mfg

Fitting a smaller battery inside a gutted 3EE?…. My guess is there would not be enough room…. but the idea does sound interesting!

‘Gutting’ the 3EE is easy enough but messy, and you should have a disposal plan in place for the lead battery plates and, of course, the battery acid…. With a sharp razor knife I cut through the battery case about 1” down from the top (on my Eastern battery there was a line on the case I followed… Then I lifted the top off and slid out the plates and acid (wear gloves and safety glasses!)… I also kept the battery posts in place as part of the top…… Messy, but I feel well worth the effort….When I show my Avanti the engine compartment looks quite ‘correct’… including the 3EE battery with its dummy cables, which now only ways perhaps a pound or two!!!

Nothing yet? HINT…. Do all the oil changes you want, but you’re R4 or Skybolt Sox won’t get very far without this part!!!

I have a 1957 HRM with an article about enlarging the Packard V8…. Starting with a ‘56 Golden Hawk equipped with the Packard 352, a California mechanic bored & stroked it to 414 CI… Took it to Bonneville and ran 141 MPH with a “ malfunctioning distributor” !!

Paxton Products equipped at least one of their rare R4 engines with an R3 (supercharger) fuel pump…..True?

Any other thoughts on this one?

Yes… Carroll Shelby certainly had that little car zeroed in! There was a new 427 Cobra which sat on the showroom floor at Tasca Ford in Providence, R.I. for several months. (back in the day)….. Like Studebaker Avantis, some new Cobras were a tough sell….. If I remember correctly, the dealership was asking around $6500 for that car.

Seems the Granatellis may not have been very EPA friendly!!!

Silver solder job.. Wow!.. Talk about ‘hand built’ !!! And yes… there’s a very important component that still hasn’t been mentioned!

Good, interesting info!!

So, if the short front engine mounts can’t be used if the hi-po crank pulley is used, THAT in itself would be another reason requiring body shimming.

Either one……R4 was mentioned in question…. but R3 and R4 engines would share the same larger diameter oil breather caps, as used on the six (chromed of course)……True?

Yes!… I had the R3/R4 and Skybolt Six oil breather cap as they are all of a larger diameter than regular V8….. Not sure on interchange of rocker arms or the oil pump gears… but I’ll take your word for it!

Kind of surprise R4892 isn’t on George Krem’s ‘first’ list!

Good question…..Width wise no problem…. Length wise I’m not so sure!

Huh????????

Quite a list of ‘firsts’ here… Thank you!… Good trivia material!!

During a HRM Engine Masters Challenge a few years ago, a 374 CI Packard V8, normally aspirated, achieved 449 horsepower and 444 lbs. ft. of torque …. And to think Studebaker had this big block engine, for a time, at their disposal!!

These days a Studebaker Avanti’s original straight thru exhaust system would probably be considered quiet compared to the racket some of the current hi-po cars (and motorcycles) make!!

Well done!

That’s all I have to say on this matter.

Because you sometimes behave like a child Bob… and after this do not defame others without producing the evidence ‘up front’!

Dwight… still wondering what else made it necessary for Studebaker to shim up the bodies of their R3 Avantis besides engine to hood clearance?

Sherwood Egbert definitely had a lot on his mind at the time….. His health, Trying to ‘right’ a sinking ship, Union problems, Etc.

Good question!… I’d guess they are… and I’d say they could be considered part of the “engine oiling system” Not really what I’m looking for though! HINT…. Let’s add some oil!!!!