wdaly

I was going to 'guess' Wixco - this is why I don't gamble!

Ahhh, NO.

The NZ member (I know of) did a body-off frame restoration with a '87 or '88 using the original body & frame to reassemble.

Thanks for the memories Indy J.

Re: Various parts and manufactures - my (former) '88 coupe (bought new) used Ford front door armrests.

Ya know, maybe the missing two are because it sure looks like they were attached with VELCRO! Just say'n.

The one they supply have a hole drilled on each corner to mount the trim ring. They might work! BTW - did you ever get the driver's door to open?

Re. the picture of the engine compartment - OMG!!! Keep at it, I have faith that you WILL get that door open.

I think it's called a 'package shelf'. I don't know about the convertible but the coupe is what I'm talking about. This shelf would normally be detached from the inside of the trunk. You may very well have to do some damage (can be fixed/covered-up). The speakers are also attached from inside the trunk. If you could manage to disassemble the speaker from inside the car you would get close to the spring mechanism. You could cut a large hole saw towards the end of the rear window in the center if the drill would actually clear the window ( if you cut closer to the back of the back seat bac

Studegary mentioned, "Going in the trunk from the inside". This reminded me, I totally forgot about the giant piece (what's it called?) that fills in the space between the back of the seat and the rear of the rear window and normally has 2 speakers built-in. There may be a way to get IN this way. It would certainly be less destructive than my previous two thoughts.

God Bless You my friend. I'm not as smart as Studegary, Avanti83, Silverstude and others and I no longer have my '88 coupe to use for research - but I do have my memories. Memories aside, Avanti kept changing the 'rules' and that doesn't help. So here's what I'm thinking.......... You've got the old Studebaker (what I call), "scissors springs", and the springs are sprung! This is assuming you do not have the hydraulic lifters. How to open and get in? Remove the rear seat back and remove the gas tank and cut thru the wall OR cut thru the bottom of the spare tire space (under the car) to

I'm wondering if you should simply cut-off the Tec-M wires first to see what happens (maybe the unit is bad). Removing those wire 'taps' could possibly make the original wiring problematic.

Ahhhhhh, did I already say Y I K E S !!!!!!!! Interesting you mentioned trunk gas shocks - my August 1988 built coupe had the original scissors-type springs. Guess there were constant running changes made even during the model year (or they ran out of Studebaker trunk springs). I think I had one of the last cars with a carb.

YIKES! Congratulations!!!

Or, maybe it does. My suggestions come from 29 yrs personal experience with an '88 coupe (including removing the entire dash to replace a heater core, replacing a rusted A-pillar and putting in a new windshield). My first experience (of many) with a non-functioning hood was in Winter or colder periods. The hood would not open at first - maybe the spring had problems, BUT the cable never failed!

At the risk of sounding, well, weird - as a last ditch effort (starting now) try this for the '88 hood. Pull on the hood release while at the Same Time someone else attempts to pull-up on one of the corners of the hood (start with drivers side). You may want to consider a plastic pry tool like for interior trim removal (may want to tape the tool so as not to scratch anything). Couldn't hurt!

I'm not certain about the '89, but the '88 has a small opening (cut-out) on the interior door panel at the back end of the door (check your '88 to see what I mean). If your '89 is the same refer to my earlier post and you just might get the door to open - I did. As I recall it has something to do with a worn/bad spring on the latch (?).

This is bugging me (besides, I'm retired and bored). I just messaged Plwindish as he has (had?) an 'actual' '89 so maybe he can help!

If there is an emergency release cable it is probably similar to the cable used (at least on '87-88) rear trunk release - a wire that is no larger than a picture frame hanging wire. Looking at the picture I would guess this cable can be reached from behind the dash (w/o removing the dash).

Nice investigative detective work Avanti83!

My $0.02: Using my former '88 coupe as reference - Hood - Try removing Drivers side inner fender liner to see if you can get close to the release mechanism. Door - Get inside the car and go to the rear seat / you should see a small cut-out where the latch-lock is located on the door. Take a small screwdriver and try and push the lock lever up (or in). I can't remember everything, but I think you need to pull the inside door release handle while doing this. Your problem is probably with the locking. I just thought of this......... Regarding the Hood. Before doing anything e

Hmmmm. You're not talking about the FRP manufacturer. Only FRP (generic) things I can think of is the different requirements necessary for the GM frame, maybe design reductions in number of parts needed, or ????