This vintage shot of a big Studebaker diesel semi truck is rare, the only one I could find. This is one of the lowest production big diesel trucks ever. There’s no readily available production breakouts of the various weight classes of Studebaker diesel trucks, since they also offered a smaller version on 1 – 1.5 ton trucks, but total production for all sizes was only 702, from 1962 through 1964.
Studebaker was a pioneer in offering diesel engines in these size classes, as they had been the province mostly of the really large HD trucks. This move was part of new CEO Sherwood Egbert’s attempt to find niches in the market that Studebaker could exploit. Diesels in HD trucks had become quite common by 1961, but not so medium and smaller trucks. Egbert thought the time was right, and GM had the relatively compact -53 series of two-stroke Detroit Diesels that would fit; the 4-53 in the 2+ ton trucks, and the 3-53 for the 1 – 1.5 ton trucks.
We’re going to focus on the larger units, which had a GCW (Gross Combined Weight) rating of 42,000 lbs. They initially came in this Transtar version, with the same basic front end as the gas powered units.
In order to meet overall length restrictions when hauling a 40′ semi trailer, in 1963 Studebaker offered this 96BBC option, with a snubbed nose.
The “baby” DD 4-53 still weighed some 1,100 lbs. With 212 cubic inches (from a 3.875 x 4.50 bore and stroke), it was rated for 130 gross horsepower at 2800 rpm and 271 lbs-ft at 1500 rpm. Compression ratio was 17:1. Considering the 42,000 combined gross weight, gearing is paramount. The primary transmission was typically a 5-speed, and then there was either a three-speed auxiliary, or a two speed rear axle. Keeping the little DD in its power band required deft shifting.
Here’s another rare vintage shot of one working as a “goat” rig at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Wow! I thought I had seen all Studies, but this is a new one to me. The snub nose is nice-looking and harmonious, unlike the toothy Transtars. It fits into the Hawk and Lark frontal theme.
Studie was still using headlight bezels from the ’47 to ’49 Champion.
Snubbed nose looks much more modern than the standard nose. I like it.
The nose was snubbed to fit total tractor+trailer length within the limits of many states.
I’m a sucker for semis that shared light pickup cabs. Imagine seeing an OTR semi with an F-Series cab today.
I think Dodge put together a concept called “The Interstate ” several years ago. Basically an extended cab Ram pickup with a roof extension. Tall wheels, diesel, and maybe a sleeper in the back.
“Imagine seeing an OTR semi with an F-Series cab today.”
How many you want?
I actually saw one way back in 2004, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Same colour even. It was labeled as a 1963 Studebaker diesel heavy duty 8E45E truck.
I remember seeing one of these when our family lived in Niagara Falls, ONT, over 50 years ago. Didn’t know what it was; there was a badge atop the grill on the snub nose that simply read “CANADA” with one below it that read “Diesel” in smaller letters.
Fascinating that only 700 of these were built.
Your reference to the term “goat” reminded me of when I worked at a brewery. They referred to the yard / shuttle tractor as the “donkey”.
I find it interesting that Studebaker advertised the potential to run on fuel oil.
In most states, fuel oil prices do not include highway taxes. While it is not illegal to use fuel oil as a road fuel, users of untaxed fuel are supposed to declare such use and pay the appropriate tax.
I can only imagine the actual compliance rate. A cynic might suspect Studebaker of trying to fill a market niche as the truck of choice for tax cheats.
Didn’t they already have a low-cost model called the Scotsman?
I never fail to be amazed at how far engines developed in 50 years. The gas V-6 in my ’02 is 50 cubic inches bigger, sure, but it has 50% more HP than that baby diesel and only 11 fewer torques. I do not want to tow a 40′ trailer with it!
Yeah but that diesel is gonna last waaaay longer, especially being put to work.
I have seen these in photos, but never IRL. It is an interesting mental exercise to think about how things might have worked if someone of Egbert’s energy, vision and ability had been running that company in, say, 1945. I am sure it would not be here today, but it might have outlasted AMC. As it was, he probably did more with less than anyone who ever ran the company.
Sherwood was really one ambitious guy. So sad he died so young. Given what he accomplished with what he had to deal with, Sherwood should be in the Automotive Hall of Fame if he is not already. A number of recent past Automotive CEO’s could never match him.
Lots of information at Studebaker Museum in South Bend. Often shown at ATHS national show.. I have a 1 ton with 3-53 DD, a 1 1/2 ton , and a 2 ton, both with 4-53DD. May be 30-40 still in existence.
Yard goat / donkey engine = same thing pretty much .
This is fascinating .
-Nate
For those who want to see these in real life, come to a Studebaker International Meet (tho’ the current age of the collectors can affect what they bring these days). The next Meet will occur, hopefully, in 2022 in South Bend, May 4-7.
The sawed-off nose looks just like that — unfinished and hacked. That’s in line with Studebaker’s truck budgeting in the later years. Looks more civilized in the picture than the crash job actually does in life.
The headlight rings are actually those from the 1954 3-R update to the original 1949 trucks, which reduced the passenger car version to a light-weight stamping. The 1949-’53 trucks used the ’47-’49 passenger car headlight rings.
I came across a 1 1/2 ton in Jackson Mo a few years ago the truck had been upgraded from the 3 53 engine to a 4 53 and was pulling a goose neck trailer, always interested in this type of Americana machinery
Nice back tires on the Red Ball truck. Blah blah too many regulations blah blah, this is why.
The Detroit 53 series diesels were a natural for medium duty trucks, among the 100’s of other industrial applications for diesels that size. Chevrolet began offering the 4-53 and 6V-53 in their 60 and 80 series trucks in 1962, but for the most part these Chevy models were over 24,000#’s GVW. It does not appear that Chevy offered anything that directly competed with the lighter Studebaker diesels. Amazing that Studebaker was able to get these trucks to market given their extremely limited resources at the time. I wonder if they got some help from moonlighting GM employees.
Filling what must have been a tiny market niche, GM offered the 3-53 in 20-30 series Step Vans.
That blue one belongs to a friend of mine in concord mi
Green band is where you drive these suckers moving the revs into the horsepower section of the tach doesnt help make em go it just makes noise and burns fuel,
I wondered how many cylinders the DD 4-53 engines were, appeared to be 4. From another website: “The “4” represented the number of cylinders in the engine while the “53” denoted the cubic-inch displacement per cylinder of the engine”. These were not the engines in the large red trucks in the photos, are they?
Good looking trucks for the era, IMO. Interesting article, I didn’t realize Studebaker made a truck beyond the size of a pickup.
Remember, DD’s were two stroke, so eight cylinders equivalent power from four, in theory.
Good point, so quite a bit of power for their size.
My father worked at Freeman Spicer back then. They were across from Studebaker on South Street. I remember him talking about rebuilding the rear ends in them for a local trucking company called Shippers Dispatch. Lot of changes since then.
Detroit Diesel engines, A.K.A. “ROAD OILERS ” =8-) .
Those that love ’em, _LOVE_ ’em, they have a GLORIOUS SOUND if you like that sort of thing as I do .
The City of Los Angeles has multiple locations (Piper, Tech, City Hall, Parker Center, Fire Depts) that still have HUGE older Detroit Diesel APU’s, always sparkling clean and perfectly maintained .
I love Detroit Diesel green and bought a case of this paint in Foo-Foo cans decades ago .
-Nate
Also in Israel with Mercedes-Benz engines, converted from gasoline by MB in Haifa. Pic by Hanan Sadee.
One more
Small thing, but I always liked the font Studebaker used for “Studebaker” in their ads in ’63 and later, like the Diesel truck ad above. It looks almost ’70’s.
Which diesel truck ad are you seeing the font in…? I’m not seeing it (possibly because I’m looking right at it).
The big black-and-white ad near the top of this page.
Oh, lookit there. It didn’t show up for me because occasionally Firefox or one of its plugins decides I don’t really need to see a particular image on this site. In Safari I see the ad.
STUDEBAKER HEAVY AND PICK-UP TRUCKS WERE POPULAR IN SOUTHERN/CENTRAL AFRICA –HOWEVER WE DID NOT HAVE ANY DIESELS//
I moved from Bakersfield, California to Dallas in early 1980. Before I left, I photographed a Studebaker tractor trailer through a chain link fence that was in regular use by a moving and storage company. I can not find the photo print these days.
My recollection is that it was diesel (Cummings?) with an add-on sleeper and that the front of the cab resembled an oversized Lark. Some of their pickups were of that style?