Hood Emblem 1955 E7

[rew]

Help, trying to find front "STUDEBAKER" hood emblem for my 1955 Stude E7 PU. I have the original but it has screw holes all over it and pitted really bad. I've checked all the Studebaker suppliers with no luck. Found one for '49-'53 but its like half the size. '55 went all the away across. Thanks for any help.
Randy

[TX Rebel]

got it here

https://www.studebakersite.com

[Studebaker Wheel]

Are you referring to the name plate or the actual hood ornament with the "8"?

In the event you may be interested I have replicated a showroom banner of the '55 trucks as shown below. Very large at 40 X 52" just like the original. Printed on thick, high quality paper with satin finish. $75 plus postage if interested. Of course satisfaction guaranteed. Smaller size available for proportionately less $$.
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[Skip Lackie]

Those are hard to find, as it is a one-year item. If you find one, buy it.

[jclary]

Help, trying to find front "STUDEBAKER" hood emblem for my 1955 Stude E7 PU. I have the original but it has screw holes all over it and pitted really bad. I've checked all the Studebaker suppliers with no luck. Found one for '49-'53 but its like half the size. '55 went all the away across. Thanks for any help.
Randy

Those are hard to find, as it is a one-year item. If you find one, buy it.

I agree with Skip. In the mean time, may I suggest a "fix," for the one you have. This particular ornament is (in my humble opinion) too heavy for the cast pot metal fastening studs it came with. Years of opening, slamming, and road vibrations take their toll on those little tapered studs, held on by those push on speed nuts/clips. I'm sure that there are others, but my truck, when I bought it, was the most original preserved '55 Pickup I have ever seen. That said, that front ornament was rattling and had a couple of the studs broken off.

In an attempt to secure it better, I found a small die (either 5/16ths, or 3/8ths ? Hex nut size, don't recall the actual screw thread size) and threaded the studs. Although tapered, I managed to get enough threads to use a very thin washer and nuts. It helped a bit, but I still felt that it was fragile, and insufficient. It stayed on my mind, and I even lost some sleep mulling over how I could fix it without causing more damage to the fragile pot metal. If you examine the back side where the studs are cast, you will notice a "Boss" (Thicker Portion) protruding in the casting.

With some skillful application of a drill and tap, you can drill the center of the boss where the broken stud was. I used a #7 drill bit, and threaded the hole with 1/4-20 tap. Next, I used 1/4-20 threaded rod and cut it to make "all thread studs." Then, I screwed them flush with the face of the ornament. I'm not sure if they all are this way, but the studs I made did not line up with the front side chrome letters. Therefore, they all lined up so that the holes were drilled through the background (painted) area between the Logo letters. You can either use a thread locker, or perhaps, make some thin "Jam Nuts" (something I did not do) to ensure a good mechanical lock on these improvised studs.

A tiny amount of filler, might aid in hiding the studs from the front (cosmetic) side, but I just slathered in enough red paint on mine. It worked great and I won a closet full of trophies with this truck. I never recall being called out on this repair. Whoever supplied this ornament, should have beefed up those studs from the start. Of course, I doubt anyone envisioned these things being around for generations.

[studegary]

I would try double stick trim tape to hold it on, even if some areas had to be built up for it to work. Some of this modern trim tape has an amazing ability to hold things. I have also used a liquid adhesive on trim. I have had cars in regular use for more than 15 years where I had used these two types of fastening.

[PackardV8]

PM me, as I've got all the hood trim for a '55 V8; nameplate, hood ornament, V8 emblems.

jack vins