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64studeavanti

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Posts posted by 64studeavanti

  1. Did a little more research. The part number for R2 heads is the same for the low compression heads as used on trucks snd some exports. Unless someone can establish that the same part number can be different,  I suspect this is another Studebaker urban legend.  I had the same discussion a couple of years ago on the SDC forum regarding 570 heads for R1.

    Some of the more experienced Studes guys insist that the spark plug seats  are different between R1 and regular engines. Seems to be the case for R2 vs low compression truck and export heads. 

    So I ask the question. How can the same part number have different machining?

  2. Brad, have you actually measured the spark plug seats between the 2 heads? The reason I asked, is that I have several sets of 570, some of which are known to be R1, some 555 heads and some 294 heads. All have the same machining for the spark plugs.

  3. 11 hours ago, VtMike said:

    64studeavanti -  That sounds pretty darn good to me.  Did the modifications change the drivability/comfort when you are tooling around town?  Estimated cost of the upgrades?     

    The cost is about the same as a normal rebuild. NOS Isky cams are no longer available, however,  I believe that Isky will regrind existing cams. Others are selling R2+ regrind cams that are very similar. The additional machine work such are cylinder boring, decking, balancing etc are not very expensive. IIRC, I spent around $1000 or so. I used Silvolite flat top  hypereutetic pistons. I did not do any extensive porting on the heads just cc'd them. There is likely some performance gains with some good head work. There are some good performance builders that frequent the forums. Hopefully they will chime in soon.

     

    The drivability is good. A little doggy on the bottom end, but really comes alive over 3,000 rpm. Valve train is quite a bit noisier. I am sure that a well tuned R2 will perform stronger, but what I have is more than adequate and I have factory A/C!

    If the block is good enough, it can take an overbore that brings the displacement to around 308. 

    How fast you want to go correlates well with how much money you want to spend. 

    As has been said, the S/C is the most effective way to increase performance. But, as you noted, there is quite a cost difference between factory R2 vs R1. Adding the S/C and other associated performance parts is not cheap either.

    Factory R2 4spd will cost more and will hold/increase value as they are much more desirable.

     

    Of course, you could also swap in SBC or LS. Not cheap either and frowned on by the purists.

     

     

  4. I have R1 that is quite fun to drive. 289 + .060 giving 299 c.u. Isky ST5 cam, lifters and valve springs. Block zero decked with thick head gaskets to get good quench.  

     

    4spd with 3.54 tt. Don't know what power it is putting out, but when you tach 3,000 or so, it takes off like a rocket. 

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