They say that nature will find a way, and it certainly did with this 1946-ish Studebaker M16 1.5 ton box truck. Ivy has latched on to, and grown all over, this classic and stylish box truck. The steel box is rather interesting, and looks to weigh a ton on its own. Despite the heavy foliage, this truck looks like decent shape candidate to revive. $1,600 will get you this Florists dream come true. Take a look at it here on craigslist out of Rosemead, California. Thanks are in order to Fred H. for the green thumb submission!
While there is no rot to be seen, this California native is occupied by a ton of ivy inside of the cab. There is no paint evidence on the door of this truck to reveal what it may have been used for in its past. Although on the front side of the box there is a painted oval that you can see, but it isn’t easy to make out if it says anything, or depicts a logo.
The box is massive, and according to the seller is attached directly to the frame. I see a reflector and some lights on the upper portion of the box, so it would seem that this truck was used up into some modern time frame when those items were required for safety. Despite looking to have sat for a century from all of the ivy, this truck doesn’t look bad off and hopefully the ivy hasn’t caused too much rust from holding in moisture. It would be grand to see this Studebaker revived, but what would you do with this classic box truck? It could be a great advertising piece for a moving company or perhaps the ultimate swap meet hauler for those of you that make it to all of the swap meets each year. Would you revive this Ivy League Studebaker?
wow….now I don’t feel so bad about my M16……..
These were good ol’ trucks. Somewhat lacking in the power department, but then, there weren’t a lot of trucks that were doing any better. I don’t think you could work them to death; you had to kill them with a stick….
They were great trucks. Helped win the war, they did. This one? Too fried. Pull the cab, which looks in great shape, and plop it on a modern dually chassis, and make a little dump truck. The only time it pays to keep one of these original, is if they are presentable to begin with, like the one above.
I agree Rube the cab and front metal are all that are worth saving. I’d put it on a one ton chassie and build a period looking truck box with a five wheel in the back.
I’m not a fan of “plopping” old bodies onto new chassis. The photos at the listing do not suggest this truck is “too fried,” whatever that means. If most of the parts are there, I’d ditch the box and restore it as a flatbed, because I like M-series Studers (as the Soviets affectionately called them.) My dad had a ’47 M16 he bought in the 1950s for $125. The frame had been shortened and the flatbed replaced with a Ford pickup box. It was red and black, like in the photo above. He used it to haul irrigation pipes on our farm. When he sold the farm in 1966, he auctioned off everything but his tools and his Studebaker.
another tree/truck
Cool truck. I agree with others. Put the cab on semi-modern chassis and build a mahogany stake bed and paint the cab a beige/tan color with orange wheels!
Too much??
$1600.00?? You gotta be kidding. I’ll give you $160.00 and you pay for hauling.
Cool as is. I’d say just restore the bed and body on the frame. Upgrade the drive train for today’s roads and use it as is. This would be a cool camper or great advertisement.
I have an old work truck like this near me that they turned into a rolling brick pizza oven. Might be a Chevy though.
Ready to be a tiny house.