Postwar Studebakers

imidazol97

imidazol97 said:

Time to post my orphan show photos from near strange Yellow Springs, OH, at Young's Jersey Dairy Farm.

This car had a model name on the owner sheet on windshield. It was a name used by another car brand at another time. I should have taken a photo of the sheet. I like the styling of these.

imidazol97

A local guy has a video of the cars at the show. He scans them and moves around and zooms in and out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BROr-snWdnw

The Studebaker row starts at about 8:00 minutes. I get nausea from the zooming and the distortion due to the too short focal length. (The regular guy does a great job of taking vids. Sometimes the editing is troubling.) go4rider on youtube

But I did get a picture of the chassis on the back of the flatbed truck.
Anyone know what vehicle this chassis could be?

uplanderguy

That '56 is a Sky Hawk.

uplanderguy

That chassis looks long to me, so I'd guess it's one of the 120.5 inch wheelbase cars....'53-64 coupes/Hawks, or '53-58 President Classic sedans.

Michaell

Someone on the FB Group "AI Automotive Art" posted these today. I thought y'all would get a kick out of a modern interpretation of a Studebaker Lark:

uplanderguy

I do see a thing or two that might remind me of a '59 or '60 Lark. Thanks for posting!

Michaell

It’s also got a bit of a Volvo Amazon vibe to the roofline .

fintail

That AI Lark sent me down a rabbit hole. I didn't find any AI retro rebirth fintails, but I found this, maybe relevant as it could have existed at the same time MB and Stude were in partnership - the 300SL sedan, has a presence, pretty amazing for AI:

Michaell

fintail said:

That AI Lark sent me down a rabbit hole. I didn't find any AI retro rebirth fintails, but I found this, maybe relevant as it could have existed at the same time MB and Stude were in partnership - the 300SL sedan, has a presence, pretty amazing for AI:

Now that I like!

thebean

Looks a little 80’s Maserati-ish to me, with the cabin set back. Still a good look.

thebean

Not to flog the proverbial deceased equine again, but I was wrong on what that 300SL sedan representation reminded me of. It was an 80’s Aston Martin Lagonda sedan. That revelation came to me in the middle of the night. For some odd reason, I like the look of this AM. Different.

uplanderguy

Wife is in a cleaning mode and brought some trim pieces I had taken off my old '63 Lark Daytona thirty years ago to replace with NOS, up from the basement. I'm going to the Studebaker Drivers' Club and Avanti Owners' Association national meets in Washington, PA in a couple weeks and I posted the parts for free online and have a taker I'll give them to, there.

One thing I always enjoyed about the NOS parts situation for '60's Studebakers (despite the old 'there are no parts for Studebakers', eye roll here), is getting stuff from the old Newman and Altman in South Bend, in the original boxes, as below.

The guy who is willing to take the old parts that came off the car probably really only wants the box, and I'd be OK with that.

ab348

“Endurance Built Products “ proved true for those!

uplanderguy

Stude and 'Benz pairing, not unusual...but with Jag?!

fintail

Never seen that pairing before. I wonder if that dealer went on to be a multi line import seller.

I am sure I have mentioned it before, parts availability is another area where Stude and MB have some similarity. I can still get mechanical parts for the fintail directly from the dealer (for a price) - other parts can be sporadic but every now and then some material shows up, MB seemed to know survival rates would be high enough to justify keeping some supply. MB having a "Classic Center" for old models helps too, I wonder if Stude would have the same had it survived.

uplanderguy

I think M-B, being a prestige brand AND an old-line company, is probably the only current car company out there that has all that stuff--which is absolutely terrific for owners.

Studebaker, in the last ten or so years of production, was always on the cusp of having no money--except for 1959, which was the Corporation's highest profit in its 107-year history.

That so many parts remained after production stopped, IMHO is because they were not a great-run company. They produced more parts than they could sell cars. That is great for the collector. I didn't know that when I bought my first Stude, but it was definitely a boon. In 1993, during a sheetmetal sale at Newman and Altman, I bought two new rear fenders, two doors, grille surround panel, rear panel (between taillights), and decklid--all NOS--for $700-odd. My restorer told me I could buy NOS less than he could repair what was on the car.

I think a common misconception out there, even among 'car guys', is that the Company filed bankruptcy and/or completely closed down in 1966. By then, Studebaker was a conglomerate. They only quit building cars.

Parts supply in South Bend was a division of Studebaker until mid-1972. It was then sold to local interests, mostly Newman and Altman, a former Stude/Packard/Edsel dealer who took on the Avanti II.

Corporate HQ remained in South Bend, in the old Administration Building, into the late '60's. That building was sold to the South Bend School Corporation in 1969 for $1. They used it for offices until the early '90's.

The last office in South Bend hung around until 1977, but by then was down to two female employees. They mostly handled retiree questions/issues.

uplanderguy

uplanderguy

A little early, but almost fall, so I'm posting a pic from the group taken by a friend of mine some 16 or 17 years ago that I think came out great. This one shows the M-B influence most.

Avanti R1 engine (240 hp.; chrome valve covers and valley plate, and brushed metal air cleaner), factory tach, column-shift automatic, power drum brakes all around (dual M/C chambers), power steering, Twin Traction, factory air, reclining seat backs, tinted glass in all windows, AM radio.

It underwent a complete restoration, as much as I could spend, but it was the family's favorite Studebaker of our four over the years.

It used to stop traffic at Stude national meets, as people love the Avanti engine badging and the Skytop but virtually never had seen one with both of those options.

It was fun to drive, went down the road very steady, had plenty of power and had a great, burbly dual exhaust.

uplanderguy

Saw yesterday that my last Stude, the Timberline Turquoise '66 Cruiser, is for sale by the fellow I sold it to. He plans to have it at the Studebaker Drivers' Club International Meet next week in Washington, PA, where I'll look it over. He's asking $12K, and had put new tires and done brake work in the past two years.

fintail

On the MB related note, I guess this would be the MB equivalent to your old car:




Not gonna buy the old car back?

uplanderguy

The '62 grille insert on a Lark was much-more like the 'Benz insert--separated into sections, vertically and horizontally--but the '63 sedans were the most 'Benz-looking Studes IMHO, more than the hardtops. I know that no one would confuse the two, but there are a reminder or two here or there in the styling I think.

I'm not in particular a fan of any domestic compact in '63 other than a Lark, as I do think they were really unlike anything else offered at the time.

Looks like that 'Benz has a sunroof, but looks like a metal one. Didn't some 'Benzes in that era have the folding cloth (Golde) sunroof like the Studes had?

uplanderguy

P.S. When I told the wife about our '66 being for sale and that I'd see it next week, she quickly said, "No, we're not buying it back", LOL.

fintail

A 63 domestic "compact" that comes to mind that I like is a Falcon Sprint hardtop, but that might just be because I saw one when I was a young teen and wanted it as my first car (didn't happen of course).

Fintail sedans and coupes could have a sliding metal roof from the factory. I have seen a few sedans with a cloth "Webasto" type roof like the Golde units (or maybe even made by Golde), I am pretty sure these were all aftermarket units. Pontons were more commonly seen with a cloth sunroof, I believe these were available from the factory:



I have seen Golde units too, metal sliding units even on later cars including the Pagoda SL.

uplanderguy

Current pic of my former ‘66.

uplanderguy

Another photo of the '63 from the same autumn session as the one previously posted above:

fintail

Are the tires on the 66 the correct whitewall width?

And a similar angle of the MB version of that hardtop:

uplanderguy

The ‘66’s whitewalls are a bit too wide.

I have to admit, the pics you provided convince me that the Lark really doesn’t resemble it at all, lol! Well, white on the wheel covers.

No secret here, I normally am not enamored of import styling back then, but that car is lovely and timeless.

I can’t find it now, but I had a pic of one of those ‘Benz coupes in front of the Administration Building in South Bend, as a parade of new ‘63 Studes was preparing to head north on S. Main St. Black and white pic.

fintail

Like you I think the sedans have the stronger MB resemblance, but they both have kind of the same theme - a relatively trim package with some options that seemed Euro-influenced. That MB coupe cost at least twice as much as your old car when new so it's not an apples to apples comparison. That style remained in production until the 1971 model year, and the late run cars could be optioned with a V8 (far and away the most valuable of the run). The pictured car is an early model, a 61 with a 4-speed (and the same engine as my fintail) - in my experience for USDM cars a manual is only found in the first few years of production.

uplanderguy

I liked the '63 best of my four Studes over the years...I owned it 23 years.

That said, that turquoise '66, my last one, was so original and low-mileage, and I'm a huge fan of that.

It always had a 'clunk' sound over low-speed bumps, that seemed like it could be in the steering column, but I could never figure it out. A body brace in the left front looked like a frown on the bottom--either a big thing was run over there, or it was lifted incorrectly there. I wondered if that could have something to do with it.

The car needed control arm bushings, as despite its low mileage (27K), the original rubber must've been brittle as at low speeds, the car sounded like mattress springs.

Still, the interior was beautiful, and I know the cars enough to believe the odometer mileage. It was also original paint.

I loved how the rear door detents were still stiff when opening, and the decklid sprung up like a new car. None of my earlier Studes did that, LOL.

uplanderguy

I still go to South Bend probably once a year. I know it's 60 years passed, but I always find it hard to believe that an automobile manufacturer was headquartered there during my lifetime. A long way from Detroit. Go three or five miles from town in any direction, and you're in cornfields.

uplanderguy

'63 or '64 Champ parked catty-corner from the Studebaker Administration Building. This is the exact spot where a '60 M-B Ponton, which had seen better days and is no longer there, sat for a year or two when I visited town a few years back.

uplanderguy

Sorry for the small pic. No idea why.

sda

uplanderguy said:

Current pic of my former ‘66.

Too bad it isn’t sporting the rare spinner wheel covers that it had when you bought it. Those looked sharp. I understand not wanting to lose one and storing them in the trunk for safe keeping.

uplanderguy

The build sheet showed the car was built with the wire covers.

I have no illusions that they were that impressive, but I did like them.

They weighed a ton though. I bought the NOS regular '66 full wheel covers it wears now. I did give the current owner the five wire caps I had.

They were a dumb design so far as practicality. I'm told they were the same concept as on '55-57 Thunderbirds. Each wheel was supposed to have several clips--which were not on my car when I bought it. You were to pull the wheel cover away from the wheel near the air stem, which was beneath the wheel cover, to check the air.

The owner previous to me installed (welded?) four Chevy Rally Wheel clips on each wheel cover. They'd still get loose. I could pull them off with my bare hands.

In the Stude world, those covers are coveted though.

fintail

Car spotting friend spotted these apparently yesterday in metro Seattle, Stude is apparent but my eyes also go to the 810:



The Stude is on 1963 issue plates issued in the county where it was spotted, so an apparent longtime local car.

uplanderguy

bhill2, since you like Gran Turismo Hawks....

Lovely '64 from the Studebaker National Museum.

ab348 won't love it, as it's black outside, black vinyl top, black inside!

'64 GT started at just $2,958, and at that price included clock, bucket seats, and full wheelcovers.

bhill2

uplanderguy said:

bhill2, since you like Gran Turismo Hawks....

Lovely '64 from the Studebaker National Museum.

ab348 won't love it, as it's black outside, black vinyl top, black inside!

'64 GT started at just $2,958, and at that price included clock, bucket seats, and full wheelcovers.

Ooh, thanks for posting that, Uplanderguy. It is gorgeous. Black over black with black interior is not ideal for California but I would live with it. The fender emblem is not familiar to me as denoting an "R" engine call-out. Do you know what it says?

uplanderguy

The badge says "Avanti R2 Supercharged".

bhill2

uplanderguy said:

The badge says "Avanti R2 Supercharged".

Wow. The colors of the badge didn't come through on my monitor so it looked like a black background to me. I went back and peered at it, and the colors can be discerned on close inspection. Thanks for the answer.

uplanderguy

My old ‘66 sold at the national meet yesterday. I’m going over there for the day tomorrow (Washington, PA).

uplanderguy

Spoke to the new owner of my old '66. Too late to register it for this, this year, but his plans are to show it in the HPOF class (unrestored) at the fall Hershey AACA meet next year.

fintail

Spotted by someone in a car group at a parade in Versailles, IN:

sda

uplanderguy said:

Spoke to the new owner of my old '66. Too late to register it for this, this year, but his plans are to show it in the HPOF class (unrestored) at the fall Hershey AACA meet next year.

What did the new owner say about the 66 that was yours?

uplanderguy

Nice '62 Gran Turismo Hawk.

The new owner was curious what repairs I had done to the car. He loved the originality of it, and how tight it drives, he told me. He also asked the name of the guy I bought it from in 2017.

He and his wife loved the interior too.