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Here's something to perk you up:
Thanks for posting!
That red one is the car that was displayed by Studebaker on the '63 Auto Show circuit and was on the cover of a car magazine, the name of which escapes me.
Here's that Hawk at an auto show. It's not just like it; it's that very car:
https://studebakerarchives.photoshelter.com/image/I0000prnwPTAZV5U
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CASMAI_enUS745US747&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=7kENXLv8E-rNjwSEjYjoDQ&q=1964+avanti+halibrands&oq=1964+avanti+halibrands&gs_l=img.3...132826.137348..137650...0.0..0.98.1659.22......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j35i39j0i67j0i8i30j0i24j0i30.kcVxSM5XBCQ#imgrc=TIaJCKI3yhWsrM:
I'll admit it, I love the look.
Hawk GT, I kind of like the lighter golds, creams, etc. I think it enhances the cars Euro (for the times) lines. Same goes for the Avanti really.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Those wire wheels are delicious.
"Classic" is still there for me I check it, project cars, mystery cars, and this.
I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today!
Oops--I thought I remembered 'classic' being before 'car' in the title. Guess not.
The Stude Museum is really only a few short blocks from Main St. in the central downtown area. Like I said, it's generally in what was the 'old money' section of town. South Bend is not that big of a city.
She ended up going to a much-more reasonably-priced school anyway...Miami Univ. in SW OH.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I went to Clarion Univ. in western PA, about 65 miles east of where I grew up. I graduated in '80.
I can remember a '64 Commander four-door sedan in our dorm parking lot, and a '66 Commander two-door sedan parked outside what I'm pretty sure was a college apartment house.
Both cars were probably not 15 years old when I saw them, but that seemed much-older then than now.
I always assumed both were "Grandpa's Old Car" given to the students, but of course who knows. Studebakers were cheap-to-buy after they quit building cars.
Back to South Bend--that's a long ways from Detroit. I know it's been over fifty years, but whenever I'm there I always think how hard it is to believe that that was a car company headquarters city. I know AMC built cars in Kenosha, WI, but their headquarters building was in Detroit.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Bobby Unser's 4WD Novi
On the Studebaker Drivers' Club forum a couple years back, someone posted minutes from various meetings during 1963, which were on file in the archives of the Studebaker National Museum. I had to laugh when it was mentioned about adding (fake) woodgrain to the instrument panel of the Avanti, as well as a fake wood wheel. One person in the meeting commented on the wheel looking "cheap". After that statement, the minutes read "Mr. Egbert approved the wheel for production", LOL.
One other fellow who was involved in advertising, spoke at the museum probably a decade ago. He said with a smile that Egbert told him, "Ray, your opinion is important...but not to me", LOL.
Just came across another book I want to read about the Mercedes engine and Penske in the '94 500
Just noticed there's a Champ pickup in the background of the one pic.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I wonder how it compares dimensions-wise to a W111 fintail like mine. Cloth on a fintail is rare - I suspect under 10% of cars have it. I think most of it didn't age well, and was replaced with incorrect cloth or vinyl/leather. From what I recall, there were three grades - a normal cloth like this:
An unusual busy checked/striped cloth I think maybe only available on upper models:
And a fancier woolcloth/broadcloth like this, also for upper models:
I think this is closest to the Stude cloth, hard to see in the pic, but it a heavier finer cloth, and has a fine pattern on the seat base and seatback bolsters/side areas. From what I have heard, this cloth is very expensive to replace, and is quite rare, I have never seen it in person on a fintail. MB had this type of cloth with the same fine pattern on the bolsters available as an option, I think a no-charge item, on S-class into the mid 90s.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
The only broadcloth in a '63 Cruiser I've ever seen was in a clapped-out parts car at the place that restored my old '63 Daytona Skytop. The interior was shot.
Broadcloth was only offered on Cruisers in '63 and '64, although the '63 seat pattern was much-plusher IMHO. In '64, the seat pattern was identical to the regular Cruiser, just covered in broadcloth. My understanding is that broadcloth is essentially wool.
fin, what is the wheelbase of your fintail? Four-door Studes were 113" from '62 on.
As I'd said previously, I think no one would mistake a '63 Cruiser for a 'Benz, but the one does remind me of the other.
That interior is remarkably attractive, though I’d have to have the A/C unit resprayed to match.
I always liked Stude's instrument panel those last few years. Just straightforward dials with full instrumentation. Even Ramblers had some goofy shapes there IMHO, all in the name of styling. Those last few years' Studes were largely styled by industrial designers instead of 'stylists', and I think it shows.
In its price category when new, a Cruiser with broadcloth option was a very nice compact sedan IMHO, but of course, too 'out there' for a lot of folks.
I see you still have heartache about your 380SE, and I am sad to see that. I can only imagine what that would be like, as I have had my old car for a long time, more than half my life now. If something happened to that car, I'd either replace it with another old car, or take up a new hobby with the proceeds. Have you searched for a replacement? Nice ones are out there, and only the best of the best cars have really high values. I think of these kind of like pets at an animal shelter - some of these old cars need homes that will give them appropriate care. Maybe you can do that to another similar car.
I can't imagine anyone confusing the cars either, but I think there is some influence, and it isn't a bad thing. Reasonably sided car that could be optioned with somewhat continental (as in Europe) interior trim.
Fin - We haven't looked for a replacement because we are still in temporary lodging while our house is being rebuilt (THAT is an adventure of its own). When we are back in our home town, with our home mechanic Henry, I will be tempted to do a bit of exploring. With a clean bill of health from a trusted source (especially if it Henry) I might easily succumb.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav