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That looks really nice. I could tell the roof is chopped, but did not realize the cab was stretched. I haven't researched it yet, but how do you pull the metal divider on the windshield without bending or ruining it? All of my glass is cracked and falling apart due to the heat of the fire. The truck was parked outside next to the building, and the fire did a lot of damage. The entire driver's side got charred. But now I am facing a bit of a challenge getting the glass removed intact. My intention is to have a glass shop duplicate the shapes off of what I have. At a minimum, I need one side of the windshield, one of each door glass and wing, and the rear window. The driver's side door glass is already falling apart. Yeah, so now that my personal property claim has been submitted, I am freed up to start making some serious headway on this project. The only thing limiting the project at this point is myself!
I didn't get any glass with the cab except for a couple of stock doors I collected along the way with stock side glass & vent windows. I cut down the windshield garnish moldings to match the top. I don't have a windshield center post but I think I'll go with v-butt on the windshield. I have a set of stretched window regulators for the doors so when I get to it I'll make some wood patterns for the side & vent window glass. I'll need to get some universal window tracks & fuzzies for the side doors & modify a set of the stock vent window rubber to fit. I was considering eliminating the vent windows, but I saw a good video on modifying the vent windows for the chopped top so I want to try that first.
Sorry I didn't comment on your question. If you're referring to the windshield center post, I think you can remove so screws on the center post inside the cab holding retaining trim that holds the center post in. It may take a razor blade or such to use along the edge to get the center post out off the glass. Studebaker International sells the windshield center post as an assembly if you need it. Please forgive me if you weren't referring to that at all.
Everything on the inside of my cab is painted black, so I never noticed the phillip screws holding the center post trim in on the inside. D'oh! The gasket kit isn't cheap, but includes a lot of stuff other than just the windows. After shipping it was like $660. When you can only get what you can, and it is made to fit your exact requirement, you end up paying what they want, I guess.. I was hoping to have this thing drivable for no more than $40k, but it seems I will blow past that without any trouble at all.
As I try to clean out the cab to see how much metal replacement I need to do, I realize some areas would be a big challenge to recreate with the limited sheet metal tools I have. A case in point is the driver's side step up (footwell). As you can see, it is rotted out pretty good. Then I found Classic Enterprises. They are still making replacement panels for many Studebaker models. Granted, they are not cheap, but they are a huge time saver! So I ordered two half floors, and the driver's step up. The cost was $444 delivered. They arrived today, and I have to say I am impressed!
This being my first body swap project, I have aa tendency to plan for the worst. A few times now I have been pleasantly surprised. Today I put the engine and trans back on the chassis, and lowered the cab down to check for interference. This 6L80E trans is one big sucker. So I was planning on needing to do major surgery on the trans tunnel. Was I surprised when I saw how much room I ended up with! I have a slight interference on the passenger side, well down the tunnel. The firewall clearance is huge! Yes, the engine is on the motor mounts properly, and the trans is where it should be on the cross member. So maybe a bit of pounding with a hand sledge and it will be good to go!
I don't have a Stude frame to reference. I can't move the drivetrain farther back or the cross member won't fit. The cab is just sitting there, so in reality I could get it to come forward maybe an inch. I'm just happy that I don't need to do all that sheet metal work!
