Oh, there he is...

Do like I do, start in the middle and work both ways!

 

Thanks Rev! You're right about the colt. I could have turned it around, here,over night.

There's got to be some truth about the whole Covered wagon link,... right? And it was more of a Pick up than a depot hack, true?
I seen um, I seen um, they's on da Little House program and dat Michael Landon done rode in 'em...

 

Even on that HAMB site we got into a converstion about Studebakers and the first conastoga type wagons. It is true, Studebaker first made wheelbarrows and shovels. Then they began making covered wagons so our foremothers could take their shovels and wheelbarrows west to look for gold and other fortunes.
Most of them used the wheelbarrows to haul our dead forefathers to the graves they dug with their Studebaker shovels.
Truth is stranger than friction!

 

Check, thanks Cat. Bones in a Barrel, sounds like a good name for a home made beer. Much better than Daddy in a Drum, anyhow...

PS, my thread hasn't been Hi-Jacked, it's done been derailed...

Sure, sure, laugh in the face of my grievous future... whoa is me ...


On a happy note, I just looked at another wagon today! Alright, it's another Volks Wagon but it is , never the less, a wagon... Oh, and like the Conestoga, it has a drop top! Another Cabrio, similar to Ian's new car but bright red, like the Dodge Ram ( a no deal as my big station wagon is good enough to keep, the Suburban, that is...)
The little Cabrio has cold A/C, a fresh clutch. good tunes, black leather, and is in the 32-3500 dollar range, half that of the ram and 38 mpg along with wind in the hair (like I have any) sounds like a deal to me. That would make 3 convertibles, two red over black, one silver over grey, a nice compliment to Storm Grey...(Suburban) and I can fund it all with the cars I have... I'll find out more in Monday.

 

Good luck. That 38 MPG sounds great.

 

Let's say we maybe start here~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker
http://www.studebakermuseum.org/p/about/history/

The company was founded in 1852, and (technically) continues to this day in some form or another-
they just don't use the Studebaker name, or build cars anymore...

While it is true that Studebaker made wagons waaay back in the day- my understanding is that the wheelbarrows came along a bit later after one of the Studebaker Brothers (John) went to California for the Gold Rush. All five of the Brothers were involved with the wagons and blacksmithing at some point you see. When John got to California and had no luck with gold- he needed cash to get home. He got a job in a blacksmith shop and ended up with quite a following. He eventually opened his own shop. He also made a ton of cash which he then brought back to South Bend and invested in the Family business. So the Brothers ended up making money on both ends of the movement West- in the East they sold Conestoga wagons to the settlers who were headed West. Once they got there- the settlers bought John's handiwork to make their fortune.

In 1954 Studebaker was bought by Packard. The Packard name only lasted until 1958 on it's own, and until about 1962 as part of the company's name of Studebaker-Packard.

The only two cases I can think of were the 'Conestoga' name was used would be for the '54/'55 wagons, and an optional cloth canopy for pick-up trucks that were offered through the years.


that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

I thought Studebaker tried to save Packard but I guess you're right, Packard's boss took the reins of both in '54.
The last Packards were Hawks (Commanders), Presidents and Champions with Packard pieces parts added to
dress them up. The last 'true' Packards were built in 1956 then all manufacturing moved to South Bend and the
Packard brand existed in name, alone, until '58.

Those last Packards are odd ducks and I like 'em...

 

So do I. For that reason, when given the chance, I bought one!!! Meet 'Cleo' my 1958 Packard sedan~





:2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

My grandfather had a Colt wagon just like that one at the start of this thread. He towed it behind his RV in the 1980's, and I can just barely remember it.

What I DO remember is it had a 5-spd in it, and my uncle was tasked to drive the car from Valdosta Georgia to Waco Texas for my grandfather.

The funny part is the shift quadrant marking had come off the shifter knob, and my uncle had only driven american cars with 4-spd transmissions. He drove all the way from Georgia to Texas in 4th gear.

When he got to Waco he went to the store with my grandfather and was shocked when my Grandad shifted into 5th.

Classic. My grandfather gave my uncle a hard time about that until the day he passed away, and the story is still brought up on family gatherings. Hahaha.

-Mike