'Mater... our 1950 Studebaker 2R11 Truck

 

A while back I started thinking about having a nice old farm truck to bomb around in.  Usually I'm pretty anal about the restoration and detail of my cars, but in this case, I wanted just the opposite:  a crusty old farm truck with all the original patina, dings, and carbuncles on it.

My plan would be to restore the original running gear to safe operating condition, but leave the original exterior "finish" untouched.

In the spring of 2011, I found my truck.  It came from Northern Colorado, and had spent all its life in that area, doing the kind of jobs that REAL trucks do.

I love this old truck.  The only alteration I've made to the outside was to paint the logo of my band, "Evolution" on each of the doors.  I wanted the sign to look weathered, and it sure does.  In fact, when I removed the paint mask I had made up, a good bit of the old paint came off with it!  Oh well, more patina!

Now this is no sissy, drugstore cowboy kinda truck... this is the real deal... a true 3/4 ton, long bed truck meant to do some heavy hauling.  It has big truck-style split rim wheels, a 3-on-the-tree manual transmission with a cool overdrive unit, giving a 4th highway "cruising" speed. 

One neat feature is the starter, which is located on the floor underneath the clutch.  Just turn on the key, and push the clutch pedal to the floor, and she cranks right up.  Another neat feature is the "hill-holder" option.  When you stop on a hill, as long as the clutch stays in, one application of the brakes "holds" the brakes, so you can remove your foot from the brake pedal and the truck remains stationary, only to be released when you release the clutch pedal..

This is no speed demon, with top safe speed estimated at around 65 mph, which is about as fast as you would want to go in this old jewel.  Air conditioning is provided by two huge wind wings... very effective as long as you're moving, and as long as it's not August in Texas!