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  • Greetings from a newbie

    Howdy all.

    I'm a new Studebaker caretaker having just purchased a '56 Transtar 3/4 ton long-bed, 259 V8, with auto trans, 4:10 rear (I think), Climatizer and turn signals.
    Before I say too much incorrect stuff.. here's a link to my growing photo gallery:



    Y'all can probably tell me better what I have than I can tell...

    It starts and runs - drove itself on and off the trailer for delivery. It had a bad fuel leak at the fuel pump but I've already repaired that. Runs smooth while the choke is on, but when it warms up it stumbles and spits badly unless you feather the throttle *very* gently. Maybe it's a bad accelerator pump? Or maybe it's the VERY old gas (looks somewhere between a Newcastle and a Guinness). we'll see as I get further into it. Not safe to drive yet with the wiring as it is.

    I have *many* questions. I've been pestering everyone on the Studebaker Truck Talk forum for a few weeks. Thought I'd better start posting here as well before I wear out my welcome in any one place!

    I come to you from the vintage air-cooled Volkswagen world. I'm reasonably sure now that this whole "liquid cooling" thing is maybe more than a passing fad, so I figured it was time to see how the other half lives. My other cars are a '64 VW SO-33 Westfalia, a '87 VW Vanagon Syncro Westfalia (that I converted to a Subaru 3.0 6cyl engine), an '02 VW EuroVan-based Winnebago Class C RV, and a Fiat 500 Abarth. A few motorcycles and scooters as well taking up all the room in the garage...
    My only previous foray into vintage American iron was a 1958 Plymouth Fury that I owned for a bit. I was in way over my head with that one. I wish I'd just bought a '58 Belvedere or Suburban SportWagon and maybe I'd still have it to this day.

    The wife says I may have a problem. I say the only problem is that I gave up a 1,000 sq/ft shop with 12ft overhead doors and off-street parking when we got married!


    Anyway, let's get too it shall we!
    • The most pressing issue is that I need to re-wire the whole gorram thing. No problem, I have a big plastic tub full of salvaged VW fuse blocks, relays and relay sockets and wiring...

    But what the cluck!? These bullet terminals! what are they?? They don't look like anything I'm familiar with and how am I going to overcome this? Specifically on the headlight switch..

    • Turn-signal wiring.. it's a mess. My turn signal are completely separate from the tail/brake lights though, so hopefully that simplifies things. Anyone have a wiring diagram for the system on my truck? I haven't found one yet..
    • Bulb #'s for the gauge illumination, high beam indicator and turn signal indicator.. manual and parts catalog are not helpful.. that I've found so far.
    • The auto trans.. I have a dipstick? Did someone add this or do I not have the OEM trans? see: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GZ5S2SQsGuFqJ5a97


    That's about all I can think of at the moment..

    Looking forward to getting to know some new folks here!

    Cheers,
    Brian

  • #2
    Welcome, Brian!
    There are a lot of active Studebaker folks near the gateway city.
    Join the SDC and your local chapter. Great group.
    Brad Johnson,
    SDC since 1975, ASC since 1990
    Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
    '33 Rockne 10, '51 Commander Starlight. '53 Commander Starlight
    '56 Sky Hawk in process

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Brian, Welcome to the SDC and to the SDC Forum!

      As you probably know, your Truck was the first year for 12 Volt Negative Ground Systems on most U.S. Cars and Trucks.
      So these small bayonet base Instrument bulbs will be 12 Volt, round Glass #53 Small, and #57 Larger for all Dash Lighting, High Beam Indicator, Turn Signal Indicator.

      The Wire Terminals are the Standard '50's U.S. Car, round bullet connectors available at your Friendly Local Auto Parts Store we like to call "FLAPS". They come in Male and Female connectors.

      I have never seen a pre-1961 Studebaker with a Fill and Dipstick Tube like that, but just follow that tube to the top where you should find the Dipstick, it could have been modified or just very peculiar Truck only.

      Just so you know, complete Original Color coded to match the Shop Manual Wiring Diagram, Wire Harnesses ARE available to save you a LOT of Headaches.



      Never heard of this abbreviation? before: Stl. ? Is that actually St. Louis, MO?
      Remember many of us here are not "Texters"!
      Last edited by StudeRich; 02-01-2019, 11:47 AM.
      StudeRich
      Second Generation Stude Driver,
      Proud '54 Starliner Owner
      SDC Member Since 1967

      Comment


      • #4
        Yes, definitely, buy and install a new wiring harness. I bought one from Studebakers West for my 1947 Studebaker Champion sedan. When we installed it we found every wire was correct: gauge, colour, terminals, and location in the wiring harness in relation to the other wires. A new harness not only fixes the "mess", it also means your beautiful and rare truck no longer has a serious fire risk from bad insulation on old wires.

        In addition to joining SDC and your local Chapter, your first moves should include buying a shop manual, body parts catalogue and chassis parts catalogue. The latter two sometimes are combined for trucks.

        Enjoy!!
        Bill Jarvis

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by StudeRich View Post
          Hi Brian, Welcome to the SDC and to the SDC Forum!

          As you probably know, your Truck was the first year for 12 Volt Negative Ground Systems on most U.S. Cars and Trucks.
          So these small bayonet base Instrument bulbs will be 12 Volt, round Glass #53 Small, and #57 Larger for all Dash Lighting, High Beam Indicator, Turn Signal Indicator.

          The Wire Terminals are the Standard '50's U.S. Car, round bullet connectors available at your Friendly Local Auto Parts Store we like to call "FLAPS". They come in Male and Female connectors.

          I have never seen a pre-1961 Studebaker with a Fill and Dipstick Tube like that, but just follow that tube to the top where you should find the Dipstick, it could have been modified or just very peculiar Truck only.

          Just so you know, complete Original Color coded to match the Shop Manual Wiring Diagram, Wire Harnesses ARE available to save you a LOT of Headaches.



          Never heard of this abbreviation? before: Stl. ? Is that actually St. Louis, MO?
          Remember many of us here are not "Texters"!

          Thanks for the bulb info Rich! I wasn't able to find that in either the service manual or parts catalog..
          As far as you can tell, the transmission itself is correct though?

          And yes, StL = St. Louis Missouri [Mizzery, as we often call it]. "the city with a handle"

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Greenstude View Post
            Yes, definitely, buy and install a new wiring harness. I bought one from Studebakers West for my 1947 Studebaker Champion sedan. When we installed it we found every wire was correct: gauge, colour, terminals, and location in the wiring harness in relation to the other wires. A new harness not only fixes the "mess", it also means your beautiful and rare truck no longer has a serious fire risk from bad insulation on old wires.

            In addition to joining SDC and your local Chapter, your first moves should include buying a shop manual, body parts catalogue and chassis parts catalogue. The latter two sometimes are combined for trucks.

            Enjoy!!
            Yes, already been in touch with LarkWorks about a new harness. Unfortunately it's about double my budget and about a 5-6 month lead time.
            The wiring doesn't appear very complicated anyway, and if re-doing I'd want to add some actual fuses and relays for heavy load items such as the headlights, keeping the current away from the switches themselves. I have a large plastic tub of salvaged relays, relay sockets, fuse panels, etc and I know the Bosch color codes & scheme by heart..
            Face it, it was inevitable that a little VW would wind up in the truck at some point, regardless! LOL

            -Brian

            Comment


            • #7
              Welcome, Brian. I've got a brother named Brian who lives in STL also! I'm in Jefferson City of you ever make it down here. I also work for the Dept. of Revenue of you have as my issues with the title or registration of your '56.
              ~Matt Connor
              '59 Lark 2-door

              Comment


              • #8
                Welcome, Brian. I've got a brother named Brian who lives in STL also! I'm in Jefferson City of you ever make it down here. I also happen to work for the Dept. of Revenue of you have as my issues with the title or registration for your '56.

                - - - Updated - - -

                I also like to double-post, apparently!
                ~Matt Connor
                '59 Lark 2-door

                Comment


                • #9
                  Welcome also, as far as wiring goes, my go to setup is from Speedway Motors. I use their 22 circuit harnesses on all my builds, $189. For your truck that's probably overkill so you could look at the 12 circuit harness for $149. All the circuits are labelled on the wire every 6 inches or so and you'll have plenty of wire and a new harness with fresh wire, enough fuses and new connections.



                  BTW, darn nice truck.

                  Bob

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by StudeRich View Post

                    Never heard of this abbreviation? before:? Is that actually St. Louis, MO?
                    Remember many of us here are not "Texters"!
                    It's the abbreviation for St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Just like BLI is for Bellingham, SEA for Sea-Tac, etc. Often used for the city abbreviation. Not a "text" shortcut.
                    Dick Steinkamp
                    Bellingham, WA

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Welcome Brian. I am about 3.5 hours from St. Louis. I do get to St. Louis a few times a Year as I work for Monsanto, now Bayer. I take customers to tour the company sites and such. We have our team meetings there as well. Anyway if you need help with anything please reach out. At one time I messed with VW’s as well. Last summer I helped a co worker revive an old Super Beetle. I I have a truck as well, a 61 Champ.
                      1962 Champ

                      51 Commander 4 door

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        That is a fine looking truck. It has to be a bit unusual for a Studebaker truck of that size to have an automatic. I compared your pictures to the ones in the parts book and there do seem to be some differences, but am not a Flightomatic expert. The vacuum unit on the back of the transmission does not look like a Studebaker part to me. Also, the shift indicator on the steering column has an extra position. You probably have a transmission that was adapted from another make. There are some people on the forum that can answer your questions.
                        If your truck sat for a while with fuel in it, the roughness could be from old fuel. Most likely the carburetor needs a good cleaning and a kit. Those are fairly simple carburetors to rework if you are careful and have some reference pictures.
                        My brother has a 56 1/2 ton that I almost bought, but I found a 52 that I wanted more. Enjoy the ride and get involved with the SDC.
                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by 52-fan; 02-02-2019, 08:49 AM.
                        "In the heart of Arkansas."
                        Searcy, Arkansas
                        1952 Commander 2 door. Really fine 259.
                        1952 2R pickup

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by 52-fan View Post
                          That is a fine looking truck. It has to be a bit unusual for a Studebaker truck of that size to have an automatic. I compared your pictures to the ones in the parts book and there do seem to be some differences, but am not a Flightomatic expert. The vacuum unit on the back of the transmission does not look like a Studebaker part to me. Also, the shift indicator on the steering column has an extra position. You probably have a transmission that was adapted from another make. There are some people on the forum that can answer your questions.
                          For true; in fifty years, I've been in one Studebaker C-cab with an automatic transmission and that was a '57 1/2-ton.

                          It's also confusing as Studebaker did things for trucks that differed from the more common car installations. The differences of the Zip Van automatics is case in point.

                          The Parts Manual is our friend for this question.

                          jack vines
                          PackardV8

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by PackardV8 View Post
                            For true; in fifty years, I've been in one Studebaker C-cab with an automatic transmission and that was a '57 1/2-ton.

                            It's also confusing as Studebaker did things for trucks that differed from the more common car installations. The differences of the Zip Van automatics is case in point.

                            The Parts Manual is our friend for this question.

                            jack vines
                            A friend of mine purchased a new 1957 pickup with a V8, radio, heater and automatic transmission for his business. He ordered the automatic so that his wife could drive it. I do not believe that she ever did. He used the pickup for his business with trips from NY to NJ for many years. He replaced it many years later with a Dodge pickup. Many more years later, we ran across this pickup with a bad engine. The original owner bought it back with a 289 V8 out of a 1957 President Classic that we installed. The last that I knew, the family still had the pickup.
                            Gary L.
                            Wappinger, NY

                            SDC member since 1968
                            Studebaker enthusiast much longer

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              OK that Shift Quadrant verifies what that Transmission is, it's a FORD!
                              That should be great, having a Low Gear Start PLUS 3 Gear manual shiftability!

                              It must be a Cruise-O-Matic, or possibly a FMX used in Thunderbird's, they use a Vacuum Modulator like that and would have a Filler/Dipstick Tube and Right Hand instead of Rear mounted.

                              I now know why it does not resemble the Detroit Gear 3 Band Automatic that may have been in a '56 Truck
                              originally.

                              I see in the good close up Pictures, that it has a Dana 60 Rear Axle with 4.11 Ratio, that is going to be a bit high revving on the Highways and Freeways with a Direct Drive Transmission, but with plenty of low speed Power.
                              Last edited by StudeRich; 02-02-2019, 05:43 PM.
                              StudeRich
                              Second Generation Stude Driver,
                              Proud '54 Starliner Owner
                              SDC Member Since 1967

                              Comment

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