Postwar Studebakers

fintail

The person who took the pics has a few more (not a Stude nut, just thought it was a cool old car):

uplanderguy

Thanks for sharing. Now I can nitpick, LOL!

Grille emblem should be just chrome in the middle and surrounding areas should be white, not red. No red on the hood ornament either.

Small things, yes, but why do people do stuff like that?

Grille emblems and hood ornament have been long-reproduced, and cheap, so no big deal.

I still really like the car.

One that looked like this sold a few months back for $32K.

uplanderguy

Studebaker was down to two South Bend employees by 1977:

ab348

A shot of a '50s Studebaker concept. I think I've seen the car previously but not this particular picture of it. I guess windshield wiper positioning was not a priority.

imidazol97

That a beautiful concept car.

I searched Studebaker concept cars and went through many images,but I didn't see anything like this.

ab348

Apparently called the Studebaker Scimitar.

Other pics I found:

imidazol97

Looks like #2 picture the convertible was a retractable hardtop!

The rear shaping says 1958 Chevrolet.

ab348

Looking at those pics I'm not sure it was a Studebaker factory job or possibly a later Brooks Stevens or Virgil Exner revival attempt.

imidazol97

One place I found the hardtop in place said it was a Brooks STevens and gave a date of 1959.
That date would explain the 1958 Chevy rear taper, the Edsel influence grill, and the 1957 Ford
retractable hardtop concept. All neat things.

The side sculptures hurt my eyes. And the rear deck seems to slope downward--perhaps related to the Chevy rear inward sloping lines.

imidazol97

I couldn't find a rear view earlier so I went back a'lookin'.

https://www.eclassicautos.com/the-mystery-car-its-not-an-edsel/

imidazol97

@ab348
Thanks for posting that showcar picture. I found searching for more
an educational project.

uplanderguy

Yes, those are Brooks Stevens designs.

He usually did more 'restrained' than those!

There are a couple of his prototypes for Stude at the Studebaker National Museum, slotted for sometime in the mid-sixties but the closure of U.S. assembly changed all that.

uplanderguy

I'm a sucker for a nice original, or at least authentic, car and this Stude is a good example. The number two cylinder issue is a large concern of course. The only year there was a four-door sedan Daytona. It has original upholstery and the optional factory head rest on the passenger side only (you could buy them for one side, or both).

With that serial no., it's a South-Bend-built car. I rather like that in a '64 as they were only built from August to December of 1963 there and they capped off 111 years of Studebaker production in South Bend.

I'll be curious to see what this sells for in a week.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334320218585?hash=item4dd709b1d9:g:7rkAAOSwQ0xiAIyn

sda

With all the other work they did to it, it gives me pause why the engine issue wasn't addressed. I like the color, looks clean and straight. A/C a big plus for those of us down south.

uplanderguy

Really, agreed.

I enjoy seeing it going down the road at about 1:00 in the video.

Big shock here (LOL), but I like the styling and overall size and character of those cars.

uplanderguy

That '64 sold for $7,300.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334320218585?hash=item4dd709b1d9:g:7rkAAOSwQ0xiAIyn&vxp=mtr&fbclid=IwAR1Ljtu089G_LqdvcF8TURQlXgI9Mrx-gI5sYbU1HFsO9-tqWJg3M1I9Zno

fintail

Interesting that car is from where I live now, and is sold by someone from where I lived when I was a student and a little while after, small world.

uplanderguy

Guy posted this on FB. He ordered it new in Sept. '62 and didn't receive it until Feb. due to issues at MFG, the body manufacturer (Studebaker eventually began building Avanti bodies themselves at South Bend), and also that he ordered the car in black. Because of finishing difficulties black was discontinued and he was asked to pick another color, so chose the newly-introduced gray. Black came back for the '64 model year but as a $35 option.

This car has no radio and no power steering, rather unusual. It's a supercharged car with 4-speed.
Only has 25K miles. He has all the original documentation including letters from the CEO of Studebaker welcoming him to Avanti ownership, and a letter from the VP of sales in response to his asking why his order was taking so long to produce.

I love the looks of bias plys on an old car, but I couldn't live today with driving on them.

uplanderguy

More-detailed article provided me by someone in South Bend, about the two-person office of Studebaker shutting down in 1977:

thebean

I bet those two ladies were great at their jobs. That generation, which is about one before mine, had such a good work ethic. Think of the Stude knowledge they had in their heads. I also bet they did not suffer fools gladly. If those two guys had dropped the bust of Mr Studebaker, I hate to think what would have happened. 😎

uplanderguy

I was thinking the same thing. For them to work 34, and 36, years, respectively at Studebaker, and be the last two South Bend employees, they had some good job reviews and probably people above them recommended them.

I can think of a few older ladies like that, teachers, principals, librarians, that were hard-workers and no-nonsense, but good people. I'm sure those two ladies were that type. I bet they were good friends too.

uplanderguy

Nice car. The solid black sure beats 'lemon and lime' IMHO.

I'll admit, I hate the fog lights, although they are absolutely original/authentic to the car.

This appears to be built in Studebaker's California plant (Vernon), which closed in 1956. Only there did Speedsters also have the "President" nameplate on the rear quarters, which is cluttery-looking right above the Speedster trim IMHO.

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1955-studebaker-president-105744?refer=news&utm_source=edaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2022-02-24

uplanderguy

A guy who was somehow involved in the destruction of the Engineering Building in South Bend a decade or so ago posted recently that these items were in the building at tear down. That is absolutely amazing to me. He got them. All the cans say "Tourmaline", which means nothing to me.

ab348

Tourmaline is the name of the color as seen here:

uplanderguy

Thanks, very cool.

sda

Charles Phoenix on U tube has a video on a black 61 Hawk. I enjoy the cars he reviews, though often not very thorough and find him somewhat a hoot. A little goes a long way.

uplanderguy

Thanks, I've seen that. He is over the top but I find him funny for the most part. He's certainly, ahem, 'enthusiastic'.

uplanderguy

This car ('64) is unrestored and recently was sold. Originally sold in Ellensburg, WA. Lovely car and color combo. I do wonder why they didn't choose the floor shift automatic with the bucket seats (PRND21 quadrant vs. PNDLR). 5,023 1964 Cruisers built in total. I'd have to buy the excellent repro copies of the original factory mats, as I did for my '66. $200 for front and rear but a nice authentic touch.

This is a South Bend car so was built somewhere between August and December 20, 1963.

Tidy 113" wheelbase

uplanderguy

uplanderguy

uplanderguy

uplanderguy

Instruments are lighted in red at night

fintail

Looks like it has AC?

Interesting history, sold in central WA, looks like it has a CA plate frame, and now on old ID plates.

uplanderguy said:

This car ('64) is unrestored and recently was sold. Originally sold in Ellensburg, WA. Lovely car and color combo. I do wonder why they didn't choose the floor shift automatic with the bucket seats (PRND21 quadrant vs. PNDLR). 5,023 1964 Cruisers built in total. I'd have to buy the excellent repro copies of the original factory mats, as I did for my '66. $200 for front and rear but a nice authentic touch.

uplanderguy

Yes, it does have A/C. Sad that only the Avanti had integrated A/C, but I think other lower-priced and smaller U.S. cars still had the under-dash A/C as well.

fintail

And foreign models where AC was still high luxury in many markets - MB had under-dash until the early 70s.

uplanderguy said:

Yes, it does have A/C. Sad that only the Avanti had integrated A/C, but I think other lower-priced and smaller U.S. cars still had the under-dash A/C as well.

sda

Looks sharp. I really like the red cloth interior and fabric type. You know me, AC is a big plus in my mind. Even if it doesn't work it can be repaired.

uplanderguy

What's funny, is three of the four Studebakers I've owned had factory A/C that looked like that, and none of them ever worked, LOL. I was too cheap to get it fixed.

uplanderguy

I don't know why the car has the San Leandro license plate frame. I reread the owner's post to make sure I had the Ellensburg, WA right. I did.

ab348

The difference between the floor shift and column shift quadrant is curious. I assume both use the same transmission? One of those two patterns (probably the PNDLR) is what that transmission would have always had. I wonder what kind of gymnastics had to be done to the floor shift linkage to change the sequence?

uplanderguy

The floor shift automatic ('Powershift') was the unit used in all automatic Avantis, and had a short chrome shifter (PRND21). It was optional on Lark-types and Hawks starting mid-'63 model year. It could be shifted manually through three forward gears or held in second. The column-shift automatic ('Flightomatic') had been used for a number of years and had that old quadrant. When Avanti production by Studebaker ceased at the time of production moving entirely to the Hamilton, Ontario plant, all Avanti engines and the Powershift were discontinued. In South Bend production however, you could get Powershift on any V8.

Both automatics were built by Borg-Warner.

Both automatics normally started from a stop in second gear, assuming you just took off in "D".

I like the Powershift a lot better. The stubby chrome shifter reached the driver's hand normally in an Avanti, but in Lark-types and Hawks, it was raised from the floor in a fiberglass box-type thing which was covered in carpet. The console was the same whether you got bucket seats with column-shift or bucket seats with floor-shift.

uplanderguy

Here's how a Powershift appears in a '64 Daytona.

ab348

So they were different transmissions, but both built by B-W. I know B-W sold a lot of those trannys but having had two Volvos with them, they were not my favorites.

uplanderguy

I have seen comments that the Powershift was 'designed in conjunction with Borg-Warner especially for the Avanti', but I don't know if that's hyperbole. I know even Corvettes still only had Powerglide in 1964, although I hear racers like the only one shift when you're accelerating.

kyfdx

Had a co-worker in the '70s that spent some time at the local drag strip.

He had a '65 Impala coupe, with Powerglide and a shift-kit. It was interesting to drive.

uplanderguy

Best Avanti color IMHO. One-family ownership since new. Those are factory exhaust tips.

thebean

@uplanderguy Very interesting info on the transmissions. I’m afraid I would have a hard time getting used to Reverse at the right end of the dial. But, if you did forget and put it in Park instead of Reverse, you would at least be stopped and not ruin the transmission.

uplanderguy

All four of the Studes I've owned ('63, '64, and two '66's) had the 'PNDLR' quadrant. It is a bit hard to get used to at first.

I think 'PRNDL' became widespread as a common-denominator thing, and also having two non-moving gears around 'R' was seen as a safety thing.

I'm not totally sure about this, but I believe even some upper GM product (Pontiacs and Buicks) had 'R' down at the bottom into '64 model year. I'm nearly certain my friend's '63 Riviera has 'PNDLR' on the floor.

uplanderguy

The Avanti--like most things Studebaker, it's a love-it-or-hate-it design. I prefer a '64 Gran Turismo Hawk, but I do think the Avanti is original, and modern and minimalist for its introduction date.

In profile, the wrapround rear window reminds me of seeing the '77-79 Impala and Caprice Classic coupes in profile.

uplanderguy

A Powershift in a '64 Hawk. Like the Daytona above, the Avanti shifter and quadrant is 'built up' off the floor a bit:

uplanderguy

I know B-W sold a lot of those trannys but having had two Volvos with them, they were not my favorites.

It's funny, my current car, with the lowest mileage of any of the four I've had, has a loud buzzing sound when you first start it up and put it in reverse, but the buzzing will continue when you drive it or put it back in 'Park' until the car is warmed up. I know it sounds like a low fluid thing, but it's not. I'm just living with it.