1946 Studebaker Pickup Truck Restoration Interior

 Some would say that restoring the interior, dash, and doors/windows is like remodeling your bathroom.  It is probably the most labor intensive part of the job when it has been cobbled up like a lot of them  with nonfunctional windows, cowl vent, heater/defroster, horn button/wiring, with no horns, no wiper motors, and with the aftermarket replacement odd ball headlight switch, and non matching heater switch. 

I was lucky to acquire a pair of original wiper motors, a NOS headlight switch, a NOS ivory colored starter button that I installed in the dash to eliminate the poor design switch that was activated with the clutch pedal arm, and a heater switch that matches the original knobs on the dash. I installed a pair of horns on the existing mounting bracket and of course, rewired the system for those, all the way from the horn button. I also installed a very nice period correct self canceling, 7 wire turn signal switch, that I completely restored back to the hammered finish, reconditioned internal switch, new wire, and NOS TungSol flasher, that is actually the same color as the existing heater/defroster that I restored as well.

I replaced most of the cardboard interior pieces with the exception of the headliner and sun visors that I repainted back to original color.

The door windows are working again with replaced clutch springs in the regulator and new run channels etc. The risers were rusted and in need of replacement as well so I rebuilt them and painted as necessary. One wing window was de-laminated severely, so that one is new now.

Here are some before and after shots.

I got a new key cut by the code from a blank that I picked up on eBay.  The original key was so worn that it would fall out of the ignition switch and barely worked it the door. Cutting it by the code was essential in getting it back to the original un-worn point.  I also haven't painted the NOS radio delete plate that I installed in place of the original that was drilled full of big holes. I am still looking for a nice gear shift knob too.