Sao Paulo can be considered the New York City of Brazil: the largest city in the country (or anywhere in the Western Hemisphere) and the main business and financial center. Brazil’s international image comes largely from Rio de Janeiro, with its beaches, favelas, Carnival, and upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, but Sao Paulo is where the biggest money is. So it is perhaps not surprising to find that someone there has spent what must have been a considerable amount of money to buy and restore an unusual vehicle: a Studebaker pickup truck from the early 1950’s, which someone should be able to identify with greater precision.
This pickup has a hood ornament that looks like both a gunsight and a finned bomb or missile at the same time. A Studebaker was a step down from a Buick in the 1940’s, but in the hood ornament department, this Studebaker wins.
The primer spots add some character, as if this pickup needs more. The “roll bar” made from household plumbing adds humor value and probably no safety.
The Studebaker’s owner was a friendly man who seemed very happy to have a foreigner paying attention to his truck and eagerly opened the door so that I could take a look inside. There are many features to make you smile: painted woodgrain on the dash, a five-toe gas pedal, a Ford steering wheel, what looks like a brake pedal from another car used as a clutch pedal. All very clean looking, aside from the huge rust spot on the A-pillar. This truck would look equally perfect in the hands of a gentleman farmer or surfer dude in the U.S.
The ready availability in North America of mass-produced pickup truck accessories out of a catalog apparently has not spread to South America, and this truck has more character as a result. The improvised roll bar is the most visible add-on. Also visible are metal strips fastened with shiny chrome acorn nuts, to protect the top edges of the pickup bed and tailgate. On the other hand, nothing other than paint protects the (well-used) pickup bed itself. A bed liner would look wrong on an early 1950’s pickup, so it as just as well that this truck does not have one.
The last word on this truck comes from a sticker on its tailgate. I do not know Portuguese, but machine translation with some human improvement gives the following: “This is not an old car, it is an antique vehicle that is better than your new car!”
Thats not a roll bar its a ladder rack nice old pickup though it would never get on the road here with that A pillar like that structural corrosion is banned here.
What not shot of under the hood? Wonder if it still has the original engine since they’ve left the hand crank guide on the bumper.
Overall it is a very nice truck.
Not having any language in common, I exhausted my ability to ask the owner for anything when I looked in the window and pointed at the door. It would have been interesting to get an underhood shot, to see what the truck is under the skin at this point in its life (Ford V8 transplant? Sugar cane ethanol fueled VW Golf engine?), but I felt like the owner was doing more than I could reasonably request just by opening the door and letting me poke my head into the cab. If he had spoken English, or I could speak Portuguese, I would have asked for a lot more views (underhood, frame, etc.).
The funny yellow decal says: “This is not an old (jalopy) car, rather is an antique vehicle which is in better conditions than many newer cars”. It is a trait very common in latin countries to point out that the owner high prices his vehicle and he wants all the world know and see that. Nice pick up and how well kept has been through all these years, in spite some flaws obviously visible.
I will have to look for these kinds of decals next time that I visit Brazil or another country in Latin America. They would make a fun addition to an old pickup here in the USA.
Cool gauges; all laid out in a straight line with little vertical bars separating them. Utilitarian, but kind of stylish.
Neat truck.
I think these Studeys were the best-looking postwar pickups, though the Advanced Design Chevy and GMC are not far behind.
Here’s a fun fact: the pickup hood ornament was shared with the Studebaker Champion and Commander.
Look at the spinner on an aero-nosed ’50 or 51 Studebaker car, and you’ll see a strong reminder of this hood ornament.
These trucks have a unique smooth styling that looks downright mean when the truck is lowered with the bumpers removed and with dark metallic paint.
I’ve had owners tell me that while the instrument panel is easy to work on because the back of it is on the other side of the firewall, this single-panel construction can let engine vapors/smells into the cab.
“Studeys”? Red Army soldiers nicknamed their beloved model US6 military trucks “Studers.”
The suspended pedals are interesting, perhaps they are related to the Ford steering column upgrade. Studies pedals were still pushing down through holes in the floor until 1962 or 63 even in their passenger cars.
I agree that these are among the most attractive pickups of the era.
The pedals do look like they are from a Ford, and I notice it has what appears to be Ford hubcaps. Perhaps it has a Ford drivetrain.
Also, it is a ’49 to ”53 model.
A Ford drivetrain, as well as Ford interior parts and hubcaps, would make sense. The research that I did indicates that Studebaker had a small operation assembling and selling cars and pickups in Brazil from complete knock down kits, and that Ford had a much larger factory and sales network at the same time. 50+ years later, Studebaker parts are probably very difficult to find in Brazil and very expensive to import from the US because of Brazilian customs fees. Ford pickup parts probably are much easier to find in Brazil and would make good substitutes.
This reminds me that a highly customized one of these (a 52 model) has been on my local CL for awhile. Although this is not my preferred treatment on such a truck, it certainly shows off the attractive basic lines of the design.
Now i’m beginning to realize that if the name Brasil wouldn’t appear, sure it looked a lot like a Cuban vehicle.
Mas tambem temos um fanático por aqui. O Ferreti, cuja devoção vem de longa data.
http://ferrettistudebaker.blogspot.com.br/
Carro muito bonito, condição quase original. Parabéns ao proprietário. Tem sido mais como este?