Graham’s Studebaker Blog

The new battery I bought is a maintenance free NAPA unit – you can make out the eye just to the left of the positive terminal. I picked up some false battery caps from EBAY for Chrysler batteries. Thought it would be a nice ‘original’ look. I will include a Studebaker Battery decals in my next order to Studebaker Intl for the battery top and the warning label for the apron.

The electric fuel pump is about 4″ from the muffler and exhaust pipe so I decided to add some protection. This is header fiberglass insulation wrap. I covered the back end of the muffler and then on to the the tail pipe. I used stainless gear clamps to keep it all in place. This should stop any radiant heat getting to the pump and lines.

Engine ready for start up. I’m filling the trans at the same time. I’ve already put three quarts of oil in the trans. I’ve attached a filler funnel so I can quickly add oil after startup. I will add the oil at 1500 rpm and then raise the idle to 2000 rpm for the 20 minute break in.

Break in underway. Hard to see but the garage if full of smoke and fumes from the paint on the exhaust and engine. I have two garage style hoses leading the exhaust out of the garage but it is still enough to set off the fire alarms. Oil pressure remained at about 70 lbs. I thought it would drop, but I guess it didn’t get a chance to heat up the oil enough in the 20 minutes of so at 2000 rpm. It dropped to around 40 at idle. I’m using 10W40 oil and GM’s EOS. Water temp was on the high side as well. Difficult to get enough air through the 3 core rad at a standstill.

Three problems appeared from the break in. All easily fixable. I had to turn the distributor a little too far to the right and there is a danger of kinking the vacuum advance hose. I’ll rotate the wires to the right and move the distributor to the left. Second, I thought I had a good HD water pump, but it is rumbling so it will be replaced by a new unit. Thirdly, the starter bendix doesn’t want to return immediately. It spins on the ring gear a bit before retracting. I have a backup starter to install. Then I’ll check the bad unit to see what the problem is.

Next I’ll be changing the oil and hooking up the PS. Once that is OK I’ll go on to the AC and get everything in place for a charge of 134A.

Blog updates will be a little slower from now on, but I will post as I get stuff done over the winter to get on the road in the spring. It’s been off the road now for 2 years. Keen to get it on the road again – it is such a nice car to drive!

Final position of the two trans cooling lines. 5/16 oil cooler lines will just pass under the lower rad hose.

Delco distributor from a ’61 Lark V8 if I remember. That’s an Accell electronic ignition and I’m using the Accell matching coil. Took about 15 tries to get the distributor lined up so that #1 was in a good spot for the vacuum advance location and room to advance without the cap bumping into the PVC valve. If you are not familiar with the problem it’s a matter of getting the gear on the distributor in the right tooth of the cam gear and at the same time lining up the slot in the oil pump shaft.

Distributor wired in with PB and PVC hoses in place. Just need to install the new spark plug wires.

A temporary fan for engine startup. I plan to use an electric fan once the break in is done. This is necessary as a regular or flex fan will hit the Sanden compressor for the AC. Also, once the break in is done and I’m sure my wiring is OK I’ll wrap it all in dry PVC tape as was done at the factory. I’ll only run the alternator and leave the PS pump off for the break in.

Rad in and hooked up, trans cooling lines in place. Just need to do a few more things before it’s time to put the pudding to the test!

For the second time the rad had to be removed. A lot easier to run the trans cooling lines. The transmission now sits an inch further back so the lines don’t reach as far forward, but since I’ll be running hoses from the line ends to the rad that’s not a problem. The little bit of green is the end of one of the trans lines. I will need to keep them as far away from the exhaust pipes as I can.

Getting fittings to attach to the end of the trans pipe to connect the line to a 5/16″ rubber hose was not easy. I tried a few of the parts stores but nothing was available. Normally you use special coupling lines of various lengths, but I decided this isn’t necessary.

I’m going to use regular 5/16″ oil cooler hose. So I removed the flared fittings and put bubbles on the end of the pipes using a double furl tool. I started the furling process and stopped during the first step as soon as the bubble appeared.

Both lines in place. I used a couple of steel hangers I had of different lengths to hold the lines in place. I used the lower engine mount stud for a mounting spot. They really should be mounted to the engine so that they aren’t flexed by the engine movement. I figure the pipes are long enough that the amount of movement should not effect the trans fittings.

Before locking the crank bolt I turned the engine to TDC on #1 cylinder. Time to install the distributor before I accidentally rotate the engine. I’m using a Delco distributor used on ’60-’61 Studebaker V8 engines. The internals here are a Mallory electronic unit. The Delco’s have longer bushings than the typical Prestolite/Autolites and so last much longer. Also it is a breeze setting the points if you still use them and you can get heavy duty points for these units.

This is gonna be fun!

The start. I’m using small cable ties to keep the wires tight and to mark spots where the wire wrap needs to allow for some wires to lead off to various connections. Here the wires lead off to the solenoid, brake switch and the voltage regulator.

I”m leading the wires along the lower edge of the fender apron. I’ve drill holes in the apron and will use thicker cable ties to hold it in place once the wires are wrapped. I’ve also moved the horn relay off the apron to this spot below the battery.

Time to install the radiator support so I can run wires along its lower edge.

The leads for the parking and headlights needed to be extended since the wiring is now far lower. I’m running the wires along the inside edge of the rad support – holes drilled and cable ties.

Wires for the parking and headlights and the horn are long enough to fit as is. The Alternator wires need to be shortened and the extra wire for the AC compressor clutch will be tied off to be attached later.

Rad’s in place. Next will be checking fan clearance, rad hose install, etc.

As an aside to wiring this PB vacuum hose will need to be replaced. It is 3/8″ gas line hose, but it’s way too soft. It just might collapse under vacuum when hot. I’ll go to the NAPA store and see if their hoses are bit firmer. same goes for the PCV hose at the back of the carb.

Starting on the wiring. There’s gonna be a few changes with the starter now on the left and a separate starter solenoid. Also, I’m going to try and neat up the wiring by moving the horn relay and voltage regulator. I also plan to run the headlight, horn and parking lamp wires under the rad instead of using the upper latch panel across and in front of the rad. Promises to be fun.

I’ve started wrapping the wires going to the windshield wiper motor and the coil. I’m using dry vinyl tape like it came from the factory.

To me there is nothing worse than wrapping using electrical tape. As soon as it heats up the adhesive turns to a sticky goop that is a real mess when you have to take it apart. In my last wiring job on my ’54 I cut long strips of electrical tape and took the adhesive off with Goo-be-gone. Worked fine but it was a bit of a chore. I finally tracked down vinyl tape without adhesive – dry vinyl tape – on Amazon. Not overly expensive. It is wider than electrical tape and the vinyl is thinner than what is used on electrical tape. I’ve only started using it and so far so good.

I’ve moved the voltage regulator down from the upper apron side and I’ve also test fitted a starter solenoid. Everything needs to be cleaned up and painted, but I wanted them in place to fit the wiring.

I’ve replaced the PB vacuum hose with some 3/8″ high pressure hydraulic hose I picked up from a fellow Stude man and I’ve replaced the PCV line with stiffer 3/8″ hose from NAPA.

I’ve been having issues with my ’74 Dodge 360 motor. It doesn’t want to idle well at all no matter what I do. A friend suggested the timing chain might be worn. Sure enough when I did some measurements it was over double the acceptable limit of 3/16″. So now I’m doing that job which is slowing my work on our “66 JT project.

The choke tube was missing so I used another from a different carb. It took some bending and I also had to ream out the manifold end to fit over the heater tube. A piece of clear fuel line joins the heater tube to the carb air horn.

I bought a set of spark plug wire looms for the project. I earlier removed the tin cable holders from the tops of the valve covers for a cleaner look.

Here is one installed on the right side. Fortunately it clears the dipstick tube.

Another little job is hooking up the PCV valve with a short length of 3/8″ fuel line. The manifold opening will be used for the power brake vacuum hose. I need to get a nice neat 90 deg brass fitting for the job.

Time to unwrap the (dirty) wiring harness.

I will be trying to lower the wiring harness on the fender apron and otherwise neaten everything up some.

Moving ahead albeit slowly!

I didn’t like the way the new CarQuest heater hose kinked with the slightest bend. So I whet to NAPA and checked out their brand. It’s wall thickness is 1/32″ greater and the OD is 1/16′ smaller. This is the new hose (bottom line) and it kept its shape through the clamp without trying to kink and collapse.

The top photo is the old hose with a kink starting, the second hose is the same hose with a gear clamp at the kink to force the hose into a round shape and the third photo is the NAPA hose with no kinking in the same location.

My band clamps arrived. I needed six to cover both sides. The size is 2″ on the small side and a bit over 2″ on the large side to slip over the joining pipe. I also have two 2″ regular clamps to fit over the end of the tail pipe and the rear hanger.

I noticed in the ad for the band clamps that metal sealing tape was used on the joints. Seemed like a good idea so I covered each joint that took a band clamp with aluminum duct tape.

I put the pipes and muffler together and then held up the muffler to the underside of the floor. The idea being that when all the clamps were in place and the jack removed the system would sag a minimum distance. That worked pretty good as the mufflers are barely visible from behind the car. With the system held up I installed the band clamps and hanger clamp. I rotated the clamps so the large screws were up out of sight. The tough part was tightening each clamp to 50 ft lbs. The sale ads specify that the clamps need to be tightened to between 40-60 ft lbs! That’s what it takes to make the joints immovable.

Exhaust in place-whew! Quite a job working with just jack stands. This is a complete original Studebaker system – except for the mufflers and the tail pipe extensions. 2″ pipes from the engine to the the tail pipe and 1-3/4″ tail pipes. I may up the tailpipes to 2″ sometime down the road. It seems that Hawks had the 2″ tail pipes.

Getting close to engine start up. Next is a bit of carb work, then the rad goes in and the wiring harness is re-installed. In the meantime I am changing the timing chain in my ’74 Dodge Adventurer SE truck so that will slow things down a bit.

The original fan used on Studebaker V8s. I’ve installed the fan for the engine break in. I had to remove the Sanden compressor so the fan would clear it – even with the original fan spacer it was hitting. But that’s not an issue. I have a large puller fan which I will be installing after the break in is done. I’ve also removed the PS belt. I’ll get that going, again, after the break in process.

The electric fuel pump in place. Not in the photo is the nickle copper line I formed to follow the frame over the axle. I then ran a short piece of 3/16″ rubber line to the tank. The white blob on the left is the pump ground. I ground off the frame to bare metal, drilled and mounted the ground with a large sheet metal screw and then smeared silicone around the contact to keep it from rusting. I still have to run the power line to the oil pressure switch.

All the lines hooked up to the oil pressure switch. Power from my accessory power point is run to one side. The other side is connected to the pump. Also on the pump side is a power line from a press-on button under the dash.

The button is between the hood release and the vent knob. It will supply power to the fuel pump from the accessory side of the ignition bypassing the oil pressure switch. That way I can fill the carb after the car has been sitting for days or even weeks. To the right of the vent knob is a 12 volt relay. I have run a lead from the accessory side of the ignition switch to the relay. To the right of the relay is Studebaker junction block ( I forget now where it is normally used). I decided to use this setup to take the load off the ignition switch as I will be adding a fuel pump, AC and an electric fan to the circuit in addition to the rest of the electric accessories.

Here the AC drive belt has been installed. A Stude friend gave me an old very long fan belt which I cut, wrapped around the pulleys and then marked. With the tensioner adjusted out a bit the length came to 52″. I also picked up a 53″ belt just in case. In the end the 53″ turned out best leaving me enough to easily go over the pulleys and still leave lots of adjustment room for the tensioner.

With the belts in place and the heater hoses test fitted, I then found a good spot to feed the gas line to the carb. I opted to put a second filter in the line to catch any debris from the original line which still runs back along the frame.

I used nickle copper 5/16″ line as it is so much easier to bend. A 25″ coil of this line is very expensive so I opted to buy a 7′ brake line of the same material for a whole lot less. Does a nice job and the brake line fitting fits the carb as well. Looking at this photo I see I need to hook up the choke heater line.

This is the inside of the frame rail on the right side. It is just below where the exhaust hanger bracket normally fits. I’ll mount the electric fuel pump here. It is about even with the bottom of the gas tank.

Beware of new 3/4″ heater hose. The wall thickness seems thinner and the pipe itself is quite soft. It won’t take corners well at all. Here is where the hoses need to go to connect up the heater. The firewall holes are right behind the heater motor and the pipes have to squeeze by. Sharp upwards bends are needed to connect to the heater core and climitizer valve. There was no way I could get the upper hose to connect to the core without the new pipe collapsing. I happen to have an old NOS heater hose with a 90 deg bend. I fitted itwith a used a length of 3/4″ brass pipe and a short piece of the new heater hose to reach the core. Kind of busy with all the gear clamps, but at least it’s out of sight. The lower hose is the new type and I was able to just make it fit, but with one spot where it is starting to kink.

I used yet another gear clamp over the kink spot to bring the hose back to round. Not very elegant, but hopefully it will work OK when the hot water starts to pass through.

Final shot of the PS pump lines. I have added the second support bracket under the frame. It is a Studebaker bracket normally used to hold the heater hoses to the fender apron. Holds the pipes up but not tightly.

The exhaust pipes and tail pipe are original Studebaker items. The muffler is from Silvertone Exhaust and is meant for an Avanti which is about 10″ shorter than needed. Also, the tail pipe is only 1-3/4″ while everthing else is 2″. I couldn’t find a listing for a larger size tail pipe in the Studebaker parts books. So I assume they didn’t use them. I have the 1-3/4″ units so I decided to use them. I can always have 2″ pipes bent later on. The pipes have been sanded and painted with POR 15 High Temperature silver.

I cut off 10″ from some 2″( 1/16″ thick) exhaust pipes. I then cut off two collars about 1-1/2″ long from some 1-3/4″ pipe (also 1/16″ thick.) The collars fit over the exhaust pipe ends and the extension slips over that with the other end fitting inside the muffler outlet pipe. The extensions will also get a coat of silver POR 15 high Temperature paint.

I have test fitted both sides. It wasn’t going all that well until I figured out that the right exhaust pipe had to be rotated 180 degrees from the left side’s position. The left side arch – see above – fits between the parking brake cable and the floor while on the right side it fits under the parking brake cable and cable tensioner.

This is the electric fuel pump I’m going to install. I bought it from Canadian Studebaker and it is a 2.5 to 7 lb pump. It will be installed on the inside of the right hand frame rail as close to the gas tank as possible.

Another oddity of the ’66 models and maybe the ’65s too, is that the fuel line runs down the right frame rail rather than the left. The gas tank outlet is also reversed being on the right side of the tank. Here you see where the gas line pops out from under the front cross member on the right side. The AFB carb inlet is also on the right side. All I have to do is figure out how the run the line up to the carb. I will need to buy some 3/8″ fuel line to make the run. The fuel pump has a small filter on the inlet side, I will add one just before the pump as added insurance in case rust flakes come from the line between the pump and the carb.