1951 Studebaker Champion Starlite Coupe PT build

[Larry R]

Hello: I am new to this forum, but think I have found a home. I have been building my Stude (for the second time), for more years than I care to remember. I first purchased the car in 1965 and built it up primarily as a street/drag car. It was definitely a budget build as I was a college student at the time. I was able to purchase a Dodge V8 from a friend and, along with a Torqueflite transmission, it was installed in my Stude. It made many trips to Lions drag strip as well as San Fernando and Orange County. It was not very fast but I had a lot of fun with that car. I went on active duty with the USN in 1968 and after completing training in late 1969, I was stationed back in California at Alameda Naval Station.
I found that I had little time for the Stude then so I sold it. I regretted it but did nothing to see if I could find it and get it back. Then in 1993 a friend from my old neighborhood sent me a photo of a Stude that was for sale. When I saw the photo, I instantly knew it was my '51 Stude. I called the guy and verified it was in fact my Stude, and he was willing to sell it. The car was still in California, just a few miles from my Mom's house. I was by then living in Texas, (still am), so I asked him to hold the car until I could fly out there and look at it. It had been repainted, involved in a wreck on the left front of the car and no longer had the engine or transmission in it. We struck a deal and he towed it over to my Mom's house for storage until I could retrieve it. The car needed a total rebuild but it was rust free and the damage was very fixable. But, there is always a but, I was deeply involved in the resto-mod of my '57 Chevy, so the '51 Studebaker had to sit for several years until I could get to it.



The Stude has:
SB Chevy 350 4 bolt, forged crank and Dart heads
Weiand 177 blower, Hooker headers,
Holley HP throttle body fuel injection, TH400 "Switch Pitch" transmission,
Gear Vendors overdrive, '70 Camaro narrowed 12 bolt, 3.55 ratio, Positraction, Ford bearings and Moser axles.
Aluminum driveshaft, Cal Tracs.
'68 Camaro front clip with Global West upper and lower A arms and a Guldstrand anti sway bar.
Rear leaf springs, with a Studebaker anti sway bar and panhard bar.
Ididit steering column
Custom wiring harness and much, much more.

I will post more photos when I can.



Me and Stude circa 1968


Me and Stude circa 1993

Frame construction

What it looks like today

[andrewb70]

Welcome to the forum and looking forward to updates!!!

Andrew

[Larry R]

Thanks, I see I made a typo, it is really a 1951 Studebaker. Can I change that?

[andrewb70]

Thanks, I see I made a typo, it is really a 1951 Studebaker. Can I change that?

No, but I can...done...

Andrew

[wfo guy]

Welcome and I'll be watching also. There's lots to do with those cars to make them "modern" .

[Larry R]

No, but I can...done...

Andrew

Thanks.

Larry

[Michaels 69]

Looks like a cool build.

Michael

[bread_and_water]

Wow that is some history you have with the car but very cool you were able to regain ownership after all that time.

[MOREHORSEPOWER]

Its nice to see different cars !!

[Motown 454]

Welcome! I saw that you posted on someones thread and I was hoping you'd make a build thread. Glad to see it. The frame setup looks nice!

[69CougarXR7]

Big fan of Studebakers, will watch this one..

This custom Stude was at a local car show a couple years ago... liked the way he modified the rear window..







Brian

[USAZR1]

Welcome aboard,Larry! My bodyman here in Wichita Falls, Greg Ciuba Paint & Body, has built or restored some really nice Studebakers. Think he still has a beautiful 57 Golden Hawk. He has built some incredible cars over the years.

[Larry R]

Some more photos of my build taken before I joined the PT forum.
Dash mock up

Hydro boost

Ready for paint

Homemade test stand

[Larry R]

I have been busy with my other car I call "Amateur Touring" which is my 57 Chevy. It has a Holey MPFI injected 327 along with a 700R4. I have done some suspension upgrades so it drives fairly well.

My Studebaker has a '68 Camaro front clip that meshed nicely with the original Stude frame: Global West A arms, .5 taller ball joints, Guldstrand sway bar, and Bilstein shocks. Also the SSBC calipers on '70 Chevelle rotors. The rear suspension is a narrowed '70 Camaro 12 bolt with no C clips and Moser axles. 3.55:1 ratio with positraction, CalTrac traction bars, Studebaker anti sway bar and I am working on a Panhard Bar. You can see the Rock Valley oversize stainless fuel tank; they had the original '51 Stude tank blueprints! In case you haven't noticed, I like blue.

[bread_and_water]

On the Studebaker, did you do any additional bracing to the firewall around the master cylinder and brake pedal or just sandwiched the firewall?

[Larry R]

On the Studebaker, did you do any additional bracing to the firewall around the master cylinder and brake pedal or just sandwiched the firewall?

I converted from under the floor master cylinder to a firewall mounted master cylinder. I purchased a Kugel Komponents bracket and pedal assembly to mount the master cylinder and it had several more bolt holes to give it all structure. It is quite sturdy. It was purchased several years ago but is similar to this: http://www.kugelkomponents.com/zenca...roducts_id=185

Here is another link that gives the dimensions: http://www.kugelkomponents.com/zenca...ndex&cPath=4_7

[Peanut1959]

I love odd rods, and Studebakers in particular. Subscribed!

[Larry R]

It has been over a year since I last posted. I got sidelined for a time but recently I have been putting in the time. I lit off the engine a few months back, but it turned out the radiator leaked so I had to pull it out and take it to a radiator shop for repair. Then when I got the engine running again, there was an exhaust leak. It took me a while to find it but it turned out to be leaking between the head and the header flange. I had used the copper lifetime gaskets, but it still leaked. So new gaskets of a different type solved that problem. I had hired an "expert" to do some of the wiring but it turned out I have had to do a significant amount of re-wiring as several things did not work correctly or work at all. I had to remove the dash board at lest 3 times to make the repairs. But it is in now and there are only a few minor gremlins to fix.

The engine runs very well and the more I run it the more the EFI learns, improving the idle. My pulse width modulation control of the cooling fans works well, thanks in a large part to AndrewB70. As soon as I fix a couple of holes in the trunk, (so I don't suck exhaust into the car), and bleed the brakes I should be able to take it round the block. Last year I started construction of a panhard bar. Today I finally finished it. It proved to be a challenge for me as I have very limited room between the differential and my rock Valley fuel tank. The tank is larger than stock. So I had to reshape the straight bar to a sort of u-shaped to go around the obstacles. My welding is not very pretty but it will hold. I am continuously awed by the skill of many of the posters on this site. I cannot match or even approach that skill level but I do what I can. Anyway, below are some of the photos I took. One photo shows the cold/ram air ducting to feed the throttle body on top of the blower. I think the others are self explanatory.

[andrewb70]

Hey Larry,

Glad to see the update and that your fan control is worked out!

Andrew

[Motown 454]

It looks Sweet Larry, glad to see your update. The dash looks nice! We'll need a video of your test drive..