New R2 water manifold

[Hawkeye]

Just a heads up, Phil Harris has some finished top mount R2 water manifolds available.
937-878-1576
Looks so good I just ordered one.
I'd post his pictures if I could figure out how!

Keith Graham
1960 Corvette
1979 Corvette
1984 Corvette
1957 Chevy Nomad 427 Tri-power
1970 LS6 El Camino
1968 Plymouth GTX 440 4-speed
1972 Dodge Dart 360
2 1973 Barracudas 318
1957 Olds 88 J2
1934 Graham Coupe
1941 Graham Hollywood
And a few others....
Sold them all, now completely back into Studebakers where I should have stayed in the first place !

[Hawkeye]

937 878 1576 Fairborn Studebaker

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I believe his are in aluminum. A weight saving, plus one could paint it black (or red) to appear stock.

[StudeRich]

Sounds like the '63/'64 Hawk and Lark Type R2 Manifold, in Aluminum.

[Hawkeye]

Yes, and a very nice appearing reproduction.

[swvalcon]

now all he needs to do is repop the rest of the set up. Pulleys , belt tensioner, super charger that builds a little more boost. and so on.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

Well, this development wrecks the value of my cast-iron Hawk R2 water manifold.
--Dwight

[Dwight FitzSimons]

My comment was meant tongue in cheek.

[willys54]

Well, this development wrecks the value of my cast-iron Hawk R2 water manifold.
--Dwight

I've had it happen to me as well.....Soon as repops become available it minimizes the value of good 'ol OEM parts but it's just a fact of life since most will gravitate to the cheapest priced products available. Nothing shocking since we all try to stretch the buck but there are still some 'Purist's' out there that demand originality and OEM quality so don't give up on getting a return on investment and keep the authentic (time tested) parts priced accordingly.

[Hawkeye]

I disagree. What this means is now some street rodder will have access to more hi-performance parts for a Studebaker V8 and might actually consider building it instead of the damn SBC easy-out route that too many on this forum hail.
Phil has pulleys reproduced, and I would speculate the tension arm and mount bracket could be in the works as well, if the water pump manifold sells.
I have watched these water manifolds go for $2200.-$2500. on eBay in the past few years. Ridiculous. I called a notable Studebaker parts vender a while back inquiring about one and he literally laughed at me on the phone. Humiliating.
Plus, these manifolds do deteriorate and break.
Somewhere I bought a tension arm pulley and mount bracket by itself, and now I have a water manifold too. There are mount brackets out there that were never machined completely and now they are worth something too. I bought one.
Recently there was a debate on the forum about a rusted out R2 Lark and was it worth restoring, or worth too much in parts. Well, the $$$$ won out and the R2 parts are all over the country, and the car scrapped.
Another plus is there should be a nice weight reduction here as well over the OEM.
I wish someone would reproduce the Avanti water manifold as well so we could lighten up the front end. I get so tired of all the classic car writers bitching about the Avanti front/rear weight bias.
If I remember correctly about 7 years ago Hagerty
Magazine published an article on collectable cars of 1963, and when they got to the Avanti they gave some BS figure of 80 front, 20 rear. Interestingly the article was written by an officer of the National Corvette Restorers Association or whatever.
Anyway, kudos to Fairborn Studebaker, I hope they can do more to keep Studebaker engines viable.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I don't disagree with any of the above. Personally, I would like an aluminum intake manifold for an R1 or R2.
--Dwight

[mbstude]

Good deal. Having reproduced a lot of Studebaker parts, I know first hand what a gamble it can be. For Phil's sake I hope it ends up being a worthwhile endeavor.

[mbstude]

Deleted.

[willys54]

For what it's worth I'm not against repops but will default to an OEM part when available particularly NOS. Case in point I'm in line to purchase a repop fuel tank for my M15A from Matt (SA) once they hit the market since NOS are unobtainium and used are rusted out relic's like mine. In cases such as these repops definitely have their place.

[M-Webb]

I'm in the process of trying to re-re-re-rebuild an R2 motor at the moment. Wish the weight of the blower waterpump manifold was my biggest concern, but sadly it isn't. Regardless, I have yet to redo that part yet and might be into getting one of these depending on specifics, mainly cost and how fast to get. I can't seem to find it on his website. Anybody have any photos of it, or link on his website?

My project is not an original parts project, so not concerned about being NOS as a main issue. An alum. one that looks like the original and works the same would be great for me. As noted, it would just get painted anyway. I agree, more quality parts like this would only help attract others and new younger people into the brand. I'd like to help support that if/when I can. The parts do need to actually work and be of good quality though. Poorly reproduced parts do the exact opposite, the disappointment and frustration probably drives not only new people away, but am guessing some old timers as well.

A 4-bolt main alum. block that can be drilled out to about 400+ci would be nice too while at it!

[Hawkeye]

Just call Fairborn 937-878-1576 Monday and he can text the pictures.

[PackardV8]

I can't seem to find it on his website. Anybody have any photos of it, or link on his website?

I get complaints all the time because I don't have a website, don't take credit cards, et al. I tell 'em I've got everything Studebaker had in '64.

A 4-bolt main alum. block that can be drilled out to about 400+ci would be nice too while at it!

If we had aluminum heads and intake which flowed as well as the LS, 305" supercharged would be enough.

jack vines

[M-Webb]

Jack, you are correct and I know you know what you are talking about and trust you. But this is Sun and was just wondering if anyone could share a photo of what these look like since others seem to have seen them. Most of us know and trust what an original Studebaker part will/should look like. But these are new, so would be nice to at least see a photo of them if possible. I'll just call about it tomorrow if nothing else.

And yes, the Studebaker heads are the limiting factor, 100% correct of course on that too. Would be a bit of waste to have a nice alum. block with original cast iron heads on it. So while in fantasy land, might as well order up matching better flowing alum. heads while at it.

But then as we know, at some point is it all just not really much of an actual Studebaker anymore.

[Hawkeye]

I have three excellent pictures Phil sent me but this WEB won't recognize them and refuses me.
Send me your Email or cell phone I will text them.
I stated in my initial post the forum WEB won't accept them.