Recent buy 4X4 Deluxe cab, bragging some and also asking for thoughts on the truck

[kelmbaker]

1959 Studebaker 3/4 ton, NAPCO factory 4 x 4.
Basically stock
Restored a few years back, Still very presentable.
5 speed OD replacing 4 speed
No rust or rot. A beast to drive
4.89 TT rear
No Power Steering
maybe a couple of hundred miles after restore
I paid as much as I ever paid for any collector car, my long suffering wife has wrangled a lot of concessions from me. I have to let go of one excellant '60 Lark 2 door sedan and a not so nice '61 T cab, plus future draft picks "to be announced"....otherwise I will be in her debt for years to come. Nothing new there. She's a sweetheart.
What do you think a rational price for said truck might be? Just checking to see if I'm certifiably nuts as opposed to eccentric.
I want to install a old Ford type P.S. set up and remove some leaves from the spring so I don't get a hernia and rattle my fillings about. I know the purists will sceam, but I drive my Studies and want to drive this one.
Oh yea, I live in Tucson, I will need A/C.
Any ideas short of my having some sort of act wished upon my body or mind will help.
I don't have pics yet, maybe by the end of the week.
Thanks all
kelmbaker@msn.com

[mbstude]

A prefect restored one sold for $50K a few years back. Anything less than that and you probably did fine. But if you wanted it and found the price affordable to you, then that's all that matters.

You never see a Stude 4x4 actually driven on the road because of the reasons you mentioned. Make it more comfortable and drive the wheels off it.

[8E45E]

Ed's was one of the finest around. I posted photos of it here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ighlight=ellis

Craig

[rockne10]

These twins were coveted at the 1980 SDC International at Gettysburg.

[Guido]

Just remember, this is a truck that was built when trucks were trucks. Even removing springs will not give it the ride of a car. Even with 5 OD it will struggle to run highway speeds.

On a related note, I was four Studebaker 4WD trucks in my travels on Saturday.

[StudeRich]

With the 5 Over, a couple of 4.27 or 4.56's will help a lot and still be able to be a work and hauling truck.

My 289 with New Process 5 O.D. with a 4.56 TT can do 60-65 without too much RPM if you wear your ear plugs.

[PackardV8]

The 4.89 gears are too way too low for a hobby truck. The bad news is you'll have to replace both front and rear gears with 4.10, 3.90 or 3.73. Since it will be unloaded most of the time, I'd go with the 3.90 or 3.73.

FWIW, if I owned a NAPCO 4x4, my first purchase would be noise-cancelling headphones.

jack vines

[6hk71400]

Kelly's 60 Lark is a black 2 door true V8 with a 259 and three speed overdrive. It has a 3:31 and it runs great. It has a light brown vinyl interior that looks sharp in contrast to the black paint.

It rides solid and quiet and would be a terrific car to take anywhere.

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[ed ellis]

Craig, THX, FYI the guy I sold it to showed it at last summer's DOVER meet. He has maintained it very well and even had a custom built trailer made to accommodate it's almost 7 ft height.

QUOTE=8E45E;925351]Ed's was one of the finest around. I posted photos of it here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ighlight=ellis

Craig[/QUOTE]

[ed ellis]

Kelly, My 3/4 ton 4x4 was not hard to steer at all. Before you install a PS setup I suggest you pull the front end apart and pay particular attention to the kingpin thrust hearings.

[53k]

Kelly, My 3/4 ton 4x4 was not hard to steer at all. Before you install a PS setup I suggest you pull the front end apart and pay particular attention to the kingpin thrust hearings.

My experience with the one-ton 4x4 I had is the same as Ed's- easy steering, better than the two-wheel drive trucks.
As for rear end ratio and driving on the highway. My one-ton had a 5.19 rear. I bought it in Burlington, Vermont, drove through the night to Fairfax, Virginia and I maintained highway speeds with no strain. Of course the 7.50x17 wheels/tires mitigated the ratio effect somewhat. That was an experience from my fat, dumb, and happy days. The truck hadn't been driven for quite some time, had some "Mickey Mouse" repairs, questionable brakes, rusted floors and I can assure you that you can't put a big enough load in the bed to deflect the springs at all.

[mtnmanbf]

STUDE 4 x 4

Congrads on your new buy! Just go to dentist & get a mouth piece made so when you drive it your fillings won't fall out!" Studebaker 4 x 4 from the factory" It doesn't get any better or tougher than that! I have 2 Stude 4 x 4 s Forget driving them! I just like looking at them! But when you need some stumps pulled don't use the Toyota use the STUDE 4 x 4 Bill

[8E45E]

A factory 4X4 Studebaker truck would be a lot of fun to own.

I'm looking forward to seeing this Scotsman in post#47 when finished: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ghlight=4hawks

And we discussed at length the 65 1960 4E trucks built for the Navy last month: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ghlight=4hawks

Craig