I also contacted a man in Indiana who specializes in reconstructing and restoring the body woodwork utilized in much of the construction of these 1920s-30s automobiles. I have spoken with a gentleman in Washington state who has a completely restored example, same year, which he uses in his funeral business along with a 39 Lasalle and a 39 Packard, all meticulously restored.
1926 ford king pins pro#
Thankfully my father did a first rate frame off restoration on a 1930 Studebaker Dictator some years ago so we do have an old pro on board for this project. That's information we got directly from other mid to late 20s Studebaker owners. The only way to really get certain components is to buy a second or sometimes a third engine in some cases. "Big Six" engine are basically scarce to non-existant. That was basically how we found out that replacement parts for the 354 cu. We actually have already been in contact with two different Studebaker clubs and have also talked on their forum with the editor of the Antique Studebaker Review, the club's magazine. Much cheaper, and comes with V8, auto, disc brakes, air, and you can get parts for it.ģ8FordPickup, thank you very much for your reply, I appreciate you sharing your ideas. You might forget the whole deal and buy a hearse or limousine from the 80s or newer. Or, a good hot rod shop could destroy the originality but make it move under its own power without looking too stupid but you would have to spend some real money to do the job it right. You could probably get a local garage to do a similar job for $5000. I'm embarrassed to even look at it but he thinks it's great and is real proud of all the work he did restoring the old Studebaker. He spent the whole winter working on it and it looks like total ass. The front bumper wouldn't fit so he threw it away.
Next problem the front suspension hit the fenders so he cut holes in the fenders and welded on big boxes made of steel.
So he mounted the rad about 2 feet forward of stock position, with the hood sticking way out ahead of the fenders. He decided it would be clever to put the body on a 1980s Ford pickup frame.įirst problem, the engine was way too far forward. I know a funeral director here in GA who owns a '30 Model A Ford hearse that is actually a AA, built on a Model AA one ton truck chassis.Ī guy not far from here got a similar big Studebaker sedan from the 20s. Studebaker built trucks, too, and I'm betting the chassis was beefed up more than a standard car chassis and may have used some truck components because of the weight of the vehicle. That stock Stude chassis is plenty tough.
Spring pads can be moved to sit on the stock Stude springs. As for the rear end, I'd go with the venerable Ford 9" for a host of reasons-durability, selection of gear ratios, they came in several different widths depending on application, one of which should be close to the width of the Stude rear end.
1926 ford king pins install#
You might want to use a beam axle from a '40s-'50s Ford or Chevy pickup for ease of getting parts and being able to use an off the shelf kit to install front disc brakes. Beam front axles are hard to beat for simplicity and durability, and they drive fine (you're not going to be going fast with it anyway) if the king pins and bushings are good and they're aligned correctly. Given the long wheelbase, you will most likely need to use a two-piece driveshaft with a center bearing. Chassis Engineering sells mounts to put practically anything in anything. Shouldn't be too hard to swap out drivetrain in the stock frame. This is a pretty rare vehicle, so I would vote for keeping external appearance as near stock as you can. There is a very active Studebaker club, you can probably google it and find their website. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy the picture! What would be the easiest way to do that? Put the body on a suburban or pickup chassis? Or just modify what's there? The car has a 158 inch wheelbase so roughly 13 feet.
1926 ford king pins free#
We want to make sure and preserve the bad ass (and creepy) patina it's developed on the outside, but make it as reliable and maintenance free as we can mechanically. The engine is really archaic, no parts available and the bizarre power / mechanical brake system is just scary. It's incredibly complete and original, just been neglected for the last 25 years or so and hasn't run since then.
We eventually want to make the hearse into a rolling advertisement for our business, obviously getting noticed wherever it goes, and a tour vehicle. One of our most popular tours is a historical ghost tour which takes our guests through local cemeteries by lantern and to other haunted locations. I operate a tour business in the Adirondack region of New York state. Looking for some advice on a new project car I recently purchased, a 1926 Studebaker Big Six hearse. Hello, this is my first post on the board.
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