"Found" Studebaker Projects

So, yesterday evening I followed up a lead on a couple cars that had been passed on to me. This was a 1966 Studebaker Lark 4door (built in Canada, last year of production) and a 1960 Champ 1/2 Ton (first year of production).

Here's what I found:

The Champ truck (body tag was 6E-T8)

Front passenger side of the Champ Truck. Fenders are kinda beat up, but overall the cab looks pretty solid. Who knows where the rims/tires are for the front.


Still not sure this is really a 1960, it's the wrong bed if it is. It *could* be a 1961, or they may have replaced the bed at some point. Bed's more solid than it looks, though there's a fair bit of cancer where the tailgate has been sitting on the ground.



Dash is just like my old '59 Lark. I love this dash style, it's just SO simple and clean.


Upholstery is toast, but that's standard procedure on something like this.


Engine is complete and assembled. The nice thing is that this has the V-8 rather than the straight-6. MOAR POWAR!


The front grill and everything is intact if not pretty.


Driver's side of the fenders and cab are much cleaner than the passenger side.

The 1966 Lark 4 door:

This isn't the right engine. The final Studebakers (1965/1966) used a McKinnon engine (Canadian chevrolet).



Based on the bits floating around the engine compartment I can't decide if the engine install was actually completed or not. This is an early Studebaker 259 V-8.


The front is intact, the bumper's got a big whang in it.


And here's what causes old Studebakers to be laid to final rest... rust! If it's here, it's likely to be everywhere. Take a good look at the bottom of the doors.


Here's something that suprised me. The interior's fairly intact for an Arizona car. It makes me wonder where this car came from... lots of rust but an intact interior.


Ruber floormats... nothing holds moisture better than rubber floormats with the horsehair insulation underneath. Lots of rust under there, likely goes completely through in parts.


Again, a surprising interior condition.


Rear end shows that it's A) been painted, and B) has had some serious munging done to it. Trunk lid won't shut and the locking assembly is gone in lieu of a manual trunk release hidden in the back seat.


Here's what I could get to of the undercarriage. Because the tires were rotten it sat really low, almost on the ground.

So, in the end I convinced the wife that these were worth buying for the price. The overall likelihood is that the Champ truck is restorable, but the Lark is truly a parts car. I'll need to find some rims/tires for the truck, haul them out, clean them up, get a better assessment of what I'm looking at, and then store them away until I'm ready to mess with them.

I've wanted a Champ truck since I first saw one, and I'm hoping that this will end up being a good tow rig for other cars.

Cheers!
Jody

Anticipated garage upgrades

So, after suffering through the hottest July on record for the city of phoenix (article here) I've decided that I have to get to the point that the garage is air conditioned. My northern friends thught I was being a whiny baby, but when the average day temperature is 110+ and the night temperature doesn't drop below 90, then it's just freaking hot!

So, I was poking around on the Home Depot web site and found this in-window air conditioner listed online at Home Depot. Now I've tried portable AC units in the past, but they just didn't have enough oomph to keep the garage cool. As I was looking at window units I found much of the same. The BTUs were just too low to do the job, unit I found this LG unit. This thing puts out a whopping 24,500 BTUs, double what the average window unit produces. In fact, people use it to cool 1,400 square foot houses in Florida. I figure if it can do that, it'll easily keep the garage cool! The only complaint I saw listed was that it's noisy... well, when I've got the compressor, sandblast unit, and other tools going, who cares if the AC is a little noisy?

Also, to make the unit run better I'm going to need to better insulate my garage door. I've had this design in the back of my head for a while that I've really wanted to do. It allows you to insulate your garage door (good for those in the north as well as us in the south) and create a giant diagramming whiteboard. Whiteboards have become critical to my work at my real job, and I know that I would use the heck out of one in the garage (not to mention, they're also great for keeping small children occupied when they're with you in the garage). You can have child/grandchild wall art to decorate your work space.

Cheers!
Jody

Sharing my late birthday present...

So, I recieved a copy of this as a late birthday present:


It's a great silly little book on how to cook a meal using your car's engine. Halfway through the book I'd designed a complete oven add-on to my Studebaker Champion. If you're looking for something whimsical, silly, but ultimately useful, then this book is for you.

For those of us that drive hundres of miles to car shows, here's how to arrive at the show and have a gourmet meal ready when you arrive!

Bon Appetit!
Jody

Some upcoming Phoenix British Car events!

September 12th is the annual Charity Car Show in aid of the AZ Humane Society at Mesa Marketplace, 10550 E. Baseline in Mesa. It is open to anything on wheels, not just British Cars so talk any of your friends into showing their car, motorbike of whatever year etc. We have had everything from quarter midget race cars to RC cars and Tonka toys ! It will be on Row C, under cover and with the misters going. Entry forms attached.

October 24th & 25th is the 11th annual British Vintage Voyage which this year will head up through Payson to Cottonwood to visit a winery and then to an overnight stop in Prescott. Proceeds from this event will be added to the Mesa Marketplace collections and be donated to the AZ Humane Society.

November 7th & 8th is the Tucson Celtic Festival and we have been invited to display our cars as we have done for many years at the Phoenix Highland Games and more recently at Prescott.

More articles

Here's two more articles that resulted from the past weekend: Replacing the front brakes on a Toyota Corolla, and Replacing the front struts on a Toyota Corolla.

Now I just have to get her rear struts swapped out and I can go back to focusing on the more interesting cars.

Jody

Articles Update

So, after all the work this weekend, I've managed to get two articles on it written up and posted. The first is on replacing interior door handles in a Toyota Corolla, the other about replacing the catalytic converter in a Toyota Corolla.

Soon to follow will be the front brake system, as well as front and rear struts.

And then, hopefully I can finish up my article on Studebaker Brakes.

Another day in the garage

So, now that I'm showered and hopped up on Tylenol I'm feeling better. Spent another day out working in the heat and pooped myself out. That being said, I managed to get the rear brake assembly reinstalled on the Studebaker, cleaned the garage, and helped my friend Steve prep his Jaguar for a prospective buyer.

Last night I couldn't sleep, so spent some time with my latest automotive book acquisitions:
	The Cobra in the Barn is Tom Cotter's first book on various barn find stories he's accumulated over the years. For anyone who's found a car in a similar situation, it'll be a walk down memory lane of your own find. For those who've never had such a find, it's proof that these sorts of things do occur, and you just have to keep looking!
	The second book The Hemi in the Barn is the first book's sequel. While I'd known of (and read bits of the first) I was happily suprised to learn he'd written a second book. This one was awash with great stories of finds. He also indicated in the book that there will likely be a third to follow. I can't wait.

Finally, on the off chance that anyone's looking for some Jaguars or a Jensen Healey, my friend Steve has a couple Jags, and one JH for sale. My particular favorite is the grey market XJS with the manual transmission, but there's a few nice options to choose from.

Cheers!
Jody