#my dad works for valve he told me/j | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

itsworn · 5 years

Text

This 1946 Studebaker Pickup Has Been Improving for Four Generations

The first owner of this 1946 Studebaker M5 1/2-ton pickup owned it for only two or three years. In 1948, Ed Gaither, a Shell Oil mechanic in Liberty, Texas, bought it. Ed used his new truck for the job and for regular transportation. Twenty years later, he was still driving his old truck, for regular transportation and for taking his grandkids for rides.

Mike Gaither was one of those grandkids. “I still have memories of standing on the passenger side floorboard looking over the dash as we drove to the drugstore for some candy or a root beer float,” he told us. After Ed died in 1970, his truck was given to Mike’s older brother for his 16th birthday. “Gary drove it through high school and used it to earn spending money hauling hay from the fields to the barns. At one point he took off the bed and replaced it with a steel flatbed,” Mike says.

When Mike was 14 years old, his father passed the Studebaker to him. “It had been parked on the family property for a few years and he told me that if I wanted something to drive when I was 16 I could fix it up. Being in love with old cars and trucks I jumped at the opportunity. I grabbed my handsaw and cut the trees that were growing through the bed and bumpers and got to work. By my senior year in high school I had painted the truck pearl white and drove it to my senior prom. It was my only means of transportation for the next few years.”

Mike got older, married, and busy, and the Studebaker went into another hibernation period. In 2011, when his son, Thomas, turned 14, Mike passed the family pickup to him. The old truck had been parked for about 25 years, but Mike told Thomas that if he got busy he would have something to drive when he got his driver’s license. “We got carried away and built what you see today.”

“Carried away” is putting it mildly. Once our eyes adjusted to the Studebaker’s intense red paint, the numerous exterior modifications became clearer.

Mike and Thomas kept the classic Stude characteristics like the trim, grille, split windshield, and door handles, but virtually every panel has been mildly modified. Shaved driprails, filled seams, and hidden door hinges smooth the lines of the cab. A 2-inch section of the front clip sheetmetal and rockers isn’t obvious but helps improve the proportions. Custom running boards were built and the rear fenders were wedge cut and widened. The headlight bezels were replaced with reproduction parts and the front bumper was smoothed and tucked in. The back of the truck was treated to a custom roll pan and 1937 Ford taillights. The bed is stretched 1 1/2 inches and the sides and tailgate are double-walled. Stake pockets have been extended 3 inches. Retrax supplied the retractable custom tonneau cover that protects the bed.

The Gaithers wanted the truck to wear paint that grabbed attention and made a statement. They succeeded. They call the color Red Hot Meltdown, inspired by the school colors of Thomas’ high school, and by a 1932 Ford street rod built by Roadster Shop a few years ago. Mike used Axalta paint to spray the truck.

The just-right exterior modifications and the visible-from-space paintjob are two-thirds of the Studebaker’s overwhelming first impression. The third part of the equation is the slammed stance, achieved without airbags. The frame was scratch-built from 2×6-inch tubing. The widened frontend includes an Art Morrison Enterprises IFS setup, along with 2-inch-drop Mustang II spindles. The steering rack was extended 2 inches to fit the modified frontend. Antisway bars and Strange Engineering single-adjustable coilovers upgrade the ride. At the back, a triangulated four-link locates the 1980 Lincoln Versailles rearend with 3.50:1 gears from John’s Industries and a Detroit Truetrac limited-slip differential. Ford Granada rotors with GM calipers handle the braking up front with Lincoln discs in the rear.

The rear fenders were wedge cut and widened, and mini-tubs were built into the bed to accommodate the wide tire and wheel combination. Mike and Thomas mounted the rear 285/40R18 Nitto NT555 radials on 18×10 Billet Specialties five-spokes, with 225/45R18 tires on 18×7 wheels in front.

Powering the pickup is a popular 350/290hp crate engine from Chevrolet Performance, with fuel and air supplied by a 1990 Corvette tuned-port fuel injection system. Howell EFI provided the GM TPI harness. The engine was dyno-tuned at Fuel Injection Specialties in San Antonio and rated at 331 hp. Stock 1990 Corvette valve covers add some eye appeal. The exhaust exits through custom mandrel-bent 2 1/2-inch pipes corked with MagnaFlow mufflers. Backing up the small-block is a 700-R4 transmission built by Phoenix Transmission, running a stock converter and Performance Rod & Custom trans cooler. The 3 1/2-inch aluminum driveshaft is from Inland Empire Driveline Service.

The interior was treated to an updated redesign. The dash from a 1942 Studebaker was customized with guitar pickguard material. The mother-of-pearl finish looks great and was repeated on the door panels. The gauges were removed from the horizontal stock location in the upper dash and replaced by Classic Instruments gauges located in the center. The Flaming River tilt/shifter column is topped by a 1940 Ford–style steering wheel from Lecarra. The tan leather seats were originally installed in a 1995 Chevy C10. They were upholstered by J&H Auto Trim in Austin and transplanted into the Studebaker. A remote-controlled Alpine AM/FM/CD audio unit is mounted behind the seat and wired to JL Audio and Kicker speakers. A Vintage Air Gen II A/C system keeps the cab cool.

Thomas had an advantage that his father Mike didn’t have at the same age—a dad with a professional shop. Mike opened Hot Rod Solutions in Jourdanton, Texas, a few years ago as an “encore business” and the Studebaker was built there. Thomas is away at college now and Mike is back behind the wheel of the truck he has been working on since he was 14. He and his wife, Leslie, drive it around Jourdanton and to car shows. The Studebaker has been to the Goodguys Lone Star Nationals, Cruisin’ The Coast in Mississippi, Shades of the Past in Tennessee, and the Street Rodder Road Tour.

In a little while, the truck will go back to Thomas. Mike is hoping that Thomas will someday have the same conversation with a 14-year-old son that his father had with him and that he had with Thomas—and that a future generation Gaither will get to drive the Studebaker his great-great-grandfather Ed bought in 1948.

1946 Studebaker M5 Mike & Thomas Gaither

CHASSIS Frame: Custom, 2×6-inch tubing Rearend / Ratio: 1980 Lincoln Versailles / 3.50:1, Detroit Truetrac Rear Suspension: Triangulated four-link, Strange Engineering coilovers, antisway bar Rear Brakes: Lincoln disc brakes Front Suspension: Art Morrison Enterprises IFS, 2-inch-drop Mustang II spindles, Strange Engineering coilovers, antisway bar Front Brakes: Ford Granada rotors and GM calipers Steering: Rack-and-pinion Front Wheels: Billet Specialties 18×7 Rear Wheels: Billet Specialties 18×10 Front Tires: Nitto NT555 225/45 R18 Rear Tires: Nitto NT555 285/40R18 Gas Tank: Rick’s Tanks 16-gallon tank

DRIVETRAIN Engine: Chevrolet Performance 350/290hp crate engine Heads: Chevrolet Performance stock Fuel Injection: 1990 Corvette TPI, Howell EFI components Ignition: Chevrolet Performance stock Air Cleaner: K&N Valve Covers: 1990 Corvette Headers: Chevrolet Performance stock Exhaust: Custom 2-1/2-inch pipes Mufflers: MagnaFlow Alternator: Chevrolet Performance stock Water Pump: Chevrolet Performance stock Radiator: Perfromance Rod & Custom Fan: Stal electric Horsepower: 331 at 5,800 rpm Transmission: GM 700-R4 from Phoenix Transmission Torque Converter: Stock Transmission Cooler: Performance Rod & Custom Driveshaft: Inland Empire Driveline Service

BODY Style: 1948 Studebaker M5 Modifications: Shaved driprails, hidden door hinges, front clip sheetmetal sectioned, rockers sectioned, rear cab seams filled Fenders: Factory, rear fenders wedge cut and widened, custom running boards Hood: Factory Grille: Stock Painter: Mike Gaither Paint / Color: Axalta / Custom mix red Bed: Factory, 1-1/2-inch stretch, double-wall sides and tailgate, extended stake pockets, mini-tubs Tonneau Cover: Retrax retractable Headlights / Taillights: stock with reproduction bezels / 1937 Ford Outside Mirrors: Hagan Street Rod Necessities Fatties mirrors Door Handles: factory Door Locks: Dakota Digital Glass: Vintage Glass Man, Specialty Power Windows Windshield Wipers: Specialty Power Windows Bumpers: Stock front smoothed and tucked in, custom rear rollpan

INTERIOR Dashboard: 1942 Studebaker, modified Gauges: Classic Instruments Steering Wheel: Lecarra 1940 Ford Steering Column: Flaming River Seats: 1995 Chevy C10 Upholstery: J&H Auto Trim, Austin, TX Material / Color: Leather / Tan Carpet / Color: Wool / Tan Wiring: American Autowire Air Conditioning: Vintage Air Gen II Sound System: Alpine AM/FM/CD system, JL Audio, and Kicker speakers

The post This 1946 Studebaker Pickup Has Been Improving for Four Generations appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1946-studebaker-pickup-improving-four-generations/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Hot Rod Network

0 notes