Postwar Studebakers

imidazol97

I can recall those ads for the right hand drive Larks.
I lived in a rural area where almost everyone had their mail delivered
by a rural route driver. I can remember seeing a Lark RHD on the road.

But there was another company that was selling some right hand drive vehicles as well.
Does anyone recall what those were?

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

I can recall those ads for the right hand drive Larks.
I lived in a rural area where almost everyone had their mail delivered
by a rural route driver. I can remember seeing a Lark RHD on the road.

But there was another company that was selling some right hand drive vehicles as well.
Does anyone recall what those were?

Subaru and Jeep both did it. Much later than Studebaker, though.

uplanderguy

Subaru did the 'Hill Holder' Studebaker thing later, too. Ironic that Subaru builds in Indiana now.

uplanderguy

From Facebook this morning; 1965 Commander in Yukon Gold



I like the instrument panel. Gauges, glass lenses, chrome surrounds, padding to bottom of dash....and straightforward design, no "STYLING!!".

fintail

Something similar on local CL

Looks honest enough, but your car is a 100 pointer in comparison.

uplanderguy

Truth be told, I like the '64 and '65 side trim, full wheel covers, and rear lighting better than the '66, although I do like the '66 being the last and especially low-volume.

The flow-through ventilation extractors on the rear of the '66 push the taillights down to where the backup lights were on the '64 and '65. Not great for visibility. The vents were body-color until Jan. 1, 1966, when they were chrome in production. Previous owner put chrome ones on mine but left the painted ones. The painted ones from mine could use, well, painted, but I think I prefer painted to chrome.

Buddy's coming over to take care of a carb leak on mine today, replace the positive-battery cable which bothers him more than me, and then we're off about 25 miles north and east to an Amish-style restaurant in a smallish town to eat, as payment for his labor and time.

uplanderguy

$70K last week, for an R1 Avanti with wrong 'Gran Turismo' nameplate on decklid, yeesh:

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1963-studebaker-avanti-518387?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=evergreen&utm_campaign=1963-studebaker-avanti-518387&fbclid=IwAR1fb4JJQyX20pGjxe64F3lItdvOpJA-nIB4XPJjt94CkmT5gZl4VRDxmb4

fintail

Found on local CL These final year of the postwar style are unusual, I won't comment on the wheels, finishes, price, etc.

uplanderguy

I think the '47 basic styling was advanced enough, that the '52 looked comparable to other '52's to my eyes. I always hear of the poor-quality 'Korean War Chrome' used then though.

fintail

I was recently reading a 1986 issue of the local newspaper, and saw this article about I guess the 80s version of a hipster, a young realtor who sells old houses and drives old cars. One car is a Stude:



The funny thing is what he said about Studebaker drivers:





Oh yeah, and the house matching that description would carry an extra zero in the price today.

uplanderguy

I definitely know the first type. Can't say I know the second type. Wish I could put myself there, but not really, LOL.

uplanderguy

I do remember reading about a college prof who bought a new M-B in '64 and bought his wife a new Daytona Hardtop at the same time.

I've mentioned this before, but at the Stude Museum Archives I saw at least two M-B's that were traded on new Studes in the Fall '63 to Spring '66 time frame at my small hometown dealer. I was surprised at that. I can only guess the lure of price and/or maintenance costs did it.

You may remember, but I found a guy from a bigger city 15 miles away who traded in a '59 M-B (don't know what model) on a supercharged '64 Cruiser four-door. When I googled him, he was born in 1888! That is a guy who liked cars I'd say.

fintail

MBs of that era were definitely more maintenance intensive than most US car drivers were used to. They didn't cost so much to purchase compared to mainstream cars as today, but they thrive on maintenance and being treated by the book. Also a different driving stile - the largest engine in a mainstream MB sedan was a 2.2L I6, with many smaller and slower, they were built to be revved and pushed, which may have been uncomfortable for someone coming from a V8 or even a big 6.

uplanderguy said:

I do remember reading about a college prof who bought a new M-B in '64 and bought his wife a new Daytona Hardtop at the same time.

I've mentioned this before, but at the Stude Museum Archives I saw at least two M-B's that were traded on new Studes in the Fall '63 to Spring '66 time frame at my small hometown dealer. I was surprised at that. I can only guess the lure of price and/or maintenance costs did it.

You may remember, but I found a guy from a bigger city 15 miles away who traded in a '59 M-B (don't know what model) on a supercharged '64 Cruiser four-door. When I googled him, he was born in 1888! That is a guy who liked cars I'd say.

uplanderguy

Ahhhh, the beauty and simplicity of the '53 full wheel cover.

uplanderguy

Re-reading fin's old newspaper article about two types of Stude owners the guy knew, I do think I've come across in the press (not in person) some 'hipster doofus' type of younger Stude owners. Bob Merlis wrote a great article in a 1983 Car and Driver issue called "The Studey Zone", about driving from CA to South Bend for the 1983 International Meet. It was informational, and humorous.

uplanderguy

Excuse the excruciating music, but nice clip of dealer film showing the '64 Daytona convertible. Not a TV commercial as it was captioned online.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156303014221091

fintail

uplanderguy said:

Re-reading fin's old newspaper article about two types of Stude owners the guy knew, I do think I've come across in the press (not in person) some 'hipster doofus' type of younger Stude owners. Bob Merlis wrote a great article in a 1983 Car and Driver issue called "The Studey Zone", about driving from CA to South Bend for the 1983 International Meet. It was informational, and humorous.

Hipster doofus - I could see Kramer in a Stude. Maybe a Lark or a bullet nose. He had that airbag Impala, so he was into it in some way

uplanderguy

Kramer, maybe in a Scotsman or early-Lark four-door.

Here's an article by Bob Merlis, the guy I'd mentioned, with M-B content as well. This guy wrote the original 'hipster', and maybe 'doofus', article in Car and Driver I'd mentioned:

https://www.motortrend.com/vehicle-genres/collectible-classic-1962-1963-studebaker-lark-daytona/

uplanderguy

A favorite '64 ad of mine.

fintail

"Underneath she is a 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo"

I know someone can point out what might be incorrect

uplanderguy

Actually, that '62 is appealing to me, and the door panels inside are original or NOS and the seat trim, while a reproduction, does a good job of copying the original. Not a bad price. I know a guy selling a '62 Daytona Hardtop, much-lower mileage, for $26K now.

uplanderguy

That '87 Avanti--the Monte Carlo wheelbase was .9 inch shorter than the original Avanti's, which results to my eyes in an unfortunate way the rear tires and wheels sit in the wheel openings.

uplanderguy

Back to that Car and Driver article by Merlis, "The Studey Zone", some humorous things I remember are the opening page of the article, mimicking the beginning of a 'Twilight Zone' episode, with the nighttime sky, a human eye, and a road sign saying "Needles 22 South Bend 2205".

Funny pic of the driver/author dressed hipster-y with a comment underneath, "The author dressed to the nines--okay, the sixes" and a photo of a cop writing him a speeding ticket with the caption, "Nebraska bear studies lawless Studey".

uplanderguy

Promoting my hometown's Heritage Days Super Cruise car show on July 2:

This is a very large, very nice show in my small hometown of Greenville, PA, in the NW part of the state, only ten miles from the eastern border of Ohio. There's usually about 700 cars in nice weather; there have been more.

Motor Trend TV has been here on a few occasions before, presenting a half-hour show on the 'Speed' channel about the show just last year.

The show is along the town's Main Street and side streets. Studebakers are welcome of course and we have in past years attempted to get Studebakers to congregate at the east end of the show (Main St. and College Ave. intersection).

Here is the Facebook page info on the show:

The Heritage Days Super Cruise is now in it’s 15th year, taking place each year in July. Since it’s inception, organizer Bill Sumners has rallied as many as 1000 cars along the main street, as thousands of spectators fill the streets to view these historic treasures! Classic cars of every description will line up to show off their wheels while 5 DJ’s entertain spectators along with epic prizes, 50/50 raffle.
No pre-registration is required for exhibitors, just show up the day of the event. The first 200 cars to register on July 2nd get a FREE CRUISE T-SHIRT!
Questions? Contact:
Bill Sumners: 724-699-3510 or bsum59@hotmail.com

The "official" hours are 2-6 but I can tell you unequivocally that if you wait 'til 2 there won't be a place for your car. People start showing up with cars at 8 in the morning!

Admission is free. There is a nice, smallish museum about Greenville's railroad history (the town was the headquarters of the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad until the mid-'80's and was also serviced by the Erie Lackawanna and Pennsylvania railroads; the Bessemer and Erie passenger stations remain). Nice historical museum too, featuring a 1913 Empire automobile built in Greenville. Both museums are within walking distance of the show; the train museum especially so.

I plan on having my '66 Cruiser there.

The town had a one-family-owned Studebaker dealership from 1926 through 1968. The building still stands. The grandson of the dealership founder is invited back this year to give a trophy in one of the categories, and will be joined by one of the dealership's mechanics who worked there from 1948-66.

For information before or on the day of, you can also contact me, Bill Pressler, here, in an IM, or by phone at three-three-zero, two-two-one, five-nine-o-four.

Thanks!

uplanderguy

Local Stude buddy of mine was in this place yesterday and described this car as a clean, very nice original '65 Cruiser. I don't love the color but I like that it's not white or something. He was turned off that it was a six. He didn't say anything about it being sold but it's shown as 'sold' on their website.

Nice car, nice size.

https://motorcarportfolio.com/product.php?id=12609

uplanderguy

Mopar and M-B friend sent me this this morning. Pretty healthy bidding IMHO. Looks yellow here, but it's Ermine White, same color as my '63 was. Front bumper guards are one bolt too far inboard, as opposed to factory placement. 109 inch wheelbase, but I think four headlights, 15 inch wheels, and full-radius rear wheel openings make it seem bigger than other compacts. Definitely some 'Mercedes bends' as the Eagles say:



https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1962-studebaker-lark-296562

uplanderguy

Sold for $18.9k.

fintail

Pretty strong for a non-loaded car during a shaky economy, but you couldn't get a basket case to look so nice for that money, so if you love it, still a fair deal.

uplanderguy

Yes, good price IMHO for a non-Daytona, and non-authentic replacement seat trim.

fintail

From a local history group (Seattle dealer, I think):

uplanderguy

1961. For the longest time I didn't care for that era Hawk, but they've grown on me. For styling, I'd compare it next to a '61 domestic two-door sedan anything, even though it was in its ninth basic styling year.

fintail

uplanderguy said:

1961. For the longest time I didn't care for that era Hawk, but they've grown on me. For styling, I'd compare it next to a '61 domestic two-door sedan anything, even though it was in its ninth basic styling year.

I think I have opined on it before, interesting to me how not adopting the wraparound windshield made the design look dated, but eventually the style went back to normal, and the Stude looked fine again - could have made the pillars a little more thin or added some trim though. I guess the next version did that.

texases

The topic of today's 'car of the week' article in the WSJ is a guy's '63 Avanti, he did a good job it seems getting into shape for some Stude get togethers in Indiana.

uplanderguy

Thanks for posting; I've since seen the car in the article. The owner did a great job of recreating the factory 'rake' in profile; that often gets screwed up during restorations. Love that he had the glovebox vanity open and two 'TAB" cups displayed with the car, too.

This weekend, the 60th anniversary of the Avanti is being celebrated in South Bend at Copshaholm Mansion next door to the Studebaker National Museum. Pretty amazingly, both serial no. 0001 (from the LeMay Museum out in the Pacific NW) and the very last Studebaker Avanti, built 12/26/63 and owned by the Crawford Museum in Cleveland, will be on display.

uplanderguy

Here are the two Studebaker Avantis, first and last. Both white. First has 'Tangerine' interior; last has black interior. First was a complete restoration, last is original and unrestored (about 10K miles IIRC). The last one is an R3--one of only ten installed on the South Bend lines in cars (Nine Avantis; one Commander).

Something about the R3 engine required it to sit in the engine compartment in a way which largely eliminated the 'rake' in profile.

4,643 Studebaker Avantis built in 1962 and 1963 ('63 and '64 model years).

uplanderguy

Here's the exterior of the fellow's car a few posts above, that was written about in the WSJ recently in regards to the 60th Avanti Anniversary Celebration in South Bend. As I'd said, his car has the correct factory 'rake', which I tip my hat to him for:

fintail

I never noticed the unusual shape of the front wheelarch on the Avanti until you mentioned the rake.

uplanderguy

Supposedly Loewy’s crew had the idea of a moon revolving around a planet when they designed the wheel openings. Or was it an atom? I’m not so sure now. Hey, it was the early sixties lol. But I did read it was one of those things.

fintail

I could believe an atom.

You might have saw this from the mystery car thread - a specialty car dealer in NY state:

uplanderguy

At first I thought it was a '64 or later Wagonaire in the showroom, but with the reflections, I just can't tell. If he were selling new Studes I'd like to think there'd be signage to that effect--same with 'Benz.

Thanks for posting; I had not seen it.

Nice '63 and I think I've seen that fintail before!

fintail

The person who posted the photo (in a fintail group) is from the town where the image is from - said the dealership was always a specialty car place, never sold Stude. Looks like that fintail made it from South Bend to NY to my garage

uplanderguy

That place definitely didn't exist to satisfy the typical Big Three buyer!

fintail

When I logged into fb not long ago, it suggested an Australian old car group for me, maybe it can tell I enjoy RHD/export examples of American cars. I noticed a couple of relevant pics:

sda

A Falcon and Hawk in the top picture. In the bottom picture the Lark appears to be LHD. Is that a Woolworths?

fintail

Yeah, the 64-66 car looks like it could be LHD. Also notice a Valiant at left - it and the Falcon existed as Aussie-specific models with unique trim, but the same basic body as USDM cars.

I think Woolworths existed in Oz as well as Canada and UK aside from the US (long gone around here anyway by my time).

sda said:

A Falcon and Hawk in the top picture. In the bottom picture the Lark appears to be LHD. Is that a Woolworths?

fintail

I've been reading old papers online again, the car ads are entertaining. This was published in my local paper in August 1991:

ab348

Woolworth’s was very big in Oz. Still there as a big supermarket chain apparently.

uplanderguy

I used to own the Smithsonian mag with that article. I remember the author's liking of a South Bend swap meet, particularly at the old Newman and Altman (vendor) building, as an 'archeological dig'.

Gee, I own a Studebaker and GM cars, LOL.

Funny, as much as I love Studebaker, Rambler doesn't do much of anything for me. I'll admit to liking the first AMX's (although hated the interiors), I'll duck-for-cover and admit I like '74-78 Matador coupes as long as they have the big quarter windows, I think the '63 Rambler looked pretty nice although still lacking in the engine department in most models and not even a two-door hardtop available, and I'm sort-of intrigued by late sixties Ambassador hardtops. But that's it.

fintail

I thought of you, Stude to GM

When I was a kid and AMCs were mostly weird used cars, or a few Eagles, I had disdain for the oddball stuff, and ignored the rest. I thought the Gremlin was 70s yuck, and a Pacer, expecially the wagon for some reason, was just embarrassing - I recall when I was a little kid, my mom had a friend who drove a wagon, and we rode in it, even then I thought it just wasn't right (I recall it had the kind of southwestern pattern interior). The big Matador coupes were also bizarre to me, along with the big nose sedans, which will always be Police Academy squad cars to me. I've grown to not mind the Gremlin and Matadors, and kind of like the Pacer, although I doubt I would ever buy one. When I was a kid, my dad wanted an Eagle wagon, but the deal was nixed for one reason or another, those are cool in their own way. The 63 models are pretty good looking overall.

uplanderguy said:

I used to own the Smithsonian mag with that article. I remember the author's liking of a South Bend swap meet, particularly at the old Newman and Altman (vendor) building, as an 'archeological dig'.

Gee, I own a Studebaker and GM cars, LOL.

Funny, as much as I love Studebaker, Rambler doesn't do much of anything for me. I'll admit to liking the first AMX's (although hated the interiors), I'll duck-for-cover and admit I like '74-78 Matador coupes as long as they have the big quarter windows, I think the '63 Rambler looked pretty nice although still lacking in the engine department in most models and not even a two-door hardtop available, and I'm sort-of intrigued by late sixties Ambassador hardtops. But that's it.

bhill2

uplanderguy said:

I used to own the Smithsonian mag with that article. I remember the author's liking of a South Bend swap meet, particularly at the old Newman and Altman (vendor) building, as an 'archeological dig'.

Gee, I own a Studebaker and GM cars, LOL.

Funny, as much as I love Studebaker, Rambler doesn't do much of anything for me. I'll admit to liking the first AMX's (although hated the interiors), I'll duck-for-cover and admit I like '74-78 Matador coupes as long as they have the big quarter windows, I think the '63 Rambler looked pretty nice although still lacking in the engine department in most models and not even a two-door hardtop available, and I'm sort-of intrigued by late sixties Ambassador hardtops. But that's it.

I can’t resist sticking my oar in on one point. Although you could not get a two-foot hardtop in ‘63, the similar ‘64s offered several, with bucket seats and console either optional or standard.