Stude Adventure

[mbstude]

Just goes to show that some people are even crazier than I am. Forum member Dan White was the buyer of my '57 Wagon. I picked him up at the airport this afternoon and we spent the evening working on his new car. Got it to a point where he trusted it and I watched him back out of the driveway and head down the road. He's headed for Chattanooga tonight and then on home in Maryland tomorrow. It's essentially an unknown car since I didn't drive it more than 10 miles.. Let us know how it all ends, Dan.

[Chris_Dresbach]

Talk about putting the "Driver" is SDC!!!

[mbstude]

Talk about putting the "Driver" is SDC!!!

Seems that way. A few years ago he bought an R1 GT Hawk in San Diego, CA. He drove it home to Maryland too.

[LarkTruck]

Just goes to show that some people are even crazier than I am. Forum member Dan White was the buyer of my '57 Wagon. I picked him up at the airport this afternoon and we spent the evening working on his new car. Got it to a point where he trusted it and I watched him back out of the driveway and head down the road. He's headed for Chattanooga tonight and then on home in Maryland tomorrow. It's essentially an unknown car since I didn't drive it more than 10 miles.. Let us know how it all ends, Dan.

That is what makes it FUN. Back in 78 I spent a couple of months puffing up the Keystone Chapter's 63 Daytona Convertible Raffle Kar that had been sitting for several years prior to the Club purchasing it. I finished the car at sunset, installing the last item, the antenna. With only putting about 5 miles on it during the puff, we jumped in it at 11 pm and drove it the 600 plus miles to South Bend without a hitch. Hey after all, it's a STUDEBAKER!!!!!!! Not an unreliable S.O.B.(some other brand)!
JS

[2R5]

Done this a couple of times.....its always alot of fun but can be maybe not always !

[8E45E]

Matt, I would trust it for sure!! I had no problem trusting my '65 Commander that you saw in 2007 in South Bend which was supposedly on its last legs when I got it in 1985. I finally ended up retiring it a couple of years ago, and had almost no problems with it driving to SDC meets and some local daily driving in the summer for 25 years. I can honestly state I joined the 'over 100,000 mile club' with that car.

Craig

[Kurt]

I hope the wheels are on good and tight......

[StudeDave57]

Road trip!!!!!

Drive 'em- that's what they were built for...

Two of my cars- Sweet Pea and Betsy-
have over 100,000 miles on them.

In fact~ Sweet Pea has nearly 300,000 now!!!
(she had around 69,000 when I got her in December 1991.)

[Roscomacaw]

You KNOW I'm with you, Dave! Makes you wonder HOW folks ever did things on a regular basis or ever took trips and such in the last century - what with these untrustworthy clunkers. And I envy Dan and his trip with the wagon.

[mbstude]

It isn't that I don't trust Studes.. I'd just want a little more time to "get to know" the wagon, but hey, I guess a drive from Atlanta to Maryland would be good for that.

And before he left, I did a walk around and made sure that all of the lugnuts were tight.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Did you re-pack the front wheel bearings?

[mbstude]

Did you re-pack the front wheel bearings?

That was done when I rebuilt the brake system.

[mbstude]

Just got a call from Dan.. He made it to Chattanooga, Tenn without any trouble at all. The old girl even saw some rain!

[Mark57]

Road Trips

Thanks for posting the story Matt - I too am envious, there's something about the thrill of the chase in finding a new Studebaker and then heading out on a road trip to drive it home. My best one was in 1980 when I purchased a 1960 Champ pickup from a fellow in Pueblo, Colorado and drove it home to Vancouver BC in between Christmas and New Years. Total distance 1821 miles and done in 2.5 days arriving home at 1:00 AM on New Years Day (It had a factory 289 w/4 bbl and a 3spd OD) .

My only exposure to the truck before I flew down to Denver, where the owner met me and took me home to meet my new truck, was a few 3 1/2 x 5 colour photos sent via snail mail. I simply took his word that the truck was up for the trip - which it was except for a small radiator puncture that occurred just outside of Pendleton, Oregon at 2:00PM on New Years Eve. Fortunately a local rad shop was still open and the "old timer" inside knew his stuff - he had me repaired and on my way in about 90 minutes - for $15 (which I was happy to pay).

Everytime I read about someone heading out on a road trip to bring home a new prize, it conjures up great memories.

[kmac530]

This is a cool story. Props to Him for driving it home. Props to the wagon for being up to it.
It should not be that big of a deal to drive a car on the road like that. Yet it is a big deal in my opinion. Not because the car is not up to it. Not because he may or may not be able to trust Matt. But because if there was a problem, even a LITTLE issue, you just can't pull into any old O'reily and get many parts to patch it up.

In LarkTruck's story the 1963 Daytona Convert was on 15 years old in 1978. There would have been parts on the shelf at your average FLAPS. A counterman would have known what the word Studebaker was. Much LESS nowdays. Same with Mark57's story, the 1960 Champ was only 20 in 1980. It is not only a matter of miles on a car, time creates its own wear and tear. A 20 year old car with 200k on the clock would likely have better conditioned wiring, bearings, hoses, fuel lines, and things like that than a 40 year old car with 20k on it. Regular use and service is good for a car. Sitting is not. Even though Matt has gone thru the wagon pretty thoroughly, the car still sat for many years...bold move to jump in and hit the hiway. Good the him for doing it and good on Matt for his credible prep work. I like boldness. Keeps things fun.