'62 Daytona - A nostalgic project

[mbstude]

Left side is mostly done. New outer control arm pin & bushing kits, and new (sleeved) king pin.

The pins are tight, but not locked up, and they all took grease without having to loosen any of the bushings. Hopefully the right side goes just as well.

I was tempted to clean and paint everything, but... Nah. Shiny control arms won't make it drive any better.

[mbstude]

The front suspension & steering are back together. New springs, shocks, tie rods, reach rod, and I rebuilt the center bellcrank pivot. Also decided to go with Avanti front disc brakes.

The to-do list is getting shorter. Mechanically, there isn't a single part on this car that I haven't replaced / rebuilt / freshened up. This is going to be the best driving Stude I've owned.

[ndynis]

"This is going to be the best driving Stude I've owned."

Now that is saying something!!

[Dwight FitzSimons]

Matt,
Did you have to modify the spindles to mount the Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes?

We will be interested to hear your experiences with the Cobalt cylinders. With a modern-type piston, and reasonable price, they would appear to be the way to go for those needing to rebuild their Bendix disc brakes.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

--Dwight (BTW, R-4228 is progressing, albeit slowly)

[r1lark]

Is the design of the Cobalt cylinders different, or just larger than the originals?

[mbstude]

Matt,
Did you have to modify the spindles to mount the Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes?

We will be interested to hear your experiences with the Cobalt cylinders. With a modern-type piston, and reasonable price, they would appear to be the way to go for those needing to rebuild their Bendix disc brakes.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

--Dwight (BTW, R-4228 is progressing, albeit slowly)

I agree with you on the Cobalt cylinders. They've been around for a while and I'm sure there are lots of E-Types running around with them, so I'm sure it'll be fine.

I swapped out the spindles. I have a half dozen "organ donor" cars out back with factory disc brakes, so coming up with all of the right pieces was pretty easy.

[mbstude]

Is the design of the Cobalt cylinders different, or just larger than the originals?

https://mossmotors.com/8777-3-cp-e-type-brake-cylinder-master-kit

[r1lark]

Thank you Matt!

[mbstude]

I changed my mind (again) on the seats, this car is begging for a set of buckets. Rather than deal with the worn out original seats, today I ordered these from an early Ford Bronco parts supplier. The seat bottom dimensions are the same as the Lark, but with a higher back rest (not a bad thing). Sliding mechanisms are included, I'll just have to fab up some mounting brackets. I'll use the original Lark center console, dyed black to match.

I've decided to eliminate the back seat, which I'll replace with a carpeted plywood platform. More room for the dogs, and more storage space on road trips.

I also bought a rebuilt radio for it, and painted the push buttons black to match the rest of the dash knobs. Looks a bit better than the delete plate.

[skyway]

There was a time when late ‘60’s high backed Pontiac buckets were the way to go. Plenty of room for a floor shift & an original Studebaker console.
Mid 1960’s low backs used the same mountings & lower cushions too.

[mbstude]

This morning I replaced the back seat with 3/4" plywood. Turned out better than I expected.

[M-Webb]

Hmm, that does look pretty nice. Have to admit, was thinking we had lost you to the off menu pills or something with your last post, but that does look good. How did you do the piping on the wheel well cover part? That is a nice touch. You definitely know how to whip up some surprisingly nice and creative custom upholstery work. The dogs are going to like it. Radio looks really nice too, agree, better. Not sure about those seats though. Like the thought, will give you the benefit of the doubt knowing you, but will wait to see how they look in real life installed. Generally I'm not big on modern looking seats in a classic car. But those do seem nice, and honestly the headrest is a smart move too for safety reasons. You seem picker than even me, so if you are good with them, I'm guessing they will look nice.

[mbstude]

This evening I finished welding up the mounts for the new bucket seats and got them installed. The quality is nicer than I expected, and they're comfortable. I'm happy with it.

I may try and find a center console that fills the space better, but the original one will do for now.

[r1lark]

Those look great Matt! I'm curious as to what your mounting brackets ended up looking like. Did you take any pics that you would be willing to share?

[mbstude]

Those look great Matt! I'm curious as to what your mounting brackets ended up looking like. Did you take any pics that you would be willing to share?

This was the simplest (laziest) solution I could think of - I bolted a set of original seat tracks in the car and welded angle iron across them. I swapped the outer right and outer left tracks from one side to the other, to change the offset so that the mounting bolts on the seats would clear.

I centered the driver seat directly in line with the steering wheel, and then made the passenger side symmetrical.

The holes drilled into the angle iron line up with the holes in the seat sliders. The angle iron is fully welded to the tracks on the underside.

Passenger side shown in the picture.