1955 President Coupe Suspension & Exhaust Questions

[bhawk]

I am gathering parts for our 1955 President Coupe (259 4 bbl, Detroit Gear 250 M) and am looking for suggestions while we gather parts. It has been off the road for some time so needs brake, suspension, exhaust, and general maintenance work to bring it back to life. The eventual goal is to have a reliable car that can be driven at modern speeds and distance. It will not be a race car, but we might try to drive it on the Hot Rod Power Tour after it is dialed in.

Suspension - Rear Springs
I have purchased a set of the progressive front springs recommended by Jim Pepper. I will replace all wear parts in the front suspension and am looking for suggestions for the rear springs; standard, factory heavy duty, or modified (Chrysler Super Stock mods, Posies Super Slide, etc). There are very detailed posts regarding shocks and sway bars on this forum so I don't need to rehash those items.

Exhaust
I am looking to replace the current exhaust system with the factory style dual exhaust as it is in poor shape. The engine is currently stock, but when it is rebuilt (likely a year or 2 from now) I plan to install a mild cam and probably have some minor cylinder head work performed. Don Simmons offers a 2 1/4" upgrade on his exhaust systems. Would the larger exhaust be worth it?

Thanks for the suggestions.

[PackardV8]

Hi, Bruce,

First, the exhaust. No, the Stude V8 does not really benefit from the 2.25" exhaust. For a hobby car in the east, the stainless system is worth the extra cost.

Back to the rear springs; the bushings in the frame are a huge PITA to replace, but 99% of the time, they need renewed. For a hobby car not hauling four passengers and luggage, new stock springs are OK.

jack vines

[r1lark]

Another option on the rear springs, one that is low cost if you have access to a castoff set of Stude rear springs, is to add another leaf to the spring pack. Check this out on Bob Johnstone's site: https://studebaker-info.org/text3/RRsprings.txt
Also here is another writeup on the same site: https://studebaker-info.org/rearsprings1.html