Raise the longroof!

It is all about the little victories in life. I didn't get around to doing the engine work that I had hoped to accomplish this time out. Gonna have a buddy come over who is more mechanically inclined that I to help with the aspect of the car. He is the one who helped me tow the car home. Anyways back to my little victory....

The Thorn in My Side... 

By golly I did it. But now you can see the dent in the roof.

Once I had the complete luggage rack taken off, I had a chance to survey the damage to the roof. There was some rust that had began to form where the rack bolted to the roof of the car. That and there was 50+ years of dirt that had accumulated under each bar.  I climbed in the car to see if I could push the roof back up... so I gently hit it with my fist.... and POP! back to form it was!

Now that it was back to its original shape, I decided it was time to clean off the dirt and grime that had accumulated. I also need to take a better look at the rust that had bubbled to the surface. Fortunately it wasn't too bad. I sanded it down a bit and plan to throw some primer on it next time I go out there.

The roof went from being dented and fairly dirty to this:

Not bad for an old longroof! Next I am going to make new pads for the feet of the luggage rack and shine it up as best I can. Some pitting will most likely still show through, but that is just a part of the character of the car!

So my little victory is that the ski rack is finally off the car and will be on Craigslist sooner than later. It can be yours! It would be a great addition to someone's '84 240 Volvo! It is vintage, which instantly means cool! Raise your standing among the hippies of Fremont by purchasing this golden gem.

My mind is aglow....

"My Mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought 

careening through a cosmic vapor of invention." 

- Hedley Lamarr (Blazing Saddles 1974)

Leave it to Mel Brooks to get straight to the point of the matter. I am full of nothing but idea after idea and no time to get to work on it. It really is difficult to work on a car when it is not being housed at the same location as I. I know I have stated that before, but it holds true. I have no idea what will be the final outcome of the wagon, just mere ideas floating around this size 7-3/4 dome of mine (yes I have a big head).

One thing I know for sure is that there will be a mix of styling cues from both old and new school. My ideas as of now include pictures that were photoshopped for me by members of The H.A.M.B. :

Old School Gasser.... just for kicks

This one is supposed to illustrate Candy Red with a Silver Metal Flake Roof

One thing that I want to do no matter what, is to have this car sitting on Wide White Walls. After looking at pictures over and over again, I personally think that the last picture is where I want this Wagon to go. I have the full set of Original Studebaker Hubcaps but I am not sure that they will find their way on to the car. They make great garage art in my humble opinion. The last picture shows an Orange Metal Flake roof to match that of the wheels as mentioned in my previous entry: Paint And A Buffer .

Just imagine this Metal Flake Orange 

Something like this!

I think I may just be getting somewhere with all of this mindless drivel. The exterior is pretty much taken care of in my mind. I think it will look fairly kick-ass. But I must continue on...

The interior for the time being will be kept original. I may stuff some new foam under the drivers seat as it has little to no support now. Here is how the original dash looked when it was still in storage:

All I have done since then is clean it up. There are tears in the leather dash-pad but that is too be expected after 35 years of not being treated. I plan to keep this all 100% original looking. I do however plan to run a newer stereo in this car and see two viable options and one that is a tad unorthodox:

1. Mount it in the glove box which can be seen in the center of the dash under the radio delete plate, or
2. Figure out a way to make the radio delete plate flip down and mount the stereo behind it. This way, the glove box would still be functional. 
3. Purchase an old 8track player and rip out the guts to mount a modern stereo inside.

Eventually I would most likely want to match the interior to the exterior but that is a ways down the road. Why not rock the original factory leather? I may find a Mexican blanket and through it down for good measure on the front seat.

As stated previously, the Studebaker 259 V8 will stay in the car and be backed by an automatic transmission of some sort. Still on the fence regarding which one though. TH350? 700R4? C6? Who knows these things!