Ill be picking it up in October on my way back from the grm challenge. Friend of mine in Florida is keeping it for me. Anyway, before i cut the thing up, is there any reason why not? Rarity, serious collector value, etc? If not.... My plan is mostly traditional custom style. Which means a chopped top and channeling. I have to build a frame and floors anyway. Anyone have any info on lowering the lids on these? Having not seen one in person EVER, im not sure just how curved and involved the windows will be. Or metal. Dont want to build something that will never be completed due to glass......
"Anyway, before I cut the thing up; is there any reason why not? Rarity, serious collector value, etc.?" Do you want a "collector car" or a hot rod? It's your truck. Do what you want with it.
I just saw a list somewhere, (maybe here) of the 10 most coolest trucks. That Stude was on there. I used to be a Stude guy, if the cab is decent it would be a shame, to me, to cut it without some serious consideration beforehand. It's a cab that looks real good already.
Didnt really know what a M5 was until looking it up but have saw these little stude trucks, They have a cool cartoonish character about them in my opinion...cant see how chopping it would be much of an improvement as the top looks low enough already However I could be wrong but wouldnt think it would lose any value as long as you complete what you start
The cool thing about those trucks is that Studebaker designed them to only need 2 fenders. Right front fits right rear ect.
I think they would look better sectioned in the middle instead of chopped. They look fat, top looks good. Maybe cut off the bottom below the door?
....actually might be a better candidate for a custom section job, like taking a section out of the center of the side, or just the area below the hood and above the fenders then the whole rocker underneath the door for a classic mini truck look but then??? I swear I typed this before I read BamaMav response
Your glass is all flat(no need to sweat about "curves") These are Very lightweight vehicles : back when the CA DMV required weight to figure license fees, I took one across the scales at 2205lbs (no bumpers or spare, 5gals gas, but had a Y-block Ford & T-85 trans). With an aluminum engine/trans/aluminum wheels/radial tires/aluminum radiator/etc shouldn't be too hard to get one of these into the 1600/1700lb range(makes one HELL of a "Sleeper", especially when the sheet metal looks fairly "original"!)
^^^^^^^^^ Exactly! Swept windshield, lower top proportionate to the rest of the body, and a cavernous engine bay can make this a powerful sleeper. I like those '48ish Studes, and the year later, too, which is a totally different look.
http://www.studegarage.com/REFDATA/2R_sernum.htm http://www.blacksunlight.com/studebaker/trucks/2rseries.html http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/StudebakerTruckHistory.asp http://www.studebaker-intl.com/index.html M5 posted by another member on his thread Serial numbers and ID plate location:- South Bend truck - Drivers side just below the seat; and Hamilton truck - Drivers side just behind the seat on the side. The ID plates on the '49 trucks are on the vertical section of the step as you enter the cab on the driver's side. Canadian-built trucks could have the ID plate in a different location from US trucks. 2R-C2 - cab model. They all were this number from 1949-1953; and Cab number - No attempt was made to match cab number with production serial numbers. Cab serial number and not cab number indicates what the order in which your truck was made on the assembly line. The engine number, if original may assist in narrowing it down to a specific period in time.
Always like those stude pickups. Saw one at Pomona swapmeet in parking lot with a a 6-71 blower that was Badddd!
You're going to find that cab a little cramped by modern standards long before sectioning or chopping. Spend some seat time in it as-is before you commence cutting it up. I thought Mack B-61's were big trucks, but their cabs are freakishly small inside.
Lil' John Butters said it best. "If you want something that looks like a bar of soap, buy a Toyota. Leave it alone. Drop it down with some road hugging suspension and stick a 500 Caddy engine in it, and buy a box of Depends. The problem with most people who hack old cars and trucks up to make them look better is they forget about the fact that these vehicles were designed by people who were professionals. And, unless you hire one to make a new design, it is like a farmer scrubbing up, putting on the gloves and garb and doing brain surgery. (I exaggerate, of course; but, the reason we're attracted to old stuff is because it represents something intangible from the past. A beautiful thing someone in another time created to solve a very specific set of particulars.) Just saying.
These picture angles didn't show up in google that i noticed. Y'all are absolutely right about top being good the way it is. Goal is actually goung to be a grm $2020 challenge car. Im already most of the way done with $2019 after having to skip this year due to being t boned at 70mph in my 64 el Camino. This next part may get me booted from here..... I plan to use an old circle track frame and truck arms to base the chassis from for this. This chassis was previously converted to autocross use before a building dell on it, so no real offsets remain from circle track. But it still has wide 5s. I paid $80 fir the basket case studebaker, 100 for the chassis (and had to tear the building down). I do want to do proper paint on this if theres budget room left. And proper body work. Hence the custom tag in the original post. I guess i truly need to wait and see just what i bought when i pick it up in october. Reassemble the body (mostly) on my build table and stare.....
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