Silver Hawk / pillared coupe, body

[Rocket442]

New to studes. Im tiring to build a 1959 silver hawk all studebaker driver on a small budget.

The body was worse than i expected, i knew it needed front floors and both the rear foot wells plus some rust repair on the lower door pillars. then i pulled the rear fenders

When i bought the car i was given solid replacement front & rear fenders, i have everything rust free but the body, possibly someone close by or in FL, might have a better body. My SD card lost a bunch of pics.

[swvalcon]

The body is bad but not that bad I've done a lot rustier cars. Strip all the parts out of the body and best is to remove from frame. Then have it sand blasted on all the lower part of the car and start welding in new metal

[COMMANDERPINK1]

Just make sure in what ever process you use to move forward with rust out repair that you retain good door gaps. If not and you start replacing and welding in new metal it will be difficult to correct later. Tom

[TX Rebel]

I have a good shell on a rolling chassis, & will be through your area next week

[jg61hawk]

Check out Classic Enterprises for all your sheet metal and floor pans and fender repair parts. They reproduce almost everythiong you need. I assume you know about Turning Wheels and joining the club. You have a wealth of resources.

[Jeff_H]

That can be fixed. I have done it. Will require some hand fabbed patches in addition to Classic Enterprises ones. Not expensive if you do it yourself and have the tools but will be quite time consuming.

[warrlaw1]

What Tom said about the door gaps. I welded a piece of iron on the inside of the door gaps before lifting the body from the frame. Used Classic enterprises panels and braces and then welded in patches where necessary. Came out a lot more solid than I hoped. Good luck.

[Rocket442]

With a bunch of fab and over kill on patch panels to help cut time, im going to guesstimate around $800+shipping. now i only have $950 so far into the car / all most a car. I can easily fab and weld in all the patches from sheet, cheaply i hope. But it will never look or be right, so im just thinking it would be cheaper to buy a solid body.

[swvalcon]

Actually if done right and seam sealed and undercoated where repaired it should be pretty hard to tell it was ever touched. Should be as stong as it was new if repaired right. All depends on what you can get a nice clean body shell for. About the only place to find that will be Az. or Ca. Then you have to add in shipping.

[Pat Dilling]

I think you would be way ahead to see what Barry (TX Rebel) has to offer. If the body is that bad it's hard to believe the frame is solid. I have dealt with Barry before and he is fair in his pricing and honest about the condition of his stuff. Just the time you would save will put you way ahead on your project. Use what you have for parts and go with a more solid shell.

Pat

[Kdancy]

Keith, check with Barry and see what he has and pricing. It may be the way to go. If the car he has is as solid as he says, it is worth considering.
However, I think you are freaking out a little too much on this one. It will just take a little time and effort to patch the panels properly. One piece at a time.

[Noxnabaker]

A grinder with thin cutting-disk & a kind-hearted welder can do MAGIC!
& it's not many new Stude coupes made anymore...
I'd say: cut & weld! Then you know your car!
But then again; you aint me...
If you fab some fairly non-original-looking plates now, then you know about it, but it's YOUR car & if someone else has a problem with it then you just tell him that it's free for him to take care of it for you!
But one piece/place at a time & keep it on the frame as long as possible until as much as possible of the rest is done.
Or be quick & lazy & get the Texas body!

[Rocket442]

A grinder with thin cutting-disk & a kind-hearted welder can do MAGIC!
& it's not many new Stude coupes made anymore...
I'd say: cut & weld! Then you know your car!
But then again; you aint me...
If you fab some fairly non-original-looking plates now, then you know about it, but it's YOUR car & if someone else has a problem with it then you just tell him that it's free for him to take care of it for you!
But one piece/place at a time & keep it on the frame as long as possible until as much as possible of the rest is done.
Or be quick & lazy & get the Texas body!

Dam i almost just got the welding gear out, thanks bro.

[woodysrods]

Rust repair is a big job! Even if you do it for a living every day.
Good Roads
Brian

[Noxnabaker]

"Big job"? It's all a relative thing to say...
Still, in the end, it's sucha super-nice feeling when it's done & you've DONE IT YOUR SELF!!!
"...-Don't tell me you actually spend all that time fixing your car? -Well... you were somewhere else so in the end I had to, & now I know my car better than if someone else had done it!"