Tacking Rearend Into Place!

With the rearend all mocked up in place, I went to tack weld it and noticed my regulator on my Hobart 140 was not working correctly. It was showing the correct tank pressure, but the output side to the welder was pegging up all the way. I'm just going to have to call and get that replaced being that it's brand new.

To keep progress moving, I switched over to flux core wire and tacked the leaf spring perches into place. Then I removed the rearend to make it easier to completely weld it once I get my new regulator. Flux core wire is extremely messy, splatters a lot and I could really use the shielding gas to get a better quality weld, so I'll wait. Hopefully I'll get that replaced ASAP this week.

Mocked up Chevy 12 Bolt Rearend!

I got the Chevy 12 bolt rearend all mocked up into place. First thing I had to do was drill out the spring perch mounts to 3/4" to properly fit.

I as then able to set the rearend into place and carefully centering it on the leaf springs, as well as adjusting the angle of the pinion.

Four patio pavers and two tiles positioned the rearend with the correct pinion angle.

Removing the 1941 Studebaker Rearend!

I started to remove the original 1941 Studebaker rearend, in preparation of installing the newer Chevy 12 bolt rearend.

With the help of a breaker bar, and a 3/4" socket, I removed the double nutted U bolts holding the axle to the leaf springs.

Here you can see the old U bolts and lower leaf spring plates which connect to the old arm style shock.

New leaf spring brackets & plates to fit the new 3" rearend. The original rearend is only 2.5" in diameter so new brackets were needed.

The rearend is now free. I'll mark the angle it is sitting at, and then remove it. Stay tuned!

New Welder!!!!!!

I finally purchased an entire welding setup. A new Hobart Handler 140 mig, cart, 40cf tank, and welding mask.

Just need to finish getting everything hooked up, and then give it a test run.

Grinding off the spring perch mounts on the Chevy 12 Bolt!

Been a while since I posted an update. Previously I have taken off the control arms and it has been determined that the front end is most likely a 1969 Camaro.

I've been working on cleaning up the Chevy 12bolt rearend I aquired about 3 years ago. The spring perches were about 2" off so they needed to be ground off.

Engine Removal / Tear Down has begun!

Last night my brother-in-law & I pulled out the engine and tranny, and started tearing down the engine to see what type of condition it was in.

First we removed the intake and headers to allow for easier access to the driver's side motor mount.

Removed 2 bolts from the engine, and 2 from the transmission, and it pulled right out.

Put the new engine stand together.

Removed the manual transmission, pressure plate, and clutch. Pressure plate and clutch need to be replaced. Mounted the engine to the engine stand using (4) 3/8" - 2.5" long grade 5 bolts.

Removed the valve cover. Looks good, not too dirty. Push rods and Rocker arms look good.

Removed Rocker Arms & Push Rods.

Removed head bolts.

Head has been removed. Now we can take a look at the pistons / cylinder walls. Not too bad. Hopefully will only need honing and new rings.

Drained the oil.

All bolts are labeled in seperate plastic baggies.

Removed the harmonic balancer using a puller.

Removed timing cover and flipped engine over.

Removed oil pan. A decent amount of sludge build up in the pan, most likely due to prevoius owners neglecting to change oil. We were able to inspect the crank shaft, rods, and cam. Cam looks like it is worn so that is going to be replaced with a performance cam.

At this point, the rods were not stamped with anything, so we had to end the night. We need to stamp them so we know exactly how they go back together.

Here is how the front end looks without the engine installed. Currently trying to figure out what the Studebaker was actually subframed with and what year. Camaro or Nova?