C-Cab pickup weekend project.

[mbstude]

Those that have known me for a while likely remember the Omaha Orange '59 Scotsman that I drove as my high school ride a decade ago. It went with me to my first International meet in South Bend in '07, and in the spring of '08 I wrecked it. I made an attempt at restoring it back then, but the truck ended up shoved out back while life and other interests got in the way.



Now that things have settled down I find myself needing something to do on the weekends. I also want another C Cab pickup. It seems like a natural fit to build a truck that I already own. I'll be using this thread to document the process as I go along.

[mbstude]

This is the starting point.



I won't be restoring this truck as a '59 Scotsman.. I'm essentially parting this truck out and using key pieces of it to build a truck the way I want from scratch. The original cab is badly rusted and has been stripped of anything usable. The original front fenders, hood, and grille were all ruined in the wreck. 10 years ago I removed the worn out Champion Six and found all the pieces to repower the truck with a 259 and T85 Overdrive.

I'll be using the original truck's chassis, bed, rear fenders, and tailgate. And not much else. The rest will be made up of the 259 OD drivetrain, a '49 2R cab and hood, and a '55 E series grille. It'll be a mutt when it's done, but essentially it'll be my favorite parts of every year (49-59) in one truck.

[mbstude]

First thing was to remove the body and roll the chassis into the shop.



The right rear section of the frame rail was rusted away, otherwise the frame is in pretty good shape. Several years ago I bought a rear bumper from a wrecked Transtar that included the brackets, and a Reese receiver hitch and the rear section of the frame rails that it was welded to. The rear 10" of my frame was cut off and the new "assembly" was welded in, thanks to one of the other guys that works here.

[mbstude]

Once the rust issue was repaired, I removed everything that could be removed. All of the hardware was rusty and most of the bolts had to be broken off.

[mbstude]

With the frame stripped and the old grease scraped off, I set the frame up on saw horses and spent a day with my toes in the sand.

[jclary]

Great looking project Matt. Studebaker may have seen the larger back window, and single piece curved windshield as an upgrade. But, especially on sunny days, you will appreciate the smaller back glass. The two piece flat windshield of that '49 cab should also give you peace of mind about not having to constantly worry 'bout taking care of a rarer, more expensive curved windshield. I'm looking forward to more pics as you progress.

[sweetolbob]

Good show, Matt. You've got the resources to do it right and I'll bet you will. Keep posting, Bob

[52-fan]

Glad to hear that you are not letting the old truck go to waste. I have wondered many times when you would get back to it. Your plan sounds very good and with the help you have the truck should be nice.

[Studius]

How about an update on your truck project Matt?

[what huh]

I'll be checking this thread a lot and hope to see lots of pictures. I lot of what you are doing will pertain to my project that I'm tackling this winter