Projects 1952 Studebaker Truck Build

Plates came in. Actual work on the truck should be rolling again this week.

 

Thanks for the comments and messages. Been busy with the holidays and helping get other projects together at the shop so they can get shipped before the move.

With all the rain my core support / radiator mount was starting to rust so time to metal etch it. The green sure beats the orange it was turning.




I hopefully will have some decent updates when the shop gets situated at the new spot and I can tear it apart to go through the frame and drivetrain mounts.

 

Enjoying watching your build .Love your truck-especially the bed and to me is second only to ****** Johns stude pickup. Exterminator

 

Thank you for the compliment. It will be getting better as it moves along.

 

Since I had some issues on the way to the shop decided to tear down the top end. Learned a few things about the bottom end. It's a .60 over engine

Turns out cylinder 3 on the driver side had the bonus rusty water. Cycled the engine a few times and doesn't look like any permanent buildup there.


P***enger side looked good.


Torker 2 intake and the heads will be getting blasted clean tomorrow.


Firewall, trans and anything else will be getting blasted clean tomorrow as well. Then some new paint.


Short day today but learned a good bit about some items that will be addressed on the truck.

 

So what was the source of the rusty water?

 

I'm going to check that out today. The engine hasn't turned over in about 6 months so it may have been sitting water from a leak. There was all kinds of buildup in the water p***ages when I was tearing it down.

 

Thanks for posting all the detailed pics. Really tells the story of the build. Just picked up my 49 studebaker truck today. Looking to dig into like you have. Here is a beginning pic.

 

Good luck on your build. If you bought someone else project just be prepared for surprises.

 

Today's adventure. It was pouring down rain most of the work time so just did a whole lot of pressure washing and cleanup.



Couple marks in the cylinder wall and rub marks at the top of the cylinder.


Went to town with a gas pressure washer. Did a good job of getting things down to the paint.


To end the day gave this thing a hot bath. Then some toothbrush action with 3m anti static cleaner, some Gain soap and a whole lot of elbow grease.

Right now debating on doing some aluminum heads since the engine is blown apart. Not as much progress as I would have liked but the weather was not a friend today.

Thanks again for all those following the build and the messages.

 

Engine re***embly time.
Great truck to work on. Few bolts, remove a few pieces and right at the engine.
My custom frame horns / lower radiator mounts are painted. Helps stop rust. Engine rebuild day


All head bolts tapped and run clean for re***embly. All surfaced cleaned up.


Heads all torqued back down. Add intake / carb and close to running again.

 

Engine is back together. forgot to take a shot of it.

Drilled some holes and mounted the fuel cell. Started cleaning up the bed floor.


Rerouting wires and lines. Fun stuff like that.

 

Fenderwell making time.

Cardboard mockup


Some plasma cutter fun


Used the brake to curve it. still planning on making it removable.


Bonus from cleaning up some things in the shop. Should look better then the dinged up thin ones on it now


Driver side up next

 

Started welding in and blending the inner fender today. Decided against removable for a cleaner look


Definitely was a farm truck from all the dirt I've been cleaning off of the firewall. Some of todays

 

Tacking in the panel to the firewall


Little help from some 1/8 plate to get the bend in the panel


Some love from a hammer and plate and got the curves in and the panel lined up


Paneled clearanced for the suspension travel. Two tabs to the core support to keep most panels removable.


The panel was pounded up on the other side of the fender to strengthen both.


Did some body hammer work on the fender damage from when it was delivered


One side down one to go.

 

Looks really clean.....any plans to paint the engine bay?

 

I love these year studes. Turning into a sweet little truck, congrats man!

 

Looking good!

 

Da-a-mn!

Killer truck. I can't say I dig the rear bed fins, BUT, they do make potentially interesting points to have your exhaust pipes run out of; cut a hole in either the high point or the low point of the curves on the ends of your bed, add some chrome collars/accent trim around the body where you run the tailpipe out.

Just a thought. Amazing work.

 

Thanks for the input. The fins need some work. They dont match exactly so they will need some modifying.

Today's adventure was cleaning up the rear frame. Finish welding on the underside of plates and crossmembers. Weld up all the holes on the frame. Smooth out all the plating and fill work. Not alot of pictures because I was busy playing with the grinder. I did cut and bend the driver side inner fender but we shall see how that fits soon.

Start of the day.


Rails at the end of the day




Finish up the 4 link then paint and re***embly on the rear and it's done for now. Trying to get the suspension done and get the truck back as a cruiser for the summer so I can hit up some shows with the kids.

As always thanks for viewing and commenting on the project.

 

I was able to put in a few hours today on the truck. I got most of the driver side inner fender done. It will need some more work to the firewall but pretty much complete.

Panel mocked up


Front mounts done. The control arm opening was cleaned up after the shot.


Rolled metal on the backside of the fender so it flows.


Fenderwells in. Core support done. Metal work in the engine compartment almost complete

 

Only had an hour to play today so cleaned up some more firewall. When I first got the truck it had a rag stuffed in the whole. I put a plate over it but now its time to do it right.
Removed 6 'studs' and patched a large hole. Good times. No fires so it was a win.
S****ped off the dirt build up. All but 2 studs off.


Bigger hole coming up


patch test fitting


Tacking in. Not a super star welder but didn't burn or warp anything.


Ground down today's work. Still have one piece to do above it and some more welding to fill in screw holes and gaps.


Thanks for checking out the work and the messages.

 

Brad finished up the rear frame is clean up. Painting underway so we can start ***embling the air and running electrical and airlines.


Here's a full shot of all the recent engine compartment work I have been doing.


Friday will hopefully be an eventful day.

 

Today the 4 link was almost completed.
Air tank and compressors mounted and wired


Mounts in. They will be getting boxed.


Work on the firewall and engine compartment was limited due to the suspension setup work.
Tab to finish off the driver side inner fender. It will be removeable in case future master work is needed.


Pulled out the dead stereo and speaker. Turns out there's a Rockstar in the truck

 

Keep it coming. I am curious as to what you end up doing with the pickup bed, when you get to that point.

 

Some shots of saturday's and today's work. I couldn't make it in over the weekend so Brad got to fly solo so not bad with no help.

Shot of the upper link bar mount boxed in


Shot of the 4 link done.


On to the rear bags. Lower mounts in. Bags clamped down for measuring the upper mounts


Thank you for viewing. The inside of the bed should be similar to before. The notch cover will be secured this time and the fuel cell looks far superior to the old tank

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear about the bed, I was referring to those funky fins on the back of the bedsides.

Them'r what I'm curious to see what you do with....

 

Today was eventful for the hours I got in on the engine compartment and the work going on in the rear suspension.

I started making the panel for the back of the dash. Marc McCaslin was down from Bakersfield so he helped with the panel. I bent the bottom out to match with the glove box indent. The panel will be removable when done.


What the side will look like when done.


The filler plate for the back of the glove box made the seam inconsistent so the holes will just get filled one by one.


The bag mounts for the rear suspension were completed today.
Gussets going in.


Rear bag mounts done


Next up for the rear is shock mounts. Then paint and install all the brake, gas and airlines and wire the truck up for the Knights of Columbus show at St Rose Sunday.

The fins will get some rework so they match better. But they are staying on the truck. I'll also be reinstalling the bullets. This time they will be level and match.

Thank you all for the interest.

 

Engine work
Mainly wiring and some metal work
Fitting the panel. It will need some new bends etc to clear the hood closing.


Underside of the inner fenders painted.



Rear suspension
Shock mounts going in


Shock mounts and all finish welding done


Paint done. Re***embly, wiring, brake, fuel, airlines tomorrow

 

Busy past few days. So here's some pics from the progress. Goal is still Sunday at St Rose.
Condensed version

Engine compartment work

Wiring done. All new lines fused. Most of the wiring replaced or repaired.


Some underway pics. Anything in the engine compartment was rewired with new and improved wires. Airlines secured to fenderwells. P***engerside exhaust done. The old exhaust manifolds no longer fit that side of the engine. Not sure how 40 year old manifolds change shape so its header on this side.


Driver side work almost done.
Tried 's10' headers and block hugger but no good fits so far. so its manifold on this side. Glad this one still fits. Front end wiring run on the other side of the inner fender. still need to paint it. More work on this tomorrow.


Rear suspension.
Wheels on so it must be done

The chrome shrader on the notch is for emergency filling.


Thanks for viewing. It will hopefully be running and driving tomorrow. My eight year old is coming down to work on 'her' truck so it's going to go great.