A 1948 Studebaker Pickup In Candy Red
Mossie Mostert fell in love with a 1948 Studebaker Pickup. He came across one that was still running and decided that this was going to be his baby.
Owner: Mossie MostertShop: Steelroad Rods & CustomsYear: 1948Make: StudebakerModel: Pickup
Mossie Mostert fell in love with a 1948 Studebaker Pickup. He came across one that was still running and decided that this was going to be his baby. Mossie decided to have the Studebaker refurbished, but like so many sad refurbishment stories, the end result was just not up to his standards. Mossie then took the car to another shop and things just went south from there.
This time the workmanship was even worse. After a long battle, Mossie heard about Steelroad Rod and Customs from a friend and decided to contact them.
When this vehicle came to Willies shop, it was painted Nardo grey and orange. Furthermore, when offloaded, Willie and his team immediately saw cracks in the so-called fresh paintwork, which caused many concerns as to what they could expect with the refurb.
Bodywork
Upon further investigation, Willie found filler in places up to 45mm thick. When grinding into that filler Willie couldnt stand the smell as everything underneath was rotten. Layer upon layer of filler was applied without proper curing time.
There was no other option, the Studabaker would have to be sandblasted to remove everything and get it back down to clean metal. When Willies team tried to remove the load box, eight people couldnt lift it. The team slid it off the chassis and saw it disappear in a heap of rust and old filler, needless to say, it was not restorable.
Willie found chicken wire, old rags, newspaper and fibreglass in the rocker panels, cab corners and front fenders. The fenders were flared with filler, there was so much filler on this vehicle the sandblasters sent it back and said Willies team had to remove most of the filler before they could do their part.
It took two guys fourteen days to grind away the filler to the point of seeing metal. To add to this, the rear fenders looked and felt like fibreglass replicas. However, Willie did find the original metal fenders inside the Pickup.
Chassis, Front and Rear Suspension:
The original chassis was covered in rust. This, along with poor workmanship took them to the point where the decision was made to just replace it. SteelRoad then went to work and created a new chassis from scratch. Willie is well known for his Jag conversions, so a completely refurbed XJ 6 was installed.
Willie could start the mock-up, once the new chassis was done and the cab was back from blasting for a second time.
Fabrication
The design was done for the new load box, all hand built by the Steelroad team. From the word go, Willie decided a custom load box would do the trick, he showed the designs to Mossie and it was love at first sight. Then, hours of fabrication followed. First, the frame was built, followed by the side panels that were all hand-shaped and hand-finished and lastly, the inner panels were bead rolled. Then, it was welded together with Tig, this re-shaped and widened the rear fenders by 3 inches.
A eureka moment happened late one night to do a custom latching system on the tailgate. This was done by using the number plate holder as the latch handle, and the tailgate to swing into the lower part of the load box at the bottom. Also, that was not the end yet, because, what is a custom truck without a rear diffuser? So, a diffuser was built to finish the rear end perfectly, This then made the way for custom-shaped tail lights.
Mossie visited the shop and saw the team busy chopping a 48 Chevy and decided something had to be done to the Studebaker, as the standard 48 Studebaker roofline lifted in front as if it was on lift-off.
The roof got a 1-inch cut in the front with a pie cut at the back, and however subtle it was, it did the trick. The overall lines and appearance of the vehicle started to flow better.
The original grill went in for chrome work. Unfortunately, Willie found it cracked to bits under the old chrome work. And so, the idea of a custom front grill was born.
A front grill was hand fabricated in the shop and sent for chrome work. This ended up being a piece of jewellery. The new grill was perfect! However, there were now a few surrounding elements that didnt work with the new design. Custom headlights were built and frenched because with the new grill extended valance, as well as the new wheel arches, the old stud headlights were a sore eye.
Time for paint
Mossie was in two minds about the colour, but in the end, opted for a Candy apple red with a twist. The chassis was also painted Candy red to match the body and the suspension parts were painted black. Willie is a master when it comes to painting and Candy is his Super Power. A total of 10 layers of clear coat went on the Studebaker to make sure that the colour stands out.
Motor and Gearbox
The old 327 small block and 350 turbo auto box were refurbed by the Steelroad team, with new valves and seats in stainless steel that was done by Nico from RS performance. The motor and gearbox were painted the same tan colour that matched the leather interior. Also, a new torque starter was installed, as well as a new aluminium radiator and a new oil cooler handcrafted fan cowling. Then, the right amount of brightwork combined with the tan engine and candy red engine bay, makes it look superb.
SteelRoad did their own in-house fabricated dress-up kit along with Edelbrock intake, valve covers and air cleaner. Add to this a BMW brake booster and master with an aluminium radiator and a flex fan.
Wimpie of CustomFab built a full 63mm stainless steel performance exhaust and headers, all TIG welded and balanced to perfection to give that V8 a rumble to die for.
Interior and Dashboard
Then, after the paint colour was chosen, it was time for the interior and Mossie originally wanted black. However, in the end, he decided to go with tan leather, because it works so much better with Candy Red.
The full leather interior, sound deadening, and carpets were done by AAW upholsterers. They did a perfect job with the seats, the centre console and the dash. Then, a tilt steering column was installed with a purpose-made steering boss and steering. The gauges cluster fits this vehicle perfectly, combined with the leather and aluminium finishes.
Willie opted to go old school and used an XJ 6 shifter, as it gave the car a cleaner look. A big bonus is the aircon unit in the car. The car cooling under the dash unit comes from Car cooling in Edenvale. When it came to the dash vents, Willie couldnt find anything they liked so they fabricated Steelroad vents in-house.
Wheels
With all the fabrication done on the vehicle, the old wheels just didnt work with the Pickup. It was then decided to add a new set of 22 A-line wheels in black, running 245/30/22 in the front and 265/35/22 in the rear
All about the details
With SteelRoad it’s all about the details. Adding their own special touches to each build.
- Like the SteelRoad trademark glue in the windscreen front and rear with full door glass.
- Purpose build led tail lights
- Wooden deck in the load box with aluminium inserts to match the door cards and seat design, laminated rubberwood by choice, stained to match the interior leather, bolted down to just an awesome finish.
Overall this is one amazing build and a serious head-turner.
I like to thank AAW upholsterers, Custom fab, both subsidiary companies of Steelroad Rod & Custom, as well as Waynes world, Mountings for Africa, Jag Daimler, Jacksons distribution, Greg and Jimmy from Gregs chroming, R S performance, and the V8 Shoppe, SIB, Edelbrock and all our suppliers and friends who made this truck special.
