Model56s

I spoke with the owner while I was stopped to look at the tank. He was lending it to someone for a music video and a policeman was there who stopped the video for reasons unknown to me. The owner saw this Stuart for sale online in Europe and had it shipped. He keeps it in his unattached garage behind the house.

Impressive smoothness, and the engine doesn’t have a drinking problem!😂 About all I knew of the LaSalle was the first example for the ‘27 model year was styled by Harley E. My ‘56 Chevy truck is equipped with the 4-speed HydraMatic, the companion to the Cadillac V8 in those tanks. By the way, I saw this parked on a street in Webster Groves, Missouri last Fall. It probably has the V8 & HydraMatic drive train…

Nice job. What engine did your LaSalle come with? I know very little about LaSalles.

Since getting my ‘56 Chevy panel truck on the road, the intake/exhaust setup on the 235 six has had issues, mostly vacuum leaks. The original intake and exhaust manifolds were included in the sale of the engine/transmission assembly, but I decided to use the already mounted Edelbrock dual carb manifold with tubular headers. The Edelbrock intake does not fit well with headers and its ports are smaller than the head’s, so the port alignment sleeves can’t be used, making alignment very difficult. Time to go. So, yesterday I started the conversion to the factory single carb/exhaust manifolds, which requires throttle linkage and exhaust system modifications. I want to use one of the exhaust header pipes, which requires cutting and welding. I’m still figuring out the carb linkage since there is almost no space between the exhaust manifold and the block, the route taken previously. Also, the cast iron intake and exhaust manifolds must be installed as an assembly, bolted (loosely) together. It’s a challenge to hold this reaching over the high fender. I hope to finish this tomorrow afternoon - I knew this would be difficult and wasn’t disappointed! The first picture was taken before completion and first drive and is used here for clarity, the second is the culprit and the third picture is of the intake at trial fit.

Keep the Starlight Coupe. That car was so ahead of its time that Stude had no idea how to improve on it. There must be a Fiat 850 Spider enthusiast club somewhere. Take it to car shows with a For Sale sign on it and a 5’1” woman will fall in love with it just like pixies did with the 1st gen Miata. I remember when the 850 was new, no real demand in the US. Did I mention keeping the Starlight coupe?

I’ve always thought this engine was cool. A high school classmate got a new 69 firebird with one. That 17 year-old loved it!

The throttle linkage on my 49 Buick is over complicated like your example.

I’ve read that the sending unit resistance should read 30 or 60 ohms depending on manufacturer when the float is up (tank is full). I’m troubleshooting my own 1949 fuel gauge.

The "last mile" is the toughest, but you're getting close!

Good advice. I had a cooling issue with my Chevrolet panel truck 235 six (clean water jacket, new radiator, fan shroud, verified that the water pump was working &c.). I solved the problem by running without a thermostat and 1/2 of the radiator covered, it runs at 165 degrees and no more than 180 during an extended idle. In hot weather I’ll remove the radiator cover. But I recommend following Gonzo’s advice first. BTW Gonzo, anything new on the Pontiac? Love the car!

I had a similar problem on my panel truck when installing the front fenders. It took a lot of trial fitting to take a little from the fender, radiator support and body to frame shims until everything lined up - a lot of back and forth. I kept remembering that everything fit perfectly before disassembly. Beautiful car! Driving it will be such a pleasure on winding 2 lane country roads.

Looking forward to it! The progress is satisfying to watch.

This looks great! I’m looking forward to a video of the first drive. This was my high school car. I always loved the profile lines, especially the way the door slopes down to the quarter panel and the way the designer merged the quarters to the cockpit. There are several designs that couldn’t be improved - the MGA roadster, 1953 Studebaker Commander coupe, Gen 1 Toronado and El Dorado, Series 1 XKE and a few others.

Lots of character Mike - beautiful car! What other cars do you own? Since you are a Chevrolet guy, here’s mine that I restored from 2021-2023.

Interesting to this lover of pre-1974 American mass produced cars, and I agree regarding interior trim. Good information, thanks.