keiser31 5,703 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Friends of mine near me here in southern Oregon have a Conestoga-style wagon which they believe to be a Studebaker. I have no idea how to tell if it is. As you can see, the hardware is there, but the wood is mostly gone or rotted. They hate to see it go further into the ground and want to give it to someone who can come and get it. Here it is. Maybe it would remain as yard art to the next owner. If it could only talk.... 3 Link to post Share on other sites
GregLaR 2,293 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 That is really cool Keiser. Looks like a great project for the right guy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
keiser31 5,703 Posted March 10, 2019 Author Share Posted March 10, 2019 I love it and love to work with wood, but I have two 1931 Dodges to get on the road. Link to post Share on other sites
TerryB 2,629 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 What’s the VIN, I want to do a CARFAX on it. That is an ambitious project. 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites
GregLaR 2,293 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Wood and I don't get along. If they put me in prison, gave me the tools and the materials and said build this bird house and make it square. Then we'll set you free. I'm afraid I'd be an old man with a long gray beard before I got out. 5 Link to post Share on other sites
Xander Wildeisen 1,906 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, TerryB said: What’s the VIN, I want to do a CARFAX on it. That is an ambitious project. Ran when parked. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites
keiser31 5,703 Posted March 10, 2019 Author Share Posted March 10, 2019 The Oregon Trail was a might harsh on the poor thing. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Xander Wildeisen 1,906 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 In order to reach Oregon, you went through Idaho. That wagon is still wanted in a hit and run incident, that happened over here in 1852. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites
42319DB34 41 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Reminds me of a Tanya Tucker song : " It's a little too late to do the right thing now " 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Real Steel 187 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 (edited) I like to keep mine original, so this is perfect for me. All I need now is a couple of dead horses... Edited March 10, 2019 by Real Steel (see edit history) 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Real Steel 187 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Hey Keiser- Maybe you or the next owner could give it a good spraying of Mineral Oil. At least that would put the brakes on the decay. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
keiser31 5,703 Posted March 10, 2019 Author Share Posted March 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, Real Steel said: I like to keep mine original. so this is perfect for me. All I need now is a couple of dead horses... Here's one.... 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites
keiser31 5,703 Posted March 10, 2019 Author Share Posted March 10, 2019 Here's another dead horse.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
lump 804 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Truly, I wish I could bring that to the Amish craftsman who replaced the leather interior in my 23 Hupmobile touring car. He restores lots of wooden carriages for Amish folks, which are put back to work on the roads and pathways of southern Ohio. Even hearses. He could bring this thing back, and do it right. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,215 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Does anyone know when it became fashionable or acceptable to let a horse drawn vehicle rot away on your lawn, but letting an automobile do the same gets the Blight Commission on your tail? That wagon has a lot of metal work that I never knew they had. Bob 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,215 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 I'm sure there will be an EPA or Green Zealot fine for the Guernsey wagon rut damage. Bob 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jpage 413 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Looks to have most, if not all , of the original iron. The wood can be replaced but missing iron parts are harder. Looks like it could be a good project for the right guy, albeit expensive! Looks to have been 2 hp., maybe it could be beefed up to 4! You don't see many of these anymore! Link to post Share on other sites
Terry Harper 696 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 I have no idea if its a Studebaker or not but there is indeed a lot to work with there. Plenty of surviving wood for patterns and and what appears to be most of the iron which is the most important. Earlier this year the Building Trades and Farm Mechanic's students at our local high school CTE center did a similar project for a set of heavy logging sleds for the Maine Forest & Logging museum. If you have no takers and have such a program near you maybe that could be an option. I know we always looking for interesting live work projects that engage our students and provide opportunities for practical application of the skills they are learning in our programs. It would be a shame for this piece to go to ground. Best regards, Terry 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
KVP 22 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Take a look at the Engels Coach Shop videos on Youtube. Great craftsmanship on display in the reconstruction of projects like this. Link to post Share on other sites
Bhigdog 3,035 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 (edited) Other than the wheels that would be a fairly straight forward project. There are some Amish and other wheelwrights still plying their craft but I suspect the wheels would be pricy. Can't tell from the pix the type of wood, whether soft or hard wood, but whatever it would be readily available, although if it's ash it looks like that wood is going the way of chestnut and will soon be near extinct. A number of years ago a young couple and their kids passed through here in a Conestoga type wagon. I forget their reasons but they were traveling and living in a team drawn wagon. They needed it to be pushed across a section of field and a bunch of us heaved, pushed, and pulled the damn thing a couple of hundred feet over soft ground. The two things I remember were the weight of the wagon and the way it smelled. ..................Bob Edited March 10, 2019 by Bhigdog (see edit history) Link to post Share on other sites
TerryB 2,629 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 22 hours ago, GregLaR said: Wood and I don't get along. If they put me in prison, gave me the tools and the materials and said build this bird house and make it square. Then we'll set you free. I'm afraid I'd be an old man with a long gray beard before I got out. I am so glad to read this as I fit into this club too. It’s the stuff like 2”x4” isn’t really 2”x4” and nails based on some penny designation that adds to the confusion. Can you imagine saying “get me a 1/2” open end wrench” and really what you want is 13/32nds because 1/2” nuts aren’t really 1/2”? Crosscut , ripsaw, bandsaw without any band playing, yes this is the stuff of confusion. And what’s up with those funny looking flat pencils? How can you keep it from falling out from behind your ear! Don’t even get me started on plumbing! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
JFranklin 537 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 That might make a good Oregon museum project to get young folk involved, and teach some history. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
gossp 508 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 14 minutes ago, TerryB said: I am so glad to read this as I fit into this club too. It’s the stuff like 2”x4” isn’t really 2”x4” and nails based on some penny designation that adds to the confusion. Can you imagine saying “get me a 1/2” open end wrench” and really what you want is 13/32nds because 1/2” nuts aren’t really 1/2”? Crosscut , ripsaw, bandsaw without any band playing, yes this is the stuff of confusion. And what’s up with those funny looking flat pencils? How can you keep it from falling out from behind your ear! Don’t even get me started on plumbing! If it makes a difference for you, on that wagon a 2x4 would in face be 2x4.... now, find someone to sell you a 2x4 that is 2x4! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Bhigdog 3,035 Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 11 minutes ago, TerryB said: I am so glad to read this as I fit into this club too. It’s the stuff like 2”x4” isn’t really 2”x4” and nails based on some penny designation that adds to the confusion. Can you imagine saying “get me a 1/2” open end wrench” and really what you want is 13/32nds because 1/2” nuts aren’t really 1/2”? Crosscut , ripsaw, bandsaw without any band playing, yes this is the stuff of confusion. And what’s up with those funny looking flat pencils? How can you keep it from falling out from behind your ear! Don’t even get me started on plumbing! Wood is like an exotic girl friend. Beautiful to look at, a joy to play with, but you never REALLY know what it will do or how it all will end....................Bob 3 Link to post Share on other sites
GregLaR 2,293 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 4 minutes ago, Bhigdog said: Wood is like an exotic girl friend. Beautiful to look at, a joy to play with, but you never REALLY know what it will do or how it all will end....................Bob The same way it ends when my wife finds me with my exotic girlfriend......... I'm covered in cuts, bruises and abrasions. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites
mercer09 1,198 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 PUT IT ON EBAY FOR 1.00 you will get it to a good owner. Link to post Share on other sites
gossp 508 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 40 minutes ago, mercer09 said: PUT IT ON EBAY FOR 1.00 you will get it to a good owner. I completely agree with this. Someone will want it, will come remove it, and will pay something for it. This is is a prime candidate for a no reserve auction. The person that goes to all that effort will likely actually save the thing. If I picked it up for free the deterioration would simply be completed at a new location. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
keiser31 5,703 Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 5 hours ago, gossp said: I completely agree with this. Someone will want it, will come remove it, and will pay something for it. This is is a prime candidate for a no reserve auction. The person that goes to all that effort will likely actually save the thing. If I picked it up for free the deterioration would simply be completed at a new location. I know what you mean....I would never be able to put the time aside to restore the wagon. Link to post Share on other sites
Buffalowed Bill 522 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 In it present condition it may be inconsequential, but determining where it's a Studebaker should be pretty easy. It's all about the wheels, Studebaker used a unique tapered spoke design, that made the wheels much more durable then the industry standard. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Xander Wildeisen 1,906 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 5 hours ago, 1937hd45 said: So you just rip out every wire and start over or remove the battery and enjoy the vehicle as an art form? Car was repaired by someone, and repainted a different color. On the road somewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
keiser31 5,703 Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 I have been looking all around for a wagon club and came across the Covered Wagon Club, but there does not seem to be anyone answering my email. Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,215 Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 40 minutes ago, keiser31 said: I have been looking all around for a wagon club and came across the Covered Wagon Club, but there does not seem to be anyone answering my email. I've got a picture in my mind of them all in a circle, and the picture is very grim. Link to post Share on other sites
C Carl 1,806 Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 (edited) John, if not for adverse circumstances, I would have been pulling up at your house today to load up my "Antique" '91 Chev' 3500HD enclosed 14' box. MAN do I have a cool idea someone else might be able to use. Anyway, just after crossing back into Washington, at Battleground, I would drop the wheels off with Tom Deseret, our friendly local (to the Northwest), weelwright. And then proceed home to do something very artistique. Here's how I would use it. First, regard the pics taken North, South, and West from my high gate out at the ranch. Plan to set up about 75 to 100 feet inside the gate. Well suited for admirers to linger unobtrusively in the turnaround across the road. Now I would do a substantial long term preservation using the most potent rot-stop for the wood, and thoroughly coat the iron with primer. Inconspicuously sister the timbers for structural integrity, and similarly Inconspicuously, block it up to take the load off the now complete, but heavily patinated (is that a word ?), wheels Tom would have done. DEFINITELY keep the well-aged aspect of the beautiful beast. Because, speaking a little "Beast" here : John, your cartoon lit off a brainstorm which tempts me to gas up and head South. Dead hoss ? How about the re-assembled skeletal remains of a brace of 'em in harness, posed before the "cart". Almost skeletal myself these days, - CC Edited March 12, 2019 by C Carl Expansion and clarification (see edit history) 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mercer09 1,198 Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 I have been looking all around for a wagon club and came across the Covered Wagon Club, but there does not seem to be anyone answering my email. they're all trail bound! Link to post Share on other sites
JAK 151 Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 If there were some way to get it to Pennsylvania I'd take it in a heartbeat. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mercer09 1,198 Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 depressing to face your delusions. lol. there is- called $. Link to post Share on other sites
JAK 151 Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 I have restored wood bodied cars in worse conditions, the iron work here is the important part. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now