1949 2R5 First Drive Since 1988

[Robert Crandall]

I started early summer 2012 reviving this truck. It took its first drive since 1988 today. It still needs work before it is more than just an around the block driver. My son and my daughter were both happy to be in on the driving.



When we finished with this driving I drained the transmission and the differential. I do not know what is coming out, but maybe it has been there since 1949.

[Mark L]

Congratulations.

Mark L

[TWChamp]

Nice looking truck, and good to see it back on the road.

[RadioRoy]

Very pretty little truck. Congratulations.

[52-fan]

Nice to see another one back on the road. BTW That's quite a rear bumper you have.

[Sam Ensley]

Great-looking truck. I also have a 1949 truck and really enjoy it. From the pictures it appears that the only rust is on the hood of the truck. Am I right? If so, reckon how just the front of the hood rusted like that? Congratulations.

[Robert Crandall]

Thanks for the complements. The bumper was welded onto the frame before I bought the truck. Good thing it looks nice because I will not cut it off.

There is a recent article in TW about factory painting techniques. A sprayer would have had no reason to aim into the area between the front of the hood and the panel for the latch. Unpainted metal will not survive east coast humidity, even when stored indoores. I noticed the rust coming through in the 1990's. I moved it inside in 1993, but kept it covered, so I did not notice the rust getting worse. Around 2002 I covered the area with Ospho which stopped the spread, but the damage that you see was already done.

I cleaned, primed, and painted the whole underside before I began the mechanical revival. I do not yet know how I will fix that hood rust. I do have the chrome pieces.

[Skip Lackie]

Great-looking truck. I also have a 1949 truck and really enjoy it. From the pictures it appears that the only rust is on the hood of the truck. Am I right? If so, reckon how just the front of the hood rusted like that? Congratulations.

To add to Robert's response: the sheet metal on the front edge of Stude truck hoods is folded over inside to provide more rigidity to the front edge and the hood latch. As Robert noted, that area probably didn't get painted, so any water that accumulates there tends to rust though the outer skin. Stude did the same thing with the rear edge of their front fenders, with disastrous results.

Also, it often depends on where/how the truck was stored outside. If the nose is pointed north, it doesn't get much sun to dry it out. And if it's parked on a slope, it may be oriented in such a way that more rainwater accumulates in one particular area.

[52-fan]

I have seen many pictures of Studebaker pickups for sale that had bubbles or holes along the front edge. The front of a 52 car hood will rust behind the reinforcement along the front if they sit closed for long periods. I have 3 hoods here and all have some rust in that area.

[Mrs K Corbin]

I've drilled out the spot welds of a couple of these hoods and POR-15 after cleaning up the rusty stuff.....
once the hood is seperated from the supporting stuff, the sheet metal repairs can be made.
THEN you can weld or, in my case, pop rivet it back together....

Lasts longer with this repair done...

I tried bondo in one hood, and it lasted barely a year before the rust started showing thru the paint....

Better to cut it apart and weld in a new piece of metal..

[Robert Crandall]

Here is an update. I had to return this truck to its blocks. Something started grinding very loudly in one of the wheels. It sounds like the metal of a brake shoe rubbing somewhere. It stops when I apply the brakes. Neighbors were not able to identify which wheel the sound comes from, and I cannot duplicate the sound while it is running in 3rd gear on the blocks. I have taken the front wheels off and found nothing wrong there. The back wheels will be next.

I do know that this truck will not be useable for more than the occasional around the block trip until I find a differential. Both rear hubs are split, and the one on the passenger side apparently has been split for so long that the taper on the axle is beat up so also needs to be replaced. I am thinking that I will find my noise problem in that wheel.

I did a snooze and lose a few weeks ago. I search CL every day, but somehow I missed an advertisement for a pickup bed trailer made from a 2R truck, and it had the differential under it. It was located 2 hours away, and they offered it for $50. Unfortunately, the advertisement was a week and a half old when I found it, and it had already been sold. I continue to look for one.

Thanks for the advice on the hood repair. I think I saw a reproduction of the outer skin of that area, but not the inner piece, advertised in TW.

[Mrs K Corbin]

have you placed a free ad in the Turning Wheels? Somebody's got to have an old truck diff for maybe $50-100 bucks.

[Robert Crandall]

Another update. The noise turned out to be the edge of the drum rubbing on the backing plate on the side with the very split hub. The nut was very loose but tight enough to open the split hub enough to let the drum rub on the backing plate. The side that is not split that badly does not rub, but its sealing surface has the texture of a file and is tearing up the felt seal, so the truck will remain on blocks until I fix it.

I did find two hubs on Ebay. A seller in Arizona is parting out a truck. It had bad drums, but he recognized that the hubs have value, so he removed the drums and offered the hubs. One hub is good. I have machined it and am in the process (slowly, of course) of machining a Chevrolet brake drum to fit it. When I find another hub, then I will fix also the other side.

In the meantime I continue to clean, paint, and fix. I washed and waxed it, so it looks much better now than it does in the pictures at the start of this topic.

Does anyone have a rear hub for this truck for sale?

Thanks.

[57pack]

Very nice Studebaker pick-up! Very original looking as well. I like em that way. Keep her going!

[Robert Crandall]

I should have noted above that when I told the Ebay seller about the unusable hub, he immediately offered a refund. I was pleased by his offer.