Special thanks to Butch Hill for sharing his family history with us !
The
year was 1961, and Don Hill bought the 1953 Studebaker as a parts car for his street 53 Studebaker. After pilfering all the parts
Don needed off the Studebaker, one sunny summer day in 1963 Don and
family were having a picnic at their house in Ballwin .Missouri.
Don’s
brother Jack Hill was there and the two of them were playing horseshoes
and Jack made a bet with Don that if he throw the
next horseshoe as a ringer Don would have to sell the Studebaker parts
car for $25.00. Well Jack did just that and handed over the $25.00 to
his older brother Don.
You
see Don and Jack Hill were not just brothers,,, they were also a team
together as the Hill-Boys racing team out of the Midwest. After
the second world war, the two of them started racing an open wheel
stock car. The Hill-Boys were known coast to coast on dirt tracks and
later, asphalt track as a fierce competitor.
In 1963 they weren't racing open wheel
cars any more and Jack had the need to play around with the 1953
Studebaker that he just bought from Don.
Jack
decided to put a 392 Chrysler HEMI with two four barrels, 727 torque
flight transmission that was all put in to the stock Studebaker
chassis. Custom headers, Olds read-end, ladder bars and a 4-point roll
cage were added. The car was now ready to race and the year was 1964.
The power plant is a 392 Chrysler HEMI with a 6/71 Supercharger with Hilborn mechanical fuel injection running on alcohol.
In 1972 Jack gave the car to his son Mike Hill on his 16th
birthday. The car sat
around for a few years and in 1979 Don’s son Butch Hill and Mike became
partners/owners in the Studebaker. In 1990 Butch decided to sell out to
Mike to build a 1939 Ford Coupe so they could go racing together.
In
the late 80’s during a race in Wentzville , MO at MAR raceway, the
Studebaker was having some troubles creating real horsepower. Don
Garlits was at this race and he took a liking to the car and with in
one hour after sitting down with Big Daddy he spelled out all the tricks
to make the HEMI perform like it should.
Today
Butch Hill is still racing the car in the NDRL racing league. And the
car is considered the world’s quickest all steel Studebaker.
The
car weighs in at 3,200 pounds and is still running a 392 Hemi.
Although it does not run a steel block anymore, the aluminum Donovan
motor from the 60’s puts out 1,100 hp and 1,092 foot pounds of torque.
Sitting on top of that Donovan is a 671 blower with a 4 port Hilborn
injection running on alcohol. The car is still running a 727 torque
flight, ford 9” rear end with 4.10 gears and believe
it or not, it is still running the same latter bars that were built in
1963.
No electronics other than a trans brake button.
Even thought this car looks like it is a fiberglass car going 250 mph sitting still. This car is truly old school in it’s body
and power plant.
The body is original Studebaker steel even down to the door hinges and steel chrome bumpers.
Many thanks for sharing you car and family history with us !
Photos and story courtesy of Butch Hill and Hill-Boys Racing
(2020)
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