Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Pickup of my Dreams

Pickup of my Dreams

An old truck drives like an old truck. I have four (4) old trucks from the 1950’s and they all drive the same….like an old truck.

The engines are flathead engines that had a design life of about 50K miles. The transmissions never wore out and the two speed rear ends have an annoying habit of popping out of range when you are driving at a top speed of about forth (40) mph.

This begs the question then why Percy, do you have 4 such trucks and the answer is that I simply like the way they look. They have a classic look that knocks my socks off and I love to get them to running, listen to the resonance of the motor and they are simple enough so after you rebuild one you know all there is to know about them…Still they drive like an old truck.

I love the way a modern truck drives….They have a modern suspension, steering, breaks, transmission and rear end. You touch the key and they crank and they move off effortlessly and come quickly to highway speed without sounding like they are about to fly apart… So what do you think I did last year….Yep! You gussed it….When I found the classic truck of my dreams, a 1946 Studebaker, I decided to put the body on an S-10 Cheverolet pickup truck chassis.

My S-10 has a 5 speed transmission and drives like a sports car and that Old Stud rides on it like it came that way down the assemble line. I love to drive it….I have the look and it loesn’t drive like an old truck.

The body was in remarkably good shape after all these years….Sure there was rust but it was surface for the most part although it was eaten through in the places where they all rust out. That is why they made welders and sheet metal. Cutting out the old rusty panels and putting in new ones is not rocket science. There are a few holes in the fenders and the running boards need some work and the bed is in need of some rehab but all in all the body is pretty fair.

I first saw a ‘46 Studebasker in Hot Rod Magazine and thought it was the most beautiful pick up I’d ever seen…And now I have one….

I must tell anyone new to the rehabilitation scene (Not Restoration…Rehabilitation) that putting an old body on a newer doner frame and drive train is the only way to go. I bought my S-10 for just under a thousand and the ‘46 for the same price. It took another four to fix the S-10 and move the ‘46 over on top. I will do the remaining work and should bring her up to speed for another two. Not bad for the pick-up of my dreams.