'51 Land Cruiser

[gjamesk]

Such a nice car. Enjoy!

[mbstude]

Woke up this morning to temps in the low 60's, which is a little nicer than yesterday's low 90's. Loaded up the dog and did some Land Cruising before taking the car back to the shop.

I wanted a Studebaker that would make a good long distance road car.. I think this one will do fine. I forgot how much I like having one with overdrive.

[62champ]

I forgot how much I like having one with overdrive.

Fun to hear the motor take that deep breath when you let off the pedal at 35 and it slips into OD... Thanks for keeping us posted.

[rockne10]

Using 2nd/over is a thrill when entering a highway as well.

[Jerry Forrester]

It runs and drives so nice, I'm going to wait a bit before digging into the wiring, and enjoy putting some miles on it for a while.
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Careful there Matt. You don't want to fix everything on the car. You may not wan't to admit it now, but deep in your heart you know that as soon as everything is done, the car is going to be for sale.

[mbstude]

Careful there Matt. You don't want to fix everything on the car. You may not wan't to admit it now, but deep in your heart you know that as soon as everything is done, the car is going to be for sale.

Nah.. The thought hasn't crossed my mind. I wouldn't have bought this car if I didn't want to keep it.

But I do like having different projects to work on. Here's a '47 Schwinn I put together recently with an 8 speed internally geared rear hub. Less expensive and easier to work on than Studebakers, but just as much fun.

[52-fan]

That's a lot sleeker bike than I would expect for 1947. All the bikes I grew up with came with fenders.

[mbstude]

Weekend update on the '51. Yesterday I installed a new aluminum radiator from CGJ, a company in Alabama. It fits and works perfect; I'm happy with it. Installed a new water pump and hoses while I was at it.



With the car now "road ready", I figured I'd shine it up a bit. Washed and waxed the paint, polished the chrome, and put on the new hood nameplates and V8 emblem. I've been driving it around all weekend and plan to do so this coming week as long as the weather doesn't turn wet. It runs and drives so nice, it's hard to put it back in the garage.

[62champ]

Looks great Matt. Those battery cables should give you every ounce of juice that battery can put out!

[mbstude]

Looks great Matt. Those battery cables should give you every ounce of juice that battery can put out!

Those were another addition this weekend. 00 gauge wire, about $15 each from a marine store. Sometimes overkill is good.

[mbstude]

Not much new to report, just driving it occasionally and avoiding the thought of pulling the dash to replace the wiring harness.

Had some time this past week, so I gave the car a good detailing, and put on a set of standard bumper guards in place of the towel racks.





I bought a set of S.I.'s new repro Avanti rubber floor mats as soon as they were available, hoping I could make them work in the '51. They're designed for a car with hanging pedals, but with a little modifying they fit just fine.

[52-fan]

You did a fine job of modifying that floor mat...Matt. I had to look close to see how you did it. What did you put it back together with?

[mbstude]

On the 19th, I drove the '51 150 miles round trip to an SDC Chapter meeting. Overall it couldn't have run better, but sitting behind the wheel for a few hours taught me two things: The loose steering needs to be fixed sooner rather than later, and I am still not satisfied with the Turner brake conversion. I'll try a different master cylinder, if that doesn’t fix it I’ll remove everything and install later V8 drums and the stock MC back on it.

Stephen and I are planning to pull the dash board next month to replace the wiring harness. Since the steering column has to be removed to pull the dash, that would be the time to rebuild the steering box. There were 3 different gearboxes used on '51 models, and luckily my car has the "better" Saginaw box. The bad news is that sometime in the past the box was ran dry and the bearings have gotten "notchy". Poking around the shop, I found another '51 Saginaw column, and thought it'd be a good idea to rebuild it and have it ready to install. After taking it apart, it looked as though it would've been good to use as-is, but I replaced everything anyway. NOS worm gear post, sector shaft, bearings, etc. Once together I set the adjustments per the shop manual, and with a little paint it'll be ready to go. Nothing better than a brand new steering box for a 70 year old car!

[Flashback]

Enjoyed talking to you a few days ago, even if it was briefly. I appreciate the courteous way you do business, and the promptness. "Thanks"!! I am not nearly as active, but still hanging around, LOL. Like what you are doing with this beautiful car. Been watching all along. Question: Are the Diamondback tires, the best wide whites you have used? considering a set for The Saturday Night Special.

[mbstude]

Enjoyed talking to you a few days ago, even if it was briefly. I appreciate the courteous way you do business, and the promptness. "Thanks"!! I am not nearly as active, but still hanging around, LOL. Like what you are doing with this beautiful car. Been watching all along. Question: Are the Diamondback tires, the best wide whites you have used? considering a set for The Saturday Night Special.

Was nice talking to you as well, Tex. I haven’t had many cars with wide whites to compare to, but if you want radials, I think Diamond Backs are the only way to go.