1948 Studebaker Starlight coupe project

[Stilettoman]

I always thought of "Pro Touring" as just another category of American car, built for drag racing but streetable. But my fabricator and long time collaborator, Sean (registered here as "esrinfo" informs me that my Studebaker is definitely a pro touring car, according to the definition given here, and indeed my two previous projects likewise. We built a 1984 Mazda RX-7 with a Ford 302 and big brakes upgrade,which I drove for 9 years and then sold. We then built another 84 RX-7 with a Nissan Skyline turbo motor and big brakes, which is my current daily driver. I bought a complete front clip, brought it home, hooked up fuel and battery and ran it before taking the engine out of the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d6e6gP2oAM

This motor is a 2.0 liter in line six with 215 hp, gets me about 27 mpg all around, 30 on the highway. It replaced the 100 hp rotary which got 20 mpg. The RX-7 gained 100 pounds, now weighs 2500 pounds.

I like this motor so much I bought another front clip, this one with only 35,000 miles on it. I have never done an American car, other than my custom Ford truck, and after considering many different options I bought a 1948 Studebaker Champion Starlight coupe. It ran down the road well enough, but the handling was atrocious, and the brakes were just plain dangerous. Sean suggested he could build a tube chassis from firewall forward, but I said "Why not graft the whole front clip to the firewall?" Well, he said that would be a lot of work, but I pointed out that, once done, he would not have to worry about engine mount, suspension mounts and location, brakes, sway bar, and steering except we would need to use a left hand drive rack. He took a few measurements and decided it would all fit under the Studebaker sheet metal and maybe it was not a bad idea. We made a video of the car running and driving, to help sell the drive train and other parts we don't need, then started tearing it down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-NGjLi6eGs

The Studebaker Champion of that era was pretty light, this one just under 2700 pounds, and pretty short in the front, so we knew this would be a tight fit. It had a flat head six, 169 cu inches, 80 hp, three speed with overdrive. The Nissan motor is an RB20DET, which translates as RB series engine (straight six built from 1985 to 2002) 2.0 liters , Dual overhead cams, Electronic fuel injection, Turbocharged.

We also bought a complete Skyline rear suspension, with viscous LSD, big disc brakes, all built into a cradle which attaches with four bolts using rubber isolators. This is good for at least 400 hp.

I will post progress photos and provide technical details as we go. It is already pretty far along. We have seen many examples for years of hot rodders doing what they call "front clips", but they are only talking about the frame rails. Have any of you seen a complete unibody front clip grafted to an older car, either unibody or body-on-frame?

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[Chevelle LT1]

Definitely would like to see some pics of this project, and one question: Do you mind divulging your Skyline source? Thanks,

~ Jason

[Stilettoman]

We are fortunate here to have Foreign Engines, Inc in Lynnwood, about 20 miles north of Seattle - they have treated us very well and their prices are a low as any I have seen on ebay. They have a very large selection of JDM (Japan Domestic Market) engines and transmissions, most of which are sold as replacements for Honda, Toyota, Subaru etc. But a part of their market is the "High Performance" motors as they call them, some like the Skyline from cars that were never sold here. These are often brought in as complete front clips because people doing the swaps need a lot of the parts. For the Nissan RB motors, most people want the RB25DET which is rated at 280 hp, front clips typically selling for about $3000 to $4000. I bought the RB20 clips for $1600 and $2000, cheap because they are not in such demand. There are several companies in New Jersey, Florida, Texas eastern Canada and of course California that sell these motors, typically the engine, trans, wire harness and computer as a package. The Toyota straight sixes are also very popular swaps. Personally, I would not buy a motor that I cannot examine, and return if necessary. I have complete faith that my source will stand behind what they sell.

More photos of our Studebaker project. Most of the structural and mechanical work is done by Sean , and I have been doing the body work.
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[DreamRyder1963]

An old studabacker with skyline running gear, that's brilliant!

[maverick3316]

And I thought I had crazy ideas!

[john31s]

Ok, I am not trying to start a fight but why the RB20det? The SR20det has the same displacement and weighs 200 lbs less. I only ask because a bunch of my 240sx buddies have an RB20det in their cars and I never understood why that motor over a SR20det or a RB25det.

[Stilettoman]

Why not an SR20DET? That is a very logical question. It is lighter, and indeed quite a bit shorter, which is equally important from a fabrication standpoint when doing a swap. It has about the same power and fuel economy. Indeed, the SR20s are very much in demand, as are the RB25DET, which have a stock rating of 280 hp. For this reason, the RB25 and SR20 cost about $3500-4000 or more in a complete clip. I paid $1600 for the RB20DET clip I used in my RX-7, and $2000 for the clip I used in the Studebaker, which has only 35,000 miles.

There is no question that the RB motors are about the smoothest running engines on the planet, and in my case I just was not concerned about the weight. I think the RB20, because of it's lower demand, is the best bang for the buck of any JDM engine. This motor and 5-speed weighs about the same as the flathead six and cast iron three speed of the original Studebaker, has about 2 1/2 times the power and will get significantly better fuel mileage. I want a classic car that drives like a modern sports sedan and has a good all around balance of performance, economy, handling and braking. We have not yet found any other example of someone grafting a complete modern unibody front clip to an older car. Some very experienced street rod builders have examined this project, and none have suggested this is a crazy idea.

I decided to paint the engine bay and firewall a glossy silver grey. We thought the underside had superficial rust, but it was just the red oxide primer, apparently from the factory. I primed it with epoxy primer and then sprayed it with the Upol textured clear urethane, tinted with the silver grey, including the wheel wells. The thing that looks like a small mixing bowl is actually a small mixing bowl, to cover the heater fan motor which protrudes through the firewall. We reinforced the thin metal of the firewall on the left side with 1/8 inch plate to handle the pedal forces and we are using the Skyline clutch and brake pedals and master cylinders, and likewise the steering column. We needed a left hand drive steering rack and the unit from a 240SX just bolted in.

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[craigs73]

i like it!!!!! love to see builds like this.... awesome work

[R32Jordie]

https://www.pro-touring.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=104430&stc=1

Are you planning on running Hicas/ 4 wheel steering on your project? I know 100% that In an R32 you can swap in a Non Hicas 240sx subframe (has the mounts for rear Toe arms as opposed to the Hicas rack) . Also 90% of the energy suspension bushings are exchangeable as are R32 GTR rear swaybars :)

Cool project, Ill keep an eye on it.

[Stilettoman]

Jordie - if you look closely, you can see that we have eliminated all the mechanism from the HICAS actuator, replaced it with a piece of aluminum tubing, and now it is just a toe adjustment.

I am just finishing up the body work, after weeks of priming and block sanding. I have painted my project cars and airplanes for 50 years, but this one is going to my local painter because it is a metallic pearl and I want it to be first class. I hope to have the paint done in the next month, then start putting it together. The wiring, instruments and interior will take a few months, should have it done in the spring or early summer. Did you look at my RX-7 project? It weighs 2500 pounds, and I think the stock RB20 has just the right power for street driving. I am expecting the Studebaker to weigh about 2750, which is still lighter than the Skyline.

Ben

[Stilettoman]

I posted some details of our intake plenum fabrication in post number 3 in this thread thread:

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/107238-Hey-guys-need-some-help-with-a-turbo-plenum-chamber-please

We have now finished the turbo system, which required Sean to do quite a bit of welding to make it all fit. We could not put the blowoff valve up front like we did on my RX-7 project, as there just was not enough room. So it will be up on top of the turbo outlet pipe in the engine compartment. I still have not decided if I will put an air filter in the engine compartment or build a box and bring in cold air.

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We installed the Infiniti J30 fuel tank in the trunk, below the rear package shelf. There was really only one choice for the fuel filler location, gravity being what it is. This tank has an immersed fuel pump, with the appropriate pressure for the fuel injection. I used a motorcyle fuel filler cap.

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The bumpers on this car were spaced out about 5 inches from the body, typical of this era, and for some reason the front bumper was several inches wider than the car. We modified the bumper brackets, pulled the bumpers in close to the body, shortened the front bumper and reshaped both with more bend to fit the body shape. We also welded studs inside the bumpers and filled in the holes so there will be no bumper bolts visible. We also built a rear valance panel, or roll pan as some call it, with a filler panel on each side welded to the fenders.

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The hood originally was hinged at the rear, but would not open far enough for good access, and the angle could not be increased without a major redesign of the hinges. We decided to hinge it at the front, with a pair of gas shocks. The latches are from a BMW coupe, and they grab the hood and pull it down tight. They are connected with a torque tube that runs across behind the firewall.

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[Stilettoman]

My body guy has been busy with crash repairs, finally had time to paint my car. I provided the paint, a metallic pearl urethane basecoat/clearcoat from The Coating Store, an on-line supplier. I have painted four cars previously with their paint and I am very happy with it. This color is called Sparkling Merlot Pearl, and it really comes to life in direct sunlight. A kit with a gallon of basecoat color, a gallon of clearcoat, with the reducer for the basecoat and activator for the clear cost $220. My painter was pleased with the way is sprayed, and says he will consider using some of their paint in the future.

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[Stilettoman]

We have been gradually putting this thing together. I did some initial wet sanding and buffing so I don't have to deal with the mess after the interior is installed and the windows are in. I replaced the crumbling cardboard tack strips with the new rubbery plastic stuff, installed the windlace and then the headliner. Sean has been finishing the installation of the brake and fuel lines, and we installed the fuel filler cap and vent. I have been dong the wire bundles for the fuel tank and all the lights in the rear of the car, and Sean has been doing the details on the engine and installing the fuse panels and wire harness to the computer. The Skyline pedal assemblies and master cylinders are installed. You can see we used the round pedal pads from the Studebaker to retain some of the original look.

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[Stilettoman]

The idle air controller, cold start valve and various vacuum fittings are mounted on the bottom of the intake plenum to clean up the look of the otherwise very cluttered engine compartment. This makes the hose connections and electrical plugs difficult to reach, but we decided it was a fair compromise. We also made some cover panels over the fuel rail, the coil packs (between the cam covers) and the turbo, each with perforated steel inserts - not hiding everything like the cheesy plastic covers on the new cars, but hopefully making a neat overall appearance.

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[Motown 454]

Very Nice!

[Jetfixr320]

Great build and color!

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

This is a way cool project. Looking great. Love the color too.

[Stilettoman]

Got the headliner in - not a fun job- and have been working on the heater, which I built from a pair of Skyline heaters, using RX-7 controls and fan switch. Sean has been busy finishing the engine bay plumbing and wiring, and I have been painting some of the details, including the engine covers and power steering reservoir.

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[Stilettoman]

We just keep adding pieces - pretty soon it will look like a Studebaker. The Skyline fuse panel and engine computer are mounted inside the glove box door - guess I will have to find some place else for my gloves. The RX-7 wiper assembly has a rocker lever installed to reverse the action of the passenger side wiper, so the blades have opposing motion like the original Studebaker, and this allows using the original wiper pivot locations.

I bead blasted the tail light assemblies, cut off the old corroded light sockets and installed some nice ones from an old Mazda RX-7 tail light. I also cut down the reflectors from the Mazda lights and installed them - pretty narrow, but it seems to help with the brightness. Then I went to visit a local company that specializes in HID and LED lighting, bought a few bulbs and installed them for tail, brake, turn and park lights. In the past I built some LED lights, but now there are much brighter lights available off the shelf, using the new surface mount LEDs.

I spent some time cutting out the rubber gaskets for the headlights and tail lights. The tail lights are wired into a terminal strip in the trunk, and the headlights are connected to the original Skyline wire harness. Bought a pair of Hella headlights, using H4 bulbs, but retaining the general appearance of the old sealed beams.

My machinist did not have enough to do, so I had him do some engraving on my Skyline front calipers.

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[Motown 454]

Nice touch!

[R32Jordie]

Love the intake manifold. Looks like it belongs there.

[neongreen]

This thing is way too cool! I love the idea of a 2.0L I6 that can rev to the moon.

[Stilettoman]

The body is mostly done, except for assembling the doors - I know that will be a real pain. I am busy adapting the Skyline instruments into the Studebaker cases. I still have to fabricate interior panels for the trunk. All the lights worked on the first try - hope that bodes well for the fuel injection computer. The driving lights are Hella halogens that I bought back in the 1960s, probably some of the very first ones available. For various reasons, I have never used then until now. They are a perfect match for the nice Hella headlights I bought.

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[Centerforce]

What an incredible concept and build! Our favorite part is all of it. And the engine bay.

It's probably the engine bay.

[Stilettoman]

I finally took a break from the car and posted a summary of this project on my website. I will post some photos here when the car is finished, but in the meantime I will keep my website up to date regularly. There are no provisions for comments or questions on my website, but I will monitor this thread and answer any questions.

I hope to post some of my aviation photos and build info on the web site later this summer.

The Studebaker is in the Automotive section here: http://stilettoman.info/

[Stilettoman]

If I had not spent so much time building model airplanes as a kid, I don't think I would have had the patience to adapt all these Skyline instruments into the Studebaker instrument cases. The clock was replaced with the Skyline tachometer, and the digital clock in the tach was replaced with a digital boost gauge, so I have RPM and boost/vacuum in one gauge. LEDs are used for low fuel, low oil pressure, left and right turn , high beam and driving light indicators. The original Studebaker knobs were adapted to fit the various switches and controls in the dash. Everything has worked on the first try so far, including the engine computer, though it needs some tuning.

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The corroded tail light sockets were replaced with two-element sockets from an RX-7, and very bright LED bulbs installed, all 4 for tail lights, outboard for turn signal, inboard for brakes. I used some segments of the reflectors from the RX-7 lights.

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[Rat Fink]

Cool Project!

[jy211]

this is so cool!

[Z06killinSBF]

Very cool build! Are you planning on running those wheels or something different?

[Stilettoman]

My JDM supplier, Foreign Engines, Inc, sold me two sets of these Nissan wheels with tires. Their guy in Japan always throws a few extra things into the containers of engines and trannies - we don't know what model of Nissan they are from, but 4 of the wheels are in excellent condition, and we got 4 pretty good tires. I am refinishing the best wheels and will install them with the best tires. I have no plans to run any other wheels - it is a matter of preference, but I like the look of these. A friend gave me four Studebaker hubcaps, and we cut the centers out to make center caps for these wheels. These are epoxy bonded to the original Nissan center caps.

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Foreign Engines also sold me another a very nice set of 17 x 7 wheels and tires from a Japan version of a Nissan S14, which we are using on a 68 Mustang we modified as described on another thread here. They are similar to the wheels on the Studebaker, but have a bit more style which I think looks good on the Mustang. These are all 5 by 4.5 bolt pattern. The Mustang has Skyline front brakes, Nissan Leopard (Infiniti J30) rear suspension and brakes, Skyline brake pedal and booster, Nissan 350Z master cylinder, and of course Mustang center caps. It is almost finished, and we made a video for the benefit of the owner, who is working overseas and has not seen the car since we started on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BnegsrbB8s

[Peanut1959]

Updates, please?

[Stilettoman]

The rear package shelf and rear seat are installed - the rear armrests will be recovered in the maroon vinyl. The dash is very narrow, so I made some panels to hide the wiring and the heater - these panels are now covered with the maroon vinyl. I plan to fabricate some kick panels and cover them with the same material. The carpet pad is 1/2 inch closed cell foam, and pieces were used to fill in the numerous dips and low spots. The carpet is now installed - photos later.

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[Stilettoman]

The trunk and doors are now installed - the trunk was easy, the driver's door was not. I drove it on the first long trip, almost a half mile, to my neighbor's annual Mazda rotorhead barbecue. I have subsequently driven it on a couple of local trips, excellent steering, ride, braking and reasonably good performance, but it needs some tuning. The cornering is quite limited by the bench seat, but it feels good.

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I bought one of those expander wheels from Eastwood, with a selection of sanding and polishing belts, and it works really well. The gravel shields for the rear fenders were very beat up, but I patiently worked out the dents and then Sean sanded and polished them, likewise the long trim strips on the rocker panels. I will have photos soon of it all assembled.

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