New owner of a 1953 M35

[DutchmanZ]

Just picked up a 1953 M35 Studebaker in non running condition. You can just tell this old girl was loved in its previous life. Its still a gasser and not cut up and I plan to keep it that way. Of course plans can change and it may get a diesel swap depending on the engine condition. I'll try to add pics later. I've already read so much info here that should help in the repairs. I cant wait to drive my newest toy, hopefully soon.

 

[M35fan]

Welcome to the site, and congratulations on your new toy/project. There's lots of advice and information to be found here. We would love to see some pictures. Good luck!

 

[71DeuceAK]

Welcome!

 

[DutchmanZ]

Here it is after we got her loaded on the trailer.

 

[NDT]

Wow Air Force time machine you got there. That is as clean as you will find on earth for the year.

 

[Mullaney]

Here it is after we got her loaded on the trailer.

Welcome to the hobby! All the technical manuals you will need are posted here. Lots of folks will be happy to offer tips and tricks especially with pictures posted. From what I see, it looks like you have yourself a nice truck. Non-running doesn't especially mean it isn't possible. It might be worth a little effort to remove the plugs and pump a little Marvel Mystery Oil on top of the pistons - and let it sit for a few days (then do it again). That may free up the oil rings on the pistons.... Might should drain the oil too just to see what it looks like. If the engine oil looks clean, she might be able to come to life.

The Reo 331 cubic inch 6 was hard to find parts for several years ago, but there are LOTS of them still running... Really interesting that I found a NOS (New Old Stock) block on ePay. I thought it was a pretty amazing find. Weight is 683 pounds as a bare block in Akron, Ohio!

You mentioned a diesel. If you do that you are adding a lot of weight. If you have a spring shop close by they could add leafs to the stack and get it back to level. Engine height and length on a diesel front to back might be an issue too.

Again, welcome to the site and hobby!

.

 

[DutchmanZ]

A little update. I spent several hours working on it yesterday. The seller knew the trucks prior owner and said it only sat 2 years after he passed away. The old registration confirmed that timeline. He attempted to get it running but gave up after fighting a no spark condition. The engine oil is clean. It has good compression on all 6. He replaced everything in the distributor except the coil, swapped to a new zenith carb and bypassed the old gas tank. I haven’t worked the fuel side yet. I basically started over checking everything ignition. The new ballast resistor wire was broken under the bottom and was touching enough to show voltage but wouldn’t let the coil charge. I fixed that and have spark from the coil now. Thinking I had it, I put everything back together and splashed some gas in the carb. Nothing! Still no spark. I’ve got it at the coil but not out the cap. I know new doesn’t mean good, but an ohm test says the cap and rotor are good. That’s where I left it yesterday. I’ll try again today. Here’s another pic as I left her.

I guess I should start a build post over in the appropriate section. Just for clarification, which one would that be?

 

[GopherHill]

A very nice truck.

 

[18operator]

Welcome from Northern Ohio! Very nice clean truck you have there. My best to you on getting it running.

 

[dmetalmiki]

Welcome to the site, hobby, friendships and learning curve,
A very nice looking truck.
Keep us informed on your progress.

 

[SCM35A2]

Welcome to the site, nice truck!

 

[M37M35]

Welcome from Oklahoma!

Looks like a nice solid truck!

 

[DutchmanZ]

Its ALIVE! White Owl is only an hour from work. I called them and got a new coil, cap and rotor for the Deuce. I'm guessing the old coil just wasn't enough to get through the resistors in the cap. Also the new rotor looked like it had a resistor in it too. The old one was just metal without the resistor. Either way, I had spark at the plugs. Splashed a little gas in the carb and it sputtered to life. I bypassed the fuel tank with a boat tank and primer, pumped it up and no leaks. After that, it ran on its own for probably 10-15 mns. Oil pressure was good, air pressure came up, it was charging, even got up to about 170 deg water temp. It moved fore and aft about 5 feet on her own power in high and low range. Next, fix the brakes.... I have a short video but no idea how to upload.

 

[frank8003]

Oh Golly, what a keeper..............
Girl is almost 68 years old, Help Her.

 

[GopherHill]

Really good news. You are doing well.

 

[Mullaney]

Its ALIVE! White Owl is only an hour from work. I called them and got a new coil, cap and rotor for the Deuce. I'm guessing the old coil just wasn't enough to get through the resistors in the cap. Also the new rotor looked like it had a resistor in it too. The old one was just metal without the resistor. Either way, I had spark at the plugs. Splashed a little gas in the carb and it sputtered to life. I bypassed the fuel tank with a boat tank and primer, pumped it up and no leaks. After that, it ran on its own for probably 10-15 mns. Oil pressure was good, air pressure came up, it was charging, even got up to about 170 deg water temp. It moved fore and aft about 5 feet on her own power in high and low range. Next, fix the brakes.... I have a short video but no idea how to upload.

That is fantastic news!! The guys at White Owl are good people.

You might try searching "brake bleeder" here. There are pictures on building a home built version with a weed sprayer. Having a "bleeder" will speed the bleeding process along and eliminate the need to have a second person (Soldier B) to pump the brake peddle too.

Really happy to hear that she came to life for you!

.

 

[DutchmanZ]

Link to the video on Youtube, if it works.

 

[Mullaney]

Link to the video on Youtube, if it works.

Wow! Sounds really good!! Like a sewing machine

.

 

[DutchmanZ]

Wow! Sounds really good!! Like a sewing machine

.

Thank you! That’s exactly what I told my wife. She looked at me funny and said “I didn’t expect you to compare it to a sewing machine.” I have a universal pressure bleeder at work that should work but I’ll add the bleeder search to my list. The seller sent me a pic of what the truck looked like several years ago. I’m lucky to have saved it. The seller said he was close to parting it out. That would have been a tragedy!