Looking for an inexpensive vendor of engine parts.

[studebakerkid]

I am seriously considering putting a new crank and heads on my old daily driver T cab that has been sitting at my parents house. I parked the truck close to ten years ago with a rod knock in number 1 cylinder. I have other vehicles to drive but my great nephew will be driving in another nine years and time flies by fast so I am thinking that my Toyota T cab will go to him so I should get my other trucks engine done. The Toyota T cab has a 20R with a five speed and a short bed and would be perfect for him to haul a quad or a couple dirt bikes and only two passengers.

The problem is that is is just a daily driver. The floor boards were gone and the hog trougs wer rotted out so I bolted in steel to tie it all together solid but this truck will always be a work truck. It has self energizing brakes and a new clutch and overdrive.

Is it possible to get a crank and heads for a grand any more? I am in no short supply of projects.......

[rkapteyn]

It would help if you tell us what engjne you want a crank and heads for.
I have plenty of new and used cranks and heads. (crankheads or crackheads?)

http://www.studebakerstore.com/Studebakerstore.com/Welcome.html

Robert Kapteyn

[unclemiltie]

If you have a V8, there are quite a few NOS 259 cranks around, NOS 289 cranks are getting harder to find. NOS heads are also around. You should be able to find whatever heads and crank you need for under a grand

[jclary]

You have the option to either "fix" what's wrong, or overhaul the engine. Many folks think that the only proper way to fix internal problems in an engine is to completely "overhaul" it. But...I suspect that there are more "fixed" engines among our group than we know. The first thing to do is open the engine and check what's really wrong. Once you check the condition of the journals, rings, cylinder wear, valves, etc., you can get a handle on what you have...what needs to be done, or even, what you can "get away with." You'll need a manual, tools, measuring instruments, and the skill to correctly read them. (Or, like me, a friend kind enough to help with the readings.)

Oh...but before you begin to tear into it...summon the resolve to see the job to completion. That is where many projects go awry. I hate seeing abandoned rusting projects for sale on ebay with open engine blocks exposed to the elements.

Open it up and let us know what you find. And...good luck.

[candbstudebakers]

I have 5 nos heads with casting number ending in 76 off the 57 golden hawks for sure and others of that age, there is no valves and still in original crate from Studebaker, $150.00 each and they are heavy, I also have cranks, PM me if interested.

[starliner62]

Inexpensive is hard to find. Most prices are reasonable compared to other makes, like Mopar and AMC. Unlilke a lot of other makes, we in the our world of Studebakers are lucky to have the amount of parts available that we do. Even though Stude engine parts are not priced like Small block Chevies, I just priced out some parts for a 351 Cleveland Ford. Stude parts are a bargain.

[swvalcon]

Starliner62 Try northern engine parts Des moines Ia. They have a web site. About the best prices you can find on most makes. They don't have much for Studebaker.

[StudeRich]

The Heads you have should be able to take a Valve Grind and surface check or Machining and be as good or better than a "junkyard" replacement head, they are not cracked are they?

[Roscomacaw]

I'm with Rich on the heads. Get what you got redone. It'll be way cheaper in the end. The cranks - if it's a 259 - should be able to be found cheap - NOS. I think the bearings can be had for north of $200 - both sets. USed to be there were service guys who went around and would grind the journals in the car/truck. I suspect they've all retired by now. And of course, the gasket sets aren't cheap now either!

[studebakerkid]

My heads are not cracked but I doubt that I could grind the valves. The truck was burning oil so I did the air compressor method and put new umbrella seals in it as the originals had crumbled. The valve guides had more clearance then I liked but the umbrella seals did slow down the oil consumption. I was hauling a heavy load up to the cabin and I got stuck in a construction delay and the truck overheated and I had a viscosity break down.

Right now I just needed a figure so it looks like I wil be pulling it at my folks place and bringing the engine to my shop. Pulling it it will be easy as it is sitting right infront of a a two story storage shed with a beam in the center of the trusses for lifiting heavy stuff into the second story.

The engine is a 259 pulled from who knows what but it is 12 volt and the bell was kept with the engine from the donor vehicle. The engine is only a partial flow block but that does not bother me. Hopefully the engine will not have much of an edge at the top of the cylinders so I can just do a crank and heads but now that I know that it is doable in my price range I might as well get the engine pulled from the T cab and the 55 parts wagon also titting at the folks place especially since my backhoe will be available to lift the engine out of the wagon.

If the heads are not too bad an inexpensive way for me to go would be for me to register for a class at the local community college and do the heads myself that is if the classes are still offered.

Doing the work will be no problem....just affording it but I kinda miss driving that truck and passing all the Chevies, Fords, Dodges ect on the freeway.