64 commander

[Caso wannabe]

Hi, everyone.In Nov./16 I bought a 64 commander, put it in the garage removed the seats and floor mats,to see how bad the floors were.( Need replacing) That is where I stopped. It sat till a week ago when a good friend came to visit and got me motivated again. The 259 was locked and I had been soaking it in ATF and acetone for about a year. We got it broken loose, drained the oil and replaced the filter and refilled oil w/ rotella 15/40.spun it over with a battery . Oil pressure gauge showing 40 PSI.I removed valve covers and inside everything looks great, very clean. One of the P.O.'s made an exhaust crossover out of 1 1/2 threaded pipe..... Yikes. It must weigh 30 lbs,the weight of it snapped the ears off the driver side outlet flange, dang it.This was the first time I really looked under the car since I have had it. Every piece of steering linkage is bent,no bushings, backing plate is held on by one bolt, both bat wings bent.,. The list goes on and on.. but, I am having fun. Good thing I planned on this being a long term project. I don't plan on doing a restoration, just a fun little driver. Wow, 40 PSI, I still don't believe it.
If it runs as well as I believe it will, I will hop it up a bit,and drive the wheels off of it.

Dave

[tsenecal]

Hi Dave, glad you were able to get the engine loosened up and running. It sounds like the poor thing may have done a little off road duty! It shouldn't be too hard to find another exhaust manifold, then you could run dual exhaust, and get rid of the crossover pipe. Hearing it run should help you stay motivated. Good luck!

[sals54]

The other benefit is that any Stude Sedan from 1951 and newer will share almost all the suspension parts you may need. And they are not difficult to replace. Good luck. Pix please. Let's see this thing. Enquiring minds want to know.

[Caso wannabe]

Thanks Guys,yeah the poor little guy was abused,but the body is nearly perfect. Duals and throaty muffler's area must. It's a 2 door post so It has to have a little rumble.

[Corvanti]

good luck! and keep us posted on how it progresses.

[Caso wannabe]

. Here is a pic I'll post more later

[Caso wannabe]

Now I know how easy it is to attach pix I will post more when I get home (in 1 week)

[DEEPNHOCK]

Manifolds are easy, and plentiful.
Snatch one and fix the exhaust and go have fun!

[ratfink396]

Good lookin' car - GREAT patina!

[Caso wannabe]

Thanks for the nice comments and encouragement. Does anyone have a spare driver side manifold? Also, what is a ballpark estimate on front end rebuild.. everything bushings,tie rods,and anything else I may have left out. It was a 6 cyl car to start with and someone swapped in a 63 259,so it still has a D 23 or 27 in it now. I plan to put a 8.8 ranger rear in.they are cheap a the Dallas pick and pull yards. I am kicking around the idea of sub framing the front,as I could probably get 300 lbs off the front of the car.less wt is free H,P. This will be a everyday driver, so modern brakes are a must, plus the speed limit is 70/75 mph. I have the ability to do all of this myself so I won't be farming any of the work out. I just want a dependable car that can keep up with traffic , maybe even pass a few slowpokes
Dave

[sals54]

The rear is probably a 27 and will work fine with a stock 259 as that is what the 259s came with.
A front end rebuild is not terribly expensive and I would go that route first. A front clip swap will not save you 300 lbs. While you say less weight is free HP, you must also consider the cost. If you were to take whatever a front end swap costs you and apply that to engine horsepower, you'll be miles ahead of the game. A stock front end on a Studebaker will easily handle a 3500 lb car with 700 horsepower doing the quarter mile in 10 seconds. Ask Ted Harbit. That's what his Studebaker powered 51 Stude was doing. And it had all its stock interior as well.
You can add modern disc brakes to your stock front suspension also.
Remember your handle... Caso wannabe. Live up to it. CASO means 'cheap *ss studebaker owner', so don't blow money on stuff you don't need.
Keep up the good work. You're on the right track. Car looks great now.
My advice: don't strip it down to its underwear. Make it driveable then make changes slowly. Upgrade as you go along. Keep it in your budget and make it better everytime you make changes. In no time at all, you'll have the car you're dreaming of and do it while driving it and having fun with it.
But that's just advice. Do what you want. Its your car.

[drrotor]

The rear is probably a 27 and will work fine with a stock 259 as that is what the 259s came with.
A front end rebuild is not terribly expensive and I would go that route first. A front clip swap will not save you 300 lbs. While you say less weight is free HP, you must also consider the cost. If you were to take whatever a front end swap costs you and apply that to engine horsepower, you'll be miles ahead of the game. A stock front end on a Studebaker will easily handle a 3500 lb car with 700 horsepower doing the quarter mile in 10 seconds. Ask Ted Harbit. That's what his Studebaker powered 51 Stude was doing. And it had all its stock interior as well.
You can add modern disc brakes to your stock front suspension also.
Remember your handle... Caso wannabe. Live up to it. CASO means 'cheap *ss studebaker owner', so don't blow money on stuff you don't need.
Keep up the good work. You're on the right track. Car looks great now.
My advice: don't strip it down to its underwear. Make it driveable then make changes slowly. Upgrade as you go along. Keep it in your budget and make it better everytime you make changes. In no time at all, you'll have the car you're dreaming of and do it while driving it and having fun with it.
But that's just advice. Do what you want. Its your car.

What he said.

[Caso wannabe]

Thanks Sal, that's good advice. I definitely could spend the money on other things the car needs.