New Studebaker Driver

[Erik Fellenz]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post on the forum and I wanted to introduce myself. My name's Erik, I'm 20 years old, have been reading Turning Wheels magazine for years now and have recently become a Studebaker driver.

Right now I'm driving a 1954 3R14 truck that is "on loan" from my Grandfather for the Summer. The truck has less than 10k original miles and is in condition to match. There are a few small issues that I would like to take care of before I return the truck at the end of Summer to ensure that it goes back better than I received it, once I have more pictures taken I'll be posting some new threads detailing what I want to do and will definitely have some questions on the proper repair methods and the best parts suppliers.

-Glad to be here!

Erik

[Bud]

Welcome to the forum, there are many knowledgeable people here that can help you with most questions you may have. Bud

[62champ]

Welcome Erik - it is always a delight to see younger people chiming in about Studebakers, especially when they are driving them!

Another place you can grab some help with your Grandfather's truck is the Studebaker Truck Talk.

Great bunch of people in both places and I am waiting patiently for some photos.

Good luck.

[StudeRich]

/Cut/There are a few small issues that I would like to take care of before I return the truck at the end of Summer to ensure that it goes back better than I received it,/Cut/
-Glad to be here!Erik

Welcome to the SDC Form Eric we are very glad to have you.

I think this is very admirable of you to care enough to return the Truck in better condition than you received it!
There are way too many people in today's world, that have no consideration for other people or their possessions.
Good for you. You are one of a few, take a bow!

Be very careful driving this truck to not overrevv the engine. These trucks were designed to pull and haul just about anything, for Farm use and for a lot slower time on Highways and backroads before Interstate freeways.
This means probably no more than 45 to 50 MPH with the low gearing in the rear axle and most likely no Overdrive.

Please excuse my concerns, if you you are already well aware of this problem with older Trucks.

[Pat Dilling]

Welcome, and congratulations on having such a great truck to drive. Be careful out there.

[studebaker-R2-4-me]

Too Cool, great Grandpa!

[JimK]

Welcome. Pretty much any question you have will be answered here faster than you can imagine - there is a lot of expertise here. For a vehicle in that condition, I'm surprised that there haven't been lots of requests for pictures. Hope your grandfather would approve.

[Erik Fellenz]

Thanks everyone for the welcome!

I'll do my best to get some pictures taken and posted to the forum.

Here's a little back-story on the truck and how I've come to be driving it for the Summer. My Grandfather bought this truck on Ebay about eight years ago, it was actually his first Ebay purchase ever. It was about 100 miles away and wasn't roadworthy due to dry-rotted tires and non functional lights.

So we (Grandfather, Father, and I) rented a U-Haul truck and a car hauler trailer and set out to pickup the truck. We loaded the truck, drove home and spent the afternoon crawling all over the truck and driving through the yard.

The truck had roughly 8,500 original miles at that point. Over the next eight years it acquired roughly another 1,000 miles driving in Parades and cruising around town.

Now I've always been the Grandchild with the most mechanical aptitude and ambition so I worked with my Grandfather on many of the small projects over the years, rebuilding the wiring harness, wiring new lights, adding sirens (it's an ex firetruck), and other little odds and ends.

My Grandfather is now at the point where he doesn't want to drive anymore and as he says (he's gotten his moneys worth out of the truck) so it's on loan to me for the Summer to drive, play with, and take care of.

I'll have some pictures soon and will start outlining the work I'd like to take on, in short I need to replace the exhaust system, need to cut and weld some patch panels into the service body, and would also like to explore the possibility of converting to 12v for convenience (this is a daily driver).

There are also some other modern conveniences I want to look into, but above all I want to maintain the original appearance and "feel" of the truck. I don't want to build a "rod" of any type, just a few updates.

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

Erik

[Corvanti]

looking forward to pics!!!

regarding converting to 12V, if everything electrical is working well, i'd leave it alone and seek alternatives to "convenience" items... i'm guessing radio, phone chargers, etc...

i saw a car a couple years ago that had what looked like a little lawn tractor battery hidden in the trunk to power his "hidden audio" system. said he used a trickle charger to keep the battery up when not in use...

[Erik Fellenz]

looking forward to pics!!!

regarding converting to 12V, if everything electrical is working well, i'd leave it alone and seek alternatives to "convenience" items... i'm guessing radio, phone chargers, etc...

i saw a car a couple years ago that had what looked like a little lawn tractor battery hidden in the trunk to power his "hidden audio" system. said he used a trickle charger to keep the battery up when not in use...

Hi,

Modern conveniences would be as you said a radio, accessory plug (for GPS when we take the truck camping) but would also be for lighting as I plan to tow my boat with the truck and want to wire in a trailer harness.

I've been going back and forth on the different ways to make it all work. Right now the two schools of thought are to either do a complete 12v conversion or wire the trailer with 6v bulbs, two wiring harnesses, and use resistors on the 12v input to prevent burning out the lamps, and then using a DC-DC boost converter to provide 12v for a radio and accessory outlet. Both look like they would work, the second idea would keep the truck closer to stock which is appealing, I just need to check with my electronics savvy friends to see if a boost converter could be built that would provide the current I need and not cause problems with the rest of the system.

Pictures will be coming soon, right now I'm trying to finish fabricating the receiver hitch that will bolt into the service body, I'll take pictures when it's done and I have a chance to wash and wax the truck.

Erik

[BobGlasscock]

Oh, no! Wash and wax the truck??????? No, no, no. We like 'em dirty, like they're working. Sounds like you have some wonderful plans for that truck, and you'll make your grandfather proud.

Did some one say 'pics'?

[Erik Fellenz]

Oh, no! Wash and wax the truck??????? No, no, no. We like 'em dirty, like they're working. Sounds like you have some wonderful plans for that truck, and you'll make your grandfather proud.

Alright,

Here's a tease, it's hard to see in the picture but the whole truck is covered in rain splotched dust. Sorry the picture's so grainy, I was doing some night shooting with my camera and forgot to reset ISO.



Please let me know if the picture is too big (or too small!)

Erik

[StudeRich]

Great Pic Eric, it is just right!

I don't know if you know it, but '54's are very close to the top of the list of the RAREST Studebaker Trucks still in existance.
If I had to guess, I'd say they are right behind the "K" Series era, Medium Duty, like 1937 Models.

[Warren Webb]

Wow! Looks like you have a great truck & a good start there. Let me add my welcome to you and also a big pat on the back to your grandfather for sharing his jewel with you. Plus its a prior fire department unit to boot! No wonder the mileage is so low. Is it a 6 or V-8? If its a 6 then it has to be the big six. I wouldnt think they built a heavy duty truck like that with anything else. What transmission does it have? Inquiring minds want to know. Nice going there!