The Debutante's Debut

We thought we'd share some of our reflections from today's March Madness Studebaker gathering in Tucson, hosted by the Southern Arizona chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club.
Having never participated in such an event, we were extremely impressed with the warm welcome we were given and with how smoothly things ran, even in light of the bad weather (wind, cold, sprinkles, cold, quick glimpse of the sun, more cold, clouds, rain, hail...).
There were probably around 30 cars present, and the drivers and supporters stuck it out through the bitter cold.

Many different years and models of Studebakers were represented, with definitely something for everyone to enjoy. Many of our friends and family stopped by to get a firsthand look at the truck. One comment we heard quite a bit was how different the truck looks in person (most people have only seen pictures from the blog).
The club held a 50/50 raffle, as well as other fun drawings for various prizes. We were thrilled to win a small collection of children's books, as well as two passes to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Anyone who knows our family will tell you what perfect prizes these are for us! We can't wait to go to the Desert Museum before it gets too hot (hard to believe that's even possible after a day like today!).
One of the highlights of the day was the pride we took in NOT winning the awards given out for distinctions such as having The Dirtiest Tires, The Ugliest Steering Wheel, and the Best Hard Luck Trip Story. While we may not have won The People's Choice Award, nothing matches the pride we have in our truck!

The two best vehicles out there, our '55 and GD's '53! (All right, so we're a little biased, but who isn't?)
Yet another picture of our truck and its cousin, "Old Snort" (hey, we didn't name it...that's all GD's doing). Enough already, we know, but we just really like the way it has progressed and enjoyed hearing others give their opinions on it. We were so excited to see other trucks at the gathering (Thayer's favorites were the orange truck and...Daddy's, of course). Even with the weather being as tricky as it was, the day was a blast! We really enjoyed seeing all the Studebakers and meeting a lot of great people. Thanks again to the Southern Arizona Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club! We'll post more pictures soon.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

It seems like ages since we've posted! Well...not exactly THIS long ago. John took this picture a few weeks back while GD was up helping us out with the truck. These little beauties were hanging out in the rain, hoping to get some attention from those passing by. They got it...GD went in and talked to the owner and his buddies while John waited not-so-patiently out in the car (how long does it TAKE to get a price?). Oh well, have to keep the hired help happy...

Although we haven't posted, progress has continued at a crazy rate! After the kids go to bed, Tracy and John head out to the garage (dungeon?) to toil away at our new project. The only thing that hasn't improved is our spider population. Well, we're sure they're quite happy with their new little hatchling bundles of joy that have taken up residence in even smaller nooks and crannies, but we are less than amused. We're becoming spider birth control advocates and strongly support the spider death penalty.

Here's one of our improvements. Our steering wheel was, to put it mildly, less than attractive. There were some cracks and apparent gnaw marks (did someone leave their dog in this truck?) that needed some serious help. John did a little research on how to fix this problem and got to work. Lots of effort and a fresh epoxy finish later, we're quite pleased with the results. No more Cujo dental records! For more info on this process, check out http://www.ratrodranch.com/ . It's worth a look.

This was the steering wheel before its face lift.

For those who need a refresher on what the cab looked like when we brought the truck home...here you go!
This is what the cab looks like now. (It should be getting easier to see why we haven't had time to post!)
The glove box before (remember the red nail polish?).
The glove box looking a little more civilized...it's not actually shiny, we just took the picture when the paint was still wet.

Oh yes, and here's what the seat looked like in the beginning. Just a tad bit uncomfortable, wouldn't you say?

Now we'll be sitting pretty on our newly-upholstered bench.

The original rims on the truck were solid, but scary (they housed the black widow that John tried to "pet" accidentally).

Now they're not only good looking, but safe enough for even children to be around. (Well, children who aren't afraid of other types of spiders, anyway). Here, Thayer helps us give the truck its first real bath.

This is just a small portion of what we've been up to...we'll update soon with some more of our highlights. We're pretty proud of our efforts to clean this guy up and get him back on the street. We're also tired!