John & Tracy Smith 1955 Studebaker Truck & 1957 Studebaker President

Roxanne's Birthday Cruise

2010-03-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

On March 7th, our friends Roxanne and Scott came up from Tucson for the weekend. Roxanne's birthday was the next day, so we decided to take her to the local KMart Cruise-in to hang out together and celebrate. We even convinced Scott to drive LuLu (she drives well with others!). Tracy and the kids led the way with George, Scott and Roxanne followed along with LuLu, and John brought up the end of the caravan with the truck. The best part was when we were stopped at a stop light and a man in the truck next to us asked if we were a Studebaker club! We drove into the parking lot at KMart and found it to be packed. We drove up and down the aisles until voila! Three spaces right next to each other! With a little careful maneuvering and some sweet-talking to the guy who was "saving" one of the spots for his friend, we settled in for some good times.

Three Studes on the way to the cruise-in. (John got tired of being third and decided to move around to the front of the pack!)

A beautiful Avanti and a gorgeous '55 President were also present. Studebaker was well represented!

John and his truck on the road (George's door handle, too!). Tracy likes to randomly take pictures out the window while driving...

...or randomly out George's rear window. Here you can see Roxanne and Scott driving LuLu (and the top of Thayer's head!)

Who wouldn't enjoy spending some time in a '60 Lark wagon?

When the kids get tired, they jump in the back of the truck and play.

George had quite a few admirers! (Truly, what's there not to like?)

Scott, Roxanne, and the Studebaker Three.

Tracy talking to the owner of the '55 President. He had a great sense of humor (Tracy told him that she liked her President better than his, even through his is worth more!) and they shared some laughs together. We learned that he drives his President to and from Canada (his permanent residence) each year. That car is in amazing condition and Tracy has been admiring it for years. Hey, so it has leather seats...what's wrong with vinyl? (George can do no wrong in her eyes!)

We were so glad that Roxanne and Scott came up to spend the weekend with us and share in some Studebaker fun. Happy Birthday, Roxanne!!! Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Basha High School Math Club Car Show

2010-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

For the first time ever, we decided to take all three Sudebakers to a car show. Luckily for us, the Basha High School Math Club had planned an event not far from our house. After careful planning and a few trips back and forth, we got all three cars in position for the show.

Also at this event were a few oddball cars and trucks we don't see every day. These historic Kenworth trucks were awesome!

John went to the snack bar really quickly once this peace officer started to check out the cars. Not sure why...maybe a phobia from his youth?

This Bronco sat next to us and was owned by a local farmer.

Unfortunately, those clouds in the background didn't stay pretty for long, and before long were were dealing with a fairly major wind and rain storm. The show was cancelled for the day and will be rescheduled at a later date. At this point, we ran into a slight problem...we still had to get all three cars back home! With only two drivers, we were playing rock-paper-scissors for which car had to be left behind when a very nice gentleman offered to drive one of our cars home for us. It turns out that he manages the website http://www.cruisinarizona.com/, the site we utilize to find out what car cruises and shows are going on around town! He didn't have any cars of his own in town and was eager to get in a little classic car driving time. John heroically handed over the keys to LuLu and we headed out in a caravan. John went first with the truck, Tracy followed with George, LuLu was next in line, and the gentleman's friend brought up the rear in his classic Chevy truck. It was rainy and only some of us had working windshield wipers, but we got home safely and were very grateful that we didn't have to make another trip out to get the third car. Sometimes the simple kindness of a stranger can really make your day...especially when that someone highly praises your new Studebaker and how well she drives!

Another car from the show...obviously taken before it started to rain. All of the "shiny cars" hightailed it pretty quickly once the first drops fell!

After the Studebakers were safely home, we headed out to have some lunch and drive around town a bit. A sign on the side of the road directed us to the newest showroom of Steel Dreamz, a dealership offering collector cars and car memorabilia. This sleek Hawk welcomed us at the entrance.

When the owner, Scott Cawley, heard that we are into Studebakers, he took us back and showed us his truck, a modified driver. The pictures really don't do this truck justice. It's absolutely gorgeous! We enjoyed our tour of the place and Scott's hospitality. You can learn more about this unique showroom at http://www.steeldreamz.com/. It's definitely worth a visit!

Meet LuLu

2010-02-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you come across a car that just really sparks your interest. You have to decide whether to take a chance...to purchase or to simply walk away. We took a chance and drove to California to pick up this little wagon and could not believe our good luck with what we found. Not a day has gone by that we haven't found something about this car that simply delights us!

Stay tuned for a new addition!

2010-02-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

Silly G.D....Studebakers are for kids!

2010-01-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

We always love it when people ask us about our Studebakers, but it's especially fun to see kids enjoying them as much as we do. Our friend Scott brought his little girl down to visit with us at the Santa Cruz Valley Car Nuts' 16th Annual Car Show in Tubac on Saturday and she had a blast running around and looking at the cars with her daddy.

Our daughter, Jilly, loves Daddy's truck and plays an active role in getting it ready for shows. She would scrub on our Studebakers all day long if we let her and enjoys climbing up in the truck bed every chance that she gets.

It's fun to have vehicles that are truly "family Studebakers." The kids love to go for a ride in George and Thayer thinks he's cool like Fonzie leaning up against his favorite '57 President! Our kids are fortunate enough to be able to experience classic cars in the way they were meant to be enjoyed and without the fear of scratching the paint or scuffing a white-walled tire (well, we TRY not to worry about these things any more than the average parent does! John IS a little obsessed with the truck's tires, though...) We can't help wishing that all kids got to experience car shows in the same way. We're sure it would do wonders for the future of these vehicles!

Saturday Night Cruise

2009-12-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, we were looking to shake off the Christmas tinsel and took the family and the Studebakers out for a night on the town. There weren't many cars at the local cruise-in, but there were plently of people to talk to and even a Silver Hawk that showed up.

One of our daughter's favorite things to do when the cars are parked is to hang out the windows and wave to people passing by. We really should enter a parade some day...

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2009-12-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, and this year we decided to turn going to get the Christmas tree into a new Studebaker tradition. With John in the truck and Tracy and the kids in the President, we headed down to the tree lot to find that perfect Christmas tree.

Thayer and Jillian were proud to pick out this beauty and "help" get it loaded into the truck.

John safely got the tree home, even though the kids were convinced that it was somehow going to fly out the back of the truck! Now we just have to work on getting all of those pine needles out of the truck bed...

Buckets, Blowers & Bombers Car Show

2009-10-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

This past October, we registered the truck for the Buckets, Blowers, and Bombers Show & Shine car show at the Commemorative Air Force Museum. This show was a benefit car show for the museum and was hosted by Hot Rod Planet Promotions. Although we hoped for cooler weather, it ended up a toasty 100+ degrees.

The show was a great mixture of all types of vehicles, including a '50 bulletnose and a '63 Lark. One of the most awesome opportunities, though, was the chance to have our truck's picture taken with the B25 Maid in the Shade. To learn more about this plane and the museum, you can visit www.azcag.org. What an awesome opportunity!

The Old Man's Back On The Road! (and he's driving his Studebaker!)

2009-09-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

It's been 3 1/2 weeks since John's surgery. After three previous attempts to try to drive the truck since then (OUCH! The clutch was not his friend!), he was finally able to get back on the road today and take a trip to the grocery store. The weather has cooled just a bit this week, making it perfect for early morning drives. What more could a man ask for?

One More Step

2009-09-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Now that John's able to drive the truck again, he wasn't about to limit himself to one little drive to the grocery store. As soon as the sun went down, he hopped on in and drove the truck to his guitar lesson.

Dash In, Dash Out!

2009-08-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have a credit with Studebaker International? Why, order that black dash pad you've been thinking of adding! Originally offered as an option on our truck, the dash pad was supposed to add a level of safety to driver and passengers. We just like the way it brings the elements in our cab together.

This is what the dash looked like before we added the black pad. The red screws across the dash show where the pad is meant to be attached. The weather is starting to cool in the evenings, which means we are gearing up to get to work more on our Studebakers. Stay tuned for weekly updates on our projects!

I Wish I Was An Oscar Meyer Wiener

2009-08-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

While driving a Studebaker in August in Arizona may be a bit warm, it's more than worth it! And who could pass up the opportunity to see the Wienermobile up close and in person? While Tracy waited in line with the kids so they could get their picture taken with this little bit of Americana, she also didn't have any qualms about pulling George on up for his photo opportunity, as well. A Studebaker and the Wienermobile...now that's life in the good old United States of America!

"His and Hers" Studebakers

2009-08-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

John and his dad had the pleasure of meeting Johna and Rick Pierce (from Sacramento) at this year's Zone Meet. Not only were they very welcoming and helpful, but they also DRIVE THEIR STUDEBAKERS!

Here are a few fun pictures of some of the places they have driven their Studebakers.

These folks are excellent ambassadors for the Studedebaker Drivers Club. Thanks, Johna and Rick, for helping to keep the "D" in the SDC!

This Is The Way To Keep Studebakers Going!

2009-07-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

A Studebaker friend of ours, Dave Arnold, recently shared these great pictures with us of his daughter "growing up with Studebakers." The monumental time recently arrived for her to receive her temporary license and actually get the opportunity to drive her dad's '60 convertible Lark. The video that follows shows this momentous occasion and leaves us wondering...will our kids want to drive the truck or the President? Or will we have more options available for them to choose from by then?
Thanks again, Dave for sharing these awesome pictures and video. We are pleased to note that no Studebakers were harmed in the making of this film... :)

Push It, Pull It, Drag It, Or Push It Out Of An Airplane...I Don't Care! Just Get It There!

2009-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of rumblings in the Studebaker world whether certain vehicles would be considered "Trailer Queens." The question then arises: What qualifies a vehicle as a Trailer Queen? Is it the owner who has a lot of time and money invested in his vehicle who trailers it across three states to get to the show (in order to protect his investment), but then drives it all over once he reaches his destination? Is it the driver who trailers his vehicle to every show, parks it, dusts it, and shows it, all while shining up his "Do Not Touch" placard? Personally, I ran into both cases at the International Meet in Cedar Rapids, but by no means would I consider the first example to be a Trailer Queen. As for the second example, all I can say is that they wear their crowns proudly and it is pretty easy to differentiate between the two.
The bottom line is that owners spend different amounts of time and money on their vehicles and for many different reasons. I don't really care how they get their vehicles out there as long as they do.
The '60 Lark convertible pictured above is owned by Dave Arnold and won first place in its division at the 2009 International Studebaker Meet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. While in Cedar Rapids, Dave logged over 400 miles in this car and was giving rides to anyone who asked. You can understand my disappointment that I DIDN'T ASK! While this car may have arrived to the meet on a trailer, it is by no means a Trailer Queen. Instead, the car and driver are great ambassadors for what our club stands for....the Studebaker DRIVERS Club.

Please Park It Next To The Shiny Red One

2009-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

John found this truck at the meet in Cedar Rapids, sitting by its lonesome self, away from the other trucks being exhibited. He never found out who owned it, but sure wished that it had been sitting over next to the other trucks where he felt it belonged. Shiny or not, this Stude has character! We want to make sure to encourage everyone to bring all their Studes in all their stages with them next year to the International Meet in Glendale, Arizona. We'll have our truck there and he likes to hang out with a mixed crowd!

So, THIS Is What It's Supposed to Look Like!

2009-07-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last week, John was fortunate enough to attend a few days of the International Studebaker Meet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. One of the highlights of his journey was having the opportunity to see Les Hole's '55 truck.

Although we enjoy and appreciate our truck for what it is, we have nothing but admiration and awe for this stock version of the same year and model.

John even got to see the engine compartment as it was meant to be...Studebaker engine and all!

Perhaps the best part of the whole encounter was meeting this truck's owner and hearing his passion for his Stude. He was even so generous as to give John a past copy of Turning Wheels that featured '55 trucks. Thanks, Les! It was a pleasure meeting you and seeing your truck!

The Smith Family Celebrates the First Annual International Drive Your Studebaker Day

2009-07-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Tracy started the day off by taking George to the grocery store to pick up some food for our family picnic. Although it's a tad warm driving in 105 degree weather with no air conditioning, the President's working radio (gotta love the AM choices!) and super-large trunk space more than made up for the heat.

Later in the day, after driving the car and truck around and taking some photos along the way, we stopped in at McDonald's to cool off with some ice cream and more than a few cups of water! Believe it or not, more people talked to us about our Studebakers here than any other place we visited today.

George posing during his photo shoot.

Horse looks right at home in the pecan grove.

Jilly waiting for her turn to drive on Drive Your Studebaker Day...

"I'll just move it right over here for you, Dad..." You can almost hear Thayer starting to negotiate his drive time. You've got a few years yet, buddy!

Wagon Hoooooooo!

2009-06-14T19:44:00.001-07:00

Anticpation and hope had always been the hallmark of the Studebaker organization. Two brothers, Henry and Clement Studebaker, set the company in motion in February, 1852, when they opened a smal blacksmith shop in South Bend, Ind. At first they only produced a few hose drawn farm wagons, but with hard work and capital, and help from a third brother John M. ( who made a bundle building wheelbarrows for the goldminers of California) they propelled the company to international prominance. Not long after younger brothers Peter and Jacob joined the family organization, the Studebaker Brother Manufacturing Co. proclaiming that it was the largest producer of horse drawn vehicles in the world.
Studebaker water wagon
Studebaker produced its first salable automobile, an electric, in 1902. It entered the gasoline automobile business in 1904. In late 1910, Studebaker mergered with EMF Corp. to form Studebaker Corp. In 1915, the first non-family member, Albert R, Erskine, became president of the corporation. During this period, Studebakers was, except for Ford, amoung the largest producers of automobiles in the country. Sales increases continued at a steady clip until the stock market crash of 1929.
Erskine felt that the depression would be short lived, so he continued to distribute large dividends. Erskine's misjudgement led Studebaker into recievership in 1933.Two resourceful Studebaker executives, Paul G, Hoffman and Harold S, Vance, pulled things together and saved the company. Hoffman and Vance guided the company through the depression and introduced the successful Champion model. They were still directing the company in 1945, when automobile production resumed.
Hoffman was president and Vance acted as Chairman of the board. Both men were responsible for Studebaker becoming the first established American automobile company to introduce a new postwar styling. A stlylish new car and a seller's market helped Studebaker establish new sales and profit records during the late 40's.
Although Studebaker's image seemed rosey, it was during this period that the seeds of the company's eventual undoing were taking root. A pampered work force and many outdated buildings resulted in poor productivity and high overhead. When the seller's market became the buyer's market, in the early 50's, these problems started to eat away at the profits. If the company had fed more profits back into plant improvements and taken a hard labor strike, things would have been much better. By 1953, the automobile division was operating in the red. Hoffman, who had left in 1948 to take a goverment position, returned in 1953. Neither him nor Vance could stop the flow of red ink.
Low slung new styling in 1953, a takeover by Packard in 1954, and help from Curtis-Wright in 1956, just prolonged what most insiders felt was a hopeless cause. The formation of Studebaker-Packard Corp. brought in James Nance as chief execustive officer. Two years later, under the guidance of Curtis-Wright, Harold Churchill was selected as Studebaker-Packard's new president. This was a wise choice. Churchill an engineer, was a loyal Studebaker man who had been with the corporation since 1926. He was determined to see to it that the company survived.
In late 1958 Churchill introduced the Lark. This first compact car proved to be a big success during it's first year. Chuchill wanted to use the 1959 profits to keep Studebaker in the forefront of small car development. However the board of directors prefered using most of the profits for diversification. This difference of opinon resulted in the early 1961 replacement of Churchill with Sherwood Egbert.
Egbert working within the constrictions of the board, also hoped to save the automobile division. His efforts fostered the creation of the Gran Turismo Hawk and the Avanti. Egbert's achievements, although commendable, did not help Studebaker's position. It was again on the negitive side of the profit scale. The Packard name was dropped in 1962.
In late 1963, Egbert stepped down because of failing health. Studebakers directors voted to close down most of the South Bend, INd. facility. Production was then centralized at the Hamilton plant, in Ontario, Canada. President of the Hamilton divison was Gordon Grundy. He tried his best to operate the facility in the black. He did manage make small profits, but not enough to satisfy the board of directors. Because of the boards dissatisfaction, the Canadian plant was closed in March 1966. By early 1966, the corporation's other diversified holdings, including STP, represented a majority of Studebaker sales.
These other companies kept Studebaker going. In mid 1967, the Studebaker Corp. purchased the Wagner Electric Corp. and in November 1967 Studebaker combined with the Worthington Corp. to form Studebaker-Worthington. In the fall of 1979, the Studebaker-Worthington Corp. was absorbed by the smaller McGraw-Edison Co. of Illinois. Cooper Industries took over McGraw-Edison in 1985. Facts and taken from.......http://www.automotivehistoryonline.com/Studebaker.htm. In 2010 Phoenix will host the Studebaker International meet. Rumor has it that some of the the give awayS will include two models of Studebaker wagon, and one is a Water wagon. Hmmmm! I WONDER IF I COULD START BUYING TICKETS NOW?

Packard Hawk ..... John's New Favorite Studebaker.

2009-06-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the length between post but sometimes life get in the way of Studebakers. But that said. Here is a car that you can add to John's most wanted Studebaker list. John discoverd that the was only 586 of these cars made ( and your looking at number 581). John has had the privilege to see 5 of these car at different locations.

Strange But True

2009-05-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Who Driving The Kids Now?

2009-04-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Friday night, we took George to his first cruise-in. This time, Tracy was the one driving the Studebaker and John took on the job of following along with the kids. Here, Tracy calls John to see how George's speedometer compares to his "actual" speed.

John appeared to relish his role as the "keeper of the kids" while Tracy got the chance to show off George.

George stood out proudly among his peers.

John thought this car looked like one his dad might be interested in. It IS for sale, but John didn't even ask the price, seeing as he was not particularly excited about the thought of adding it to the family...

George in a sea of red Chevys...dare to be different, George!

The One That Wasn't Meant To Be

2009-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

When Tracy first started looking for a new Studebaker, she almost ended up with this President instead of George.

This is a '56 President, and we are amazed as much by the similarities between this '56 and our '57 (George) as we are by the differences. Since we are still learning about this model and these years, we are not sure which features were standard and which were options (and better yet, which were just modifications over time?). We especially like the horn button on this '56.

The floor mats were pretty awesome, too. John was convinced for awhile that this had to be a REAL presidential vehicle (as in, "Can someone take Mr. Eisenhower to the store, please?"). Well, not really, but he was all set to attach flags to the front of the car and join a motorcade!

Here's the outside of the car. This President was awesome, but had some title issues that we were afraid to take on. Hopefully it has moved on to a suitably appreciative home.

Studebakers Gone Wild!

2009-03-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the All-Arizona Studebaker Gathering, "March Madness," which was hosted by our very own Grand Canyon Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. The event was held at South Mountain Park in Phoenix and drew in 75+ Studebakers and hundreds of enthusiasts. We were proud to bring both our truck and George to the meet. George had the luxury of riding most of the way on a trailer, since we don't know him well enough to trust that he'd make it the whole way.

Thayer got to visit with his favorite orange truck from Tucson.

This Cruiser was built on Thayer's birthday, just 41 years earlier!

Jilly LOVED this pink '50 Champion and matching golf cart! The owners were very sweet and let the kids pose in the golf cart for pictures.

We've been a fan of this truck for awhile, and now there's another addition to admire. The owner has motorized this bicycle and further customized it to match the truck.

This '60 Lark wagon was restored in 2002 in celebration of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's 50th anniversary. The Desert Ark was used throughout the years by the museum as an outreach program in the community. Many different wagons were used over the years, so it was exciting that they chose a Lark for this project!

For more pictures of the event, visit the SDC forum thread at

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=27591 .

Hail To The Chief!

2009-03-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

After months of searching for our next family Studebaker, we were getting a little discouraged. We had a lot of help and some fantastic leads, but we always seemed to be a day (or a week) too late, or the great pictures and descriptions got our hopes up and we were crushed when we either saw the car in person or were brave enough to take it for a test drive (for a full description of John's test drive of the Provincial wagon featured in our poll, visit http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26339). Needless to say, we were a little afraid to get our hopes up when we answered the ad for this '57 President Classic. Not only has Tracy loved Presidents since she first entered into the Studebaker world, but this one was actually SHINY! After many discussions with the very patient owner (whose last name is Packard...what kind of coincidence is THAT?), we packed up the family and took a little road trip to Laguna Beach, California. John was brave enough after his last adventure to take it for a test drive, and it successfully stopped, started and turned (which was a good thing, considering the size of the hills in the neighborhood!).

A short time later and we had the car loaded on the trailer...we are now the proud owners of George, our first President! He even got to take a trip with us down to the beach, where, due to his length (he hung off the back of the trailer), we had to pay three separate parking meters while we took the kids for a walk on the pier.

Looks pretty good as a beach cruiser!

We even took a little detour down to San Diego and met StudeDave (a fellow member of the Studebaker Drivers Club) and his '65 Cruiser, Sweet Pea.

Of course, when it comes to cleaning up our Studebakers, we have the best slave labor out there. Nothing like a 3 year old, a 4 year old, and a bucket of bubbles to clean all those hard-to-reach spots!

Thayer doing a little detail work.

We'll be getting the Arizona classic car plates (and probably leaving the one off the front), but were loving the previous owner's vanity plates, especially for the photos! They'll join the "Stutius" plates that came off John's truck up on the garage wall.

Jillian working to make the hubcaps shine.

Plenty of room for the whole family...and six sets of seatbelts, too!

The trunk is in great shape and is nice and roomy.

A look at the dash. It appears from what we can tell that the car was originally Glendale green and turquoise. Have to say that we prefer the blue and white! It may not be original, but it sure is attractive and the vinyl seats will be great with the kids.

We've taken a few drives around the neighborhood, but the radiator is now leaking and there is a pretty significant oil leak, so we'll have to do a little tweaking before we drive him any more. We've both driven the car and really enjoyed the ride (the kids even got to take a ride and we could barely get them out!), so we are looking forward to getting him road-worthy and out to some events as a family.

Like A Rock

2009-03-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

This old picture shows a working Studebaker dealership in Denver (year and location unknown).

This old Studebaker dealership building currently stands proud as can be just outside what is called the Golden Triangle of downtown Denver. (Could this be the same building shown in the old photo above, with just a different facade? Hmm...) Its elusive location (no address to be found on the net) did not keep John from visiting what some may call just an old building, but what most people in the circle that we hang out with would find pretty cool. Piece of advice: if you choose to visit this location of Studebaker History, do not park at the nearby Arby's restaurant. There is a young lady who works there who takes her job very seriously and will tell you that if you don't leave the parking lot, she will call the cops and have them give you a @%*&$&* ticket. (Thankfully, John can take pictures rather quickly!) John's next search should take him to a furniture store in Oregon that also used to be a Studebaker dealership.

Put A Lid On It!

2009-02-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

John was talking to a Studebaker friend of ours last week and something he said stuck with him a little. The friend said, "The easiest way to make a car not look like a piece of junk is to put the headlights back on it and put a set of hubcaps on it." Now, first of all, our truck was not the topic of conversation at the time, nor do we consider it a piece of junk. Neverthless, after a few days of thinking about this (who are we kidding, he talked about it in his sleep) John made the call to see how much these new pieces of the truck puzzle would cost him. Well, that started a whole other set of converstions with the pit crew in his head before he decided to purchase them (Why so much mental discussion? Let's just say that if we need to make next month's house payment, we could sell the hubcaps and get close! Well, maybe they weren't QUITE that bad, but they certainly were more than the used ones at the flea market). As seen here, the new polished stainless steel hubcaps give a little more dignified look to our beautiful truck. Now if we could only get John to stop checking them to see if they are loose when he wakes up, at lunch and before bed!

Who is this person and what has she done with my wife?

2009-02-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

As we searched the internet looking for Tracy's new Studebaker love connection, I pointed out this pretty little '65 to Tracy, who responded with, "Um, that's not a '65....that would be a '56." This by itself would be pretty funny if she didn't already know more about years and trim levels than I would ever care to know. You'd think the car lot would do a little more research prior to selling the car.

Based on these photos, which car would you choose?

2009-02-16T21:19:00.001-08:00

We are taking an informal poll...please take a minute to answer the poll on the side bar. We also welcome comments at the bottom of the post. We'll be posting more details on these cars after the poll closes. (P.S. We did not purchase any of these cars, but can provide information for each.)

'63 Lark hardtop, $2800

'56 Champion 2-door sedanet, $3500

'57 Commander Provincial Wagon, $4000

How Long Do You Think I Have?

2009-02-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

With the departure of Tracy's 1960 Lark (Karl) there seems to be a large amount of space left in the garage. It's wonderful...but it seems that just as fast as we could clean it up, a certain Space Filler Monster seems to find a use for it. I think it is part of the human nature that if there is an empty space that something needs to go there (and one does not rest until that "something" is found!). Do you think it would be too much to ask if we could find another location for the kids' bikes? The answer to that question was answered by Thayer (my son) when he said, "Look at the space! Daddy, now my bike can be parked next to your Studebaker!" How can you say no to that?

Who Say you Can't Get Anything For Free?

2009-02-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Today, John needed a "Pickle Fork," aka a tie rod removal device (for those who are still lost, it helps take off the rods that turn the tires as you turn your steering wheel). We needed this tool so John could keep rolling on the Lark oil pan removal project (we're going on the fourth day here, but don't bring it up...very bad subject!). Of course, John originally asked dear old Dad what to use to take off the tie rods. His answer was, "You need a pickle fork of course!" Now, John's dad has sent John on many bogus adventure in his day. Take, for example, the job in Salt Lake that he travelled to on his dad's advice, only to discover when he arrived that there was no job. Then there was that lunch he made for him to take to work....only later did John discover an octopus sandwich in his lunch pail! So, John has reasons to doubt the wise chap. Last thing he wanted to do was to roll into Sears asking for a pickle fork and have the sales person lead him to the kitchen department. Fortunately for John, Chuck Collins from our local Studebaker Chapter called to help John get over his fear of the task of removing the oil pan and happened to use the same magic term! Well, John's friend Sammy told him that Checker had a program where he could rent a tool kit for free. All you have to do is leave them a deposit of $27.00 and return the kit when you are done to get your money back. Now, we will not get into Sammy's history of misleading John, but let's just say that there was reason to be cautious about this whole scenario, too. Sure enough, though, when John went to Checker that was exactly the deal that they offer. The moral of this story is: if you are in a pickle and need a fork, just go to Checker. (That and dear old Dad might actually know what he's talking about...but, shh! Don't spread that one around...)

Move Over Plum Crazy -Meet Moby Grape!

2009-02-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

As some of you know Tracy and John try to participate in "Crazy" Monday Night Studebaker Chat. If you're interested in joining in, you can visit the following link after 6:00 PM Pacific time on Monday nights: http://1962gthawk.homestead.com/chat.html . With a few different beverages under our belts, we usually can talk about most anything.

Somehow...don't ask us how...we ended up on the subject of purple Studebakers. Craig Parslow shared some pictures of his '66 Cruiser, "Moby Grape," with us. This picture shows just how purple a purple Studebaker can be.

In case you are wondering whether the purple was a custom color, it was not! This is the touch-up kit from Studebaker that Craig found for this color.

Here is the original build sheet for the car, showing that it originally came in plum with gold cloth interior. No need to pimp this ride! It's great to know that our Monday night hobby can be educational as well as entertaining. Thanks for sharing, Craig! Can't wait to see those matching purple Converse!

Rat Rod in Lake Havasu

2009-01-30T20:25:00.000-08:00

John was driving by this tattoo shop during his visit to Lake Havasu and thought that it might make a nice little picture. It was kind of odd because he ran into another tattoo shop within 10 minutes of this on the other side of town that has a similar rat rod in front of it, also. It seems that the Rat Rod culture is entrenched in Lake Havasu. John thinks maybe Tracy should make her Studebaker into one of these....(frying pan to the back of the head says no way!)

Route 66 Museum

2009-01-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

It appears to be a bit habit forming that every town that John visits, he searches for at least one Studebaker. The 12 hours that he spent in Kingman, Arizona, were well worth it when he found this wonderful bullet nose.

The location of the Studebaker is in the Power Plant Visitor Center, which is the home of the Route 66 museum. The staff welcomed John with a great smile and inviting greeting. They encouraged him to go in and take as many photos as he wanted. Pretty nice for volunteers that seem to genuinely love the museum. If you're into the Route 66 or just love to look at nice Studebakers, this is a must stop for you on your travels. Nice people in the entire building- I believe the county attorney's office is located in the same building and he might have possible held the door for me as I left the building. He even asked me if I enjoyed myself and invited me to return anytime....you just don't find these kind of pepole in every town. Trust me on this one.

The following is information off their web site:

Hours: 9-5 Daily (last tours admitted at 4:45) Address: 120 West Andy Devine Ave., Kingman, AZ 86401 / 928-753-9889. The Route 66 Museum is truly unique in that it is a museum of history, housed in the unique and historical Powerhouse building, located in the “heart” of the longest remaining stretch of the 2400 miles that was Route 66.
We are located on Historic Route 66 in the Powerhouse Visitor Center in downtown Kingman, across from Locomotive Park and a block from the Mohave Museum of History & Arts.
The Route 66 Museum depicts the historical evolution of travel along the 35th parallel that became Route 66. Our brilliant murals, photos and life-size dioramas capture each of the groups that have traveled the route that has come to be known as the Mother Road.

On a side note, John notice the swamp cooler on the side of this Stude. If you follow this blog, you know that this was one of John's favorite finds for our truck. Lo and behold, here is one on a Studebaker, no less. The man will never leave the house without it now!

A Few From The Road

2009-01-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

John's work takes him throughout the state(s) and somehow it always ends up being the Great Studebaker Hunt. These Silver Hawks were discovered up north in Show Low. This was before the snow started!

This truck is at the famous TeePees in Holbrook.

Another view of the Show Low Silver Hawks. They were asking $11,900 for the blue '59.

Up close and personal. They were asking $12,950 for this '58.

Gotta love the TeePees and the truck. What a great "Route '66" moment! (You may notice the open door of John's truck in the background. It was so cold out that he left it open to better jump back into the heated cab!)

What a Great Studebaker Picture

2009-01-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

Mark Thompson posted this picture on the Studebaker Truck Forum in memory of his grandfather, A.J. Conklin. We thought it was such a neat story that we decided to share it on our site. Mark listed the information about the picture as follows:

"My uncle Les Denton is in front of the Pickup. My uncle Bert Bennett and David Bennett are in front of the second truck from the right. The other person is an unknown farm hand. Picture is of STUDEBAKER trucks and cars owned by My Grandfather A.J. Conklin. 'Ready to go on custom combine wheat harvest 1958.' I drove the 57 3E40 in 1975 Harvest year. Last year my Grandpa had his wheat farm."

Thanks Mark for letting us share this photo and your story.

Refer To The Next Post for An Explanation...

2009-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Queen Creek Car Show For MDA

2009-01-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, John took the truck down to Safeway for another fundraiser car show. Today's car show was to raise money for Jerry's Kids. John decided to enter the show about 10 minutes before it started. Tracy, Thayer, and Jilly met up with him later for an hour or so to look at all of the cars. This was the car that eventually one first place (people's choice).

Another view of the first place car.

This car was parked next to the truck. John was envious of the gear shift knob...he's always wanted a skull! (Tracy's plenty happy with the three speed on the column, thank you very much!). We all agreed that we like our shrunken head better, though.

The outside of our neighbor's car. It was a neat Buick with a lot of its original features, including a Kleenex box that the owner was once offered $900 for!

Another view of the Buick. It's a striking car.

This car owner's small daughter was going around offering to wipe down people's cars and telling them about her dad's auto detailing business. Talk about a great sales pitch!

The gentleman who owns this car has reportedly only driven it about 100 miles. He uses the trailer the carry, among other things, his dogs' beds (he has a miniature schnauzer and a yorkie). We were going to bring Ginny the corgi to the show tonight, but she got put in time-out at the last minute for digging in the yard.

This truck won third place.

John overheard this gentleman saying that he has his car insured for $80,000.

The owner of this truck talked to John for a bit, then decided to go home and bring his truck down to the show, too. We really enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories. The owner of this truck bought this truck for $7000. Not a bad deal, considering that it has a front tilting hood and a new Chevy step-side bed.

Thayer's already planning taking the truck out for a drive on some future Saturday night. Never mind that he won't be able to get his license for almost 12 years... Jilly is his partner in crime, but at the moment seemed more interested in carrying on a conversation with the shrunken head. All in a night out for the Smith kids!

This Mustang won second place and got a lot of attention.

Another fine example of the ever-popular Mustang.

Once again a Studebaker is represented at a local car show. We're beginning to think that we're the only ones that drive ours to other local non-Studebaker events (just wait until Karl can go, too!). Thayer is always so proud to show off "My Dad's Studebaker!"

This '78 Corvette is currently for sale and can be yours for the bargain price of $11,000.

The Corvette has been in the family since it was purchased new and is now being sold to make room in the garage. The owners appeared to be very nice people. Oh, for the days when John pictured himself in one of these babies, dressed in Miami Vice garb, talking on his brick cell phone as he cruised down Speedway... Do you think he was Crocket or Tubbs?

Arizona Winter Studebaker Celebration

2009-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 17th, was the Arizona Winter Studebaker Celebration in Gold Canyon (just east of Phoenix). With temperatures in the mid to high 70's, it didn't feel particularly "winter-y," but the location was beautiful and we had a nice turn out. Here is Frank ("Frank41" on the forum) and Elizabeth van Doorn's gorgeous ride.

This Champ is a daily driver and was towing a "project car" that made Tracy feel pretty good about her Lark.

Malcolm Stinson was selling T-shirts (out of the back of his wagon) for the Antique Studebaker Club, which was also represented at the gathering. You can find out more about this club and their activities at their website http://www.theantiquestudebakerclub.com/.

Another beautiful wagon. John is definitely getting wagon envy.

This electric Studebaker was one of the hits of the meet. Even more exciting than looking at it was watching it drive down the road. What a fun and absolutely stunning vehicle!

We love the color of this Stude. It is an eye-catcher each time that we see it.

Trucks are obviously always a big favorite with us. Even better was driving side-by-side with this one down the highway! We turned a few heads on the US-60...

If John has wagon envy, Tracy has President envy. Any year. Really. This car, though, could make anyone drool. Talk about perfection...

An overview of the venue. The chairs set up were for George Gezelius's tech seminar on aligning your Studebaker front end that was scheduled for later in the day.

The Avanti Club was also well-represented. That's Denny Lockman in the cowboy hat, ready to share about his car.

A flock of Larks. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of John Pfingstag's ("allstateguy") Lark, which is coming together very nicely. Our favorite feature: it runs! :)

Hey, who does that handsome truck belong to? We were so hoping to get the "Vehicle Most Loved By Its Family Award," but apparently that one only exists in our heads! :) That's okay...we got a really awesome dash plaque to add to our collection.

More cars that actually received awards... :) It's not too hard to see why!

A view of our Winter Celebration neighbors. The truck must have been pretty comfortable seeing as he's parked next to a '60 Lark everyday at home (except this one was a VI and Karl is an VIII...oh yeah, and this one runs, too!). One of these days, little blue Karl will be there, too. It wasn't that long ago that we were telling ourselves, "One day, we'll bring the truck to a show like this!" With the help of our Studebaker friends, we are beginning to think anything is possible.

The Lark Lives After 10 years Of Silence!

2009-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

He's alive! After dedicating an hour a night for countless nights to trying to get the Lark started, we finally had success! With a puff of smoke (okay, more like a mushroom cloud) and a blown out muffler, the Lark fired up...and wouldn't stop running. This, in turn, caused us to accidently wreck the starter as we tried to turn the ignition off and instead turned the key the wrong way. We eventually did get the Lark to stop (even disconnecting the battery didn't work...who knew?) and it will have to remain at rest until the starter problem is resolved. Thank you to all of our friends at the Studebaker Drivers Club Forum for all of their words of wisdom and support (refer to link below to go there). Without them, we would have never gotten this far. Not bad for a plumber and a housewife who know nothing about cars. By the way, does anybody know where the starter is?

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25506

Warhol, How Do You Like My Studebaker?

2009-01-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

John took this picture and played with it a bit in photo shop. He is now thinking of getting it done on canvas. Tracy's only question to him was, "Do you have room for it in your office?"

Who knew? Avantis are kinda kool!

2009-01-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

John and Tracy both have never been big fans of the Avanti brand; that is, until now! We have spent a little more time getting to know the cars and some of the fun things that go with them. For instance, did you know that you could get an Avanti in any color you wanted? And, as shown above, Tracy just fell in love with the Brady Bunch shag carpet! (John would like to say that's a joke, but it's not...as much respect as he has for artistic license, he's drawing the line at shag carpeting for the Lark!) The vehicle above also came with a nice cow catcher up front (the owner called it that, not us). We guess the point here is not to judge a car by your taste alone. It's really worthwhile to take a little time to look into both the car and the owners' histories that go into developing the total character of the vehicle.

Chitty Chitty No Bang Bang!

2009-01-13T21:44:00.000-08:00

John has finally returned from being on the road for 2+ weeks, so of course we started right back to working on the Lark. Hey, we're excited about it, what can we say? John figured out the wiring and installed the ignition switch...the moment of truth had arrived. Tracy chose to be behind the camera and John crawled across the floor of the Lark to turn the key and see what happened. While the car didn't start, the engine did turn over...a very positive sign! A little fiddling and we tried it again...same results. After the third or fourth time of taking turns trying to start it, John turned the key and....silence. Nothing happened. What could possibly have gone wrong in a manner of minutes that would cause everything to stop working? We checked the battery, the connections...no luck. Finally, we got on the trusty Studebaker Forum and sent out our dilemma to the Studebaker experts (see link below). Only when someone asked us whether our car was an automatic did the light bulb come on over John's head. He went out to the car and checked...sure enough, someone (here's where the finger pointing starts) had bumped the car into gear. Once safely back in the park position, we were able to get the engine to turn over again...but we still have not been able to get Karl running.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25422

Things that you find on the side of the road.

2009-01-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Found this on the way to Austin. Stopped to take a picture and talk to the owner but it appears that a meeting wasn't meant to be. I can just imagine pulling up to a gas station like this one with the Studebaker Truck. Now if we can only figure out how the pump works!

One Sweet Champ!

2008-12-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is some more information about the Champ step-side that John found during his travels. As the Studebaker hunt in Texas continues, John saw this wonderful truck next to the freeway at an auto parts store. Swiftly taking the next exit and making a sharp u-turn back down the frontage road, he found what appears to be the find of his trip.

John then went and asked the owner if he could take a few pictures of it. The owner said to him sharply, "Heck, you can buy it if you want to."

As fate would have it, there is no room at the Inn (aka the Smith garage) due to Tracy's midnight Lark purchase, or we might have tried to find a way to get this one back.

Anyway, the owner was very nice and told John that he had put a small block Chevy in it, but the transmission was sitting in the bed. And if I was interested, he would take $5000.00 for it. That pretty much sealed the deal that it wasn't meant to be part of the Smith stable of Studebakers.

If anybody else is interested in this truck, it is located at A-1 Auto Parts, Sweetwater, Texas. Phone number is 325-235-2420.

Studebaker Hunt....TEXAS!

2008-12-29T20:05:00.000-08:00

John is on the road again, this time to Texas. He saw this sign on the internet and made it a point to track it down in Weatherford, Texas.

If only he could buy it and bring it home with him. Of course, the HOA might not necessarily go for that idea...

These are just a handful of the shots that John took.

If you click on the pictures to enlarge them, you can get a better view of some of the vehicles present. Among the gathering were a dump truck, a tire truck, and a tow truck.

This Champ was for sale on the side of the road elsewhere in Texas. More details on this truck will follow. John's always had a hankering for a Champ. (Sorry...Tracy got the Lark instead!) Now if we could only figure out a way to enlarge the garage...

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas Is ..........An Oil Filter?

2008-12-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

John found this on EBay and decided that it's a "must have" for Tracy, the new Lark owner! He is not sure whether or not it will work on the Lark, but if all else fails she can use it as a rolling pin! (Edited by Tracy...yeah, on John's head!) Studebaker...Different By Design. Gotta love it!

What's Going To Work ? Team Work!

2008-12-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

Saturday we had a fellow SDC (Studebaker Drivers Club) member, John Pfingstag, come visit us at the house. He is also working on a Lark project and gave us an awesome deal on some extra parts that he had. The driver's side floor pan will help with the "floor ventilation" situation and the headlight covers will replace the one that is cracked and provide us with a matching set. John also was able to fix the driver's side door and it now latches shut when we close it. He had a lot of great advice for us and was patient and willing to answer our questions. Another example of a great Studebaker person. Thanks, John! We enjoyed visiting with you.

Treasures Of The Trunk Mystery Solved

2008-12-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well, after removing all of the seats, we were finally able to access the trunk from the inside of the car. What we saw wasn't exactly promising: a blue rolled-up tarp and a large remnant of a pink rug. Visions of mafia movies danced in our heads. We knew what we had to do, but we weren't quite as excited to find out what was in the trunk any more. The only way to solve the mystery was to dive right in...literally! Tracy started removing items from the trunk one by one. Out went the pink carpet...it was an improvised truck liner. Out went the blue tarp...that's all it was, a blue tarp all bunched up. There were bags, boxes, and a plethora of miscellaneous parts (how many locking gas caps can one car need?) Once the debris was cleared, Tracy was able to crawl through the trunk to unscrew the trunk latch and pop the lid open. Thankfully, John refrained from taking pictures of the actual process. This picture is a gathering of the rest of the items we found.

This is what the interior of the car looks like now, with the seats removed. The dash is in great shape and a lot of what you see (minus the holes!) is just surface rust. The door panels will obviously need to be replaced.

A view of the car's interior from the passenger's side.

Now that the Lark has been vacuumed out and mostly decontaminated, it is allowed in the garage with the truck. What a pretty sight!

Tracy Is Now A Bird Lover!

2008-12-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

We were happy to make it home safely on Friday with the Lark. All the kids came out to see it, as well as the neighbors (We're sure we contributed to some pretty interesting dinner conversations..."Did you see what the Smiths brought home THIS time?")

Once home, we were finally able to get a look under the hood. We were happy to see that there was, indeed, a motor in there, as well as about ten years worth of dust and grime. John was also encouraged to see that there was still water in the radiator.

A great deal of this morning was dedicated to cleaning off the top layers of grime. Gone are the moss gardens, rat presents, and dried leaves. We did find a metal Jaguar emblem under the leaves in the engine compartment that was quite the little surprise. The next step was to get the car off of the trailer. Tracy got elected to sit in the driver's seat for the event, more so because she was the only one who could fit through the door (we could only partially open it due to the placement of the trailer's fender.) Thus, Tracy was the first person to discover that the car has no brakes. No, we don't have video evidence of the event (thank heavens), but John's last words to her before she rolled down the ramp were something like, "If the brakes don't work, just keep the wheel straight and it will eventually stop." Being a science teacher previously, Tracy knew this to be true....but it didn't make her feel any better when she went flying down the ramp backwards. It also didn't make the three bushes that helped stop her feel much better, either...

John showed off his sheer man strength as he wrestled the beast up the driveway. (Tracy thought she'd give him a little credit before she jumped in and we both put our backs into it. We swear it feels like it weighs more than the truck!)

The newly cleaned Lark at the top of the driveway. If we get the interior cleaned out tomorrow, he'll graduate to the garage!

For Christmas My True Love Gave To Me, A Lark and a Bread Bowl Filled With Peas...

2008-12-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

We left at 4:30 AM on Wednesday and drove through Arizona and California until we were ready to drop. We made it as far as Pleasanton, California (about 30 miles away from our destination) and found a place to spend the night. We had the address of Bob Peterson's shop in our GPS, so on Thursday morning we started to head over to where we could meet him and he could lead us over to the yard. Driving down the road in Hayward, John spotted a familiar-looking sign up ahead. It is official: the man has Studevision! It took Tracy a little longer to see the sign.

Once we met up with Bob and followed him to his yard, we checked out a few of the other cars that were waiting to head off to their new homes. This one is going all the way to Australia!

Bob and his grandson have obviously done this a few times before! They had quite the system down to load the Lark: Bob used his truck to tow the Lark onto the trailer while his grandson sat in the car and steered. John helped out where he could, and Tracy took pictures and enjoyed the illusion that her car was actually running!

More of the cars awaiting their future.

Some of the cars of the past who have donated their lives to another purpose.

John really wanted this boat, too, but Tracy has to draw the line somewhere (Bob probably would have let him take it). Um, John, exactly how far away from our house is the nearest large body of water?

Bob and his grandson securing the straps to the Lark and the trailer.

He's got to be looking forward to a good bath at this point!

Obviously, the Castro Valley climate is much damper than Arizona's! Tracy loved the mini gardens than came with the car, but they were pretty much dried out by the time we reached the state line (at least we didn't have to declare any agricultural products for inspection.)

Tracy with Bob and her new Lark.

Unfortunately, not all the vehicles in the yard found homes. Some how to go to the scrap yard as an even trade for their removal.

On way home, we stopped at the split pea soup capital of the world...Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant. It was cold outside and the soup was fabulous! We can only recommend stopping at the giant windmill along I-5 in California.

The Lark Adventure Continues...

2008-12-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed taking pictures of the Lark on the way home at some of the areas of interest along the way. Here we are Friday morning at the windmills near Indio, California.

This is one of the other Larks at Bob's yard that is waiting to go home. The gentleman whom it belongs to happened to show up while we were there and we had the pleasure of meeting him. As Tracy was taking pictures, she was surprised to see the dealership emblem on the back of his car. Evidently, the car was from Beaudry's in Tucson, Arizona, which is the town that both John and Tracy grew up in! To make a long story short, the gentleman was kind enough to give us the emblem, which was just icing on the cake to us as far as we were concerned. We couldn't believe our good fortune and we really appreciate his generosity!

As John pondered the work he had ahead of him, he decided that he needed a drink. JUST KIDDING! (Well, he was going to be driving, after all... HaHa!) Actually, we spotted this little bar on the way out of town after picking up the car and couldn't resist the photo op!

After we finished our lunch, we came out to find this hearse parked next to us. We were a little concerned that it was a bad omen (It was more that it wasn't something that we exactly see every day next to our car.) Leaving the parking lot, though, we ran into our first Studebaker fan. A gentleman stopped us to tell us how much he liked our car, which just made our day even brighter. Even more special was the fact that when we stopped the car down the road to check the straps, this same man and his wife stopped to make sure we didn't need any help. Once again, they just don't make them any nicer than Studebaker folks!

John looks in through the window, holding tight to his wallet as he imagines all that Tracy is going to want to do to her new car... (Or was he just checking out the dash?)

The Lark poses in front of Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant.

We stopped in Beaumont, CA, to rest on Thursday night. Friday morning we were ready to complete our trip and get back home. For more pictures of the car after we arrived, visit the Studebaker forum at http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24689

How To Load A Lark On A Trailer

2008-12-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

Bob Peterson and his grandson helped us get the Lark on the trailer. Without them, we might still be there trying to load it.

Update From the Road

2008-12-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

We left home this morning at 4:30 AM, determined to try to get as close to our destination as possible before collapsing from sheer exhaustion. We managed to get through Arizona pretty quickly, but things slowed down considerably once we reached California. For those of you who don't know, the speed limit for trucks/vehicles towing trailers is a strict 55 MPH. Everyone else gets to go 70 MPH. Well, this put a little bit of a cramp in someone's driving style, but we managed to get within 30 miles of our destination (Castro Valley, which is a little west of Sacramento) after about 16 hours on the road. We're holed up in a little motel for the night and are relaxed and happy after an excellent Mexican dinner of margaritas and chiles rellenos burritos at a neighboring restaurant. The next stop tomorrow morning: on to the Lark's nest where we will try not to make fools of ourselves getting the thing on the trailer. Wish us luck!

$137.50 Lark, aka "Murray," "Smurfette," "Blue Hawaii..."

2008-12-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you those you who don't know, a certain somebody purchased a 1960 Studebaker Lark off of eBay. It is now time to retrieve it from Castro Valley, California, where it sits patiently waiting for its new home. Stay tuned for the adventure from the road. We plan on adding pics throughout the trip. By the way, does anybody know how to tie down a car to a trailer? Oh well ,we will have to just wing it, I guess. (Get it?...wing it...Lark? Get it?)

This Was Fun To Find On A Late Sunday Night

2008-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

We have been following the "My Cool Car" segment in the Sunday edition of The Arizona Republic for some time now and really liked the concept. A few weeks ago, we submitted our information along with our picture. Since most of the vehicles we had seen featured were in pretty prime condition, we weren't sure whether our old guy would make the cut. We try to buy a paper every Sunday to check the auto section, but forgot about it this weekend in the midst of Studebaker partying and putting up the tree. A late night run to the grocery store for more candy canes placed us in line next to the Sunday stack of papers. Imagine our surprise when we opened one up and found this article! It was the perfect way to end the weekend! (If you click on the article, it should enlarge so you can read it.)

The Legend of the Last Block

2008-12-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

We heard a rather interesting story today that sounded a little bit familiar to us. In Matthew's article in the November issue of Turning Wheels, he mentioned hearing stories of a never-machined Studebaker V8 block that someone found in the sand at the foundry. Imagine our delight to hear the same story today, from the people who found it! Could it be a hoax? Yet another elaborate tale...the Studebaker equivalent of Bigfoot? We'll let the names of the those who supposedly sneaked into the foundry (wearing flip-flops, no less) remain a mystery, but we have to ask: Is seeing believing? It appears that Bigfoot really does exist... to read more on this go here:http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24533

Let the Holiday Spirit Begin!

2008-12-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

I think this image speaks for itself. But I will say that I hope they don't hurt that 1950 Champion when it's time to cut that Charlie Brown tree down! Yes, I had to look that up, Dad. Tracy wasn't home to tell me what year it was.

Ever Forget Your Studebaker Wasn't A Jeep?

2008-12-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

If you find yourself with nothing to do on a Monday night (after 6 PM Pacific time) and you're interested in Studebakers or just a few laughs, you should stop by the Studebaker Chat site, found at http://1962gthawk.homestead.com/chat.html. One of the people in the chat room tonight was Matthew Burnette, who happened to mention in conversation that he has been known to drive his Studebaker like a Jeep. Well, being the curious types that we are, we asked him for a photo. Sure enough, here is his car covered with mud! According to Matthew, "This was after a weekend at the river, and it had rained the previous week. And here in Georgia, red clay is everywhere..." Oh, to be young again! Reminds John of all the trips he took in GD's cars, trucks, etc. through the San Cruz Riverbed (aka "S**t Creek"). Think he's figured out by now why 2nd gear in the Toyota station wagon never worked?

Leonard Shepherd by his '52 Studebaker Commander

2008-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

The amount of knowledge possessed by people in the Studebaker world always amazes us. We have never met Leonard Shepherd but have been have been in awe his collection of print ads, photos, memorabilia and all-around knowledge of Studebakers. If we ever have a chance ever to meet Leonard in person we think the first thing we would want to ask him is where he keeps all this stuff? And how does he find it so quickly when he needs to refer to it? Follow the link below to see Leonard's web site and see a sample of his collection.

http://leonardshepherd.com/index.html
Photo from the Central Virginia Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club.
http://centralvirginiachapter.org/index.html

Studebaker Pic Of The Moment #1

2008-11-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

We thought we would add some new content in the form of a Studebaker picture of the moment. It will usually be of a Studebaker that we know nothing about, including the owner. That said, we will always try to give the website where we located it. If this Studebaker or any others that we post here belongs to you or somebody you know, just let us know and we will give you credit. That being said, let's get started.

Studebaker Special. This was one of the actual Indy 500 race cars in 1932. This is one of GD's dream cars to pull behind his Studebaker truck. We think that he wants it a bit more rustic looking, though.

More info about it can be found at http://www.vaultcars.com/VintageRace05/MontereyHistoricRaces.htm.

Thank You, Scott and Barbara Grainger!

2008-11-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today, John and the truck went to the November SDC meeting hosted by Scott and Barbara Grainger. Scott was a very good host, including giving John a personal tour of his garage and showing the progress of his truck (Toto). John came home wondering how he could get a lift for our two car, single story garage. Tracy's not sure where that came from, but suspects the visit to the Grainger Garage might have a bit to do with it.

A fun thing that occurred at the meeting was "Slow Drags." Since John had never heard of such a thing, he called his Dad to find out what they were. His Dad had all sorts of explanations from funny cigarettes to really bad cross dressers, so John didn't know what to expect. Luckily, all it was about was seeing who could go the slowest without touching their brakes and/or stalling their car.

Sorry, John gets artsy at times. His site, his right! :)

This car also inspired John to be artsy. Give him a camera and he thinks he can become the Ansel Adams of the Studebaker World.

Oh! My, my! Not one, but two Wagonaires. We have this bug, but not this year (thank you, G.W.B.)

This truck has a 10.5 foot long bed (hot tub, anybody?) and it can be yours for 25k!

Artsy shot again

Tracy's favorite President, only she would rather it have leopard print seats and head liner (That's my girl- a little on the tacky side!)

Under the hood of a beautiful Daytona....the rest will follow.

Artsy pic once again.

Who says four doors can't be cool? We'd take this one any day.

This GT was sitting on the trailer like the queen of the ball.

John's favorite Wagonaire once again.

This truck has a new Corvette engine thanks to the owner's neighbor who crashed the car it was in before.

It's red, it's a convertible..this car could be on the next cover of Turning Wheels! This car was just gorgeous.

Shattered Hopes

2008-11-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

After taking the truck out for a spin, John noticed that the tail light lens was broken yet again! We are beginning to think that this truck does not care for the new look we gave it and are considering going back to the plastic one (not so fast). We have to be doing something wrong here. We first thought that we forgot the protective cork gasket (but it was there). Then it came to mind that maybe it was just made poorly, or as Tracy commented, "Maybe John tightened it down too tightly." Well, nevertheless, John got back on eBay and ordered a new lens. After that, Tracy got back on eBay and ordered two spares....."Just in case they were made poorly."

So, do you want to sell it?

2008-11-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, John took the truck down to the local cruise night in east Mesa. This is a good place to go because any place you park is a good spot. It's also not as cliquish as maybe some would consider the Pavilions to be. Anyway, John was talking on the phone when a couple approached him and started talking about the truck. After awhile they expressed an interest in buying it. Without thinking about it, John said, "No, it's not for sale. It means too much to my wife and family." They teased John that he didn't even call her and ask her if she would be interested in selling it. After we got home (the kids and Tracy met him there), we laughed about it because we didn't even ask them how much they would be willing to pay! At this point, it would be like selling a member of the family. Since we didn't get much for John's Dad when we sold him to a neighbor a few years back, we just decided that it was BEST WE DIDN'T KNOW!

Well, This Is A Lot Harder Than It Looks

2008-11-13T23:14:00.000-08:00

John sat down to try to impose a photo of the truck onto this old Studebaker garage picture, thinking that anybody could do it. Well, yes, anybody can do it with a little patience and two stiff drinks and with the help of Tracy (and give or take two hours of swearing at the computer.) Not bad for our first try. We know the truck doesn't match the time period that the photo was taken, but we like to think it's artistic license. Hmmm....maybe we need to get out more......... (We're starting to wonder what it would look like in the JFK motorcade...The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade....On the track at Daytona....)

Got Ink?

2008-11-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

I guess getting pin striping is a little like getting a tattoo. It's mildly addictive! Ever since we had Joel Nelson do the pin striping on the inside roof of the cab and inside our door panels, John's been looking for another "bare spot" for him to tackle. Actually, as awesome as the pin striping has been, it's in a place where people seldom look, so we were looking for a little more detail that would draw everyone's eyes into and around the cab. This new section does the trick!

John has been toying with the idea of adding a logo to the back window, and since Tracy was a little afraid that was going to be added to her list next (the logos on the door were challenging enough), we had Joel work on that, as well.

Although John's initial choice was "You #2 is our #1 business," Tracy was more comfortable with this neutral choice:

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can also see (in the bottom right corner) that this truck is "Unit no. 3." John says this is his tribute to Tracy (since she's his 3rd wife!) That would explain the saying in the lower left corner: "Driver carries no cash."

Joel Nelson has once again done an awesome job for us and we love the new additions to our truck! We can cross another item off of our list. Now, if only Santa reads this blog...

A Clean Slate.

2008-11-09T16:07:00.000-08:00

There's nothing that feels better than a clean garage! After countless weekends of being the stage for the truck's re-wiring saga, the garage was in a pretty sad state. Tools, metal filings, and spare wire tidbits found their way into nooks and crannies unimaginable. It was time to take charge! With a little surprise thunderstorm providing some background music as we re-organized (hey, rain is gold in Arizona!), it was hard to get upset about the few leaves and twigs that blew back in.

While we were at it, we updated our "To do" list. Hmm...think Santa will see our subtle hints?

You Light Up My Life........

2008-10-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

With the new wiring system, many old features became new again, like this map light. The heat that the light bulb puts off will replace the heater that John removed during the clean up process!

Look Mom, no holes! As a certain someone was cleaning out the garage (which consists of throwing away everything not attached to the truck), he came across an old paper bag that came with the truck. Inside were these lenses for the light bezels (the rectangular lenses covering the truck's running lights). Who knew?

The running lights are actually working now that the truck has been re-wired, which was another reason why having the proper covers for them was so exciting.

This is the new tail light that we put in. John's been looking for one of these for a long time. This is a case where having a reproduction light has been better than having an original (Tracy was so happy that John didn't win the one he was bidding on via Ebay).

It's probably best not to mention how difficult it actually is to install one of these lights without breaking the glass lens.

After three attempts (numerous bulbs, a fuse, and a full dustpan of glass), it was literally time to "Stop!" the insanity. Luckily, the end result is worth it!

1st Annual Queen Creek Safeway Breast Cancer Car Show!

2008-10-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

The truck is up and running, so we enjoyed an evening show down the road at our local Safeway shopping center. The show was small, but very well run. Hopefully they will make it an annual event and it will grow as word gets around.

The Queen family joined us and we all brought the kids. Since there was no jumping castle, John popped them all in the back of the truck and we watched them jump around a bit and test the shocks (that always makes the fellow car show people a little nervous!). This raised an interesting question: just how many small children CAN you fit in the back of a '55 Studebaker truck?

A Few From The Road.

2008-10-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

All right, so you can't make everyone happy ALL the time. Those who are strictly Studebaker fans may not enjoy all of these pictures, but occasionally we see some other vehicles that catch our eye. All of these vehicles are right off the interstate at Desert Gardens Mobile Home Sales in Quartzsite, Arizona. We stopped by and wandered around a little bit on our way back from Disneyland.

This whole set-up was pretty awesome.

This old Studebaker Champion was sitting in a back lot.

We also spied this Studebaker (Hawk?) as we were making the rounds.

This beauty ('41? Studebaker President) has mis-matched front hubcaps. The back wheels match...they don't have any hubcaps at all! Is it just us, or does this price seem a little steep? Oh well, fun to look at in any case. You can find a complete listing of their cars for sale at www.classiccars.com (click on Desert Gardens) or www.desertgardenscars.com. The gentleman we spoke to said that they have over 25 Studebakers for sale.

Studebaker?

2008-10-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Probably not, but this was the closest thing we could find at Disneyland! When it's a cartoon car, you can't always tell (haha...we can't always tell, anyway). Anyway, it's a Studebaker in our hearts and at Disneyland...everything is what you make of it!

Nothing Left But The Small Stuff!

2008-10-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

Today was a glorious day at the Smith Studebaker Garage.

We were able to get the rest of the wiring done on the old girl (with the exception of a few little details) and were able to start her up. With a few minor adjustments and a lot of help, this project (the wiring, that is) is about to get the DONE stamp.

As you can see, the cloth asphalt loom made the truck have the appearance of the era that it originally was in, but now houses a modern 12-volt system that is nice and neat (Unlike our garage- that will be a post for later. Somebody has a lot of work to do!)

The panel for the system is now located in the glove box, out of the way of Big Foot's damaging limbs (Heck, he just got the confidence to drive the truck on the freeway. The last thing he needs to do is kick the entire fuse panel with his size 13's while trying to push in the clutch.)

Today, We Packed Up The Family And Headed Out West

2008-10-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

No, really...we actually did! We headed out to the northwest side of Phoenix to attend the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club's monthly meeting and gathering. This month's meeting took place at the Pioneer Restaurant at Pioneer Village, an old 1800's "town" with lots of old buildings of historic interest and a true "old west" atmosphere. In keeping with the "old time theme," we thought we'd include a black and white photo of the Studebakers lucky enough to come to the meeting with their owners (due to our almost-completed wiring project, the truck did not make today's trip with us).

This awesome little Wagonaire is John's new dream car. He'd really like one like this with a sliding top. We'll just add it to our dream list!

Okay, we'll admit that we are not huge Avanti fans, but this is one of the nicest we have seen. It was downright pretty as a picture!

This Lark is truly amazing! It is restored to showroom-clean perfection(right down to the tags on the radiator), yet has the added modern amenities of A/C and tinted windows. The best part: it can fit a stroller in the trunk and a car seat in the back seat! What an awesome family car! (See, Mom...should have kept the old boy!)

This Silver Hawk was stunning, as well. We didn't post pictures of all the vehicles present today, but they were all just gorgeous and made our club proud. What a fun way to kick off what is soon to become our busiest "Studebaker Season" in the Southwest!

This Video Explains It All!

2008-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

Many times we are asked why we are so outspoken about the need to include families and members of all ages in "Studebaker society." We frequently find ourselves having to explain our passion for our Studebaker truck and our desire to keep it a family project. People find it a little hard to understand that it's not just John's truck, or Tracy's truck, or a truck for the kids to enjoy "someday." This is our truck now, to be enjoyed now, together. If you click on this video link in the top lefthand corner, you'll see a similar faimly display of Studebaker enthusiasm being enjoyed . We are so excited to get to see another family enjoying their Studebaker and can completely relate to the ups and downs shown in these few minutes alone! What a great example of how a Studebaker can bring a family closer to each other and further away from the TV and/or video games. Thanks, Clark and Family for sharing this moment with us.

We Finally Got AC For the Truck!

2008-10-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Well John finally broke down and bought AC for the truck. Okay, well, it's more like an evaporative cooler that hangs outside the window and uses the air blowing through it to help turn a fan which in turn blows the cooler air into the vehicle. Or something like that. The great news is that he got an awesome deal on it and it looks like it just came out of the box (but not so much that it doesn't look authentic and great hanging on the truck).

Close, but no cigar!

2008-10-12T21:32:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update on the wiring. We have started getting the looming done (that's the black covering over the wires for those normal people who haven't heard that term applied to cars before). Everything seems to be going as planned. As long as she starts up when we finally turn the key, we'll be happy! We'll be sure to post more pictures when we are completed.

Some Things We Should Never Try To Do On Our Own..

2008-10-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Rewiring our truck is one them!

Fortunately for us, John's friend Sammy is playing a major role in helping us get this done. It seems like rewiring is a task that will never end. We talked about trying to take this task on by ourselves prior to getting help. How hard could it be? Tracy reads the instructions and John completes the task (just like Christmas Eve with all the kids' toys... so we thought). The reality of it is that even with Sammy's (very much appreciated) help we are going on approximately our third day. Above is a picture of what it now looks like behind our gauges. The Studespaghetti is gone!

But enough of the negative vibes. Today we installed the High Beam Light Indicator (the thingy that lights up when you flash your brights at somebody). Not bad considering the hole used to house the knob of the glove box door we stole from G.D.

We also relocated the ignition switch (the place you put your keys) and added a new horn button on the dash.

Here's a close up of those. The third hole will house the new light switch. John's been trying to figure out where he was going to put all of this since his birthday. Oh, let's just say his OCD kicked into overtime! That's all we're allowed to say about that...

Blinded By The Light! Or Just The Sheer Beauty Of El Burro!

2008-10-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

You would think that after almost a year of working on our truck after putting the kids to bed, we would have figured out a little sooner that we needed a new shop light. Well, today we installed a new, eight foot light fixture. So, now our garage lights up not only our space, but part of the street in front of the house, as well. Neighbors should like the new street light since usually the only time we have it on is after nine o'clock PM. The good news is that we now have several slightly used items for sale (considering eBay or maybe Craigslist?):
* Four drop lights (one is broken, due to a disagreement with somebody whose name shall not be named)
* Two flashlights
* Two hiker head lamps (Haven't been hiking since we got the truck- so much for that trip down the Grand Canyon...)
*One lamp from our family room (Sounds funny, but it seemed like a good idea at the time)
Correction: One Lamp slightly damaged and with red specks of paint on it.
*One candle (Don't ask! We won't tell)

What Can You Make Out Of A Glove Box Door?

2008-09-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Once again, we have to thank our friends at the Studebaker Forum for helping us make a gauge panel out of a glove box door. Actually, we have many people to thank. G.D. (aka Bridgegaurd), for supplying the glove box without too much protest (tough to do when you're in Guam). Lucky, for helping John with body work on the door (it had a slight dent that needed to be taken out). Sammy, who spent most of his day in the garage with us helping us take on a task we thought we would have to pay somebody to do (We did hear something about John having a lot of sanding to do on Sammy's Bronco!).

After Tracy laid out the circles to perfection, we drilled a small pilot hole.

Then, using two and three inch hole saws, we cut out the holes for the gauges to sit in.

Here are the results. If it wasn't for Sammy, who had the right equipment and the patience to work with us, we would have never made this far. The man does know how to make something from nothing.

Here, John is trying to de-burr the edges and trying to keep the circles round. Let's just say it got to a point that we just had to laugh about it.

Beside the need to modernize our system from a 6-volt/12-volt hodge-podge system with non-working gauges, we are also attempting to clean up the wiring behind the dash. This is a great start.

The result is wonderful! We couldn't be happier. Thanks to all of our friends and family, our vision that we have for our truck is starting to become a reality. Mmmmmm...think we should chop the top? Na, we would do that to this old girl. (Besides, John's head hits the roof as it is!)

Holes have been filled

2008-09-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

We just got our sun visors back from the upholsterer ! Let me know what you think! Sorry this second image is blurry but you can get the idea.

What Turns Me On

2008-09-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Along with the wiring kit Tracy and the kids got John for his birthday, they also got him a new ignition switch with new keys. So, as always, John put the cart before the horse (just wanted to see what it would look like) and picked the new location for the switch. Since the new gauge panel will not have a hole for the ignition switch, John decided to place it in one of the old heater control holes. In our eyes, it looks like it belongs there. You know what they say, though: "Beauty is in the eye of the guy paying for the parts!"

Studebaker National Meet In Lancaster

2008-09-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

For those of you outside the Studebaker world, the 2008 Studebaker National Meet has been going on this past week. After seeing many reviews and photos, it appears to be quite the success. We can only hope the turnout will be matched when it arrives in Glendale in 2010. One set of pictures caught our eye due to the sheer volume of the pictures (over 1700+ pics). These people obviously love Studebakers and remind us why we love being part of the Group. Studebaker owners , friends and followers have a passion that can't be matched by any other group that we've been in contact with. Thanks to Tracy Davis for letting us link to her pictures of the National Meet. Please enjoy all 1700+ of them, as we surely did! Click the link below :

http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll160/wolfie_53/SDC%20Meet%20Lancaster%20PA/

Like A Hole In My Head!

2008-09-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

The two holes that are shown above have been have been eating away at you-know-who's OCD for some time now. But today we are glad to say that soon the sun visors shall return to their proper location instead of the box that they have been stored in (I'm curious why we took them off in the first place) . The guy that we got to redo the seat said he would repair them and recover them to match for $85.00 for the pair. Considering that one was missing everything except the frame, we think that's a good deal for the pair. If not, we at least know that he does great work! Stay tune for the final finish. We are glad to see some progress even if it's as small as sun visors.

It's been at least 1960 since this looked this good!

2008-08-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

With a little hard work and some help from a few Studebaker Gurus (http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21740 ) we managed to get the result we were looking for. Now if we could only get all the grease out of John's hair.

Studebaker Sunday!

2008-08-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

While Dad cleaned the garage, Mom and the kids decided to give the truck a bath. This is why we love our truck. We all get to enjoy it in our own way.

1.5 Hours To Get To This Point!

2008-08-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it took us one and a half hours to remove all that grease and get it this clean!? We think that most of the grime has been there since at least 1962. Tracy is thinking about sending it out for carbon dating.

If It Stops Leaking, You're Out Of Oil

2008-08-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

There is nothing we dislike more than a oil leak! Especially on You-Know-Who's garage floor. One might wonder why when we bought this truck he didn't expect it to get the garage dirty. Maybe his first clue should have been the rat's nest and spiders. We'll leave the poor guy's disillusions for another blog, though.

So we seem to have two leaks, one by the transmission and another one coming from the rear axle thingy. John thinks we can fix that one with Tracy reading the repair manual and telling John word for word what to do. (This seems to work on a lot of things in our life, but mostly Christmas Eve). The leak on the transmission concerns us, though, considering our family mechanic is in Guam dealing with what appears to be ex-wives and girlfriends of his past coming back to haunt him (He always said what comes around goes around. Hmmm...maybe he does know what he's talking about). So, this week we will get the rear differential cleaned up so we can replace the gasket. After that, the two Shade Tree mechanics will give it a shot. Not sure what we're going to do about the transmission leak. It might be a little over our head. All advice is welcome.

A Different View

2008-08-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

As hot as it has been lately, the truck hasn't gotten out much. It's not all that easy to deal with 117 degrees with no AC. We were itching to get the truck out and take some new pictures, though, so we John braved the heat and went for a little ride.

For those of you who don't know, John is a bit of an amateur photographer. Photography is a passion for him in his spare (haha!) time. Today, he got to blend two of his favorites: photography and the Studebaker. For more of his pictures (not just Studebakers!) you can go to http://aseyefocus.blogspot.com/.

Blame the dust on the truck on Tracy, who wanted to drive through a corn field first (she just can't let go of those farm roots...it's not her fault she was born in the city!).

In the shade of the old cottonwood tree. This one's looking a little more alive than most of the trees he photographs...he has a thing for the dead ones. This tree is due to be destroyed soon to make room for an office complex, hence John's sudden photography urge today.

Hey, a little trespassing is worth a few good shots (pictures, that is!) every now and then...

Dog Days Of Summer

2008-07-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, for those of you that check in on a regular basis and have not seen much progress it's because we live in Phoenix and it's at least 115 degrees outside, making it seem 130 degrees in my garage. The swamp cooler we stole from you-know-who while he's been gone works, but only in about a 20 foot radius. So bear with me, we started to collect bits and pieces of stuff to makes some pretty radical changes when it cools down. The big disagreement around the shop is whether we should lower the truck or leave the way it is. We will not tell you who wants what, but all we can say is that Chicks dig low riders:). These new leaf springs should drop the front end about 3.5 inches. Let me know what you think.

Birthday Theft Pays Off.

2008-07-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

Once again for those of you that don't remember, it appears that John had to take matters in his own hands due to the lack of participation of his birthday (and helped himself to GD's secret stash of Studebaker Parts). But, to his suprise, when he retrieved this glove box door it had a small dent. This began several hours, days, almost months of stressing how he was going to get this fixed so he could go foward with his gauge panel. Seriously. He practically needed Valium. He took it to Tucson where Lucky (in a short amount of time...not even hours) fixed the dent and sent him on his way. Note...John did have to sand and primer this thing at least 8 times until it was right. But we both agree that once we get to the next step the work will be worth it.

Barn Find or Just a Barn?

2008-07-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's amazing the things that exist in the world around you that mean nothing one day, yet have significance the next. This sign hangs on a building just down the street from the Tucson shop. No telling how many times we've driven past this street and never taken a second glance...

Many Studebakers used to reside at this site...now it's mainly just a few bits and pieces of days gone by. These doors are proof positive that Studebaker trucks were used for work trucks! Need a little landscape maintenance?

This little guy has seen better days. Anyone want to try their hand at a little Studebaker identification?

Who Is This Secretary And When Can She Get Here?

2008-07-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tracy and the kids the truck will have all new wiring. When we ordered this they said, "Oh yeah, this kit is so easy even our secretary can do it." Well, send the Bitch on over. I get most of it but there are a lot of unanswered questions:

1. Do I just rip out all the old wires and the things that look like they are relays or something like that?
2. Where should I mount the fuse panel?
3. "Use a crimp tool that doesn't break the plastic installation on the terminals." Do they make such a tool?
4. How do I wire the lights, light switch, dimmer, and new ignition?

My point is that if this is supposed to be this easy, then don't you think it should include pictures or at least the secretary that wrote the instructions? While the product looks great and is obviously good quality, it's tough to know just where to begin. Maybe it's my lack of experience, but do they always have to say how easy it is? Good thing I didn't get the Deluxe Kit...

In the Words of Samuel Israel III "Suicide is Painless."

2008-06-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know who Samuel Israel III is, feel free to Google his name (John's been watching too much CNN, lately). We've made a few modifications to the cab, starting with the vintage pin-up girl postcard. No, it's not Tracy! Tracy agreed to be photographed in a swimsuit like this one and have it posted on the internet as long as John would wear the same suit and do the same...hence we went shopping on Ebay and found this beauty for less than two bucks. John says he never bought one that cheap before. (Postcard that is!)

We also found this vintage Suicide Knob that we decide to restore. This thing was in rough shape. There was a small disagreement on which one we should purchase and after many words of encouragement John went with the one that needed the most work and fewer dollars. Had a comment for George Bush here but didn't want to turn this into a platform for another one of G.D.'s political rants...oops, I mean educational intellect from my elder.

John first sanded the layers of grime and who-knows-what-else off the knob so it could be re-varnished.

The sweat shop elf then got to work applying the varnish under the boss-man's supervision.

Finally, the metal parts of the knob were painted red (page the shop elf again). The finishing touch will be a bit of a surprise...

P.S. to G.D. ...John says, yes, he knows that "Suicide is Painless" is the M*A*S*H theme song... :o)

Cows, Cars, and Die-hards

2008-06-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

In search of cooler weather, we took a break from working on the truck and headed up to Prescott for a car show. We figured the truck could stay home this time, considering the 110+ degree weather in Phoenix and the prospect of driving in it with no air conditioning. (Wise choice!) John found this lost little dogie along the way up north. Now that's one huge Hereford!

On the way back, we stopped for lunch at the Amish Kitchen. Hmm... Guess we were looking for something a little more...Amish (you know, dark clothes, horse-and-buggy, etc.). Instead, it was a very typical lunchroom diner with the very predictable menu. They did have this special peanut butter spread that was out of this world. It tastes just like Bit-o-Honey candy. The bread pudding was also good, but alas...where have all the Amish gone?

On the way back, we decided to go by the Scottsdale Pavilions to see just how early some people go there to secure their parking spots for the evening cruise night. Note the time...

...and the cars. There were already about ten cars parked and ready to go. One older guy was actually polishing up his ride (it was 111 degrees!) and seemed totally dumbfounded when we asked him if he always got there this early. His attitude very clearly was that, of course he did, and why would he come at any other time? We think the poor guy had heatstroke... John went down to the show that night and the die-hard was still there. At least he had put his shirt back on...

Up north it was a little cooler (in comparison). The show was on the field of the middle school in Prescott. Thayer and Jilly found someone they recognized right away.

Thayer tends to gravitate towards the orange cars. He's not too particular about the type, but they MUST be orange.

Jilly likes the pink cars (or anything close, such as peach).

The only Studebaker at the show was this Champion.

This panel wagon was one of maybe four trucks at the show. John's thinking about getting one of these and putting a waterbed in the back. You have to wonder what kind of sign he'd want to paint on the side of THAT one...

Smitty's Glass Shop Would be Proud...Kinda ..So Much for Family Tradition

2008-06-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

John's grandfather used to have a glass shop...maybe that's why he figured that since the driver's side window on the truck was broken, it was up to him to fix it (you know, instead of allowing a professional to do the install). After ordering the window and having it arrive on our doorstep (Tracy didn't know you could do that...it seemed like you should have to have a special license of sorts to order vehicle parts that could shatter so easily), John pulled out his copy of Window Replacement for Dummies and got started. Okay, so it was actually the original shop manual for the truck, but you get the picture...

"Mr. Smith...we have a package for you." Our first look at the new window glass.
According to the manual, step 1 was to remove the wing window, as shown on the passenger side of the truck.
Here is the wing window removed. (Tracy wasn't much impressed at this point, as it wasn't the taking APART of the window that had her concerned...)
After taking the window out and apart, John discovered that the gasket holding the window glass in the frame was pretty much disintegrated. He needed to find something that would work effectively and would be available to him at that exact moment.
This 3M windshield tape looked like it had potential!

Hey, this isn't so hard after all! Tracy was pretty impressed with the ease in which John placed the glass in the frame with the help of the tape.

John makes sure he has a good seal before he installs the completed window into the door. It was at this point that things started to get ugly...
Tracy walked out into the garage to find John pulling the window back out of the door, covered in what looked like black, tarry bubble gum. Oh how she wishes she got the full effect of the mess as it stretched down a good 6 inches before it sprung back up and shriveled into a goo against the glass. (Her apologies, as she was laughing too hard to capture the moment in time!)
Another day, another plan: ASK a glass professional what to use! John took a little field trip to an auto glass shop, where he was assisted by a (white) Rastafarian-looking man with a lazy eye (or two). Seriously. We don't make this stuff up. The man beckoned him to the back room, where he apparently had a secret stash of glass installation tape that he gave of John free of charge. Or so he tells us. Hmm.... There quite possibly could be more to that story than someone's letting on...

It's amazing what the right tools will do for the job! In less than a half hour, John had completely installed the window beautifully, and we no longer have to leave the window down in embarrassment (which works fine in the summer, but was going to be a little hard to explain when the weather cooled off!). Way to go, Mr. Auto Glass Repairman!

Organization or Insanity?

2008-06-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Tracy wasn't too concerned when John asked her to get a white board for the garage (hey, what better place to post her "Honey Do" list!). This changed, however, when he summoned her out to create the master TRUCK "TO DO" LIST. One list was not enough...he had the nerve to divide it into sections. Yes, sectionS, plural. We now have a list of parts "waiting to arrive," a list of things "needing to be done," and in case we should ever forget, a list of parts we're "looking for." If anyone has any suggestions for other categories of lists, please keep them to yourself, as Tracy specifically got out of teaching to AVOID writing on white boards anymore... Does anyone else think this is slightly obsessive? Compulsive? Or as John states, pure genius?

Never Give Another Man a Key To Your Studebaker Parts Shed

2008-05-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! Check out that shiny new chrome hood latch on the truck. I'll bet GD wishes he had one just like it. Well, funny thing is that he DID until about a week ago. Seeing as John was feeling shorted in the birthday department, he decided to take matters into his own hands. One trip to Smitty's House of Studebaker Parts, a few new nuts and bolts, and it's "Happy Birthday to Me" John-style! Other items he "received" for his birthday will be disclosed at a later time. Thanks, Dude!

Hmm...now here's something that needs replacing, as well. You know all those hours Tracy spent painting around the gauge panel (apparently it's called the "gauge cluster")? All that pretty red that stayed on her hands and clothes for eternity? Well, that's old news now. Baby needs a new set of gauges. Now, to John's credit, the gauges aren't actually working, so they truly do need to be replaced.

Take, for example, this lovely, temporary temperature gauge that currently has the place of honor on the front seat. However useful it may be, one might argue that it lacks a certain charm.

But, what if we used (strictly an example, here) a spare glove box door as a new gauge panel? Wait a minute, what's that in John's hand? WHEREVER did he find such a perfect, authentically Studebaker piece? (You guessed it...."Happy Birthday to John!") Look at the sparks fly (seemingly from Guam?) as he carefully removes the hinges and removes any possibility of ever using it as a glovebox again (plus any identifying serial numbers, fingerprints, etc...)

Here's a template of where the new gauges will be placed on the panel (unless John changes his mind, which he reserves the right to do at all times). The hole on the top MAY house the ignition switch and the small dent in the bottom (wasn't me!) will be "removed." Hmm...

GD's last ride! A tribute of sorts...

2008-05-19T19:48:00.001-07:00

Before everybody gets teary-eyed about John not seeing his Dad race, keep in mind that he was 3 when all this was taking place. And he really wasn't interested in cars until about six months ago. That probably still would be questionable if he didn't have Tracy working next to him (plus, he is a tad bit obsessive once he starts something, in case you hadn't noticed). Keeping that in mind, you should have seen his face after pulling into the cruise night at The Pavilions on Saturday night. Next to us was not just one, but THREE totally restored Rambler Scamblers. This is the car he had heard his father talk about most of his childhood but never got to see one in person. He instantly emailed his Dad in Guam(using a camera phone) and sent him the above pics. We enjoyed his return email so much that we decided to share. It's obvious that John gets his passion for life and the willingess to say "I can do that" (and then do it!) from his Dad.

GD's email read as follows:

Awesome, where was it? If it's an original Az. Scrambler I may have raced against it (only lost once and that was to a 428 mustang). I still have a picture of mine. Like mine this is the son model- the father model had a different paint scheme. Only 1,500 of them made. All were made by the Hurst shifter company. Sold for $2,995 1969 AMC scrambler new- worth around $20k now. 390 cubic inch engine, muncie aluminum rock crusher 4 speed, 315hp, 2650 lbs. Best time showroom stock 13.90 in 1/4 mile. Jennifer got rear ended in a parking lot when it was 3 months old and let the other person talk her into believing it was her fault. Fortunately, it was only a dent in the trunk lid. 26 straight wins in one season, nobody from my family ever watched me race. Took it apart in 1971. Put the engine in an idiot's stock car, quit being involved in Arizona racing in 1974, never saw the car or the engine again. Last race was 1977 in a super modified at Sedelia raceway in Mo. Ran Jennifer's uncle's car, first time driving in over 4 years. Only trophy I still have. Good thing was in those days you got to kiss the trophy girl, bad thing was she was my friend's 15 year old daughter so no tongue. If I had all the money I spent on racing I could have quit work 15 years ago, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Now that I've bored you to death, thanks for the picture.

Saturday Night & No Curfew!

2008-05-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

When we lived at our old house, we'd often drive by the Kmart/Target shopping center on Saturday nights and look at the all of the cars displayed. Sometimes, we'd even take a walk through and see who had pulled in that night. I don't think we ever thought that we'd be taking our own vehicle and pulling out the lawn chairs...

Well, what do you know? It's our '55 Studebaker truck on the freeway, headed to the old Kmart parking lot. (Hmm...I'll bet if you looked a little closer you'd see some chairs in the back, too!)

We pulled in to the lot at about 6:30 PM, John driving the truck and Tracy and the kids following in the Tahoe (no, she did not park it at the show!) There were all kinds of vehicles present, from fully retored beauties all the way to the primer gray ugly ducklings (and everything else in-between). With people pulling in and out all evening, we got to see a little bit of everything and visited with all types of people imaginable.

The kids had a blast demonstrating the versatility of our truck. How many other cars at the show had two kids dancing in them? This truck gets to LIVE! It's fun to have a vehicle that can be part of the party and not just a pretty decoration.

John and Tracy showing off our Studebaker. We have even more fun with this truck than we ever imagined we would. It's such a great family project.

Thayer and Jilly love the truck, too. They think that cruise nights are fun!

It's hard to say what's the most fulfilling part of these events...the fact that people are starting to recognize us and welcome us into "the scene" or just meeting so many people who have fun Studebaker stories and memories to share. It's easy to see how this can be addictive!