Stake-side, Stake Bed Rails - Studebaker 3R6-12

We're in the process of creating stake bed rails for the 3R6-12 Studebaker pickup. Next steps: stain, seal, and bolt them together. Then, installation time!

Interior Seat Covers - Studebaker 3R Truck

While we still have some painting left to do on the interior, we covered the seats anyway; they can be easily removed at any time. Here are the seat cover photos. Some additional stuffing and smoothing remains.

In Land Park, Sacramento - 3R Studebaker

A few pics while out and about in the 3R Studebaker pickup truck.

Studebaker 3R Seat Cover

The seat cover for our Studebaker 3R pickup truck arrived! Here's a preview, hastily draped over our kitchen chairs. We ordered the seat cover from LaBaron Bonney, http://www.lebaronbonney.com.

Studebaker Seat Cover - 3R Studebaker

We're pondering the following seat cover combination for the 3R Studebaker pickup. The top, center panel, and sides would be buckskin and the seat/back panels would be turquoise. Let me know what you think.

Daily Driver - Studebaker 3R Update

The Studebaker 3R is officially a daily driver. Porter Sprague installed the new master cylinder and voltage regulator, so I have brakes as well as the ability to drive with the headlights on. Woohoo!

I fixed the Harrison firewall heater myself, so I no longer see my breath while driving to work on very cold mornings.

In the beautification department, the windows are being cut and the seat cover fabric swatches are due to arrive any day. So, Truck 2.0 will have a new rubber floor mat (ordered), a new seat cover (thinking turquoise and buckskin), new windows, and a cleaner, brighter interior paint job. My Dad and I plan to scrape the floorboards and then Rustoleum the hidden bits; the same thing we did to "Doc" (the 1950 Studebaker Champion) before he got his interior.

Under the hood, the Truck will soon receive a thorough power wash thanks to a referral we picked up at the Studebaker meetup this past weekend. So, goodbye gunk and hello shiny engine and undercarriage.

The dent in the roof is the only ding that bugs me, so I might try to have it popped up without undergoing any paint or real body work.

Studebaker Delivery Truck

My wife, Sarah, is an interior decorator in Sacramento, CA.

Thanks to a friend at Silk Screen Ink, our 3R has magnets that advertise her business when we're making furniture deliveries. Check out the pics below.

Click here to visit the Sarah Michaels Interiors website.

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.

Meet Our New Addition - 1954 Studebaker 3R 6-12

We've +1 our Studebaker collection. "The 3R-series trucks remained in full production for only eight months: January to August 1954. 1954 production was much lower than in previous years: South Bend B/U: 6148 (plus the six built in 1953); South Bend CKD: 2796; and Hamilton: 263, for a total of 9213 units (9219 with the six built in 1953). The company reported that only 4160 3R-series trucks were built for domestic sale in the U.S."