We were told that our '50 Champion had a '53 engine - something about the '53 engine being 1" longer and obstructing the installation of a standard fuel pump.
I finally checked the engine number, 536180 (with a #2 below it), and it looks like the engine indeed belongs in a 9G '50 Champ.
No, sorry, what you have found is the cylinder head number for a head that was orginally installed on '55-'57 Champions. At the very top, front, left (driver's) side of the engine block is a smooth machined pad about 1/2" tall by 2" long. Find that area and clean it off with a putty knife, wire brush, sandpaper, whatever and tell us what you find there. There should be no real difference between a '50 and a '53 engine, but a lot of differences from '55-on.
On Jun 22, 5:57 pm, "Dwain G." <jdw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> No, sorry, what you have found is the cylinder head number for a head > that was orginally installed on '55-'57 Champions. > At the very top, front, left (driver's) side of the engine block is a > smooth machined pad about 1/2" tall by 2" long. Find that area and > clean it off with a putty knife, wire brush, sandpaper, whatever and > tell us what you find there. > There should be no real difference between a '50 and a '53 engine, but > a lot of differences from '55-on.
Thanks, Dwain. The number is 626,211. A '50 9G engine, right?
Yes sir, a 1950 engine, the original engine probably. Now that we know that, I'm not so sure whoever installed the later head did the right thing. That 536180 head was designed to deliver 7.5 to 1 compression ratio on a 185 engine. When installed on a 170 engine it probably delivers at least a half point less, maybe as low as 6.5 to 1. That's not a great big deal, so if you are okay with the way the car runs now, I wouldn't change anything. If you do want a little bit more power and mileage you could try to find the 1950-54 head #529279 or the 1960 head #1549218.
On Jun 24, 9:07 am, "Dwain G." <jdw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes sir, a 1950 engine, the original engine probably. Now that we know > that, I'm not so sure whoever installed the later head did the right > thing. That 536180 head was designed to deliver 7.5 to 1 compression > ratio on a 185 engine. When installed on a 170 engine it probably > delivers at least a half point less, maybe as low as 6.5 to 1. > That's not a great big deal, so if you are okay with the way the car > runs now, I wouldn't change anything. If you do want a little bit more > power and mileage you could try to find the 1950-54 head #529279 or > the 1960 head #1549218.
Thanks, Dwain. An amazingly precise answer to my question. I appreciate your time and thoughtful response. The process of researching our Champ has started a fire in me to evangelize the Studebaker brand - a great history and a great automobile.
