Dumb Stude Questions

[Daan]

My Stude will have the “wrong way” wheel nuts on one side, right? The driver’s side, right?

[Mrs K Corbin]

Look for a Letter L in the center of the lug stud. If you see an L, then it's the "Wrong Way ones". Many of these have been replaced over the years. be careful at any rate, until you know for sure.

[Daan]

So what are some good tools I should be looking for while I wait for my car to get delivered? I have a very rudimentary collection now, so I know I’ll need more to work on my Hawk. NON-metric sockets/wrenches, maybe a Timing light, etc? I have a set of ramps, good jack stands, my dad gave me his old Air Compressor a couple years ago too.

[PackardV8]

The good news is any and all tools needed to work on a Stude are available for cheap at garage sales. Cars and trucks have been metric for so many years now, few have any use for inch sockets and wrenches. Timing lights and dwell meters have been obsolete for long enough they can be had for little or nothing at the same garage sales. Every young guy thinks battery powered tools are the only way to go, so electric and air impact guns are going for cheap.

jack vines

[jclary]

So what are some good tools I should be looking for while I wait for my car to get delivered? I have a very rudimentary collection now, so I know I’ll need more to work on my Hawk. NON-metric sockets/wrenches, maybe a Timing light, etc? I have a set of ramps, good jack stands, my dad gave me his old Air Compressor a couple years ago too.

I have been trying to resist (over)posting too much lately. However, I'm impressed by your excitement & enthusiasm and hope nothing happens to discourage you from enjoying your new project. So, I got to thinking about useful tools for you. I think I read that you have a shop manual. If you don't have the chassis and body manuals, they will be some of the most valuable "tools" you can acquire for, not only working on your car but for future maintenance & ownership. Next, is a good quality tapered axle hub puller for the rear tapered axles. Another convenient hand tool is a long thin offset 1/2 X 9/16 box end wrench for reaching over to loosen the clamp bolt when you need to adjust your distributor position. Something you might not need often, but really handy when the occasion occurs. If you keep the points, a quality set of feeler gauges. For setting plug gaps, I like a wire gauge. Of course, a quality spark plug socket (you may already have). For socket wrenches, from 3/8 up to 7/8...both standard and deep-well duplicates come in handy. In your shop manual, study the lube chart and learn where all the grease fittings are. A grease gun with a flexible hose is essential. Just a few things that come to mind. Hopefully, others will chime in with more favorite tools that have made life easier for them. I hope you have a blast with your Studebaker!

[rkapteyn]

Please , when you work on the brakes wear an asbestos approved mask.
Many people lugging oxygen tanks around would agree with me.

[Daan]

Thank you gentlemen! I’m adding to the “shopping list” as we speak.

[AlexM]

[QUOTE=Daan;n1822908]Thank you for the
replies!

More Q’s:
How hard is it to put seatbelts in these? I mean modern(ish) retractable shoulder belts. A friend put some in a 50’s Ford, but he was able to order a kit and it bolted up once he drilled a few holes. I don’t mind drilling, but if I gotta fabricate and weld Metal I may have to hire some help for that...

I don't think it would be possible to add three point belts without fabricating and welding to strengthen the post. I have some pictures of how I did it. I suppose I could make a Youtube video on how to do it. Do the readers here think it would have many views?

[drrotor]

It’s not hard at all to put in lap belts since your car is a coupe. Quite a bit harder on Hardtop Hawks, because they have a double layer “torque box” to stiffen the body, which makes installing the outboard belts challenging. But in your case, you can just drill through the floor and bolt them in. A 3-point harness, however, will certainly involve welding, and likely necessitate removing your headliner to locate a logical location to weld in a large nut on each side to bolt the shoulder harness to. Because of that, I’ve decided to be satisfied with lap-belts only in all my Studes. Several of our vendors supply them— check studebakervendors.com

[Daan]

[QUOTE=AlexM;n1824129]

Thank you for the
replies!

More Q’s:
How hard is it to put seatbelts in these? I mean modern(ish) retractable shoulder belts. A friend put some in a 50’s Ford, but he was able to order a kit and it bolted up once he drilled a few holes. I don’t mind drilling, but if I gotta fabricate and weld Metal I may have to hire some help for that...

I don't think it would be possible to add three point belts without fabricating and welding to strengthen the post. I have some pictures of how I did it. I suppose I could make a Youtube video on how to do it. Do the readers here think it would have many views?

I know I would be very interested in this!

[AlexM]

[QUOTE=Daan;n1824171]

I know I would be very interested in this!

I'll try to do it within this month.

[AlexM]

It’s not hard at all to put in lap belts since your car is a coupe. Quite a bit harder on Hardtop Hawks, because they have a double layer “torque box” to stiffen the body, which makes installing the outboard belts challenging. But in your case, you can just drill through the floor and bolt them in. A 3-point harness, however, will certainly involve welding, and likely necessitate removing your headliner to locate a logical location to weld in a large nut on each side to bolt the shoulder harness to. Because of that, I’ve decided to be satisfied with lap-belts only in all my Studes. Several of our vendors supply them— check studebakervendors.com

My first Stude that I built from 66 to 68 was a hard top. I put lap belts in it. The strength of the torque box and the stress on them is up and down so the sides of the boxes are most important. I just drilled down from the top in the location I wanted the outside bolt. Then uses a long drill to go through the bottom and then cut out a hole in the bottom so I could reach in and put a nut on the bolt. Drove it for years that way.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

As I recall sometime around 1963 (maybe earlier) Studebaker began putting seat-belt anchors (including captive nuts) in the floors on all cars (maybe trucks also). Does anyone know what year they started?
-Dwight

[Daan]

Ok so if my car still has (some) “wrong way” wheel studs, and if I’m taking the brake system apart, can I change the studs to “right way around” ones at that time? Are the studs attached to the brake drums, or ... I guess the axles?

[Daan]

And are you guys sick of all the questions yet? The closer to delivery day it gets, the more excited I am!