The concept of Pro-Touring cars was born in the early 1990s when car guys wanted muscle cars that handled like Ferraris.
They were looking for great brakes, great handling and boatloads of power–so the Pro-Touring concept made sense.
Jerry Sutherland
Ray Ward wasn’t aiming for a Pro-Touring car, but his 1956 Studebaker evolved into one when he found the car in a junkyard. The Studebaker was in sad shape, but Ray saw enough in the car to map out a game plan, so he ended up “dragging it home”.
This was an old-fashioned build because Ray found pieces for the project in many different places. For example, the custom grille came from a 1953 Chevy because the front fender eyebrows were so bad, Ray decided to build a different look for the old Studebaker.
The custom headlight setting meshed well with the Chevy grille—so did the LED signal lights from trailer. The headlights are from a 2004 Jeep. There’s also a set of trailer LED lights at the back end to complete the upgrade to 21st century lighting.
Ray went with a small-block Chevy 427 under the hood setup with a 700R4 transmission to cover the power angle on his old Studey. The combination is perfect because Ray confessed, “the tires go up in smoke in second gear”.
There’s also a Ford 9-inch rear end at the back to handle the power. Ray admitted he “went through a few rear ends” before he upgraded to a better system.
Ray had a 1985 Oldsmobile that contributed heavily to the project. The steering wheel, brake booster and gas lid all came from the donor Olds, because Ray is an old school guy who shops at wrecking yards and donor cars—not retail outlets.
That’s why he used 2004 Envoy seats. He liked how the seatbelt system was contained within the structure of the seat rather than attached externally. That factor, plus the comfort factor made them a perfect addition to his 1956 Studebaker.
Ray added a Mustang II rack and pinion steering system to his car because he wanted it to handle better than…a ’56 Studebaker. To that end, he also added front and rear sway bars to make this car handle better than…a ’56 Studebaker.
The car runs at 65 miles per hour and 2500 rpm when Ray is on the road, so he’s happy with the numbers. He’s also happy with the road manners of the Studebaker because he reports it “runs flat in the corners” , so Ray is comfortable in any situation.
He didn’t set out to build a Pro-Touring car when he bought the forlorn old Studebaker, but that’s what Ray created with this Studebaker.
These Pro-Touring builds can end up costing hundreds of thousands, but Ray mapped out a better plan within a realistic budget. He ended up at the same point thanks to his own skills, a great vision and knowing what would work from donor cars.
Call this Studebaker a combination of old school strategy with a new school concept.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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