A SCOT'S HONOR

Persistence Pays off With the Build of this 1959 Studebaker Scotsman Pickup

- Tim Bernsau

“Are you still interested in the Studebaker truck?” That was the phone call Robert Solgat had waited more than two years to get. Solgat is now the owner of this barn find 1959 Studebaker Scotsman pickup, packed with an LS3 engine and customized with hundreds of modifications.

He first saw the truck about five years ago. It was in a friend’s barn, being stored for somebody else who had plans to restore it back to its original farm truck form. It appeared to be in good shape, although the paint had dulled to a rhubarb red color and there was some minor rust in the bed, but the sheet metal was straight.

“You don’t see a lot of these trucks, so of course I really wanted it, but my friend said it wasn’t for sale,” Robert told us. “That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear, so I kept asking about it every time I was at my friend’s house. The answer was always the same, and I was reaching the point of accepting that I would never own the truck.

Patience Rewarded

Robert backed off and started thinking about looking for something else. About five months passed when he got the phone call he’d been waiting for and the answer he wanted to hear. He wasted no time in striking a deal with the owner and towing the Studebaker home.