New (to me) '55 Studebaker Wagon

[JoeHall]

Sincere condolences to you and your Family Dave. I pray your Dad Rests In Peace.

As for the had brake pedal, disc brakes alone, will not help. ASSuming the brakes are in good order, if someone previously installed the dark colored offshore brake shoes, they will render the Stude all but unstoppable. I suggest inspecting each wheel, of course for other obvious things, i.e. leaking cylinders. While you are at it. note the color of the shoes. If dark gray/near black, replace them with the brown ones that have tiny metal sinters in the material. They stop the car about 10X as well as the dark ones, but they do tend to squeak sometimes. New shoes, front and rear, would be maybe 20-25 percent the cost of a DB kit, and work just as well if not better.

Nice wagon!

[StudeRich]

With an Automatic Choke, a squirt of Gas by a gentle "Tap" on the Pedal should prime it AND set the Choke.
If long standing, maybe a lot more "Squirt's".

I think that is what CorbinsteinO was saying.

[Spamcan]

Great info on the brakes JoeHall!

StudeRich - I'll surely dig into the carb/choke once I get back down to SD, hoping for a good solution.

[Madd Doodler]

Nice looking car. You should get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I bought a '55 Conestoga myself last summer.
It has a couple of bugs to be worked out yet but has a Supercharged Avanti engine rebuilt to R-3 specs
Also has one of RadioRoy's AM/FM conversions in it. It works great

[Spamcan]

has a Supercharged Avanti engine rebuilt to R-3 specs
Also has one of RadioRoy's AM/FM conversions in it. It works great

I'd love to see a pic of your motor, sounds enticing for a future upgrade to my Conestoga maybe. :-)
A radio conversion will be a must, I'll look that RadioRoy up.

[Madd Doodler]

Here's the engine bay

[Spamcan]

Here's the engine bay

I like that! Have you had it dyno'd, or taken to the 1/4 mile and see what it will do?

[Spamcan]

Well, have a LOT to update on my dad's Conestoga. Came down to Oceanside for his memorial where his Conny was the center-front and now working on getting it transported up to its new home. Sooooo...
1. Yes, it seems it is already converted to 12v, has a 12v battery
2. It already has the front disc brake conversion. Brakes are still kinda weak, have to brake early and hard to get it to slow. So I'll dig into a master cylinder conversion maybe (didn't dig into that, I think it's under the floorboards?). My dad (was a flooring guy as a career) had re-carpeted the interior.
3. Come to find, it's an Edelbrock air filter, but on top of a Holley carb
4. It is a Studey V-8, so seems this is a: Conestoga Commander (or is it Commander Conestoga?). Has the (I think) original tranny where it goes from L-R (Park, N, D, R)
5. I see lots of places/things I want to touch up. Like a lot of holes where I think rubber bumpers should go, like under the gas cap cover, hood (he has a rag there now), doors, etc.
6. Replace the radio with a working one.
7. Get the driver door glass replaced.
8. Work on the door locks, very stiff but have the keys. Including the rear hatch, the key rotates the cylinder but doesn't lock it. Though honestly, may never need to lock it. But my OCD wants me to do that. ;-)

I'll post additional pics shortly

[Spamcan]

Here are more pics, including one with 2 of dads brothers.

[Spamcan]

And more, including some pics of the dash

[r1lark]

That wagon has had a lot of nice upgrades done to it!

[Buzzard]

Dave,
Get the "list" number from the body of the carb and it may be a rare 390CFM 4 bbl which is ideal on a Studebaker.
Condolences regarding your Dad.
Good luck in bringing everything to fruition.
Cheers,
Bill

[gordr]

Condolences on the loss of your Dad. He was clearly a very fine craftsman. That Conestoga is a nice piece of work.

[Spamcan]

Looks like it’s:
List 1850-2 2335
here are pics of the carb.

[t walgamuth]

Nice car! I dig those aluminum valve covers.