This is My
1950 STUDEBAKER CHAMPION
Custom Streetrod
Project
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A Photo Documented ground-up / build-up of my 1950
Studebaker Streetrod. Beginner's and Novice will find it interesting and informative. PLEASE READ the OPENING LOG When it comes to rodding, I like a car that's a bit off the norm and I want a car that will grab people's attention.
My interest for the Bulletnose really took hold after seeing
FRANKENSTUDE. I personally like the look of the '50 grill and bulletnose over the '51. The 4 point (steel) bullet and the uniformed grill openings of the '50 appealed to me more than the 3 point (plastic) bullet and upsweeping grill of the '51. So the search was on. I located my project in Deep Cove, B.C. and the following week-end had it on a flat-deck hauler heading for home. The 2 door Champ was a good start to a great project. Follow along as this 1950 Studebaker Champion Retro-Rod is built from the ground up.
 & RETURN OFTEN FOR UPDATES.
PROGRESS LOG
The 2dr Champion body was sent for a chemical bath June '99.
A reconstructed firewall and floor was cut and welded in place to accommodate In 2000 the body was etch primed. The year 2001 proved to be a big change for my family and I, as we moved across the country and settled in the east. Not much was done on the car til '02. Aug. '02 A custom made 2x4 frame was fabricated, which features a Mustang II crossmember with Horton's Evolution IFS tubular upper & lower control arms, Mustang spindles and a power rack & pinion, '78 Granada 11" rotors and calipers. A shortened 8 3/4" Posi Sure-Grip Dodge with Bear Racing Axles, '96 Intrepid 11" rotors, '87 TransAm calipers & backing plates, Air Ride Technologies Triangulated 4 Link with their Ride ProE computer controlled Shockwave Air Bags. A Blown 355 SBC 4 bolt main was mated to a TH350 Turbo Automatic with a 3000 stall and placed between the rails. The engine sports a B&M 144 Blower, a 700 cfm Holley Double Pumper, 882 large chamber heads, mild street cam, blower pistons, etc. The engine was dyno'd at 400 hp 450 ft.lbs. 9 lbs of blower boost. The front of the engine is adorned with a polished Billet Specialties Tru-Trac System. Summer of '03 The rear fenders were widened and welded to the body. The roof was chopped 3" and a remote tilt front clip was started. The roof turned out better then anticipated after weeks of pondering how to chop the roof and retain the rear window frame with the tempered glass. I picked out a set of 18" American Eagle wheels that I thought would compliment the aggressive stance the car now possesses. Various other parts of the project are steadliy coming together. Come on in have a look see. |
PHOTOS & STORY of MY PROJECT
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The TEAR DOWN BEGINS in 1999 DOORS, FENDERS, TRUNK LID REMOVED REARVIEW W/ TRUNK LID, FENDERS ON REARVIEW MISSING TRUNK LID, FENDERS Stock front horns were cut off and new horns were added. A Mustang II crossmember was then welded in place to accept aftermarket Mustang components. The small Mustang II 9" rotors were discarded for '78 Granada 11" rotors and calipers. Power rack 'n' pinion will handle the steering. STOCK FRONT-END Top photo, MUSTANG II bottom photo Stock differential and leaf springs were removed. A new crossmember support for the coil-overs was welded in place directly over the shortened Dodge 8 3/4 POSI-DIFFERENTIAL. Art Morrison Ladder Bars will keep the car pointed in the right direction. The frame has gone through a complete grind & painted 3 coats of Red Oxide Primer, 3 coats of Gloss Black. The FRONT-END is assembled.
FRAME NEAR COMPLETE
The car's LOW STANCE without running gear and interior. All prior pics of Body were taken before July '99
The body on the trailer before CHEMICAL BATH
June'99
Spare tire-well and a section of sheet metal for the coil-over support cross-member was removed from the TRUNK.
The Back Seat Area Reconstruction of the new front floor-pan, firewall, transmission/driveshaft hump, door posts & body braces started. Aug '99 UPDATE OCT '99 200 HOURS of SHEET-METAL WORK COMPLETED There were more small holes to patch then I expected. You never can tell till you chemical bath a body. If you're going to put big bucks into your car you'd better do a bath. That way you're sure you've got all the rust, even the rust you can't see.
The Firewall, Transmission / Driveshaft Hump
COMPLETED
The FIREWALL will not be as noticeable as it is in these photos once the dash, center console and carpet are in. The TRANSMISSION HUMP measures at the firewall, 20" wide x 12" high x 32" long, & tapers aft to 5" high x 6" wide at the start of the driveshaft hump. The DRIVESHAFT HUMP measures 5" high by 6" wide and is supported at the halfway by the drive-shaft loop which was once the bearing center for the two-piece stock shafts.
The FLOOR is now rust free and solid. The TRUNK is improved. Skinny spare tire well removed. New rain-gutter around the trunk opening. A fuel cell will go in the trunk. The FIREWALL is pleasing as well as fuctional. It allows for the engine to fit comfortably between the rails and gives easy access to the distributor.
PRIMERED INTERIOR
BODY ETCH-PRIMED
Photos from the year 2001 dealing souly with the '87 TransAm 350 TPI and 700R4 Transmission I planned on using have been deleted from the site.
I've had a change in engine / tranny plans and now feel they no longer are relevent to the site.
Feb. '02
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DIRECTION
July '02
Aug. '03
Steering linkage is in as well as a homemade brake / clutch pedal assembly and 7" brake booster w/ Corvette Master Cylinder.(Note: Pics taken with now defunct 350 TPI engine.)
The Dash was widened 4". The Speedometer and Speaker holes were filled. Holes for the AC / Heater Controls, Vents and VDO Gauges will be cut soon.
Picked up a set of electric all leather black buckets and rear bench from a 1999 Nissan Altima with center console. Holes were cut for the VDO Gauges and an aluminum gauge panel was fabricated to enhance the look of the dash.
Aluminum panel is finished and I've mounted the gauges to see how they fit.
Cut a hole for the Vintage Air Controller between Glove Box and Gauges. Cut another hole directly below that for a louvered air vent. Still have two air louvers to mount on either end of dash.
Vintage Air unit trial mounted to firewall.
CHANGE OF PLANS
Sept. '02 Specialty Power Window cable driven Wiper Kits installed and the motor was placed inside the passenger door post.
Oct. '02
Nov. '02
Firewall is getting smoother using a build-up primer. The entire front clip - fenders, hood and nose will be welded together and will become one piece. The clip will be built so that it can be unbolted and lifted off in a matter of minutes with the help of two friends. The inner fender wells were removed to reduce some of the weight, will examine the feasibility of a light weight replacement set. The hinge bushings were made from 2" brass stock, press fitted into steel pipe and drilled with a 7/8" hole. Grease nipples were taped into the under side of the bushings. Two 3 1/2" x 7/8" coarse thread bolts and locking nuts (welded to the inside of the frame mounts) will give me my hinge pivot points.
Brackets will be made so the clip can be adjusted vertically and horizontally to get the proper gaps at the cowl and doorposts.
Fenders, hood & nose tack welded for fit.
The bottoms of the fender fronts will need a 3" trim to clear the wheels when clip is fully opened, this will allow easier access to the engine.
JAN. '03
A major problem to overcome in chopping the Studebaker roof is the curved rear glass. Because the rear glass is tempered it cannot be cut, therefore the rear window opening has to remain stock size.
To accomplish the task of chopping the roof, the rear window frame will be cut from the roof and body along the yellow line. Spot welds inside the rain gutters of the trunk opening will need to be drilled first and popped before cutting window frame loose.
The rear window frame was removed from the roof. Next, 6 inches was measured up from the bottom of the windshield posts and marked. A mark then was measured 3 inches below the 6" line and tape filled between the 2 lines. There should be 3 inches of untaped post still remaining below that. The door posts and quarter window posts were measured 3 inches up from the body line and marked, fill between the 3" line to the body with tape. All the posts were then cut along the top edge of the tape and the roof was freed. Once the roof was removed, 3" of remaining tape or pillars can now be removed by cutting below the taped areas. Here you see Kevin Emino manning the hacksaw. Pic 1 - Pic 2 With the help of the shop staff the roof was lifted off the body and Placed on the Floor. Yikes, it's a convertible. Pic 1 - Pic 2
The roof is placed on the body for a trial fit. The roof moved forward at the rear deck as predicted and the B Pillars will be cut and repositioned to line up with the door jam. The chop went well.
A strip of sheet metal ( approx. 4" wide ) was removed from the roof above the window opening. Care was taken so as not to remove to much sheet metal then was absolutely necessary. The rear window frame was placed in the opening for a trial fit. The rear deck area will be filled in with sheet metal and the subtle change will hardly be noticed. The wider area between trunk lid and window will make the car look long in the tail giving the appearance that the car was lengthened.
Rear window deck area showing gap between rear window and trunk.
To reposition the B pillars and side window frames to their original positions a cut was made in the frame above the door, then along the roof line above the window frames and the 2 window frames were removed.
Next, sheet metal that makes up the C pillar had to be trimmed back to allow for the repositioning of the side window frames to their original post positions. The job went smoothly on the right side but took more time and tweaking to get it to fit right on the left side.
After trimming away sheet metal on the C Pillar
the Right Window Frame & B Pillar were repositioned & welded in place.
Left Side Window Frame and B Pillar Removed.
Same as the right side, sheet metal was trimmed away on the C Pillar and the Left Window Frame and B Pillar were repositioned & welded in place.
Feb. '03
The drip rails above the door jam and side windows were cut away giving the roof and car smoother and cleaner flowing lines.
Rear and side window areas skimmed and sanded. Front views of the CAR before and after the roof was chopped.
Roof Primered
Since the body was chemical bathed several years ago rust had started under the weather strip moldings in the door openings. The moldings were removed and sand blasted around the door openings. Weather stripping will either be glued on the doors or on the openings themselves now instead of using the stock Studebaker weather stripping.
March '03
Front Clip Sandblasted and Fender Vents Filled.
The left rear fender was widened two inches at the tail light tapering inward towards the door and welded in place. Right fender still to be worked on.
UPDATE:
Apr. '03
June '03
Aug '03
for Those Thinking of a Tilt Front Clip.
Aug. 15/03
Aug. 22/03
Dec. '03
Frame is progressing along. Ran out of steel and will have to order more. The differential is sitting on jackstands beneath the frame in preparation for more steel and crossmembers. MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR
UPDATE: Jan.'04
Jan. 7th
Jan. 9th
Jan. 13th
Jan. 23rd
Jan. 27th
Jan. 30th
Feb. 9th
Feb. 11th The center crossmember will be cross braced for added strength, the center cut out and an Art Morrison driveshaft loop welded in.
Mar. 22th
Mar. 31st
May 25th
June 16th
July - Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
You can see in these pics the concave rockers beginning to take shape. This is where the 4" side exhaust will run flush with the side of the car, hopefully eliminating burnt legs when getting in and out of the car. UPDATE: Feb.'05 Well this has been one nasty winter all around. We've dug ourselves out of one blizzard after another which unfortunately put the project on hold for a couple months. The weather has improved immencely and Project Stude is on the move once again with the continuing saga of the tilt front clip, concave mounted side exhaust, fabrication of exhaust collectors, body mounts and frame plumbing. The long overdue news and anticipated photos on the project build will be posted soon.
Feb. 16th
Bolted one Exhaust Collector behind the right front wheel to check for clearance and to get a feel for what they'll look like.
Mar. 24th
Apr. 20th
Mar.
June
The Grill Retainers were welded into the front clip. The Grills are still removeable but will no longer retain the chrome trim rings. The trim rings proved to be difficult items to find in good condition, I figured they weren't worth the bother. The nose will look cleaner without the chrome trim around the Grills. Finally finished widening the Right Rear Fender and cut off the corners of the frame to clear the rolled rear pan which is presently being built.
June 08th Box Cover for the Draw Down Actuator.
June 10th
June 13th
June 14th
The stock trunk hinges were badly worn out so I purchased a pair of Articulating Hinges from Sachse Rod Shop. The hinges are not spring loaded and therefore require a pair of Gas Shocks to hold the lid open.
June 17th Trial mounted the Air Bag Reservoir upside down under the rear window deck, leaving enough room below it on the raised trunk area to mount the NOS Bottle. The Air Compressor mounted left of the wheel well, behind trunk hinge. An upholstered panel will isolate those components between the backseat and trunk area.
June 21st
June 24rd to 28th
July 4th
July 5th
July 11th
July 13th
July 15th UPDATE: Apr. '06
Again....back at the project. Things planned for this session. Put the body into the rottiserrie to clean up the underside, spray on a sound deadiner inside and underneath. Redo the transmission crossmember, X-member the center section, reposition the lower bars of the Tri 4 Link as they hang too low and touch the ground when the air bags are deflated, grind the welds, sandblast, primer and paint. Mount the running gear, suspension and plumb the brake and air lines. Paint the body and remount it on the frame. Begin the assembly process. If all goes to plan without anymore disruptions, the car may be up and running by late summer.
May 17th Mocked up the Ididit Tilt Column with the new Grant Wheel.
While mounting the Rad, AC Condenser and Fan, it was discovered that a miscalculation had been made, there was not enough room for the Fan. The motor mounts were cut loose and the engine moved back a couple inches. In the process the firewall had to be altered / sloped at the bellhousing and the center set back an inch for distributor clearance. The new motor mounts were fabbed from bar stock and the steering link was passed though the middle.
The Rad, AC Condenser and the Electric Fan were mounted.
A remote Steering Reservoir was fabricated / intergrated into the left upright support of the Rad cradle. You can also see the Heidt's Pressure Control Valve used to reduce the higher pressure produced by GM pumps to Mustang racks.
An Overflow Tank for the Rad was also fabricated / integrated into the right upright support of the rad cradle. After talking to several people and then e-mailing tech at Vintage Air, I learned that the condenser cannot be mounted laying on it's side, it needs to be mounted vertically with the inlet / outlet tubes on the side. I really don't like the look of the condenser in the Vertical Position but I'll have to live with it.
UPDATE: Mar. '07
The exhaust collectors that mate the side pipes to the block headers were modified from a 4 into 1 collector, to a 3 into 1 collector, the 4th tube was cut off and closed, and the overall length of each collector was extended another 18". A flex joint was added between header and collector to compensate for engine rock when vehicle accelerates. The side pipes were mounted and checked for length as well as clearance when mounted within the concave rockers.
Placed the battery in the trunk and because the doors are electric, the trunk lid has a draw down actuator, lock release button is in the interior, if the battery goes dead I'll need to access the interior.
Through the trunk floor jumper terminals to power up the electronic doors were installed.
Added a cut off switch for security reasons when the vehicle is in the garage at home and an alarm system when parked on the street.
May '07
The building of the center console around the Shifter is underway. The console will house the Computer Regulated AirRide Controller, the PW switches, Tilt Front Clip switch and two Cup Holders.
The trunk floor was cut out and a cradle was constructed using angle iron to hold the Summit Racing Aluminum Fuel Cell, a false floor will hide the sending units and fuel bungs. Stainless braided fuel lines and all fits are to arrive later today. UPDATE: Jan. '08
Front seat brackets finished. Rearseat trial fitted, waiting for a base to be built.
Fuel filler neck placed behind left '52 taillight bezel, filler pipe and lines connected to fuel tank.
Rear Seat Base built, seat and back rest trial mounted.
Replaced the 125lb actuators with 400lb actuators and changed the mounting brackets to a lower position below the top of the shock tower.
More filling and blocking of the body and tilt clip.
Turns out the headlight openings were never a perfect fit from the factory, so the openings had to be cut, reshaped, shortened 2" at the bottom and pulled in for the buckets and bezels to fit perfectly. Filling / sanding Trunk Rain Gutter. Filling / smoothing Firewall.
Filling underside of tilt clip.
Car was taken off the wheel stands and now sits lower on jack stands for easier sanding of the roof. A cradle was built to hold the clip when clip is off the car.
UPDATE: Apr. 14th '08
The clip and underneath side of clip ( fenderwells ) painted Sunset Carizzma Orange as will the rest of car, center portion of clip, ( underside, spiderweb & grill area ) will be painted Semi-Flat Black. May 09th '08
Frame painted and waiting for the running gear.
Transmission deburred of aluminum casting slag, zinc chromate primered and painted gloss black.
Running gear installed in the frame. Time now to start the plumbing.
Here I am with my son Steve posing with the frame.
Body, doors, trunk lid were painted on Fri. Aug. 1st and allowed to sit in the paint booth over the long weekend. We're nearing the end of the long road, the final assembly is at hand. Aug. 18th '08
Progress on assembling the car is coming along. Didn't like the Orange Dash so repainted the Dash, Window Moldings and Rear Window Deck Coffee Tan to match the Tan Leather. Oct 11th '08
Pics of the car in the Autumn sun. July 17th '09
Seats and dash installed. A bit more wiring to do.
Trunk lid / ducktail on. Drawdown actuator not installed, so lid is sitting high.
Put the doors on. Found the paint not right. Painter has agreed to paint the entire car over.
Changing the '50 headlight doors and taillight bezels to '52.
I'm liking the headlight doors better and the taillight bezels will finish off the lines of the fenders and trunk lid ducktail. Please come back, pics will be added as project moves along.
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