for those of you who may be interested, I got home from my trip last night.
I left home in Houston on the evening of Mon. the 1st. with my trailer behind my S-10 truck, which I hoped would give good mileage (it didn't) with the intention of hauling parts & equipment I had sold, along with inventory to sell at the annual Studebaker show held at SASCO in South Bend. After that, a load of mostly NORS engine parts was waiting for me in Morgantown, PA, which I had hoped to get prior to the show, but got away too late to do that.
My first stop was on Tues. morning, near Jackson, MS where I left a pair of doors with my friend Richard so an ebay buyer could pick them up from him.
After a nice lunch with Richard I proceeded north toward So Bend. Going through Memphis, I heard noises from the engine, and after stopping to check the oil, could not get it to start because of what turned out to be a loose battery cable. I added a qt. of oil & tightened the cable connection and continued on through Memphis, thank goodness. (That ghetto is the last place you would want to break down) The engine noises worsened north of town, & I stopped in Marion, Arkansas about dark and stayed the night at one of the many "Raghead Ritz" motels I would encounter. On Wed. morning, I connected the trailer to a U-Haul truck and headed north, leaving the S-10 at the rental place. After making 2 stops to deliver fenders in Illinois, I arrived in So Bend in the wee hours of Thurs. morning., after burning 2- 35 gal. tanks of gas. Total cost with fuel was over $850.00 to move my trailer to SB! Thurs. was spent getting ready for the show & scooping up early deals from the other vendors. I scored a beautiful set of 58 L wheel covers, a NOS 53 grill bezel, a CE rear fender, 3- C/K lower scoops, a cheesy 53 C/K hood from Bob40, etc. Sales were a bit disappointing for me at the show as attendance was down a bit from previous years and I did not have anyone to watch my space while I was shopping. Bo Markham & his brother Jimmy had spaces next to mine again this year, and they followed me over to the drop off spot to turn in the U-Haul truck on Fri., as I had rented it for a 1-way move to SB. On Sat. which was the last day of the show, I called my parts seller in PA, to see if he still had the Ford van he had told me he wanted to sell earlier in the year. He said he still had it and that he was sure it was road worthy. I called my cousin, who secured a buddy pass for me to Newark. Many thanks to Bo & Jimmy who generously drove me around So Bend with them & dropped me off at O'Hare on Sun. morning on their way to Rockford! I flew into Newark & got on a trian to Philly and rode a bus to King of Prussia, where the seller picked me up on Mon. morning. We spent the day getting the van loaded with Studebaker parts & ready to drive; and on Tues., I drove it to Fayetteville, PA to visit my friend, John & his wife. We all went to dinner that night and the next morning we changed the oil on the van & worked on his 65 Ford truck project. I then headed west, arriving back in So Bend late that night. On Thursday morning, SASCO employee David Spilski assisted in loading the van with all of my parts & hooking the trailer up. We stuffed that long wheel base E-350 with as much as it could hold. Thanks to David & SASCO owner Dennis Lambert for their help & co-operation and safe storage for all of my things! I made a stop to pick up some items for Richard Johnson near Lafayette, dropped a fender in Danville, Ill, then drove all night, arriving early Fri morning in Marion, AR to load the S-10 on the trailer. I arrived home on Fri. night, ready for some rest. Though not financially profitable, it was a fun trip in which I visited many friends, found some good items, and saw much of this great country. I picked a good trip on which to leave the wife home.
-- Barry'd in Studes
58 Packard Hawk 40 President 39 Coupe Exp. 59 DeLuxe 1/2 tn. 56 Packard "400"