Dog Days Of Summer

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.

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?

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?

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."

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

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

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!