Bonneville Studillac, progress Aug. 24

[Ace-Garageguy]

Inspired by the Cagle-SanChez car of the mid '50s, this one's going to be front-blown Cad powered. Lotsa engine setback, two-speed champ-car gearbox, long housing for multi-plate clutch. Maybe.

Had to open all the panels to show off all the guts. Fabbed firewall (not shown here) to clear the extreme setback, and support door hinges. Still have to do the B-pillar Starlight Coupe mod, and I MAY chop the top a little.

Front suspension is copied from the original: independent stuff removed and a '40 Ford I-beam setup substituted. She'll run heavy leaf springs in the rear and a big QC champ-car center section with a live axle and disc brakes.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy

[Nitrozilla]

Sounds like a ton o' fun. Great start Bill.

[cobraman]

Nice. Those cars look so cool with a chop.

[codie27]

Good idea, looking forward to seeing it come together.

[John Goschke]

Very cool project! Looking forward to following along.

[geemoney]

^{WHACKIN THE TOP I HOPE?}

[Ira]

Great Start Bill!

[Tony G]

Great start, I will be following this one,

[Bill Edman]

big stude fan so i will be following bill

Edited July 26, 2013 by Bill Edman

[slusher]

Very cool project Bill..

[MachinistMark]

Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh goody another project by bill!

[Jantrix]

Looking forward to more.

[Dr. Cranky]

I look forward to seeing more of this one.

[crazyjim]

I think I'll keep an eye on this project.

[DrKerry]

I'll be watching this one!!! Kool idea!!!

[W-409]

This looks like a great build. I'll be watching for sure, another Traditional build from your bench. Engine choice is perfect and it looks really stylish overall.

[Marc Weller]

That really looks great. Where did you find those wheels and tires?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Thanks for all the interest !!

^{WHACKIN THE TOP I HOPE?}

Yup, a little, but not as much as some of these things got chopped. I was thinking I'd wait 'til after I did the post-coupe conversion, but I think it will be faster to chop it first and fit the posts and door tops after.

Where did you find those wheels and tires?

They are the front wheels/ tires from the old Monogram Kurtis Indycar kits.

Here's a link to a Rod&Custom article about '53 Studes on the salt...http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/1953_studebaker_coupe/

[crazyrichard]

oohh thats really cool !!

[Ace-Garageguy]

I haven't been building much lately due to a combination of personal issues I won't bore you with, but I've been able to make a little bench time during the past few days.

Fitting the nose closeout panels. Hood orange peel is actually crazing, the result of trying a hot self-etching primer in the hope of killing ghosting where I removed some trim.

This is an adjustable front spring perch identical to the solution the 1:1 Cagle-SanChez car used. The object was to be able to tune the angle-of-attack to balance lift and drag.

Fitted firewall that will replace all of the original engine compartment sheetmetal.

This is a spacer to move the chassis down relative to the body. After opening the doors, it became obvious that the chassis fit too high in the body shell, so the floor would have an incorrect step at the sill. The front fenders and hood will also be removable, and this pinned arrangement will let the front clip go back in the same place every time.

I made the firewall before I realized I'd have to space the frame down, so it's a tad too short. Styrene extensions will close the gaps.

[bob29579]

Coming along very nicely.

[buffalobill]

Any updates on this project?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Any updates on this project?

Not yet. The next big move is to chop the top, and I haven't decided if I want to finish the chassis mods and glue it to the body shell as a fixture (so I don't lose the nice tight door-opening lines), or to use some other method to keep everything aligned.

[DrKerry]

Could you glue in some sprue across the inside of the doors for a support fixture while you do the top? That way the body won't flex, kind of like they do on the real stuff. Just a thought for ya Bill...