Undoing a Studbuster Modification
Quote:
Originally Posted by
65riv
I found a 2a in my area that seems to be pretty clean and straight, but at some point the engine was swapped for a Studebaker 170 flathead 6. From the little I can find online the engine bolts right up to the jeep transmission, and a small section must be cut out of the firewall, but otherwise I don't know what other mods I would have to undo to put a Go Devil back in. I assume radiator and motor mounts?
Welcome to the Forum. Don't worry about where the post ended up - we found it and you're OK.
Interesting, a Studebaker FH-6 in a CJ 2A. The fact that it bolted up to the CJ 2A transmission is neat - it probably points back to the fact that a lot of engines of that era trace their ancestry back to a Continental engine design in the 1930-period. All cousins kind of look alike and maybe the transmission interface was a family trait.
I'd agree you will have to relocate motor mounts as well as do something up front around the radiator. I'd take a long look at steering stuff as well; something might have been bent or torched to get clearance for something. Make sure there isn't some frame cut out somewhere.
The current owner might be jazzed about the Studebaker engine, but your counter point is that the Studbuster is a light passenger car engine meant to cruise at fairly lightly loaded highway conditions; the Go-Devil was meant to be whipped hard, often at high RPM, under heavy load conditions. It's not a great swap.
As for what a "good" used engine should cost - there is no good way to guess. As a rough guide, a full rebuild on a Go-Devil will run about $3K from a rebuilder, less depending on what you can do yourself. Check eWillys or some other forums.
Good luck, strike a good deal and post us some pictures if it ends up in your driveway.