Ed,

What a great project! The good news is the old 259 Studebaker V-8 is one heavy dude at 600+ lbs, so the suspension and frame should be able to support the Hemi, Studebaker also put the big Packard V-8 in the Golden Hawks in 56. Study the links that Weeg and Clyde gave you as they both offer ways to do it using Studebaker's original suspension design. That really makes things easier.

I spoke with a fellow at a Show&Shine last week that has two '53s with hemis in them. I am not sure if they are early or late models. I have not seen the cars yet so I don't know what they look like. He said he may bring one to an event this week-end, if he does I will take some photos and either post them or send them to you.

One of your biggest challenges will be cooling, you need to figure out ways to vent hot air out of the engine compartment. That's why you see a lot of these cars with louvered hoods. My '53 has vent holes cut in the inner fender aprons. I think Weeg is designing his inner fenders with vents that will pull air out and flow through his trans and oil coolers with fan assists.

How about posting some pictures as you work through the project?

Pat