Spring cleaning.

[Hippie]

Finally got the years of garage grunge rinsed off the '55 today and here's what was hiding underneath.....



I took it out on the highway for the first time and all thing's considered it did pretty good. Steering is loose but not as bad as the '76 Monte Carlo I sold to buy it, it has a tire out of balance, shift linkage is an adventure all it's own, the speedo, temp gage and fuel gage don't work and it leaks oil like the Exxon Valdez but it goes straight, rides smooth and stops even better. I had a blast. I'm going to concentrate on making it drive better this year and get some miles on it before I make too many drivetrain decisions. I was pleasantly surprised with the 289 out on the road. I think it would be a real blast with a T-5 behind it.

Analog man in a digital world.

[DEEPNHOCK]

quote:Originally posted by Hippie

Finally got the years of garage grunge rinsed off the '55 today and here's what was hiding underneath.....
<snip>

Congrats!
Best feeling in the world is right after you get back home and she ran, and stopped on her own...and liked it![]
Jeff[8D]

http://community.webshots.com/user/deepnhock

[N8N]

That looks great, but it's hard to tell what the color is in your pic- silver, grey, or a faint green? (can't tell if the green tint is the color itself or the car picking up the color of the grass.) In any case, I really like it, it's unusual for a '55 but I really like it. Fairly restrained for the era, too, but really sharp looking.

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[StudeRich]

Nice Car! I can't tell if that nameplate says Commander or President, but either way if the engine is original it would be a 259, unless it is an early '55 Commander with the "224" engine.

If that is the case, you have not yet experienced the Torque of the "289"! [:0] [^]

StudeRich
Studebakers Northwest
Ferndale, WA

[Hippie]

quote:Originally posted by StudeRich

Nice Car! I can't tell if that nameplate says Commander or President, but either way if the engine is original it would be a 259, unless it is an early '55 Commander with the "224" engine.

If that is the case, you have not yet experienced the Torque of the "289"! [:0] [^]

StudeRich
Studebakers Northwest
Ferndale, WA

Thanks all. I hated the color when I first brought it home but I'm getting used to it.. It's a light green metallic, it was originally a very light green similar to Chevy's Sea Foam Green that year but shows evidence of having a "Robin's Egg Blue" paint job somewhere in between. I like the original colors a LOT better than it's current green but I don't hate this color any more.

It is an early '55 Commander and did originally have a 224 but someone swapped in a '56 289 out of a President or Sky Hawk several decades ago. [8D]

Analog man in a digital world.

[Mark57]

Looks pretty good for sittin' around in a garage. [8D] Good on you to get her on the road. [^]

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar Deluxe
Vancouver Island </h5>

[Hippie]

quote:Originally posted by Mark57

Looks pretty good for sittin' around in a garage. [8D] Good on you to get her on the road. [^]

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar Deluxe
Vancouver Island </h5>

It was parked off an on for most of the past 38 years. The PO hadn't started it in about 3 years before I bought it and he only put 2 to 3,000 miles on it in the 10 years or so he had it after getting it running.

Analog man in a digital world.

[sals54]

Great looking car.
The wheel out of balance may not be the case of a shimmy. If the tires are bias ply and have been sitting for a while, it could be a flat spot on the tire. If so, after driving it for a little while, it will work itself round again with some heat in the tire. Thought it would be worth while to know before you start any suspension work it may not need. Good luck on the fabulous ride. I love it.

sals54

[Hippie]

quote:Originally posted by sals54

Great looking car.
The wheel out of balance may not be the case of a shimmy. If the tires are bias ply and have been sitting for a while, it could be a flat spot on the tire. If so, after driving it for a little while, it will work itself round again with some heat in the tire. Thought it would be worth while to know before you start any suspension work it may not need. Good luck on the fabulous ride. I love it.

sals54

Thanks, they are 215/75-15 radials with about 1,000 miles on them and the left front has no wheel weights anywhere. I'll be switching to radial friendly rims ASAP. Steering box is a Ross, hopefully it will adjust up but I eventually want to swap to a '57-up column and box so I can spruce things up in the steering wheel department.

Analog man in a digital world.

[raprice]

The car looks really nice and cleaned up well. It looks like all the trim is in place and seems presentable.
Is there any rust in the floorboards or trunk area?
Best of luck with it.
Rog

'59 Lark VI Regal Hardtop

[Hippie]

quote:Originally posted by raprice

The car looks really nice and cleaned up well. It looks like all the trim is in place and seems presentable.
Is there any rust in the floorboards or trunk area?
Best of luck with it.
Rog

'59 Lark VI Regal Hardtop

Has a little rust in the very rear corners of the trunk behind the tail lights and the usual rust starting at the back of the front fenders. The driver's side rocker and floor pan had rust where they came together but the PO had those replaced right after he got the car, it is otherwise rust free. Gotta love those Texas cars! [8D] The side moldings are pretty dinged up and I will eventually ditch them otherwise the moldings are good. Both bumpers are straight but seriously need rechroming and the grille is pretty pitted along the bottom but is getting painted body color when I repaint the car, someday. Lots of other stuff to do first.

Analog man in a digital world.

[Lenny R2]

Nice looking commander,good luck with it.

Lenny
Atlanta Ga.

[55 prez]

I'll bet that you need to tighten the pinch bolt on the bell crank underneath the front crossmember. That is usually loose and easily forgotten by most home mechanics. I believe that bolt is a grade eight and will stand some real torqueing. I don't remember what the torque spec is for that bolt but it is in the shop manual.

Good Luck and Good Save,
Jim C.

[Hippie]

quote:Originally posted by 55 prez

I'll bet that you need to tighten the pinch bolt on the bell crank underneath the front crossmember. That is usually loose and easily forgotten by most home mechanics. I believe that bolt is a grade eight and will stand some real torqueing. I don't remember what the torque spec is for that bolt but it is in the shop manual.

Good Luck and Good Save,
Jim C.

I'll check that tomorrow, it really isn't "that" bad but if I can make it better I will. I put a little more air in the tires and that seemed to help the vibration at highway speeds. I picked up a set of 15 X 6 wheels off a '69 Dodge to have my tires mounted on. I've read numerous places that radials and 1950's steel wheels don't play well together plus I want to put Baby Moons and trim rings on it. I'm trying to decide what color to paint the wheels. The stock wheels are still the Sea Foam Green and it goes nicely with the green on it now so I may try to come as close as I can to that with an off the shelf aerosol paint. I'm just trying to make the old girl a little more presentable for now because I plan to drive it as much as possible while working on it. I didn't buy it to let it sit in a garage.

Analog man in a digital world.

[TOMMO]

Wow, I never knew I liked that color as much as I do now. Really makes the car look unique. Great find.