1939 Studebaker + Geo 1.0L drivetrain swap = Studeo

[StudeChamp]

I'm a car addict and am building two vehicles at a time: a 1991 Geo Metro lsi retrofitted with xfi gear and custom kammback (to be documented in another thread) and a bone stock 1940 Studebaker Champion biz coupe (the original car factory built for economy, I'll post links once I have enough posts).

And both these projects generated piles and piles of spare parts, including two parts cars (Geo and Stude), extra engines, suspension parts, etc.

So my BFF and master mechanic Johnny had this brilliant idea: take the left-for-dead 1939 Studebaker Champion 4 door sedan, take the running gear out of a 1991 Geo Metro, weld up a custom K-Member for said running gear, insert said running gear in trunk of Studebaker, and voila, quick ecomod project.

Fast forward two years (that's when I first opened an account with the name StudeChamp) and the car is coming together.

Here is what we've got:

Johnny welded up a custom K-member to replicate the front clip of the Geo.

We then cut out the floorpan and frame of the Studebaker from the B pillars to the rear bumper.

John stuck a stock 1L Suzuki with 5 speed transaxle (4.11 gears) out of the 91 Geo into the K member, attached the suspension, axles and tires, and then rolled the member under the car and into place.

Then we lowered the car over the K member, and attached the member to the frame and custom cage we welded up inside the car to keep the body straight.

So now the car is now rolling, with drivetrain in place. No interior, paint, glass, fuel system, wiring harness, etc. yet.

Sounds easy, right?

Looking forward to posting pics once I get enough conversation going to be able to do so.

The guys at the Studebaker club will cry when I open the hood to reveal nothing, so we are really hoping for validation from this crowd. Looking forward to sharing the build with you.

StudeChamp

[California98Civic]

Nice. Subscribed. Maybe this is a pic of the model?

[StudeChamp]

Close! That's a 41-42, mechanically almost identical. Coming out of bankruptcy (from '35), Studebaker needed a mass-market hit and decided to aim for style and economy. The Champion was the first Raymond Lowry-styled Stude, and had a purpose-designed I-6 with overdrive. The result was a stylish car weighing some 400 lbs less than the 39 Ford. They sold 120,000 but most of them got chewed up during the war due to gas rationing (the Champion was the car to have). I might just run a build thread on the stock '40 once I start putting it back together.

Thanks for posting!!!

[brucepick]

I'll be watching too!

[MetroMPG]

Too cool. Looking forward to these projects. Lots of validation comin' right up, I suspect!

...

Bruce... got your PM. Will reply tomorrow.

[StudeChamp]

My profile pic shows the engine as viewed from the rear passenger side door. Good news is that the car has suicide doors, so ingress won't be terribly impeded by the supporting members that run from package-tray level just inside the rear window down to the chassis near the rear passenger doorwell.

[MetroMPG]

Feel free to make a few dummy posts just to get past the image linking restriction. I'm eager to see what you're doing.

[StudeChamp]

Ok, since you say it's not a breach of protocol...

I bought the 39 Stude from a guy that had picked it up in trade from another guy that had left it in the proverbial field behind a barn under a tree. The interior was shredded but intact, and the trim was all there, so all that stuff is destined to end up on the 40 coupe I'm restoring to stock. (Good luck finding seat frames and interior trim and patterns for a pre-war Studebaker.)

[StudeChamp]

The floor was pretty much rusted through, and the lower trunk lid lip and sheetmetal behind the rear bumper are swiss cheese, but I think the car is more destined for a rat rod look anyway. The frame was solid, however, so much so that I almost felt guilty sawing it in half. (That, and running a sawzall through asbestos insulation is probably not the best idea in the world -- something that only occurred to me after I was 90% done -- please, wear your respirators when gutting these cars!)

[some_other_dave]

Neat stuff! You could probably turn the original engine bay into a trunk. Maybe with a custom-fit beer cooler in it? That'd bring around the Stude club guys, I bet...

-soD