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A few months ago I built a 1/24 scale 1951 Studebaker as an NHRA '62 era drag race legal C/GAS coupe. My brother, Larry, pointed out that this might be an appropriate time to construct the 1948 Studebaker M16 truck he had been casually planning, but now build and outfit it as a '62 era race car hauler.
A couple of the following pics describe the array of parts...brass, styrene, and diecast that he used, modified, and scratch-built over the month of February. He brought the assembly to my paint booth about 2 weeks ago and the truck has now been assembled. The starting point was an Ertl 1947 Studebaker pickup that did not have an opening engine hood and the doors had incredibly long dog-leg hinges. Using plenty of acquired reference material, the first step was to modify the cab appropriately and proportionally by separating the engine hood, raising its front profile and adjusting the lower hood gap angle, widening the fenders and enlarging their radiussed opening, creating correct door hinges (exposed at the bottom but hidden at the top), enlarging the height and width of the windshield, creating the engine firewall, etc. The axle and working steering is made of soldered brass, as are the bumper, upper hood latch, complete ramp frame and body structure, door mirrors, directional lights, tail lights, etc. The interior is detailed with inner front panels, levers, door panels with separate cranks and handles, editing of the dash radio but inclusion of all dash knobs and vent lever. Heater and ducting are present. The chassis structure is scratch built as are brake drums, booster brake assembly, master cylinder, safety brake, gas tank, PTO to the winch, all drive shafts (3), exhaust/muffler assembly, body to chassis attachments, and more. The Commander 226 cu. in. flathead six has all its hoses, lines, wiring, manifolding, and oil bath air filter. The hood opens with real spring scissor action, and the hood 'stay' rod pivots from its central 'under hood' position. The vent windows open and close using the unique front-pivoting action present on many Studebakers. The truck is painted in commercial colors...Studebaker Iroquois Blue with the black fenders being standard on virtually all Studebaker trucks of that era.
Larry claims he put in at least 9 hours a day for a month and a half, but was patient and found it was inspiring for the most part. He's excited and pleased with the final result. I'm also very pleased to see it with my '51 GAS coupe mounted on the ramp body. I hope the resulting concept may work for you too.
Edited by traditional, 13 March 2013 - 10:09 AM.
