Speed Seeking Studebakers

If you’ve been following me for awhile than perhaps you know–I found my 1955 Studebaker Coupe largely by accident. Truth be told, I had something more similar to a Ford Falcon in my head when I went a-lookin’ for my classic car. Thankfully however, I ended up on a different road. My Dad is in fact the one with the credit for finding her, forwarding on the ad he’d found in the local paper. I had no idea at the time what a Loewy/Bourke designed Studebaker Coupe was. I have though always been familiar with Studebakers. Growing up, an airplane-nosed relic hung in my dad’s office, this being a token of his teenage-years car project.

When I first saw “Stude” it was clearly love at first sight. As she’s become part of me, of course I’ve done my fair share of Studebaker research. None of it clued me into the depth of the Studebaker Coupe’s history on the salt. Last year, during my first trip to Bonneville for Speed Week, I was completely blown away by how many Studebakers I found on the salt! I knew Studebaker coupes were long-loved in land speed racing for their aerodynamic bodies—but it seemed like everywhere I turned I saw another Studebaker!

As I’m finding out, Studebaker coupes have a longer history with land speed racing than I would have guessed.

the best picture ever

In a few hours I’ll be zooming off in Stude across the desert to Las Vegas…where I get to see my fabulous family! This past weekend as I was in Mojave, my brother and nephews just happened to be passing by so stopped into Gene Winfield’s shop to say “hi.”

It was such a treat to have them stop in – and the little guys hadn’t seen Stude’s sparkly headliner yet…between that and the engine they were pretty impressed. Evidently (according to my nephews) the speed of a car is entirely dependent on its paint job. So Stude has some catching up to do…Trey says bright yellow is the fastest. Don’t worry, as adorable as my nephew is, Stude won’t be painted yellow anytime soon!

Happy Trails,

Kristin

Back In The Fast Lane!

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Since Stude’s spent the past 3 months suntanning her metal in the Mojave sun outside Gene Winfield’s shop…I’ve grown fonder then ever. The great news is (drum-roll please,) she’s back on the road!!! Not only is she back, she’s running better than ever!

Learning How-To Gap Spark Plugs

I’ve known for awhile that I needed to change the spark plugs in my Studebaker. But I’d heard things. Things like you could break the plug inside your motor if you did it wrong and to be sure to tighten the plugs to the correct tension. So although I knew they should be changed, I was scared to do it on my own, and my spark plugs in there were working…right???

As I’m learning, I’m seeing that spark plugs (although they don’t cost much and are small little things) are a major, MAJOR component of your engine. Without ‘em, your engine wouldn’t run. Without ‘em working at their best, your engine won’t run at its best.

So as part of last weekend’s wrenching adventure up at Gene Winfield’s in Mojave, I changed my spark plugs…for the very first time! Gasp! The fellow at the local parts store recommended Autolite over ACDelco plugs which I had been running. Then, when he informed me the gap for my application was .052 I was surprised, and a little confused. Gap…what?!?

While perhaps some people just throw a set of spark plugs in their engine – if you want your engine to run at its best, you’ve got to adjust the spark plug gap prior to putting them in.

Learning How-To Set A Record At Bonneville

The countdown is on for Speed Week, the land-speed racing event of the year! This Speed Week makes sixty-two years that Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) and Bonneville Nationals Incorporated (BNI) have run this week-long speed spectacular. Since the whole point of the event is the “world’s fastest automotive speed trials” that means SCTA/BNI are responsible for verifying the record breaking speeds. Upon my first Speed Week experience last August, I pondered exactly HOW one breaks the speed record as I watched speedsters, lakesters, roadsters, coupes, pickups, and motorcycles speed from the starting line.

I headed down to the tech inspection area to find out. Every vehicle goes through tech inspection upon arrival to verify both legality and safety. If they’re lucky they’ll go through a second time to verify a broken speed record!

So how do you break a record at Bonneville?