For those of you who don't read the Racing Studebakers forum- Back in March or April I took my original '64 Daytona Wagonaire to a friend in SE Virginia so he could rebuild the engine. I was kind of reluctant because he is suffering from Parkinson's. However, he convinced me that it is therapy for him. He is afraid that his mechanical skills will atrophy if he doesn't keep busy. Before- it was a smooth running, non-smoking 259 with 130,000 miles and one previous valve grind. It did suffer from low oil pressure. My idea of a rebuild was to hone the cylinders, install service pistons (.001 oversize) and new rings and I was prepared to accept that it might need a minor re-bore. I had given him a 289 crank and 289 pistons to convert it to a 289. After- I found that it had been bored maybe .101 (never very clear), the heads were shaved .045, the pistons were Chevrolet .030 oversize 350 Corvette flat top pistons and head gaskets were thin steel. There are numerous horror stories, but it did sound good as I drove it on the trailer. I can't drive it yet due to a couple issues- (1) a power steering hose blew when he tried to drive it and (2) a fuel delivery issue which I'm pretty sure is an air leak somewhere in the line. It doesn't leak, but pulls air at the pump (tried two stock pumps (original and brand new) and have an electric pump hooked up pushing through the stock new pump. We have had a bunch of rain and it's still raining off and on so I haven't even taken it off the trailer to check it. I asked him what he thought the cid was now and he gave me the approximate 321 answer. I don't have the 350 bore number so I can't compute it myself as yet. Paul Johnson
- posted
17 years ago