "what ifs".

Kind of reminds me of a long playing local beer commercial with the line "Dare to dream Arnie, dare to dream!".

Mark, there are some "What if's" that I am rather glad DIDN'T make it, like the stillborn 100" wb 'sub-Lark' with the 139 cubic inch 4 cylinder. Had Harold Churchill still been President, it would have been new for 1962. The pictures of it show it is rather bland for style with a "built-down-to-a-price" look, and with the market swing back to longer compacts with V8's in those years may have proven it to be a bad marketing decision. Reportedly, some $5 million was spent on that new 4 cylinder engine when the development monies could have been better spent on an all-new flathead 6 replacement.

Craig

[BobPalma]

quote:Originally posted by 8E45E
Mark, there are some "What if's" that I am rather glad DIDN'T make it, like the stillborn 100" wb 'sub-Lark' with the 139 cubic inch 4 cylinder. Had Harold Churchill still been President, it would have been new for 1962. The pictures of it show it is rather bland for style with a "built-down-to-a-price" look, and with the market swing back to longer compacts with V8's in those years may have proven it to be a bad marketing decision. Reportedly, some $5 million was spent on that new 4 cylinder engine when the development monies could have been better spent on an all-new flathead 6 replacement.

Craig

Well, Craig; Be glad you aren't a Hudson enthusiast. They have to live with the sure knowledge that the money spent to develop and bring to market the ill-advised 1953 Jet should and could have been spent to develop a new OHV V-8 engine.

The new engine would have allowed Hudson to remain competitive in the growing middle-class market in the early-to-mid 1950s...but instead, as late as 1954, Hudson dealers still had to defend an L-head six on the middle-price showroom floor when GM had convinced everyone that a mid-price car must assuredly have an OHV V-8 in it.

(Not to take anything away from the 308 Hornet Six, probably the best L-head six ever brought to market by anyone, even Studebaker.) BP

[JDP]

I had a chance to buy a 340 block back in 1964 from a laid off Studebaker engineers garage. At the time, the few hundred dollars was more then I could afford. I did buy a NOS blower set up with pressure box for $300, and a set of R3 headers. He even had a 1/8 inch or 1/16 inch stroker crank which just confused me.
The 340 blocks were made by playing with the existing sand castings. As i recall, they get one or two good blocks in 10 attempts. In hindsight, I wished I'd taken pictures of stuff like the Bendix mechanical fuel injection they were playing with in 1955-56.
His garage was full of stuff that followed him home. He gave me a tiny 232 desk top block replica they made up too, but I lost it somewhere. The engineers used them as pencil holders.

JDP/Maryland