im glad you mentioned you were giving me this truck when its out of paint. How nice of you!

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

I think the long hood going back into the laid back front windshield is a pleasant asthetic design feature. A few cars manufactures used this design feature in the late thirties minus the laid back windshield.

My 39 buick was the first year of substantially increased glass area. You also ride so high it is like being in a half ton pickup. Combined with the long wheel base etc it makes long trips very pleasant.

There is one very steep and long hill a couple of hundred miles away that the majority of modern cars struggle with. Since I go up it seemingly effortlessly I want to install either the overdrive automatic or a different rear end ratio.

I am pulling 26 miles per gallon on the hot 327. Engine output is similar to a corvettes of that vintage.

Unless I go over about 55 miles per hour currently. Then the milage falls off seriously. Also initial acceleration is too fast or is at least capable of it. I would rather sacrifice it to some degree for increased fuel milage over 55 miles per hour.

Your truck is going to be a real head turner I suspect.

Someone will probably crash into ours at some point as they stare and lose concentration on their own driving. I hope not and so far there have been no really close calls. I attribute this to the low population density in my area.

Almost every one watching it has always disturbed me a little. Personally I do not seek the attention.

With the large wire spoked chromed wheels sparkling in the sunshine plus the exhaust tone plus the size of the car does it I suppose. In addition most of the current younger drivers out there never saw these cars when they were in their prime. A 1939 vintage vehicle is about 75 years old now. They are even older than me.

What gear r u running? a 308 is pretty good for mileage.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I dunno about width but I wish I had the length of that engine bay! Mine's a tight fit front to back and I still haven't tried to fit the radiator.

Dan

Glad you like it!

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

it just fits with the fan right up against the radiator which is in the stock Studebaker location. its pretty tight too at the firewall.

Michael had the firewall cut for rear room but I had him raise the engine a bit and notch the oil sump moving the engine forward so we could keep the stock firewall profile.

We had to shorten the engine mount arms nearly 2" to fit it onto the stock frame location.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Today I picked up all the new glass. Looks fabulous. I am going to keep the center dividor in the windshield. Two piece windshield, two vent windows, two side windows and one rear window....about the size of a big loaf of wonder bread.

Cool!

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

What d'ya mean? Everyone knows it's headed straight for Chelmsford!

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

You guys!

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The lads have to have a dream!

Dan

Centre divider on the windshield is sometimes brass. Polishing it up and clear coating it to prevent tarnishing presents a nice effect.

The best thing is if one does not like the effect. Just masking and repainting it in place would not be hard. Personally I like the effect. Never noticed any distraction inside the car from the sun hitting mine either.

Although I might butt joint the glass if I had to do it again. Even though the divider is not really distracting. This might mean really custom glass bevelved and glued at the centers though.

I was going to butt and caulk it but finally decided against it.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

New pics in primer.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Tom, deciding on a paint color or colors would be a real challenge at least for me. I am sure it was for you. I was thinking that thumbing through a pile of hot rod books might help.

Color is going to be really important on that truck in my humble opinion. Some colors that change by reflections in sunlight can be really impressive. Expensive to do unfortunately and require perfect bodywork so generally they are out of the question.

Remember that there are various paint hardeners out there as well for the clear coat. Some are average and some produce a constantly wet look at the top end of the hardener spectrum. There are others in between the two effects as well.

We perhaps have far too much choice today versus yesterday. Since the various hardeners are not expensive. One might get some sheet metal sheared up and painted in the color of your choice. Then apply samples of the clear coat with different hardners in it to see what effect you like best.

You are probably only going to paint this truck once. The experiment I mention compared to the overall cost of the project is nothing.

I have picked the color....at least three times. Heh! But I have picked a Volvo color from the seventies or eighties. It is a beige gray very similar to some of the Mercedes colors of the period and very close to one of the colors available from Studebaker in 39. I want the car to look period appropriate. The color has some life to it beyond plain gray which is the color of the primer on it now.

It is a very conservative approach but should appeal to lots of folks. I want the truck to look very very simple aesthetically with minimal distractions. I plan to keep the trim stock which is minimal too.

Being a farm truck the body on it did not look too bad at first glance (see pic in signature) but it has about a zillion little dents and ripples in it. Michael thought they had it pretty straight before this primer but after applying it he found another half zillion dents and ripples.

About the only panel on it not dented is the roof and hood.

I brought back all the shiny trim to get it plated, so that is the next task for me. He said the fasteners were in surprisingly good condition, none of the bolts broke and only one little clip.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.