Recently purchased this butt ugly mother.... It was donated to a good cause (non profit organization) a few years back and the new owner has decided that he has too many projects so it will be trailered into my yard sometime in the coming week.. It's a 41 Studebaker 1/2 ton and is quite rare (I have 2 of these 1/2 tons and one 3 ton) in that Studebaker had a hard time selling reliable butt ugly trucks throughout and after the war. It is fairly low miles and runs and drives. Hopefully, my spare parts pile will be able to supply the missing front bumper, cracked rear glass, broken passenger door handle and broken head light doors. Although the Stude trucks had a somewhat 'art deco' look in the late 30's, back then they were not considered very attractive. Todays rare Studebaker hotrods are very seldom shown but when they are they make an impact. The large fat fenders lend themselves to a 5 or 6" drop and beefy tires. here are my inspiration shots, only problem is that now that I have found a runner I don't think I will be able to cut it up. It seems I have an infliction for survivors. This being the 3rd Stude I have yarded in 20 years of looking, it is also the most complete and in the nicest condition. ....I have the exact same 1/2 ton sitting behind the barn (right down to the color), it was bought from a HAMBer back in the 90's (Thanks George!) but now that I have a decent driver, I may offload the extra Stude trucks as the stable is over flowing with other projects and you can't own them all! My plans (when I started the search for a decent 41 1/2 ton) was to build a stout 429 (7 or 8 horse) and make a street rod but that was 25 years ago and things change. Still, it's hard not to like the fat fenders with slicks look... Hmmmm Irregardless of which hammer befalls this one, I guess the moral of the story is, They are still out there! ...
Tacho, you may have a point regarding the front bumper, stance will get adjusted, color will stay and I'm gonna have to find some rims/center caps and beauty rings suitable for the old girl. Still, the urge is strong to turn it into something similar to the mustard green M5 shown.... But who's kidding who, I know that the first time I start it, it will bring a smile to my face and it will become my regular Friday Night A&W cruiser.
Does anyone know of a source for Stude rear window Rubber? How about a decent donor 'drop' front axle?
Always liked the old Studebaker pickups. It's one of those trucks that are like the old dog that's so ugly their cute! HRP
Steele Rubber Products list a couple of different rear window seals, sold by the foot. Don't know if the trucks use the same profile as the passenger cars, but you can look there.
It was a lovely little truck. Bill aka Tnomoldw ''I wanna go where the lights are low where I can go'n spend my dough an dance with the dolly with the wooden leg''
I don't see anything ugly there. is it true that the same fender can go on the back as well as the front?
Well, the ugly part is certainly debatable. Everyone has their own opinions, but from a design point of view they are way nicer overall and a more refined design than either the of the similar era Ford, Chevy or Dodges, that's for sure. The only one that was as nice was the limited 40-41 Ford style, but before and after those couple of years not so much. They also had metal bed floors instead of wood which was way ahead of the curve of course.
Well,I believe if you do a little research you will discover Ford started using metal bed floor in 1932 so it was Ford which was way ahead of the curve. HRP
Do you still own this? Reason i ask is one very similar was available here on UK ebay. I drooled over it for hours as it wasn't huge money as no motor/box fitted. Like the shape, especially the cab as the screen looks a little more slanted and lower than some others. Big high bonnet could hide pretty much anything. To me that has salt flats push truck written all over it. Sitting low on Moon discs, sign written and push board. Cool I'll stop dreaming but good luck, very cool truck.
Soooooooooooooo.. if you have 3 ............... make the newest one a stockish daily and smile all the way to the grocery , and chop cut rebuild and kustom the shinola out of one or both of the others lol just my.02$
Looking at the front end, I wonder how it would look with the complete grille and headlights from a 1942 Packard added? Like the Stude-Packard merger had happened earlier... Photoshop anyone?
it's still out there because it's "butt ugly" hehe.....well to some owners it's kinda cute....pass by my 1946 Studie on a 1953 Studie frame everyday need to finish it someday...
It's true that metal beds in Studebakers were certainly many many decades ahead of the GM reactionary curve but in the 30's 40's Studebaker was merely trying to keep up with (copying) the quality of Ford trucks as Ford had used metal beds for 2 or 3 decades before Studebaker had a "Coupe Express". Not sure about Dodge, but I think Hudson trucks, designed in the 40's, also had good quality metal beds. Interestingly, even Hudson saw the value of building a quality product unlike the gm camp which only saw "lost profits to our priceless stock holders" in upgrading Durability/Quality/Parts/Longevity of it's products for it's own valueless customers. not that there's anything wrong with that. .
Thanks for the leads, As far as Studebaker's go, I've learned that they were good quality but the company was smart/frugal in that they could re-use things like seals and body panels several times resulting in them being able to put more cash into the quality of the truck as a whole while saving money on not having to redesign things like window seals year after year. I'll bet that the rear window rubber was used for many years not unlike the very nice quality/design of Studebaker's main instrument cluster of the 40's and 50's. Thanks again for the leads. I thought the same thing but to tell the truth, just 2 weeks ago I was ready to sell off certain boat anchors like the 429' cj's and even 46 grain trucks and 41 half tons. Finding this little runner has renewed my generational interest in self motivating a Stude express ute irregardless of using original Flat 6 or Indy dominating Ford/CJ V8 form. -It was all for sale up til this one came along, funny how things change. Just when you think you have too many age old projects and it's time to clean house along comes 'another' diamond in the rough. I guess it's all good as long as she don't poop on mamma's carpet..... If it could or would run and the price is right.......... I wouldn't turn it down but then I guess I've become a Studeholic That's thinking outside the box. Now that you mention it, I can see the similarities.... . moe .
Yes, the front left and right rear 1/2 ton fenders are interchangeable. And other things like the instrument cluster, a nice design, were used for more than a few years and models. All that being said, Studebaker, in there frugality, did other things like handily adding a 2 inch fender spacer to the Front fenders of the 1 tons and grain trucks. ....This allowed for the one tonners/up to have a heavier axle, wider spindle and outwardly offset large tire which all led to a wider front tread width. -Although a bit hard to spot, my 3 ton has the factory 2" fender spacers attached to the hood/body side. For hot rodders building a Studebaker 1/2 ton, the big truck fender spacer is coveted because it allows you to move your 1/2 tons fat fenders out a couple of inches to accommodate mags/tires and an updated drop axle. Now It may be hard to tell from the pics in the previous posts, but both the green and the red hot rodded Studebaker's are probably utilizing grain truck style fender spacers (filled in) to help accommodate front and/or rear tire/axle combinations. To sum up Yes, Studebaker designed and made the 1/2 ton front fenders interchangeable and today that is accented by the fact that we can also use 1 ton front fender spacers to our hot rodding advantage. jmho
Good eye, The wind shield back/slant is all most bang on 45 degrees, that accents the look in my humble opinion. And yes, the belt line is exceptionally high , this leads you to believe that the windows and cab are short or that the roof is -more or less- factory chopped. One other advantage of the high belt line is that the hood also rides high so yes, lots of room for motor and goodies. I have done the measurements and a 429 with blower will fit under the bonnet (if a guy really feels the need to keep 12 or 1500 hp hidden where the original running 6 once stood). ....Gasolinescream, I can see where you are coming from with the 'aerodynamic' Salt flats push truck concept. Factory bodied Stude's can certainly play that part but I'm afraid that like this one, with it's original 1930's designed Flathead 6 installed, it won't make for much of a pushing/pulling power house. -Heck, in their day, a stock 1941 Studebaker with Flathead 6 was just barely able to out run/pull any and all things like a late 50's or early 60's overhead cam chev/gm truck. not that there's anything wrong with that .
Wow! Look at the rear wheel openings! They are huge compared to the 1/2 ton! That's a good looking work truck but I am partial. .
Hey, Moefuzz; While I prefer the R series, the M comes in at 2nd on list of truck favorites. The gearing didn't help the top end much. Studie mills are quite strong. Take well to supercharging/turbocharging. Piston & valve upgrade, replace the bearings. Although, should take ~6lbs stock. Even at that, I think it *may* fall a wee bit short of your blown 429. . Glad to see you're saving this one. As for the rubber, try: William Fennessy 615/662-5013 217 Andover Way Nashville. TN 37221 I"m not sure, but I think he may have retired (partially), & his daughter has taken over the business. Bills' info/help is worth the price he charges for his stuff. The quality is very good, & his prices very fair. I can personally vouch for that, as I've bought a couple of sets of rubber. Everyone that I know of, that has used his stuff, praises it. & he also has all those little parts, that wear out/break, & are impossible to find. Again, at a good price, while freely sharing info on/about it. You won't be disappointed w/either the quality, nor price. BTW, IIRC, most other vendors get their rubber stuff (that fits correctly) from him. FWIW. Marcus...
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