53 / 54 Studebaker hood & bumper question

[powerhawkeye]

I was out looking for 53 / 54 Studebaker parts today in the junkyard, hoods mainly and front parts bumpers and grilles

I came upon sedans and wagons, the front bumper on the wagon looked good is it the same as a coupe bumper?

The other thing i found was sedan hoods which i know are to short
I'd like to know is the pointed part of the hood where the emblem goes the shape the same as a coupe or is it different or better yet do they make a patch for that area

the reason i ask the last two hoods i came across had rot in that area

[N8N]

I don't have the parts book for those years but I believe the bumper bars are the same, brackets probably not. Hoods I believe are a different shape in the hood ornament area.

nate

[StudeRich]

Yes that is right, the Sedan/Wagon hood is very blunt and almost straight down in front as is the whole front end, and the Coupe/Hardtops are swept back at a sharper angle and lower, so are not even close.

The higher height of the fenders, Doors makes almost nothing from a Sedan work on C & K's.

[powerhawkeye]

Figures i found some rust free hood noses on damaged sedan hoods

if i came across a C / K hood with rot though i could use it for a patch, no such luck i see

The front bumper looks good so that will work

Thanks for the info

[Johnnywiffer]

My understanding is that the front bumpers are the same, sedans/station wagons/C/K but the rear bumpers are different from the above on the C/K.

The reason I know, I asked a sheet metal seller at Phoenix. He showed me the 2 bumper types. They are very different in the tail light area. Dunno about the braces, but the bumpers will not interchange.

Good luck.
John

[powerhawkeye]

My understanding is that the front bumpers are the same, sedans/station wagons/C/K but the rear bumpers are different from the above on the C/K.

The reason I know, I asked a sheet metal seller at Phoenix. He showed me the 2 bumper types. They are very different in the tail light area. Dunno about the braces, but the bumpers will not interchange.

Good luck.
John

That's good news on the front bumper the one i found looks good still on the car, my rear bumper is fine needs clean up

[powerhawkeye]

on another note

can you modify Hawk fenders by adding the 53 / 54 piece at the very bottom front of the fender that jets out a bit - any one make a repair piece like that?

looked at the Hawk fender and it drops straight down for the more stubby grille
the rest looks the same to me

[HawkGT]

The piece that drops down behind the bumper on a Hawk is an add-on to the fender, where the lower air scoop panel below the bumper also attaches to the fender. The Hawk air scoop panel is different, but from all that I know a Hawk fender will work fine on a '53; the only difference came in '63-64 on the GT's right-side inner fender where they modified it for the new style heater.

Best of luck with your project.

[Jeff_H]

All C/K front fenders from '53-'64 are the "same". I put that in quotes since there are some minor differences to the GT hawk ones that don't affect the ability to use them on a '53. That is the outer fender. The inner fenders or aprons did change. I have a GT hawk fender on my '53 but its only the outer fender. I had to use '53 (or '54) inner fender panel and air deflector panel with it. Finding good used inner fender panels for a '53 should be relatively easy since they are usually not rusted out. The air deflector tops do since they are a shelf for dirt under the headlights. I had to rebuild mine. You can often find rusted out '53 coupe fenders with all attachments "cheap" and then separate the inner panels (about 500 spot welds!) and mate to good outers that could even be fiberglass if you find some.

The short of it is that hawk fenders can be made to work. Will need to fill trim holes and deal with the inner fender and air deflector panel.

There are basically no major sedan parts that fit on a C/K body wise. The exceptions are the front bumper and the grill inserts (and those last only on a '53). The grill shells, hood, panels behind there in front of the radiator, brackets, etc, etc are all different. At the rear of the car, nothing at all. Dash and interior parts like handles, gauges, etc are the same. Steering wheels and steering col are different (sedan wheels are 18" dia vs 17" for coupe). Glass all different.

Get a copy of the chassis parts book (for the front end sheetmetal) and the body parts book (everything else) and compare the P/N for apparently the same things sedan vs coupe and you can determine ahead of a trip to the 'yard what you can use.

[woodysrods]

There is modification required to make the Hawk fenders accept the 53-54 style grills and rad support & hood. Just finished that project. You need to get the rad mount and the junks of the 53 inner fender that it mounts to, to make this happen. Note: when replacing these pieces there are some thickness issues that are criticle or your hood gap will not be right.
I can send you pictures if you e-mail me.
Good |Roads
Brian

[powerhawkeye]

Good info Jeff & Brian Thanks

[johnod]

Seems to me I saw pics of a hood for a 53 for sale in a recent thread about a Hamilton On. Can swap/meet. Maybe someone who was there can help re hood.??

[candbstudebakers]

Just have your hood fixed, rot in the nose is no big thing, any good body man can fix it no problem...Bob

[powerhawkeye]

Just have your hood fixed, rot in the nose is no big thing, any good body man can fix it no problem...Bob

a hood on a car i was thinking about buying & his parts hood were rotted on the point
a guy selling one i called mentioned rot also

right now i have No front sheet metal of grilles or bumper etc., have a few leads but no cigar