Hemi Powered and Strange-Shifted Speed Seeking Studebakers #3
September 1, 2010 by GreaseGirl · 1 Comment
Bonneville Salt Flat Racing Studebakers
I’ve already covered the two record-taking Studebakers for this 2010 Speed Week in previous articles of this Speed Seeking Studebakers series (#1 1953 Studebaker Coupe & #2 1949 Studebaker Pickup). So before looking at more racing Studes, I wanted to show you some of the fine Studebakers that spectators were driving around on the salt!
To begin with, is Bob Weaver’s 1953 Studebaker Coupe.
I’m not sure color has as much to do with speed as the aerodynamics body of the Studebaker coupe – but in this case yellow=fast! My 5-year-old nephew exclaimed “Yellow cars are the fastest” while wandering around Gene Winfield’s shop a couple of months ago, and in this case I’d say he’s right!
It isn’t just the yellow color and aerodynamic body that’s making this Studebaker go fast. This special Stude has a Chrysler Hemi powerplant! I was amazed at how snugly it fit in the engine compartment. This hot rod sure looks just as pretty under the hood as above it!
Any Studebaker-fan knows that us Studebaker owners are a quirky bunch of folk! So I wasn’t overly surprised when I saw this 1950 Studebaker convertible coupe roll up.
If the airplane-nose isn’t enough to make this old car stand out, then the fishnet & high-heeled leg sticking up out of it is! Of all the strange and original shifters I’ve seen, this one takes the cake!
From hot rod, to quirky, and now to round it off in the more rat rod category is this chopped up truck seen at the nightly car show at the Nugget Casino in Wendover.
I loved its custom airplane-styled windshield and lime-green accents. Its nice rusty patina is offset nicely by that touch of chrome on its wheels too!
Lastly, of course I was there on the salt with my own 1955 Studebaker Champion Coupe. (Note: Did you know that a “coupe” is differentiated from the “hardtop” by the B-pillar in between the front and rear-seat windows?)
Stude liked it out on the salt! We had tons of fun meeting new friends… like this sleek blue #653. Continue onto the next story to read more about this #653 Studebaker Race car with a Flathead!
1949 Studebaker Farm Truck-Speed Seeking Studebakers #2
August 31, 2010 by GreaseGirl · 4 Comments
Bonneville Salt Flat Racing Vintage Studebakers
#898 obviously isn’t a coupe, but it’s still Speedy. And most importantly, it’s a Studebaker! This 1949 Studebaker farm truck out of Kansas took the second of the two records for this years Speed Week.
And break a record did it ever! With Chevy power under the hood in it’s AA/MP class, the old record was blown away by nearly 18 miles per hour! Norris Anderson definitely knows how to build one, as he powered this truck down the line at 219.331mph!
And you know what that means, its a record-breaking run over 200mph… so Norris Anderson gets his well-deserved Bonneville 200mph Club admission. He’ll be a happy man wearing that red hat. In fact… he was already wearing it, even as he did broom duty around the pits!
It looks like Norris Anderson and his Broom Crew have a lot of fun out on the salt! It was in 2004 that Norris first found the old farm truck and began building it into a salt flats racer in 2004. Their motto? “Safe Trucks Travel Fast.”
Start here for All Speed Seeking Studebakers
1953 Studebaker Coupe – Speed Seeking Studebakers #1
August 31, 2010 by GreaseGirl · 3 Comments
Bonneville Salt Flat Racing Vintage Studebakers
Heading up the line of this year’s Speed Seeking Studes, is #4594. It may not be the prettiest out there, but what it’s got going for it is a Studebaker engine and multiple record-holdings! Greg Meyer’s from Minnesota brought his Salt2Salt Racing’s 1953 Studebaker Coupe powered by a 182cid V8 Studebaker engine, putting it in the F/CGALT class. I think it was the only non-Avanti to have Stude power rolling it down the line!
The engine class being F, means it’s got to be somewhere between 123-183 c.i.d (cubic inch displacement.) In order to get this engine’s c.i.d. down to 182 the Studebaker V8 was destroked, pushing it into the “F” class by just a hair! Although Greg reports they encountered a few problems and there’s still more to do to get this particular engine running at its top speed, they were still able to set 2 records in their class by the end of the week. First with Greg driving in the F/CGALT catagory at 131.593. Then with partner-in-crime, Bob Waitz driving in the F/CFALT catagory (wounded engine and all) at 113.998mph! Good job Salt2Salt team!
For a really complete history and crew-log of #4594, you can check out Salt2Salt’s website. What do you think…
What engine would you run in a Studebaker Coupe out at Bonneville?
Start here for All Speed Seeking Studebakers
Speed Seeking Studebakers
August 30, 2010 by GreaseGirl · 7 Comments
Bonneville Salt Flat Racing Vintage Studebakers
If you’ve spent any time at all reading my posts, you know I drive a 1955 Studebaker Champion Coupe. Last year, during my first trip to Bonneville for Speed Week, I had no idea how many Studebakers I would find out on the salt. I knew Studebaker coupes were long-loved in land speed racing for their aerodynamic bodes—but it seemed like everywhere I turned there was another Studebaker!
As I’m finding out, Studebaker coupes have a longer history with land speed racing than I would have guessed. The Bob Bourke-designed streamlined body first appeared in 1953, drastically different than any other car produced. By August of 1953, a ’53 Studebaker Hardtop made its first official run out on the salt. By the following year, the ’53 Coupe had broken its class D/CG record at 114.430mph. In fact, the first full-fendered stock-bodied car to break the highly coveted 200mph mark was a Studebaker coupe, in 1964. The official record was set at 201.744mph by Pisano Brothers/Jim Short in a ’53 Coupe with a 365c.i.d. Chrysler supercharged engine racing in the B/S Gas Coupe category.
Even better, is that although the record wasn’t official until 1964, it was actually six years earlier, in 1958, that the Studebaker Coupe first broke the 200mph milestone! Belmont Sanchez’s #201 (pictured above, courtesy of The American Hot Rod Foundation) barreled down the salty white, reaching a timed speed of 210mph. Running on Chrysler power, this Stude blew all others out of the water! Unfortunately, as it was trying to prove its record, the engine failed and it went unconfirmed…leaving everybody waiting for six more years! (Learn more about How-To Set A Record)
As time passed and Detroit eventually began clueing into aerodynamics to produce sleeker cars, Studebakers continued living up to their Bonneville legacy. That legacy can still be seen today At this year’s Speed Week, my Speed Seeking Studebaker count was 14 (and I’m quite sure I missed a couple) with two different Studes setting a new class record!
Not only were there coupes, but Trucks and Avanti’s made appearances as well. Then of course there were Spectator’s Studes, and I’m proud to say mine can be included in that category, as Studie made it to the salt with me this year! Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be featuring each one of the 14+ Studebaker’s I encountered!
Be sure to check back in at MyRideisMe.com to see a wide variety of Speed Seeking Studebakers. While you’re at it, continue to catch a little salt fever by taking a sneak peak’s at Speed Week 2010 Studebakers over at MyRideisMe’s picture gallery!
Do you have a Salt Flat memory involving Studebakers? We’d love to hear, leave a comment below!
So let’s get started! Here’s my stories:
Vintage Studebaker Bonneville Race Cars
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1953 Studebaker Coupe – Speed Seeking Studebakers #1
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1949 Studebaker Farm Truck-Speed Seeking Studebakers #2
Back In The Fast Lane!
July 27, 2010 by GreaseGirl · 2 Comments
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Since Stude’s spent the past 3 months suntanning her metal in the Mojave sun outside Gene Winfield’s shop…I’ve grown fonder then ever. The great news is (drum-roll please,) she’s back on the road!!! Not only is she back, she’s running better than ever!
Replacing the transmission was the biggest job that needed to be done. Saving money and finding the right transmission is what took the bulk of the time. Luckily I had good friends and lots of help through the process…thanks to all who were involved! I ended up having a great guy, Rick Annis in Phoenix, AZ, rebuild a 700R4 for me. Then my car club pal, Lori, and I took the 700R4 up to Mojave to meet Stude. Up at Gene’s we got a lot of help from Bart putting it in. With Bart having a lot of experience in engine tuning he wouldn’t let my car out of his sight with just a new transmission – so we worked on getting Stude’s little 383 small block up to par also.
The first weekend we did a lot of work but things just weren’t right. It was hard leaving her there again, but I’m glad I did – because this past weekend we went up again and completed the work and it’s made a huge difference! Here’s a list of the stuff we accomplished:
It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun! Especially with Bart and Lori by my side. Needless to say, I learned a ton through this process (such as How-To Gap A Spark Plug) and will be writing more to fill ya’ll in. I just couldn’t wait to share the good news.
Each time someone’s head turns to see what’s making that awesome sound or wondering what’s under the hood of that old ’55 Studebaker, I can’t help but smile. I had no idea I’d grown this in love with speed (and with Stude of course!) This story ends happily with girl and car driving off into the California sunset…armed with more car knowledge, more horsepower, and of course more grease under her nails! Until next time, happy trails!
