Studebaker Truck

[KyleBlankenship]

i have an old studebaker semi, im not sure on year or model but i was told by my grandpa before he died it was one of the first diesels made. it has 2120 origional miles and was a yard truck. it sat outside for countless years and im wanting to fix it up so i can pull my engine trailer to shows., does any of you have an idea where i can get parts or info? thanks--kyle


ps, sorry this is so off topic

[BobRR]

Kyle can ya post a pict.? I know where there a 48 international stake truck that is in good shape for sale.BobRR

[Dick Welty]

Kyle, I once owned a 1933 Studebaker Dictator but that's the extent of my Studebaker experience. So what I don't know about Studebakers would fill a Wherehouse.

I do know that trucks were not their main business so I think that you might be in luck in that they probably didn't make the diesel engine that is in your truck. Unless they were trying to develope a diesel as a kind of prototype project they were probably getting diesels from another manufacturer of diesel truck engines.

Of course I didn't even know that Studebaker make Semi size trucks. I have only seen pickups and small dump trucks.

There is a Studebaker club that you might be able to find on the net that will have a lot of good information about everything Studebaker.

I hope you have good luck with your Grandpas old truck.

Dick

[Bill Sherlock]

Kyle,

According to some info that I have, Studebaker concentrated on making medium and heavy duty vehicles during the years 1930 through 1935. 1937 was noted for the first Studebaker diesel units. Can you email me a picture of your unit or advise the model? I'll see if I can find some more info in my literature.

Bill

[Peter Ruffle]

Try this site, looks like a good starting point. http://studetrucks.tripod.com/
sure would be different!! Love those orphan makes.
Peter

[Ed Radtke]

Contact the studebaker museum in Soutbend In.

[ldj1002]

http://www.network54.com/Forum/23885?it=0

Go there, there are folks that know all about Studebaker trucks.

[Andrew Mackey]

Hey BobRR-
The IHC is probably a K or KA model. What are they asking for it? I had a L-120 for years - I dumped the original engine, as it had a crank that was 100 thousandths under. I had a guy lined up to pour the new bearings, but after hearing the horror stories about the IHC Silver Diamond engines, I decided to put in a 1966 250 chevy engine and trans.

[BobRR]

Andrew he asking 2500.00 it appears in good shape has a 14ft stake bed.I dont know the model but if your interested e-mail me and will get some info and pict.I guess it to be about 1 ton?BobRR

[Simple_serf]

Originally Posted by Andrew Mackey

Hey BobRR-
The IHC is probably a K or KA model. What are they asking for it? I had a L-120 for years - I dumped the original engine, as it had a crank that was 100 thousandths under. I had a guy lined up to pour the new bearings, but after hearing the horror stories about the IHC Silver Diamond engines, I decided to put in a 1966 250 chevy engine and trans.

The Silver Diamond could have easily been replaced with a Green Diamond. Or you could have squeeeeeezed an LV 304 in it.
I just hate hearing of a good IH engine being replaced by a Chevy....

The Simple serf

[KyleBlankenship]

ok guys, i can post a pict on here but someone needs to give me a crash course in doing it..

i think the engine in this truck is a general motors. not sure though, ill take some picts tonight and hopefully i can get them on here tomorow night. thanks everyone

[ssimntih]

The first link they gave you for the studebaker truck page will probably help the most. Those guys know alot. As for the International guys, if you're dying to own a 1950 L-130... I've got one for sale. SD220 runs 4sp.

[Elden DuRand]

Originally Posted by ssimntih

The first link they gave you for the studebaker truck page will probably help the most. Those guys know alot. As for the International guys, if you're dying to own a 1950 L-130... I've got one for sale. SD220 runs 4sp.

Years ago a friend -gave- me a '54 T-100 I.H. pickup. It had the SD-220 and the Warner automatic tranny. Someone had re-ringed the engine without reaming the ridges and broke all the top ring lands.

After I got tired of the smoke, fouled plugs and oil loss, I did a quick overhaul. New pistons, ridge reamed and rod bearings. I ran the valves while I was at it. I had no problems with the engine after that.

Kingpins, brakes and spring shackles made into a useable truck again.

The tranny was about worn out but I still could pull a bed-load of firewood plus a loaded utility trailer out of a soft field with that truck. When cold, second gear would slip so I just ran it up in Lo then shifted to Drive. When warm it shifted fine.

I finally sold it after 10k miles and several years. It's probably still going strong out there somewhere.

Take care - Elden
http://home.cybertron.com/~edurand

[KidDynamo]

I always thought the Silver Diamond was similar to the Black Diamond, but maybe I'm wrong. I had three Black Diamond 240 engines over the years, and although they were heavy, they were terrific engines. Right around the same time, I had a number of Cheevy 235's which were good runners but didn't have the h.p. or the torque of the BD240. Not even close.

The Cornbinder had about 25 more real ponies at a useable r.p.m. and so much bottom end !! The first one was in a 1956 4 x 4 Travelall that had a three on the tree. That would be a real classic now! It had 17 or 17-1/2" ?? rims!?!

The other two were in S-120 p/u's- one with 16's and the other with 16.5's. Too many tire sizes, that's for sure.

[Andrew Mackey]

My '50 L 120 was s/n 9108 - built Dec '49, unit #108. The truck had 110,000 hard run miles on it. When I bought it, it ran, I was told the head had been rebuilt. The engine was a Silver Diamond 220. The truck had a twin disc clutch, with 3 on the tree. As purchased, the engine bay hood, and the valve cover were off. There was 3 gallons of water in the crankcase, but the engine was free. The original owner had started erstoration, but was called to duty in Viet Nam, and died there. I found the truck 8 years later, sunk into the ground frame deep, while on a service call to the owners mother's home (her car would not start). I inquired about the truck, and was told it was not available. 6 months down the road, I received a call at my place of work. "you want the old truck? It's yours, 50 bucks!" CLICK - the caller hung up. A few days later the old lady came to the station and apologised - she had forgotten to leave her name and number! I blew up the tires, hauled the truck up to the station, and began working on it. after draining and flushing the crankcase, I tried to start the engine. Although I was told the head was rebuilt, the engine had no compression (25 PSI max! T then pulled the head, and found that the cylenders were worn so badly, that they had knocked the top land off the pistons! I located another engine - a 55 S-D 240, for $1,500- in crate, NOS. A friend who worked for Drakes Bakery, and ran their fleet of trucks (there were over 100 of them in 1956), told me that the SD engines had limited use in todays world. The original220 and 240 engines has sodium filled Stellite valves, like those used in aircraft. The sodium was supposed to cool the exhaust valve, and keep it from burning. This worked well until the truck reached 45 MPH. At this speed, the engine reached a resonant speed within the engine that caused the exhaust valve to break the head off. Ibelieve you know what happens next In 1953 IHC fixed this problem with a redesigned head and valve arrangement. Then you could get 50 MPH out of the engione, before the poured bearings burned out In 1955 the entire engine was re- designed (the green diamond series - with modern insert bearings!). At this point, the trand input shaft showed severe wear, and the twin discs were in bad shape as well. I already had the 250 chevy engine and trans, $30 for a welder to install a 3" channel iron engine mount frame I designed, and $20 for a new front yoke,center support bearing, and driveshaft balance job, certainly was a lot cheaper that the $1,500 for a questionable engine. A friend had a Ford Torino Super Cobra Jet 429 engine with a C-6 auto trans we wanted so badly to install, but as the original Timkin - Ross steering box was mounted on the inside of thr frame rail, mounting the monster V-8 was out of the question. Even the mouse motor 327 chevy would not fit, by a lowly 2 inches! I did not want to mess with the L-120's steering geometry. I also looked into the 292 chevy engine, as one became available, but as this is a low speed (4500 RPM) engine, I stuck to the 250. It worked well for an additional 250,000 miles!

[KidDynamo]

The original220 and 240 engines has sodium filled Stellite valves, like those used in aircraft. The sodium was supposed to cool the exhaust valve, and keep it from burning. This worked well until the truck reached 45 MPH. At this speed, the engine reached a resonant speed within the engine that caused the exhaust valve to break the head off. Ibelieve you know what happens next In 1953 IHC fixed this problem with a redesigned head and valve arrangement. Then you could get 50 MPH out of the engione, before the poured bearings burned out


That description is nothing like the engines I had. They all had insert bearings, non-sodium cooled valves, and went freeway speed no problem, except for limits imposed by the axle ratios which I had 4.11 to 1 in the p/u's and 4.77 to 1 in the 4 x 4.
The exhaust valves did have passive rotators which are a bonus, too. Ditto on the full pressure lubrication and full flow oil filter, but I only owned 3 of them.

[Andrew Mackey]

The poured bearing Silver Diamond pre-dated 1950, I am not sure when it went into production, but I know that it was discontinued in early 1953 The more modern version was in production until early 1955, I was told that the Green diamond came next - 1955 - ? Your Black Diamond engines obviously were better made, truly a modern engine.
Andrew

[Bear]

i'm pretty sure the green diamond came first its the flathead model. i could be wrong but thats the engine in my 41 k3. when the snows gone and i can get in the shed i'll check for sure

[KidDynamo]

I didn't own a Silver Diamond, only ran across them in the same manner and manuals as the Black Diamond. Pretty much shared technical info, and they look alike too.

My impression was that the Silver Diamond and Black Diamonds, which were overhead valve engines, probably came after the Green Diamonds, which I thought were the flathead sixes that came in the earlier style, K model trucks.

Never had a K series, though they are now a bit of a classic too, with the old timey look. Bearings.......who did the work????

[G Willikers]

Hre's a Studebaker you can own! For sale on August 29:
http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showth...601#post435601