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Car Forum / Antique and Collectibles / Studebaker / October 2007'64 Cruiser
Well, got home late last night with a '64 Cruiser I bought in Vancouver. Got it off the trailer today, and made an effort to unstick the engine. Removed all the spark plugs, which showed no signs of rust, and used a fogging gun to blow a blend of ATF and Varsol into each cylinder. Removed the breather caps, and gave the valve areas a shot for good measure. It's a 289, two barrel carb. Removed the starter, and installed my "engine turner", the snout of an old starter with the pinion welded to stub shaft with a big nut on it. Cranked on it with a breaker bar. Result: the engine didn't turn, but I broke two teeth on the ring gear. It was stuck but good, I guess. The engine will have to come out. Surprisingly, the frame and the underside of the floor look pretty good. If the floor is rusty, it hasn't proceeded to the point of causing the undercoating to scale off. There IS rust in the bottom of the rocker panels, in the rear doglegs at the bottom, and in the trunk floor. Also front and rear fenders have numerous pinholes. The interior is quite nice, with good original upholstery covered with fuzzy seat covers. Steering wheel is yellowed, but uncracked. Push-button AM radio. Headliner slightly mildewed, but no holes, nor any sign of mouse activity inside the car. Lots of rat sh*t under the hood (or squirrel, maybe). This is a disc brake car. One can be safe in assuming that all brakes will need a complete overhaul. Something like 96000 miles on it. It has sat in a garage in Vancouver for 27 years, unused. I really think this poor thing is doomed to become a parts donor, being as it would need a full set of exterior panels plus paint to look good, plus a new carpet. Plus it will need at least an overhaul of the engine, if not a rebuild. Who knows how the Flightomatic is, but I expect it would need seals, at least. Pretty well all the trim is there and intact, even the circle "S" hood ornament. Glass is all there and intact, too. If it were a runner, it could be made a driver, but as a non-runner, there are too many hurdles to jump to make it good again, considering the limited demand for Cruisers, regardless of how nice a car they really are. I will pull the engine and tear it down, but it is not a priority right now. I'll entertain offers and/or suggestions. FWIW, I paid $500 for it, plus spent several hundred $$ on fuel for the trip to haul it home from B.C. I figure I can get my money out in parts. Dick Steinkamp had a look at this car in August, and took some pictures. There was a thread on the SDC Forum about it back around then, too. Gord Richmond > Well, got home late last night with a '64 Cruiser I bought in Vancouver. > Got it off the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > shot for good > measure. It's a 289, two barrel carb. > Gord Richmond I would definitely try and find a buyer for that car, Gord. Its a rather rare post-Hamilton Cruiser. As was discussed on the Froum about it previously, it has some unique features on it that are only found in a Cruiser made after january, 1964. Craig > I would definitely try and find a buyer for that car, Gord. Its a rather > rare post-***Hamilton*** Cruiser. As was discussed on the Froum about it > previously, it has some unique features on it that are only found in a > Cruiser made after january, 1964. > > Craig Sould read "post South Bend Cruiser" Craig Gord, It sounds like a great donor car or a good base to build on.... tough choice. I've had several like that here that have ALL become parts cars because everyone thinks it should be restored but no one will step up to the plate. Many have given me sh.t about parting out " A perfectly restorable car".... and that I "should have saved it" or "Store it until you can find a buyer". The fact of the matter is it sounds like that car needs twice its restored value in repairs/rebuilding. By the time you'd spend $2k to $3k on mechanicals, $1k on all new sheet metal, $3k on paint, a few $hundered on the interior, $700 on new rubber weatherstrip, your time (or pay someone else $75/hour) to do the body and mechanical work, you've got $8k to $10k in a $5k car. Of course, if you did an amateur paint job and did that part for $1k, you've now got $6k or $8k in a $3500 car. The numbers just DON'T work out on a 4-door sedan. If a car like that gets restored, it has to be a labor of love and something you keep forever because you'll lose your a.s restoring it and selling it within 10 years. If it gets parted out, it is quite possible that 3-5 stalled restoration projects can be completed.... >Well, got home late last night with a '64 Cruiser I bought in Vancouver. Got it off the >trailer today, and made an effort to unstick the engine. Removed all the spark plugs, [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > >Gord Richmond Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62 Lee is absolutely correct!! Why would anyone sink time or money int a vehicle that will never show rewards for time or mony spent? Years ago when I was building my first 1956j I was told by a close Stude friend that parting out a Studebaker.. "made ours more valuable". while doing my current 1956j another one "bit the dust". One less car and each survivor becomes more valuable. It is time each of us weigh the cost/benefit equation. I'm for parting out and saving ALL available parts as long as it is not a car in demand, >Gord, > [quoted text clipped - 71 lines] >Lee DeLaBarre >Daytona62 Definitely some food for thought, Lee. One thing this car doesn't need is much interior work. A good cleaning, and a set of JP's carpets would make it pretty nifty inside, providing no nasty surprises lurk beneath the seat covers. Funny, that engine is stuck almost TOO tight. Usually, if they stick because the pistons are locked in the bores, you can move the crank a LITTLE bit. This crank is absolutely solid. No detectable movement at all. I'm wondering if the main bearings grew fuzz and swelled up and locked onto the crank journals. I should pull the engine and tear it down. If I can solve the seizing problem and make it run on the floor, drop it back in and try the car out. Gord Richmond Boils down to this.Time is money.How much time are you willing to spend on a vehicle. Spending 4-6 hours getting a stuck engine free and running or in the same amount of time tearing the entire car down and being done with it. I just bought 4 rusted out Larks.When I told a friend I could part each one in less than 1 hour he wondered how. Pull the overdrive transmissions,radiators and heater cores , TT rears and haul the cars to the crusher.Done.My experience tells me it's the most economical thing to do.Some folks want everything saved but as Lee stated,wont step up to the plate and pay I have a '53 HT body tub that is basically rust free.Comes with clean title and tags.After offering it up on several Stude sites and getting zero offers or even inquiries I'm cutting off the vin plate and scrapping it. I can get my asking price of $500 for just those three parts. Time is money,winter is rolling in and I dont have the space to save a carcass.I tried in the past to give away stuff like this and no response. Several cars I have offered here for sale sold for 3 times the price to street rodders.Your car your call Gord but most importantly your time. Bob40...in semi rant mode....lol > >Gord, >> [quoted text clipped - 118 lines] > > Gord Richmond Jeez Gord - if you'd brought a bigger trailer you could have taken my '65 Daytona home as well. It went for $850 (with all the new parts) - no one was interested. I guess if there's a bright side is that it should see the road again. Rob > Well, got home late last night with a '64 Cruiser I bought in Vancouver. Got it off the > trailer today, and made an effort to unstick the engine. Removed all the spark plugs, [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Gord Richmond Gord, does this car have a split bench in the front or pullmans? Peter can't remember, and the only pic I have of the front seat is the backside. If you're going to part it and the front is bench/split backrest, I'd be interested. j > Well, got home late last night with a '64 Cruiser I bought in Vancouver. Got it off the > trailer today, and made an effort to unstick the engine. Removed all the spark plugs, [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Gord Richmond >Gord, does this car have a split bench in the front or >pullmans? Peter can't remember, and the only pic I have of [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] >> >> Gord Richmond Judy, it's individual front reclining seats. I should take the seat covers right off to determine the condition of the upholstery, but what I could see was good. Browm vinyl seat sides with tan/beige cloth inserts. I'll strip it and takes some pics. Gord Richmond That's kinda what I thought from looking at the pics. Won't work for the truck (been there, done that) What we'd really like to find is later vintage (because of the mounting bracket) bench with a split back. They sure seem to be hard to come by. j > >Gord, does this car have a split bench in the front or > >pullmans? Peter can't remember, and the only pic I have of [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > - Show quoted text - |
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