Lester Schmidt's Truck Survives

[asesolen]

Lester Schmidt's 3/4 ton was mentioned recently and thought it would be good for all to see that it still survives.

Here is a picture from the December 1987 Turning Wheels.



And here are pictures from when Keith Graham recently purchased the truck.




For now it's safely tucked away in Keith's garage while he get's it road worthy and prepared to start hauling again.

Hey Keith, congratulations and we sure hope you enjoy and get as much work out that truck as Lester did!

[r1lark]

Good to hear! Saw that truck many times in years past at York, pulling a trailer load of Studebaker parts.

[studegary]

I am glad that it has survived. I do not ever remember seeing it without a trailer attached.

[JoeHall]

Is that Lester's original, "million mile" TRANSTAR? Or is it the replacement truck he bought, after he totaled the original one?

I am pretty sure Les parted out his original truck, since he offered to sell me the T85 out of it. He said the T85 was as good as it ever was, and was never replaced in the million miles. However, he said he'd swapped about half a dozen 259/289 motors in it. He rebuilt some of them, and others were low mile motors he just freshened up a bit.

He even ran an Avanti motor in that truck for awhile. I recall following him around El Cajon, he in the TRANSTAR and me in the 56J. His truck was pretty zippy with that Avanti motor in it.

[StudeRich]

I wonder why it is that one of the Premiere Photo Posting sites that we all used to use, and one of the Few that is compatible with our Website, is just the reverse of a good Photo Site now?

When I post Pics from my computer here on the Forum, they can be enlarged TWICE until they go off of the screen width of my 20 inch Monitor on my desktop so you can actually SEE some detail.
But if you click these and any Photobucket hosted pics, they move across the screen but are the same small, useless size so you click the "hand" icon or the + to enlarge and they get SMALLER! a Absolutely USELESS Website now.

They must be trying to save server storage space or something. Good Websites like Yahoo, can save Billions of messages and nearly unlimited Pics so "good and usable" CAN be done. I have 10,783 emails in my "INbox" and 2,555 in the "Sent" Folder!

On another more related note, I wonder how much of Lester's original Transtar Truck could be saved if any, after the horrendous head-on Wreck he got into? I have forgotten all the details now, after many years.

[JoeHall]

Rich,
Les told me his brakes failed, but admitted they'd needed attention for quite some time. In his words, he'd just been lazy in getting round to fixing them, but continued to drive the truck. In "closing the barn door after the horse was out", for good measure, he installed one of Turner's dual MCs in his replacement truck before putting it on the road.

[SASCO KID]

This is I'm sure this is the "replacement" truck. It runs great, OD works, has twin fuel tanks, 289 (I think) with an Edelbrock & a hand-choke! I live in a mountainous area of AZ, pulls the hills very well. Has a DANA 60, bed wiring is a little messed up, but I have tail & stoplights now (THANKS Nelson Bove). Ride very rough, but no worse than my 2014 Ram 3/4 ton HD longbed. 5th wheel ball still in the bed. Has trailer brakes, too. Was traded into a Cottonwood AZ Chevy dealer by a lady business owner in Sedona, AZ, she was leaving town. First Stude truck I've owned since 1970, brings back fond memories, people love it. I haven't even had one suggestion to put a Chevy engine in it, BY GOLLY!
If anybody has more info, please post it! Keith

[Studebaker Wheel]

That black and white photo in the original post is one I took when Lester stopped by the farm where I had parts stored. Picked up an engine as I recall. I still have that original shot (in color), around here someplace. That truck (in the b-w) was the one involved in the accident that was totaled.

[asesolen]

Thank you Richard! I haven't been in the club long enough to know Lester so I appreciate you making sure the facts are correct!

[unclemiltie]

I sure miss my trips to visit with him

[studeclunker]

Wasn't there another fellow with a ton-and-a-half or two-ton truck who had a zillion miles on it too? He delivered from parts to whole cars, with trailer and without (truck had a stake-bed), as I recall. Also lived in either Arid-zona or Knee-vaada (Arizona or Nevada)?

By the by, Lester's truck is good to the eyes. A thing of beauty. It'll be nice to hear when the old fellow is back on the road.

[StudeRich]

Of course, that would be the Famous Chuck Naugle founder of the "Stude. Truck Farmers" from Arizona, driving "Earl" the Bermuda Brown, E40 Stakebed 289, 5 Speed with Air Brakes. Not even CLOSE to a Pickup though.

Here is another Marine Corps. E40 similar to Chuck's, I can't find my Old "in the Day" Pics of it from International Meets and when I was at his Place in the Sun.

[SASCO KID]

That is great to know the origins of this photo, thanks, Richard.
My question now is, how many miles on my truck, and, does anybody have pix of "By Golly II" in action, hopefully with Lester in the picture?
My late wife Gloria and I were visiting Arizona from Ohio in 1990, I heard about Lester (then in El Cajon, Ca), we drove over to check him out, we bought a 1955 L.A. produced President (I think) 2 door hardtop.
Lester had rows of 1953 & up C-K rear quarters stacked 10 deep leaning against a building. So many great cars he had, me so little time and only one tow-dolly!!! Towing the '55 back with my 1972 Dodge 318 V8 pickup, we were down to about 25 mph
going up the California mountains, pedal to the metal. Gloria was NOT impressed! Such great memories.

[DieselJim]

Of course, that would be the Famous Chuck Naugle founder of the "Stude. Truck Farmers" from Arizona, driving "Earl" the Bermuda Brown, E40 Stakebed 289, 5 Speed with Air Brakes. Not even CLOSE to a Pickup though.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]53014[/ATTACH] Here is another Marine Corps. E40 similar to Chuck's, I can't find my Old "in the Day" Pics of it from International Meets and when I was at his Place in the Sun.

Good memory's. Chuck would pick me up in South Bend on his way to York. I'll pick you up at 5 am. Get out of bed at 4 am and Earl would be in the drive way ready to go. Lester bunked with us on one of our York trips. Time moves on. Lester is gone. Chuck is living with his daughter in Tucson. My son took me to York this year. Had a ok time, but I sure miss the old gang.

[StudeRich]

/Cut/Lester had rows of 1953 & up C-K rear quarters stacked 10 deep leaning against a building. So many great cars he had, me so little time and only one tow-dolly!!! Towing the '55 back with my 1972 Dodge 318 V8 pickup, we were down to about 25 mph
going up the California mountains, pedal to the metal. Gloria was NOT impressed! Such great memories.

Yep, I remember helping my friend Jon Meyer haul all those same TONS of parts out of Esther and Les's "Back 40" at their El Cajon Home with a Fleet of Big Stakebed 2 Ton + Rental Trucks.