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| The 53' Hardtop
(More pictures when I get a chance) Went over to pick up a "Free" dirt bike a guy offered me at a party and wound up taking home a cool 53' K- body Stude Hardtop. It was the Regal Champion, and at the time, I had no idea what the real deal was with Studes, just that they looked great on the salt at Bonneville. I promptly pulled the 6 out and below is the build sheet: Motor: 76' Cadillac Sedan de Ville 500",bored to 509", milled .060, relieved, ported, polished, radiused, stainless oversize valves, CMD street cam, rebuilt Rochester carb, Accel wires and coil, modified static and vacuum advance, Holley red pump, modified oil passages, Eldorado rear-sump pan, CMD high output-repositioned oil pump. The motor and transmission cost a big $350, and when pulled apart was in excellent shape. Rear-end: 57' Ford rear housing with 28 spline axles and pumpkin from a Mustang pursuit car ( I think it is about 3.23) with limited slip Transmission: 76' Caddy Turbohydramatic 400 with Hayden fluid cooler and B&M shift kit coupled to Cad driveshaft with Ford yoke. Radiator: Stock Stude tanks with 3 inches added to length. Core is that used for full size Ford truck. Brakes: Dave LeVesque mod front disks with Caprice 11 3/4 inch rotors and Mopar calipers using hubs from Stude. Dual master cylinder (Suburban) on home-made underfloor bracket. Adjustable proportioner valve. Ford rear drums for now, but maybe Lincoln Versailles discs later. Steering: Wheel is from 50's Buick mated to Cadillac tilt-tele collapsable column. Column mates to Borgeson joint on modified Stude box. Custom dropped drag link to stock Stude bell-crank. Future plans: Large water holding tank between rear wheel wells for added weight to adjust traction. Traction bars. Will glass in entire floor-pan of car for added ridgidity. 3 inch exhaust pipes with exhaust cut-outs operated from column shifter (B&M trans--shifter is on the floor, so I'll do something creative with the column shifter......) Bonneville: I plan to run the car for fun in 18 months at Speed Week. I strongly doubt it will be competative in its class despite a projected 500+ HP and 500+ ft-lbs torque. My friends and I could at least get our novice licenses. Presently, all the "BIG WORK" is done, but it needs bolting together. Yes, this is a more traditional "street rod" than TurboStude, and should be fun. I'd trade it for a 37' Stude coupe or express. Some detail pictures of motor mounts and drag-link
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oil pump 6 7
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