Josephine, a "Moparistic" -55 sedan

[Champion V8]

...& also what modifications was needed?

[Alan]

Nox, That pic. you put up on the SDC site is of a 53-54 Corvette. That is a king pin spindle like a Stude. The later spindle on the Vett's (55-90's) is similar but shorter than the Camaro in height. If you look at the stock Stude A-arms, the upper angles downwards. If you run a line through the upper, inner pivot to the upper king pin pivot, it angles downward. With the lower A-arm parallel to the ground and doing the same, you will see that the lines will converge out on the drivers side and to the rear of the car. The Stude upper A-arm is too short for the length of the lower, you have to have a taller spindle and a longer upper A-arm to get the proper Geometry. Did you notice in the pics. I put up how, if you ran a lint through the centers of the arms that the lines meet out on the other side of the car and then running a line back across to the tire patch of the side you started from, where the lines cross in the center of the car is where your roll center is. You also have to get rid of the center pivot and use a Vega style cross steer.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Spindle length can also be helped by lowering the upper control arm mount down, into the frame bracket.
You need to be careful about it overall positioning though, as the side to side positioning has to be correct to put the control arm back into its proper position so you don't end up with either too much camber or too little camber.
But lowering the pivot point will help keep the tire tread, "flat" on the ground during hard turns.
This greatly helps front tire traction.

Mike

[Champion V8]

Ok Alan, I haven't been on the S.D.C. forum yet & yes Mike, these stuff I already knew from previous posts.
I find this stuff interesting & there used to be quite a lot discussed about it, so when I saw the video & heard about the Corvette spindle I wonderd if somebody hadn't known about it before & I guess not since it was never mentioned, only that one would have to find another spindle to replace the original Studebaker spindle. & so I thought this might be it.

Yesterday I found out a strong reason for Josephine to overheat... As I looked at the radiator I think it sits to low! The "new" 53-54 hood slopes forward-downwards much more than the -55 hood did so I went for a -67 Mustang rad to fit & I thought it did but nooo...
I mounted it as high as I could without it touching the hood at the outer upper corners but I also had to have it as high as possible due to the lower hose possition against the "U" the original rad sits in. But the rad sits to low compared to the engine & especially to the top hose on the engine.
So now I have to get the rad up higher, & that's a BIG problem due to the hood, & by tilting it more inwards at the top I might get away with it but then no fan will fit so I'll have to mount the electric fan in front of the rad instead compared to now when it sits on the inside. But then there's another problem; it's not much room at all to lean the top inwards due to the engine being there... But if I don't try I won't find out & it'll all be the same problem as before / now...
I need a 53-54 sedan radiator & I doubt I'll ever find one in Scandinavia & with the cost for shipping it's just one more thing to forget about.

[Champion V8]

Our kid is sick from bad food in school yesterday (bad oil, floated on top of his vomit) so I'm at home & I was just out to start on Josephine's rad position but now I'm not so sure the rad sits that much to low, gonna try to get it in & up a bit anyway. Took a pic but it's hard to see the angle / level when there aint nothing to compare with, but it's not a lot that's needed so...
I'll go for a change anyway, this is the way it looks now:

2mar2023.JPG

[shifter44]

Just a quick thought here about the Rad. positioning . If you run a Closed System with a recovery can the height is not as critical.

A strong fan and proper water flow rate should cool the engine . Get the highest CFM rated fan that you can , use a Shroud as well .
Make sure the recovery can has the capacity to hold and return the volume needed for your V8 . Some of the advertised cans are called Recovery / overflow cans in the ads but do not have sufficient value and really are just overflow cans . Get one off of a V8 vehicle from a junkyard . The OEM's know what they are doing .

[Champion V8]

Yes Bill, I have a bunch of different electric fans that I've been trying out & I also made a "kind of a shroud" that I showed in an earlier post on page 98, it's a side slanted plate to direct the air from the radiator into the fan due to not enough room for the two fans I had before. What I need a radiator that has "cut off" top corners like the original Studebaker radiators.
Now I'm just in to eat, I've made brackets for the bar I have that holds the connector for the front light & indicator wires, I made a bar for that once upon a time when the original fan shroud had to go & now I have to get it more inwards for the radiator to be tilted inwards.
& so on, pictures soon, forgot the camera in the house...

By the way; I'm "saved" from bying the Valiant wagon cuz the guys daughter wants it.
(why does everybody else have such cool kids? My daughters aint interested in cars at all & neither is my son)
Yesterday night I was looking at old pix from the late 70's & my first Valiant, a fast little bastard, & it aches of wanting to go back there again & win over those V8 Mustangs... Ah... & even thou my -64 Malibu SS that was a drag racer was a lot faster I still would go for that Valiant today.

[Champion V8]

So I've welded the bar across to see how the radiator fit & there was some going back & change it many times. Then when I was about to leave & came to think about taking a photo... The rad is sitting lose on a pile of wood blocks.
I also worked on Nils's car; one bolt that holds the battery shelf was broken off so I got rid of that one & welded in a new one + two thin steel v-balks with washers at the end for screws to be mounted at the inner fender.
So here's a bad photo of the rad that's not fastend anywhere + Nils's battery box:

3-2tjuggitjutre.JPG

1-2mars2023.JPG

[Alan]

Nox,It reminds me of a Studebaker commercial I saw back in the 50's. You remember the guy with the gravely voice, he said that at Studebaker we make cars for a family of 4 that travels American streets and highways at speeds of 35 to 55 MPH. When you are accelerating from 100 to 250 MPH you need different suspension Geometry. You ever seen the passenger side tire on a high speed circle track car, flopped way in. You wouldn't drive around town like that. Cars are purpose built. Don't F with it unless you have a purpose and know what you are doing and have the tools to do it.

[Champion V8]

I know what you're saying Alan, don't worry. Unless I've got it all figured out total I'll keep away from it, but I do find it interesting!
Another way is ofcourse to just put another front clip on but I find it way more challenging to get the Studebaker front suspension to behave good.
I use MoPar 14 x 7 inch up front with original -55 Champion springs & brakes & it works real fine for daily driving but I would like to turn corners a bit better in future, even if the future comes later...
My rear wheels are whatever bigger & as high as possible I can find cuz I like speed & less fuel, now I'm using my -56 Chrysler's wheels there:

z41 15Maj2022.png

By the way, about top A-arms being shorter than the lower A-arms I think is normal for any of these old cars (especially V-engined) car due to the fact that there's more space under the engine bay for the lower A-arm than for the top A-arm. But maybe I'm wrong..?

[Champion V8]

By the way; when I first installed the big Ford truck radiator due to the original being without trans cooler (& I got it for a super price), I don't remember how many years ago, & Josephine overheated I first put a separate container on the side like cars from the late 60's & up have. But then it was harder to keep track on the level & it's another thing occupying space + I find it ugly. Whatever the real reason that I don't remember now, I tilted & raised the rad up & all was fine. Now with the Mustang rad I have the same overheat behaving; when it overheats I fill it up & then I can drive on for as long as I want without any problem but when I stop & it cooles down I'll have the same behavior next time I drive.
I also have a Subaru rad sitting & I thought I would try that at first but it's way to wide & even thou it's for a 6 cyl engine the hose pipes are very small.
& so on...

[shifter44]

Since you are needing to add water constantly , that seems to indicate that the water is expanding as it heats , and overflowing into a catch can .
When the engine cools , it is not drawing the water back into the system because the water that overflowed , is not in the system any longer . As a result the levels are low .This introduces air into the system , and causes overheating.

A truly sealed / closed system is one that lets the expanded water flow into a jug , in which the entry is at the bottom of the container . Then , as the system cools , and contracts the expelled water is drawn back into the system . There must be no other place where air may be drawn in . The Rad cap must be one made for this .

Some jugs have sight tubes along the outside to see the water level . Some OEM ones are translucent so the level can be monitored . It must have sufficient volume to handle a V8 engine capacity . Notice the pic showing 2 jugs side by side . The smaller one is sold as a Recovery / overflow jug , BUT did not have the capacity for a V8 engine . Also notice that in the finished system pic ( first one ) , I have also added , after the recovery can , another overflow can with a petcock on the bottom , as drag strip rules require that .

My car has the radiator well below the engine . It is configured as above . The water in the overflow jug is at about 1/4th height when totally cool , and rises to about 3/4's at 180 F . The after it cools , the water returns to 1/4th .

Recovery can April 2021 b Medium.jpeg

Recovery can April 2021 a Medium.jpeg

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IMG_1581 Medium.jpeg

[Champion V8]

I think I've found a good enough position for the rad now, the hood doesn't widen that awfully much backwards as I would prefer but I think I'm in good height now. I haven't secured it yet thou, it was a bit cold & damp today & my bad knee hurts so I was only out for a few hours.

I also played with Nils's car for 3 days on-&-off now, today I drilled two holes in the fender & screwed the battery tray in place.

Ø 3mars2023.JPG

& I sure wonder how to know if the star solenoid is 6 or 12 volt...

[Jeff Rice]

Love it!

[Champion V8]

Thanx Jeff!
Our son Ozzian is sick so there's a lot of being inside & taking care of him, I don't mind at all. & it's even a bit colder today, it started blowing a bit yesterday night & now it's gales coming in short gusts.
Thou I'll be letting Carmenzita out & then also probably do something on Josephine... Here she is in Josephine two summers ago at Ozzian's school waiting for him:

Carmenzita Skolan.JPG