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Inherited deuce, looking for some help with identification

rzahnpu10

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Indianapolis
Hey gang. My father in law recently passed away and he left his deuce to my wife and I. Any information about the deuce also died with him that day. So I’m looking for some help identifying it. He was still restoring bits and pieces of it and I would like to continue with it. It runs and drives great. I just drove it to his funeral a few days ago.

The title says it’s a 1952 Studebaker. I’ve been researching for a bit and I can’t identify the engine. I haven’t had a whole lot of time under the hood unfortunately. It looks like a V shaped engine block and not an inline 6 which seems odd. Only thing I can think of is someone swapped an engine at some point in its life. It is a diesel with a 5 speed manual direct drive. Also wasn’t sure if it’s supposed to have air assisted brakes. I have to stand on the brake pedal to stop it. I did spot the air tanks mounted under the bed.

I’ve attached pictures of the deuce and the engine bay. Thank you for the help in advance.
 

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Location
San Bernardino area, CA
Wow at first glance I cant tell what it it is. I have a '53 reo deuce has a gas gold comet engine. What a piece of history you have. Please dont ever get rid of it , what a cool truck. I'm sure one of the history gurus will give you info , just wait it out

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

M35fan

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Greetings and welcome to the forum from Alabama! I'm sorry for your family's loss. Congratulations, however on the truck it looks to be in good shape. The brake pedal on my 72 deuce is stiff, but it stops easily without much force applied. You shouldn't have to "stand on it". I'm sure that more knowledgable folks on here will chime in soon. I reccomend you download the TMs for your truck (posted here at the top of the forum) as they have tons of valuable info. Good luck, and enjoy!
 

m715mike

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I’ll echo M35fan’s comments. I’m sorry for your family’s loss. Also, you shouldn’t have to stand on the breaks. The last time I had to “stand on it” in my truck, it turned out that I had a leaking wheel cylinder.

Keep us posted on your progress with the truck!
 

cattlerepairman

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It would be helpful if you could peek around the engine for any manufacturer plates etc.

6 cylinder four stroke V layout diesels were not very common back in the day. As a repower, I would assume the engine dates to the 1970' or 1980'. International/IH made inline sixes and V8s, it certainly does not look like a Detroit two stroke, it does not look like the ill-fated Oldsmobile etc. 4.3 diesel, Ford used inline diesels or V8 configurations...

I have seen that round IP before and I believe that this is a CUMMINS V6E, 140 or 155 hp.
 

rzahnpu10

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Thanks for the info everyone. My wife did find some documentation buried in some items we received. Looks like it’s a GMC toro-flow V6. Not sure on the cubes but I plan to do some more digging this weekend.
 

cattlerepairman

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Interesting! I can't say I knew of them before. Thanks for helping me learn new things!

Here is info I located on the GMC Toro-Flow: http://6066gmcguy.com/toroflow.html

Based on the pics, I think we have a winner!

The YouTube has a video of one starting and idling:

Now...which toro flow is it? Does it have the twin turbo setup on the side?
 
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smoke

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Nice truck. Again sorry for your loss. I watched another youtube video. One of the comments was 254hp at 3700rpm and 442lbft at 1400rpm rating. Definitely improvement over multifuel. That truck should run as good as it looks.
 
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cattlerepairman

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As for the brakes, if you intend to drive the truck at all, these do need careful attention. Single circuit hydraulic brakes, no redundancy. Brake fluid level, bleeding air pack, then bleeding all wheel brake cylinders, adjusting all brake shoes are the minimum to do, even before intensive troubleshooting.

It seems the hydraulic side is working (the truck stops when you apply sufficient force) but the air assist side might not. Build air pressure, shut off the engine and depress the brake pedal. When you let go, you should hear the hiss of air exhausting from the air pack (which sits on the driver side, in front of the air tanks). If not...well, there is a clue! Air pack can be replaced (approx $500) or repaired/rebuilt (approx $ 90 for kit).
 

fleetmech

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I think one of my old truck manuals covers the Toro-flow, so let me know if you need any service data, I will see what I can dig up.

I believe these engines were related to the big GM V6 gas truck engines of the same era.

Looks like the rad might be different, since the cap is on the other side, or were the older gas trucks setup different?

OP, whats the big cooler behind the front grille?
 
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V8srfun

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Altoona pa
Sorry for your loss.
That is a cool truck I like the flat bed and the engine is definitely unique. Don’t be afraid to post some more pics.
The brakes will normally be stiffer than a car but you should not have to stand on them to get them to work. If I stood on the pedal in my truck it would lock the tires up. These trucks get lots of attention because the brakes can fail when neglected but when they are right they work quite well.
 

m1010plowboy

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Our Sincere condolences.

We found the toro-flow manuals somewhere so I'll ask the young bucks for a link if your engine turns out to be the 478.

Here's the toroflow in our bus. We keep recording devices close by because they have a reputation for running away. Beautiful combination of a Studebaker with a GM Diesel. Thanks for sharing.

 
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