Silver Hawk Major Modifications

[Treblig]

Today was one of those days when you don't get much done because of other things that have to be done

But I managed to get the front seat in the car to locate the center seat belt anchor points (trans tunnel area). I made these anchor plates out of the two extra plates I had bought for the overhead. I bought two extra in case I messed one up during the modification process. Anyway, I welded the anchor plates to a larger plate to make sure it pulled the forces over a large area:



I put a slight curve on the plates to better match the inside of the trans tunnel:


Then I made some extensions to have something to attach the inner seat belt latch to. Since I raised the seat for my daughter there's no way the factory seat belt latch assembly would reach the floor.



The front seat is in the correct location (and height), I had my daughter sit in the car (one more time) to get a good bead on where the seat belt latches needed to be. Now I'll just pop a couple of holes ( being careful around the driveshaft) in the tunnel and install the extensions. I also called ISI instruments to check the status of the fuel gauge and the sender. They said it would ship out TODAY!!!!


Which means that next week I should be driving the car again and start the "shake down" process. There are very few items left on the Studebaker "to do" list. Some minor wire hook up to the new fuse box, a fusible link, install the fuel gauge, trans cooler, etc. I'll replace the rear end later on after my daughter has driven the car for a while.


Treblig

[Treblig]

Got the holes punched and here are some pics of the burr that gets raised when you punch a hole using center punches. You can use any pointed type punch as long as it's heavy duty enough to take the punishment. You can see in the second pic where I had already done a little grinding on the burr. I had to drop the back end of the driveshaft to be able to grind on the burrs. :






Don't mind the blue silicone.....I used the silicone to hold the plate in place. I initially used a long bolt because the carpet and the jute kept the threads from making full contact until the carpet and jute have been crushed down after torquing. After the silicone dried I replaced the bolt with a much shorter one to give the driveshaft as much space as possible. Now that I have everything where it needs to be I can paint the whole area and the blue silicone won't be visible.





I had to make a couple of spacers for the belt latch cable so that it rotates freely. I also had to jack the rear end up in the air so I could remove the driveshaft and grind on the holes. It was a lot of going in the car and then getting under the car but I managed to replace the bolts with shorter ones by the end of the day (after the silicone had dried) and put the car back on the ground. GEEEZZ!!! I'm slowly running out of things to do...........




PS - I received the remote radio antennae in the mail today, now I need to figure how long an extension I'll need to get the signal from the package rack/tray to the radio. I'll route the cable along with those wires I ran through the passenger's 1/4 space.



Treblig

[Treblig]

Here's more....The stereo/radio came with numerous cables/connections for the younger kids (like my daughter). She needed a USB port to connect her cell phone/IPOD/whatever. I bought this extension (the one on the radio was too short) and sat her in the driver's seat and asked her where she wanted it. I didn't want to cut a hole in the dash and neither did she:





She had also told me that she would like to have a drink holder for her drinks, cell phone and change/stuff so I bought this:



She said that since the drink holder would be sitting on the middle hump it would be nice if I could make the USB port in one of the coin holes. I said, "No problem". A quick hole to snake the cable through:



Then about a half hour searching for a piece of metal tube with the correct inside diameter and outside diameter. I had to put a groove in the ID for an alignment boss on the USB end. Then a couple of holes on each side to catch the tabs that hold the connector in the metal tube:


Presto chango!!!



It fit perfect, nice and tight, looks like it came from the factory!!





Since this drink holder fits up against the factory AC evaporator (or very close to it) I can run the USB cable out the front (underside) of the drink holder, under the AC unit and up to the new radio and no one will be the wiser!! I'll have pics of the easy installation later....

I had one more pic but I'm only allowed 10 pics per post!!


Treblig

[Treblig]

Here's the last pic that I wasn't able to post last night. It really looks like it belongs there....sometimes I impress myself!!




Treblig

[ndynis]

Here's the last pic that I wasn't able to post last night. It really looks like it belongs there....sometimes I impress myself!!



[ATTACH=CONFIG]55304[/ATTACH]

Treblig

You should impress yourself. You sure do most everyone else.
I haven't posted on this thread since not long after it started. I have followed it through every step. It should be a "How To" book. Well done! Lucky Daughter!!

[Treblig]

You should impress yourself. You sure do most everyone else.
I haven't posted on this thread since not long after it started. I have followed it through every step. It should be a "How To" book. Well done! Lucky Daughter!!

Thanks, I appreciate it!! My list of "things to do" has become very short. The AC guy has overhauled the evaporator and it's ready to reinstall. He changed the fittings to the newer style (O-ring fittings) and replaced the on/of switch. Now that the evaporator is finished I can take the Silver Hawk to his shop and he can run the hoses and install the condenser. I want to order the trans cooler and install it but I really won't know how much room I'll have until the condenser/dryer are installed. He did say that the newer condensers are much smaller and more efficient than the old ones so we'll see. I checked on the tracking number on the fuel gauge and sender, they should be here Thursday. Right now I have the front seat unbolted and sitting all the way back against the back seat so I can easily install fuel gauge. Other minor items that need to be done (won't keep me or my daughter from driving the car): install the inner fender shields, plug the side vents, reinstall the solenoid shut off at the battery and run dedicated wires around the shut off switch to make sure that the factory clock, radio memory and dome light get 12V 24/7.
I will eventually install hood struts (that hood weighs a ton)!! I already have a Ford Mustang rear end that is the correct width and bolt pattern, I'll overhaul it and install some 3:73 or 3:90 gears to go with the overdrive transmission. But again, that's a weekend job that can be done in future weeks/months just like the other stuff.


Thanks again.....
treblig

[Treblig]

Well here's something interesting!! I decided to remove the Factory AC condenser to see how much room I would have for the new condenser (pics later) and the trans cooler. After removing the condenser I noticed some antifreeze puddled up around the bottom of the tubes near the center of the new radiator. I said to myself, "Oh great. My new radiator has a leak!!"
Keeping calm I thought to myself that maybe I spilled a little antifreeze (I was very, very careful not to spill any) and it ended up at the bottom, but the only way to know for sure was to start the motor and let it get good and hot and see if it leaks any more. I cleaned up all of the small puddles and started the engine. Now remember, the condenser is now removed so I can see the front, bottom of the radiator. The engine ran for about 30 minutes as I kept checking the temp gauge....Low and behold,,,,,,,it won't go over 180 degrees now!!! It's super hot today, supposed to be up in the high 90s and the darn thing isn't going up to 190 like the other day.
The only thing that changed was that I removed the condenser!! Could it be that the condenser was keeping the new fan/radiator system from cooling as much as possible??? That's the only thing I can figure:





But now I'm wondering???? Is the new condenser going to make the temperature go back up???

More pics later, got to go to dentist!!
treblig

[DEEPNHOCK]

Probably only a little.
Your old condensor needs a serious session with a blade comb.....

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<snip>
But now I'm wondering???? Is the new condenser going to make the temperature go back up???
treblig

[Treblig]

Probably only a little.
Your old condensor needs a serious session with a blade comb.....

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Yes that could have easily contributed to the problem.....but there's something else!! I was getting ready to install the condenser and wasn't sure how close or far it should be from the radiator. After some research, I read that it should be as close as possible but not "touching". If it's more than 3/16" away you'll get lots of turbulence which can cause overheating. If everyone will remember, when I installed the new radiator I had to use spacers to move the radiator towards the rear because it was thicker and was hitting in front. This created more space between the new radiator and the old condenser. Well maybe, just maybe, by moving the radiator towards the rear caused some turbulence with the old condenser and that's why it was still getting up to 190 degrees??? Once I removed the condenser there was no turbulence and the temp went down. So......if I mount the new condenser as close as possible it should take care of the problem???
Has anyone out there experienced these issues and am I on the right track?????


treblig

treblig

[Treblig]

So I figured.....if I had to move the radiator towards the rear a little to get it to not hit on the front of the radiator support ( a few weeks/days ago) I may as well move it even further back so I can stick the new condenser further back leaving me more room for the trans cooler!! I have plenty of room now that the shroud/fan is gone. So I got some longer bolts and some longer spacers and moved the radiator towards the rear about 1 1/2". Now these spacers are just temporary to see if it all works out. Once I have the radiator where it needs to be I'll replace the round spacer with some long square vertical tubes (box iron) so that it sits more solidly, after all....it's full of water and pretty heavy and I don't want it bouncing up and down on those long bolts:




As you can see I still have plenty of room left over:



It also lets me install the new condenser on the backside of that reinforcement bar (in front of the radiator) leaving me a ton of room up front for nice LARGE trans cooler (maybe even with a small electric fan). The old condenser was mounted in front of the reinforcement bar:




I'll make sure that I have no more than 3/16" between the radiator and the condenser then I fire up the engine and see how hot/warm it gets!!




This will tell me how much (if at all) the condenser distance affects the engine temperature......hopefully!!

treblig

[Lynn]

I spent a summer in 1978 installing aftermarket air... all day every day.

Absolutely no question that keeping the condenser close to the radiator will help the engine temps. Also helps the a/c cool better.

The other thing you can do to help is to limit the amount of air the radiator can pull in AROUND the condenser instead of through it. Just putting the condenser closer will NORMALLY take care of it. However, it is actually possible for the fan to pull in hot under hood air (mainly when sitting still) if there isn't SOMETHING to limit flow around the top of the radiator.

Make sense?

[Treblig]

I spent a summer in 1978 installing aftermarket air... all day every day.

Absolutely no question that keeping the condenser close to the radiator will help the engine temps. Also helps the a/c cool better.

The other thing you can do to help is to limit the amount of air the radiator can pull in AROUND the condenser instead of through it. Just putting the condenser closer will NORMALLY take care of it. However, it is actually possible for the fan to pull in hot under hood air (mainly when sitting still) if there isn't SOMETHING to limit flow around the top of the radiator.

Make sense?

That's a good point. When I was running the engine I had the hood open so I'm sure it was probably sucking some hot air (from the engine) into the front of the radiator. I also need to find the rubber seal that goes on the shield that runs over the radiator support. I can see that something used to be attached to the shield but, whatever it was, it's long gone. I can also see where something used to make contact with the underside of the hood just above the radiator support shield. MAYBE SOMEONE CAN POST A PIC OF THE RUBBER SEAL INSTALLED ON THEIR CAR SO I CAN SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE??? I also plan to install a rubber shield on the outside edges (left and right sides) of the radiator where it meet the support to keep it from sucking engine heat around the edges.
My plan is to slide a piece of cardboard between the condenser and the radiator then gently push the condenser against the cardboard. I'll mount the condenser in place then remove the cardboard which should leave minimal space between the two.

Then I can do the engine run and test the temperatures again (with the hood closed)...it should be interesting????

thanks,

treblig

[Treblig]

So I moved the radiator towards the rear and had plenty of room to get the new condenser behind the radiator support reinforcement bar. I made some small brackets and temporarily locked everything in place (vice grips) to make sure it would all work out:





Everything is looking good and tomorrow I'll put all the finishing touches on it then I'll start the engine and see what the temp gauge says.

PS - Still waiting for someone to post pics of their Silver Hawk to show the radiator support to hood seal???

treblig

[allstateguy]

I took this pic at a meet in St George UT a few years back. I think it shows the rubber seal above the radiator

[Treblig]

I took this pic at a meet in St George UT a few years back. I think it shows the rubber seal above the radiator[ATTACH=CONFIG]55423[/ATTACH]

Thank you so much for the pic!! From what I can see it looks like it has those (old school) big staples holding the seal to the metal piece>>
At least I know what it looks like and how it's shaped. If I had known that it was missing I would have sat inside the engine compartment (when I had the engine out) and cut a piece to fit perfectly between the hood and the support shield. It's pretty hard to see the gap when the hood is closed. Looks like I'm going to have to steal my grandson's play doh again???


thanks,
treblig