Studebaker 3R Truck Update - Tires and More

For those that follow along, here's the update on our new 3R Studebaker pickup:

Firstly, my kids want to name the truck "Mater," as in "Tow-Mater," as in the Pixar "Cars" movie. I'm cool with this, though I was considering "Curtis," as in Curtis Park.

Next up: tires. I bought four new radial tires - 225 70R 16s - for Mater, which have improved the ride 100 percent.

Next in line for repair is the brake master cylinder, a new voltage regulator (so that the battery will hold its charge with the headlights running), and all of the bits and pieces related to new glass for the doors and the back window. Those parts are on order from http://www.Studebaker-Intl.com.

I've also been researching basic seat covers for the bench seat, but the fellow that made the seat covers for "Doc" (the 1950 Studebaker Champion) went out of business (despite having a live website). So, it's back to the drawing board there. Any referals are welcomed.

Despite the small fixes here and there, I continue to drive the truck to work daily. I've learned:

- In the absence of a defroster and windshield scraper, a Costco membership card removes morning frost very well.

- A choke is a magical piece of equipment.

- Don't look behind the seat unless you have an hour to kill. The former owner left many things behind the seat, which took some sorting through.

- If you need to pop the clutch, you need to be in high gear (not 1st) with a good runway ahead of you.

1954 Studebaker 3R 6-12 Tires

There's a lot of discussion about which tires fit and ride best on classic cars. Some people swear by bias ply tires for an authentic look and feel, while others prefer modern radials. Coker Tire and others make radials that look like white wall bias ply tires, but they come at a moderate premium.

Our Studebaker 3R is and will be a daily driver, so we went with a practical light duty truck tire that has a decent profile - just agressive enough to be a truck tire, but with good highway performance.

We settled on 225 70 R16 tires from Falken Tire. They were $116 per tire plus balancing, etc.

Studebaker Champion - Trunk Restoration - Mat

After scraping, sanding, vacuuming and a few coats of Rustoleum, our Studebaker trunk is good as new. I even picked up a trunk mat from StudebakerParts.com.

Two notes:

1. The black box in the trunk is a large 12-volt motorcycle battery that we use to power the radio/MP3 amp and speaker (hidden behind the original radio faceplate).

2. The plastic-coated cables that are attached to the trunk hinges are the connectors for the LATCH/three-point harnesses used on modern-day car seats. Studebaker drives are far more fun with the kids safely in tow.

Using Radials on Old Wheels

Below is an interesting article from Old Cars Weekly about the inadvisability and dangers of using radial tires on old wheels . 

Thanks to the Yahoo Studebaker Group for this tip. Click on the image below to read the article.