I drove my 51 2R5 truck yesterday, of course I drove it the day
before, and the day before that and, well, I drive it almost every
day. You see, it is not only my favorite vehicle, it is still a daily
driver. I bought it in 1976, from the original owner who had the
dealer in San Diego install a 232 V8 in it when he bought it. So while
not factory installed (we know the factory did not build trucks with
the V8 until later) it has had a V8 in it since new.

It is running a T-86 w/overdrive and has the Turner brake conversion
that puts very efficient front disc brakes in use.

The truck is quite nice with the stock paint scheme, Red with White
trim. I did install bucket seats from a Dodge Dakota. I still have the
original bench seats saved, but the modern seats are so much more
comfortable.

I have a custom lumber rack that I can put on and off by myself since
it comes in 4 pieces. The front cross bar bolts in place and the rear
slides into brackets so I can trot off to the lumber yard and load a
bunch of material, come home and later pull the rack off so it looks
more attractive. During the gas crisis of the 70's I installed a
second gas tank on the passenger side and made a modification to the
filler tube so the tubes from both tanks meet about 2" from the cap. I
can fill either tank by putting the fuel nozzle into the top tube and
fill the passenger side or the bottom tube and fill the drivers side.
This gives me 32 gallons of fuel so I don't have to stop so often on
long hauls.

It has a trailer hitch so I can pull my flat bed trailer or my
motorcycle trailer. Last month I had one motorcycle in the bed and 3
on a trailer to go to a vintage motorcycle show (I collect and restore
early Japanese machines, 1909-1959).

At any rate, I know I am not the only guy that drives their Studebaker
all the time, but I thought it would be encouraging to let people know
that you can treat these vehicles like any car. Keep them maintained,
add some love and a small pinch of obsession and there is no reason
that your vehicle can't rack up the smiles and miles. My truck now has
685,000 miles on it and thanks to the new factory short block that I
purchased from Studebakers West and installed a few months ago it
should serve me well for another decade or two. I can drive it
anywhere, anytime. Just punch in an address to the GPS, fill the tank
and head out.

Happy trails,
Allen