Heading For Santa Maria California on Saturday

[Commander Eddie]

I will be leaving Dundee Oregon this Saturday morning for Santa Maria. If anyone is along my route let me know. I'd love to stop and say hello.
I will be heading South on I-5 through Oregon and Northern California and will cut off at I-505 S. I will merge onto I-80 W toward San Francisco. From there I will be taking I-680 S toward San Jose and then connect up with US-101 to Santa Maria.
I'll be driving my 1961 Champ truck painted Desert Tan. I have attached a photo. The map says it is about a 13 hours 41 minute trip but I will be taking my time and stopping to rest and refresh along the way.
Hope to see some Studebaker people along the way. It should be fun.

[SweetSixtyn]

Have a great trip! I love road trips. I'll be meeting another forum member from Oregon outside Sacramento on Friday to pass on a windshield and stainless trim. Then it's off to Pacifica State Beach Saturday morning. Not to jinx you but if you have any issues in the San Francisco - Sacramento area feel free to contact me for emergency roadside support. PM me for a phone number.

[Commander Eddie]

Have a great trip! I love road trips. I'll be meeting another forum member from Oregon outside Sacramento on Friday to pass on a windshield and stainless trim. Then it's off to Pacifica State Beach Saturday morning. Not to jinx you but if you have any issues in the San Francisco - Sacramento area feel free to contact me for emergency roadside support. PM me for a phone number.

I sent you an PM notification. It sounds like your Friday meet might be with Chip. He is restoring a '53 in Canby.
Are you familiar with the Dutch Treat Team? They are in Sacramento and are building a Lark salt car. My brother Dan is expected to drive it when finished.

[oregonroses]

Actually, he (sweetsixtyn) is meeting up with my buddy, his dad, and myself for the windshield swap for my Lark, then we are headed to Lakeport to pickup a Rockne to bring home to Oregon. Commander Eddie, we'll keep an eye out for ya!

[studeclunker]

There's several Studee people here in the Redding area. Some of them even have cars that are road-worthy (LOL)! Unfortuneately, Bess is still not done (gotta get Dave paid for the Carb. and then it's brakes to do), the new fella is in the shop and I don't know if Ed is ever going to be back on the road. So, ya won't see my Studees in Redding, sorry.

Watch out for the CHP in this area. They're preditory as heck around here! The spider hangs out at the base of the hill just north of Yreka, a real jerk! But then, Spidey usually only goes after commercial rigs.

Hope you have a great trip and everything goes perfectly.

[JoeHall]

That is one nice lookin Stude truck. Drive safe and take lots of pix. Hope you have as much fun on your trip as we are ours. Every mile in a Stude is an adventure

[Commander Eddie]

That is one nice lookin Stude truck. Drive safe and take lots of pix. Hope you have as much fun on your trip as we are ours. Every mile in a Stude is an adventure

Thanks, Joe. How has your stay in Reseda been so far?

[Commander Eddie]

There's several Studee people here in the Redding area. Some of them even have cars that are road-worthy (LOL)! Unfortuneately, Bess is still not done (gotta get Dave paid for the Carb. and then it's brakes to do), the new fella is in the shop and I don't know if Ed is ever going to be back on the road. So, ya won't see my Studees in Redding, sorry.

Watch out for the CHP in this area. They're preditory as heck around here! The spider hangs out at the base of the hill just north of Yreka, a real jerk! But then, Spidey usually only goes after commercial rigs.

Hope you have a great trip and everything goes perfectly.

Ron, Thanks for the warning. My wife says I drive like a little old man anyways. I'm still trying to decide what that means. Sorry to hear your vehicles aren't road worthy. It'll sure be fun when they are.

[candbstudebakers]

ED, as you know I am right on your way south if you stay on I-80 toward San Francisco and change to I-880 toward San Jose at the bridge interchange my shop is 2 stop lights off I- 880 and the I-92 interchange what is also Jackson St. east on Jackson St. through 2 stop lights and into the 2nd commercial driveway on right hand side just past Diadon St. going right off I-880 would take you toward the San Mateo bridge to I-101 north or south , go south about 4 miles and that is Redwood City, Redwood City is where Studebaker's West is. Getting off I-80 at the I-680 interchange is a shorter route to San Jose but not much Studebaker stuff that way, you can go that way and get off I-680 at I-580 west and then head toward Castro Valley, Hayward, San Francisco, Redwood City , then south to San Jose. my shop address is 86 West Jackson St. Hayward, Ca. 94540, my home address is 5294 Canyon Hill Ct. Castro Valley, Ca. 94546 with lots of Studebaker things at both places....Bob 510-266-2522

[RadioRoy]

If you stay on 101, I am right off 101 in Redwood City, only about a mile from Studebakers West.

You are free to visit on Sunday to see the radio shop and car collection, but I won't be here on Saturday. You can also stop by on your way back home.

My phone number is in my profile.

Have a good trip.

[Commander Eddie]

candbstudebakers - Bob. Thanks for the directions and invitation. I will see if my schedule will give me some time to stop by. I'll call first. I'd love to see your shop or home collection.

[Commander Eddie]

RadioRoy,
Thank you for the invitation. I am not sure how much progress I will make on Saturday but if I am still in the area on Sunday I'll try to stop by. I would love to meet you and see your collection. I know where Studebakers West is located. Where can I find your address?

[candbstudebakers]

Ed, you go right past my place to get to Redwood City.

[Commander Eddie]

Well, it's now Monday evening and this is my first post since leaving Oregon. I turned off I-5 S at I-505 toward San Fracisco and then picked up I-680 S. At that point the road became terrible. Both me and my truck took an awful beating. I slowed way down and fell behind schedule. My route took me past San Francisco to San Jose where I found no hotel rooms because of some huge soccer match. There were no rooms in Morgan, but finally found one in Gilroy.
By this time it was about 9:00 PM. I had been on the road 14 hours. Then, I could not find my wallet! Tired, and now in distress, I used my debit card to pay for my room and spent the next 2 hours online canceling my credit cards.
The next morning I searched the truck, my luggage, and even the ground but came up with nothing. So, I had breakfast at the Denneys across the street and then got on the road. I experienced rough roads again until I got to Paso Robles.
I finally made it to Santa Maria around 11:00 AM.
So, after all that, I got no photos and was in too much distress to stop along the way to say hello and visit with any of you. I am trying to enjoy my time with my dad and brother Dan and his family. I sure hope the rest of this trip goes more smoothly. I'll be looking for another route home.

[SilverHawkDan]

Ok I had to post as I am sure my brother is not the first to have this issue. Yesterday Ed brought the Champ up the hill to where I am currently living so that I could look at a few issues with the truck. First was the brakes. The truck just would not stop. If you had to make a [panic stop, forget it. He has spent a bunch of money trying to get the brakes to work as they should. So I pulled the front wheels and drums and sure enough the brake shoes were installed backwards. This after I posted here to get advice about the shoe set up and Ed even left the factory manual in the truck and told the guy it was in there. Ed had told the mechanic that due to the design of the brake system with dual cams the brake shoes were to be installed opposite of just about every other car or truck made. You would think that after looking at the manual made by the manufacturer he would have followed the factory advice. So lesson learned, if they don't seem to listen and accept your advice and desires find another shop. I switched the shoes and the truck now stops like it should. I know that as the shoes wear in to the drums in the correct position they will only get better.

Next I cleaned his battery cables. Corrosion had gotten between the post and the terminal end. I then pulled the plugs looking to the source of excessive oil consumption. Plugs looked great. But where was the 1 quart of oil per 300 miles going. Concluded that by checking the oil at the gas station after driving down the highway the oil was still trapped in the upper part of the engine giving him a false reading. I came to that conclusion based on past experience and then confirmed my suspicions by noting that the oil was a little more than a quart over full after sitting for about and hour. So he will let it sit before checking the oil on the way home. Next was a little grease on the speedo cable and then I got out the grease gun and lubricated the clutch cross shaft bushings and the brake pedal pivot. Looking the the linkage as he operated the clutch I have concluded that the truck must have a heavy duty pressure plate that gives him the heavy pedal feel.

So that work completed a short test drive and then a little longer one by Ed on the hills coming up to our place showed that the brakes are working good and everything else is good to go for the return trip home to Oregon. I wasn't able to get the hill holder working but I think a rebuild of the control box will get it there. Ed can have that taken care of back home as soon as he finds a new shop to have do the work. Love having Ed here and know he is having a good visit with dad. It was nice to help him out by fixing his truck. He also got a first hand look at all of the projects going on with the Hawk I am working on. I think I might have been a little shocked to see it spread out over about fifty feet of the yard or more. Parts are every where and hopefully by years end they will all be back in one place again and driving down the road putting smiles on peoples faces. More from Ed if he chooses to share.
Dan