My new purchase....55 Conestoga Wagon

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My new purchase....55 Conestoga Wagon

Postby HarrisonsRodShop » 2012 Jul 12 Thu 7:57 am

Hello all. I have recently purchased a 55 Conestoga Curved Windshield. I have a few questions.....mine has the know in the left kick panel to roll the antenna up and down, a tissue dispenser under the dash, and fog lights in the bumper guards. How rare are any of these options. Also, does anyone have any advice on the widest rear wheels/tires that can be run on the rear? I can order my wheels any backspace I want. I am a dealer for a few brands of wheels. I would love to have an 8 or 8.5 but my Studebaker experience is minimal at this time. I have done mostly GM wagons, muscle cars, and street rods. I'm hoping to do an air ride suspension and 12V conversion first. Thanks for the info in advance and I look forward to meeting some of you in the future. BH
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Re: My new purchase....55 Conestoga Wagon

Postby Mike » 2012 Jul 12 Thu 9:59 am

Welcome Rod Shop -

Well...as you know, these cars are almost 60 years old and may have had parts added and subtracted a few times over these years.
But to sorta answer your question, the rollup antenna (knoB), the tissue despenser and fog lamps were options anyone could buy at the dealer and add to the car....or even later in the cars life.

One way to get a little bit of an idea, is tyo send your VIN to the Studebaker Museum and for a small fee, they can tell you exactly how (what items) your car rolled off the assembly line. But as I said, it wont say anything about dealer installed options.
As for their rareness.....na, not really. You can normally find all of your items at a larger Stude swap meet or even some at places like, Studebakers West or Studebaker International that sell NOS and used parts. You'll be surprised how much NOS goodies are still available.

One of my 54's came from the factory as the bottom of the line car. By the time I got around to buying it (45 or so years later..!), it had EVERY...possible option installed on/in the car. Most have since been removed and sold..!

As for the rear wheels/tires...with some work...it's "possible"...to put a 29" tall, 12" wide tire in the back. That's what's under the stock fenderwell of the blue car in my avitar.
BUT....you gotta get the spring out of the fender well area... I used Chevy truck arms, coil-over springs to hold the Winters Quick Change axle under the car...!

Otherwise, just get under there and measure your particular car..! Back spacing from the drum to the spring, from the drum to the outside of the inner fender.
You should be able to at least get a 15" x 7" wheel with a 215 x 75 tire. These cars are kinda like early Chevy II's and Chevelles, Ford Falcons...etc.
The C/K cars seem to be able to go a little wider under a stock fender.
Since you have the ability to play with back spacing....as I said, a good hot rod shop (!!!!!) should understand the value of checking things yourself to see exactly how much room you have.

The second 54 I just bought....I'll be doing the exact same thing here soon. I'd also like to squeeze the biggest tire and wheel combination under the stock fender (and spring location) as I can.

Have fun, show us some pictures if you can.

Mike

P.s. - where you located ?
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Re: My new purchase....55 Conestoga Wagon

Postby HarrisonsRodShop » 2012 Jul 12 Thu 11:16 am

Thanks for the info. I am located in Greeneville, TN. I have no problem moving the springs in on the rear or fabbing up a four link if needed. I have been working on customers' projects and have barely been able to look at my car a few times in the month I have had it. I would like to run 18x7 and 20x8.5 wheels if I do the air ride set up. I talked to Rene at Slick Street Stuff about his front suspension but I am also partial to Heidts front ends. My car is Saginaw Green and White. VERY VERY little rust at all. It is a very cool faded/patina look right now. I am going to rewire the car to 12V first and change the gauges at the same time.
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Re: My new purchase....55 Conestoga Wagon

Postby Mike » 2012 Jul 12 Thu 11:52 am

Rod Shop -

Do yourself a favor.......buildwhat ever you want for a front suspension...but stay away from the design mentioned.

I put a C4 Vette front suspension under my Lark (same basic frame).
I'd look into the Morrison/Vette clip. Don't know much about Heidts stuff.
One bad thing about most all front clip/full chassis...aftermarket stuff....is that they throw away all the original factory design geometry. The factories spend tons-o money designing their suspensions...then the aftermarket (most, not all) toss all that out the window and then just set everything parallel and perpedicular. Handling goes out the window as compared to what it "could" be.

Here's my Lark -
http://public.fotki.com/-Mike-/
Go down to 60 Lark, double click to enlarge
Also see my 54 Conestoga pictures

See PM for other information.

Mike
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