Plating under...

[Noxnabaker]

I was speaking to a Studebaker-friend tonight about an idea I've figured out long ago; that I'm gonna put plates under Josephine to cover all the stuff that collects dirt & to get better aerodynamic & less turbulence & he said it was available for Studebaker's "once upon a time"...
Anyone else knows about that?

[Noxnabaker]

Not one single person at all???
So it might have been a Swedish thing?
?

[doug]

Saw the original posting and waited to see the answers. I have never heard of any aerodynamic panels or plates available from the factory.

[warrlaw1]

Well, for off-road or speed trials it makes sense. For a driver it could get in the way of instant repairs at the side of the road. You car, your choice.

[t walgamuth]

Belly pans came on older Ferraris and Mercedes 300SL....probly on other high end high performance cars too. These were often removed for service and lost so they are a big deal to value. They're pretty simple though and could be remanufactured fairly easily.

Dunno about Studes but seems possible as a dealer installed option in places like Germany where the autobahn was available.

[Commander Eddie]

Okay, here goes.
My dad owned a '57 Golden Hawk that had what were described as "racing pans" on the underside. According to the folks at Frost & French in Los Angeles these were done at the factory and they only made available on 100 cars. The idea was to create a downdraft or suction under the car so it would not "float" at high speed. It was referred to as the "Bonneville" kit. I can attest that it worked extremely well. In addition to making the car squat at high speed, it had the added benefit of helping the car float in high water. If found this out quite by accident on a stormy night in the San Fernando Valley while driving through a flooded street.
Anyway, I have been surprised that few if anyone on this forum seems to know about this. But, the fact remains, dad's car was so equipped and verified by not only the dealership but by Andy Granatelli who was a friend of my dad's.

[Don Kelstrom]

Back in the early 1930s Studebaker had splash pans along the bottom of the engine. They quite often were discarded when repairs were made, and it's really hard to find some if the ones on your car are missing. Luckliy they were in place on my 1933 Studebakers.

[Noxnabaker]

Alright Ed (#6), THAT's what my friend referred to!
At last someone who knew something... The thing is that my friend who's been a Studebaker-man all his life also said he remembered it as a factory option. (& even in Sweden, would anyone believe...)
So the next question would ofcourse be if there's any drawings left still...?

& about the "trouble" to remove them by the road I reckon it would be possible to make them pressed in on one side & screwed on the other + not to big pieces.
Like from sill to frame & from frame-inside to frame-inside or such, making sure drive-shaft, rear axel & suspension had free travel-space.
Then on the other hand, if all the mechanical parts are in top-shape good order it would be just like any car under & what do you usually actually DO under your car by the road?

& again: is there any drawings out there?
Or at least descriptions?
Oh, this is interesting!!!

[skyway]

FYI, back in the late 70's/early 80's Turning Wheels published a reprint of an article from a probably 1950's car magazine on hot rodding Loweys.
One of their suggestions was a full belly pan with, I am pretty sure, diagrams.

[SN-60]

I wonder if these 'Bonneville Racing Pans' are one in the same as the 'sub floor reinforcement boxes', found on '53-'58 Studebaker (K) hardtops...which 'closeout' the normally open areas between the rocker panel lower edge and the frame rails of similar year Studebaker (C) coupes?

[8E45E]

The Due Cento had a 'full length belly pan' according to the magazine article in post #74 here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ighlight=cento

Craig

[SN-60]

The Due Cento had a 'full length belly pan' according to the magazine article in post #74 here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ighlight=cento

Craig

Craig, we're speaking of '53-'58 Studebaker hardtops here...with the '57 Golden Hawk being in that group. (posts #'s 6 & 8)

[8E45E]

Lemme see here...Post #7 refers to 1930's Studebakers, and when ever I see Bonneville and Granatelli used at the same time, 1963/4 comes to mind. Who says we can't add ANY Studebaker that came with underbody plates, including TRUCKS??

Craig

[SN-60]

Lemme see here...Post #7 refers to 1930's Studebakers, and when ever I see Bonneville and Granatelli used at the same time, 1963/4 comes to mind. Who says we can't add ANY Studebaker that came with underbody plates, including TRUCKS??

Craig

You're forgetting about the '32-'33 Studebaker factory 'Indy' entries!....Talk about belly pans!!!

[PlainBrownR2]

I'm guessing that when you were thinking of Studebaker plating, this is probably what came to mind. This is a belly pan for a Camaro ZL1. Studebaker, as far as I know, never had anything this extravagant in production beyond the scoop behind the rear bumper for the '53-'56's, or most Studebakers in general. These belly pans improve the aerodynamics under the car, and work like the Saturn air dams do. They reduce the turbulence in the engine bay, and extend the flat area of the body out under the engine bay. They're used pretty extensively in the high performance and racing vehicles, and work by creating a vacuum under the vehicle and thereby pulling it down at road speed. They also do a wonderful job of cooling if it's engineered right. If you have some time, a large piece of sheet metal, and are willing to carve it out to fit it under the engine, they should be easy to do. Personally, I've been wanting to do one of these for my own '55, but I'd advise adding in some removable sections, or finding a way to drop the pan when it comes time to slide under the car.

Oh, and the boxes on the C/K hardtops were torque boxes. They had a different function, which was to keep the body from flexing, lol.