Studebaker Progress

I got the 1954 Studebaker coupe on the road. It was one of the most monumental thrashes of my life, and I think I might have pissed off some people in the process. But it's all over now, and I have put over 1000 miles on the car so far. It drives very well and I was able to get 23 mpg on a trip from my home in Pasadena to El Mirage dry lake for the races. I have been sorting out little things, leaks and whatnot, and I am looking forward to a tuning session on the dyno in a week or so. I think it will make 600-ish horsepower at the rear wheels.

But before that it will be getting a full roll cage making it legal to race in the SCTA land speed series. The cage will also make the car safer on the street and it will tighten it up a whole bunch. This car was 90 horsepower from the factory! Here's a few pics for now.

It took two tries but the stance came out perfect. It's just too low enough.

See what I mean? The vintage cheater slicks were a nice touch, plus they're radials so they work great.

I painted the engine bay an off white color, it looks like a factory experimental car from the late 1950's in there.

The whole under hood came out very clean. Jeremy modified the factory Silverado engine harness to eliminate all the un-needed functions and it all works great.

The intercooler and blow off valve peek out between the grill. I modified the grill inserts to keep the stock turn signals but eliminate the grill bars for clearance.

It looked right at home on the El Mirage lake bed. I hope to make a pass or two out here some day.

The interior is coming out very nice. There's a lot of attention to detail and everything works. The whole car was rewired from scratch during the epic two week thrash. As soon as the cage is installed I'll finish the carpets and door panels.