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  • 49 Truck

    I don't get on the forum as much as i like to, due to life but i purchased a 49 truck earlier this year and have been working on it as time allows. When i got it ,i was surprised it did not burn to the ground with the shape the wiring was in (someone in the past did try to wire it for 12 volts ) , the original engine had been replaced with a semi working 4 cylinder GM engine , the front seats have been replaced with cheap bucket seats ( but they are ok for now )
    So far i have re-wired it to the 12 volt system someone had started ( at least 90% done now ) installed new hoses , belts , voltage regulator , alternator ( rebuilt the alternator bracket ) ,rebuilt the carburetor ( my first time at that , and it went pretty well ) new bulbs ( all of the lights are now working properly ) , got all of the instruments working except the speedometer ( which is not hooked up yet ) the horn ( should have it done with a few hours of tinkering ) and the gas gauge ( will need to probably extract the remnants from the tank and rebuild it ) it had a old Franz oil filter which i removed and installed a conventional filter ,changed the spark plug wires and distributor cap ( it was damaged due to PO not putting it on correctly when they changed it to a electronic ignition ,and as it has an electric fuel pump i need to install a oil pressure switch to kill that for safety purposes. i also took care of all of the usual legal DMV items and got the production order from the museum ( mine is an early 49 2R5
    So yesterday i had some time to work on it as it had been a while , when i left it last i was in the process of getting it timed and running smoother ( previously back firing and running really rich after the carb rebuild plus the timing was way off ) so i got out my Vacuum gauge and went to work , after about an hour i had it running better than it probably has in quite some time. So today i took it out for its first test drive around the block and other that the timing being still a little advanced ( some pinging and easily fixed ) it did pretty good i did notice the clutch might need some adjustment or replacement ( will have to take a look at that ) the steering was well , ok ,not too bad not too good ( will have to look at that also )
    Some of the things i have noticed on this truck is that it does have an overdrive transmission ,it is a T86E-1A ( it was not hook up when i got it but does have the od cable and it does look nice and clean on the outside ) the brakes have supposedly been done ( they feel good , but am going to go through them and install a Turner disk brake system and dual master cylinder ) the tires are tubed and look OK and are on the original rims .
    i was lucky to have recently come across complete 49 truck engine that is suppose to be a running engine so when i get the time i am going to be installing that. i will have to check the existing bell housing on the GM/Chevy engine to see if it will work
    One thing i came across and noticed when i was researching engines is ,does anyone know if there is a difference between a engine starting with a 1R and a 2R ? just curious

    thanks Blake
    btw here are some photos Click image for larger version

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  • #2
    Both 1R and 2R numbered engines are Champion engines. Studebaker used the 1R prefix on the half and 3/4-ton trucks, and the 2R on the one-ton 2R15 engines. Maybe they were trying to determine if the Champion 6 was too small for a one-ton truck (I think we know the answer to that one). I have always suspected that the 2R engines had the HD features (valve rotators, etc), but have no proof one way or the other. If the 2R serialed engine has a cloverleaf symbol on the serial boss, you know the answer. Otherwise, I would assume that they are the same.
    Skip Lackie

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    • #3
      Thanks Skip
      I was suspecting something along those lines. the engine i bought is a 2R engine that supposedly came out of a 49 2R15 but it has the heavy duty cooling fan with 5 blades , which i am guessing were added from a later vehicle as i don't think they were used on the 2R5 ,10, or 15 engines but looks like they were used on the later engines.
      Blake

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