ON THE STREET KILLERRides Rides TREV HALSTEAD 1951 STUDEBAKER

Studebakers. You either love them or hate them. There’s simply no middle ground.

Across the pond in New Zealand, as soon as you mention Studebaker to anyone in the know, they’ll tell you all about a guy who is known as Mr Studebaker – Trev Halstead. Trev’s had, and still has, lots of cool custom Studes over the years and this full-tilt custom coupe is the very latest in a long line up of cars he has built. By luck, our man Chad Silvey was in New Zealand for the annual Beach Hop, and came across Trev and his just finished 51 Bullet nose Starlight Coupe. Being the courteous sort of guy he is, he was happy to help Chad with his request for a few pics of the Stude – knowing full well how much of a fan of the marque I also am.

Originally, the HK left the factory covered in Silver Mink with red trim – one of the most desirable colour combinations for this model. The first thing Pete did was to remove the panels (including the complete front end) and then sandblast the underside to clean it up and make sure there wasn’t any nasty surprises waiting for him. When the dust had settled, the bare floor proved to be in great shape and it was at this stage that Pete added a 3.55-geared Detroit Locker diff as well as HQ drum brakes and all new lines and bushes. And with a big horsepower engine upgrade planned, Pete dropped the HK off to Brett at Wicked Industries to add some chassis connectors and minitubs – just the thing to through those 15x8-inch Auto Drag Centerlines under complete with the 28x10.5inch Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pros. Completing the underside makeover are HQ disc brakes, 90/10 shocks and lowered Lovells springs on the front end with 15x5.5-inch rims and 640-15 Excelsior tyres. The rear end now sits lower too, thanks to reset leaf springs and Koni adjustable shocks.

Trev set out to build a custom coupe using as much Studebaker in the build as possible. Starting with a desirable ’51 Starlight coupe body with that wild wraparound rear window, Trev worked out a game plan to make the stylish body even wilder. The biggest body mod is the roof chop, with 4.5-inches taken out of the front and 3.5-inches at the back. The roof gutters are now just a distant memory, offering a much smoother look. The floor was removed, channelled 3-inches and welded back into place, at which time the sill panels were boxed for added strength. Normally, the rear fenders are removable, but not anymore. They are now as one with the body with the fuel filler relocated to the inside of the modified bootlid. The nose panel has been replaced with a ’50 model clip, but still incorporating a ’51 model bullet. Anyone who has seen a stock ‘50/’51 Stude front end will tell you the front bumper has to go, just as Trev has here. Yep, I did the same with both of mine and they look so much better. The front guards have been given the same treatment as the rears and are now part of the body shell. The door handles have been shaved and the doors corners radiused. There’re so many more subtle mods done to the body, that listing them all will take more space than we have! The colour covering all of that custom work is a custom mix the guys have dubbed Starlight Teal.

Opening either door reveals a full custom retrim that features a ’47 Champion dash that flows into a one-off centre console that is full of extra gauges and one of the most unique shifters I have seen – bent to resemble the Studebaker’s familiar ‘S’ branding. There’s lots of handmade stainless stuff added to the remake of the interior including dash trim, mouldings, speaker mesh and surrounds and any number of buttons. The front seats started life in a vintage Honda, but look so much cooler in this Stude! The rear bench is the factory unit that has been split in two to accommodate the centre console. Greg Mather at Midnight Upholstery got the nod to do a number on the Stude’s insides and didn’t disappoint.

The engine is a Studebaker small block that started with just 259-cubes, but now, thanks to a 289-cube stroker crank and rods, now has a capacity of almost 300ci. The block also houses an R1 grind cam, alloy timing gear and solid lifters. The heads received stainless valves and heavy-duty springs, with the gap between the heads filled with an Edmunds 2x2 custom intake manifold supporting dual Stromberg WW carbs. The engine sports the same Starlight Teal with accessories HPC coated for a great contrast. A Borg Warner T86 3-speed manual still backs the engine and sends the power back to a narrowed, Stude-spec Dana 44 rear end. The driveline sits in the original chassis that has been completely redone and strengthened. There’s a full airbag suspension set-up and Toyota Yaris electric steering adapted to the ’65 Stude steering box. The braking system consists of HQ calipers on Falcon disc on the front with drum brakes handling the rear. The wheels are 15x6 Hawk with custom hubcaps loosely based in Moon discs.

Upon its debut at the Beach Hop event, the Stude was an instant hit and lit up the hot rod and custom social media pages around the globe. Trev plans of getting plenty of use out of his latest build, including getting to as many runs and shows as he can. Cruising in a low slung, custom Bullet Nose Studebaker. Does it get any better? New Zealand’s Mr Studebaker doesn’t think so…