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I like Golden Hawks, but aren't crazy about them. However, this one looks absolutely authentic including tire size and whitewall width, and I'm a big fan of 'authentic'. It sold for $66K at Scottsdale this week. That's the sixth or seventh, maybe, Golden Hawk that has brought more than $50K (some way more) in the past four or five years at auction. I don't think it can be said that that's an anomaly anymore. My guess is that those cars are the most-expensive postwar Studebakers to buy.
http://classiccars.com/listings/view/482492/1957-studebaker-golden-hawk-for-sale-in-scottsdale-arizona-85260
I like the no-nonsense instrument panel--full gauges, engine-turned, and lacking the cartoonish shapes, sizes and details of some other similar-era cars--but overall, I still want a '64 Gran Turismo Hawk. Sigh.
I wish I could find a car like this--and the money to buy it--except in a factory dark green or dark red or dark blue:
http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Studebaker/64-Studebaker-hawk-R2-DV_11-SJ_015.jpg
The oval badge at the bottom of the front fenders indicates either "Avanti R1 Powered" or "Avanti R2 Supercharged". I like the smooth, denuded decklid of the '64, as opposed to the '62 and '63 which had the large metal overlay there. Those Gran Turismos, IMHO, had a great instrument panel, concave, and filled with gauges when so-ordered.
This looks exactly like my 1955 Stude without wire wheels. One of three vehicles I should have kept.
Wow! I actually like the low hood of the '55 better than the tall hood and grille that followed. The chromy front of the '55 gets knocked, but if it doesn't have the fog lights, I think it's attractive. Great color! I'm jealous!
In the hobby, the '55's side trim is called 'the butter knife'.
Can anyone tell me how to copy and paste that nifty Cadillac/Rambler video?
I tried but when it posted, it lacked the little arrow so it wouldn't run. So much for my computer skills!
I just clicked on the Youtube link to watch it in Youtube. Then I copied the URL from
Youtube.
youtube.com/watch?v=enqNl7tdLR4#t=19
Your browser may run it if you just copy what's above; browser may put the www in front. If not, Just put the www in front of this and it should work. I had to delete the
www to get it to show the text.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
It took me awhile but I FINALLY figured it out. Really appreciate your help!
Whoever did that little video did a GREAT job on the details! For those familiar with 1958 Cadillacs the dash, and the brake pedal were dead on.
There was one "mistake" though. Anyone else catch it?
The one obvious one I caught, given the date frame, was the Pacer and Gremlin going in the other direction at about 1:10 in. Other than that, the only minor one I saw was one trunk view of the Rambler where the 'Super' badge is missing.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Is it something with the gear shift indicator? For some reason, I remember some Hydramatics having two "R"s in the range, one being "Retard" and the other being "Reverse". As for the cars passing by, early on, Speed Racer's Mach 5 drives past, as well.
Andre, you are on it!
Those Hydramatics came before they standardized the gear patterns.
Those had Park, Neutral, two drive ranges, low and reverse in that order.
Earlier Hydramatics didn't have a "Park" position so I guess you needed a good parking
brake although at car shows I've noticed the owners usually put them in reverse.
I wasn't nitpicking. I thought whoever did that cartoon did an excellent job!
I don't think Chrysler put "Park" on their cars until 1960, and IIRC it was a lever that you moved, rather than an additional pushbutton, but I could be wrong. With my '57 DeSoto, I was always told to just put it in Neutral and put the parking brake on. I guess leaving it in gear would be better though, wouldn't it?
I think you'd be better in a gear. I know with my Dad's old 3-speeds, he always left them in reverse with the parking brake on. Corvair and Tempest automatics, sticking out of the dash, didn't have a 'park' position either...ever.
Leaving a car in gear works with manual transmissions but not with automatics as a rule. I always wondered if leaving an early Hydramatic in reverse would hold a car parked on a grade.
Andre, doesn't your De Soto have the parking brake on the driveshaft that looks like a small brake drum? Is it still in the shop or is that a bad subject?
I've been stopped on steep enough hills where the car would start to roll backwards while in Drive, as the idle speed wouldn't be enough to hold it. Never had a car with an early Hydramatic though, so I don't know how those would act.
As for the DeSoto, well, it had the brake that clamped down on the driveshaft, until the mechanic got ahold of it. Now it has an E-body rear, so once it's all finished the parking brake will engage the back wheels, like a more modern car. And yeah, still in the shop, although the mechanic swears it'll be done by spring. He didn't say spring of which year, but at the rate he's going, it might just be this year!
That Desoto will be an eye turner at the classic car shows. You seldom see many Mopars of that gen because of rust, and quality hurting parts availability...Let alone a Desoto!
Seems like an honest ad with lots of pics. I could enjoy the car. I think they're just the perfect size outside, and big inside. This car's serial no. is only 92 V8 numbers after the guy I know who had a supercharged '64 Cruiser sedan like this, but black with red cloth buckets and automatic on the floor...probably built the same day:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Studebaker-Cruiser-Avanti-Powered-R1-Sedan-Rare-1964-Studebaker-Cruiser-Avanti-Powered-R1-Low-/281252471790?forcerrptr=true&hash=item417bf423ee&item=281252471790&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
I'd have to paint the wheels the factory off-white, even if I left all other visible 'scars' as-is.
I like the color on that Cruiser...looks dark green from some angles, and kinda bluish from others. And considering that design pretty much dates back to 1953, I think they did a great job of updating it. One advantage of that older design is that the seats look taller, thicker, and plusher than your typical 1964 car. I imagine it's a comfortable ride. I think the style has aged well, too, with the clean lines, large window area, and minimum of fuss. Uplander, didn't you compare the roofline of the '75-79 Seville to the Cruiser? I can definitely see some resemblance.
That is "Jet Green", a factory color. I think the '63 Cruiser and Lark four-doors (quite different styling from the '64, the change done on a shoestring budget) really have the '75 Seville/'77 GM B-body rear door look. What was considered out-of-date (taller, narrower) in '64 suddenly became more in-style when the '77 big GM's came out!
It's got a tach, which was part of that engine package. You can tell that Studebaker bought the tach somewhere, as the surround is different than the other gauges. My '63's was like that too, but was in the center position and the speedometer on the right...rather weird for '63.
Here's a '63 sedan with the rear-doors that remind me of later GM products:
http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/studebaker/1963-studebaker-lark.jpg
That car's in the Stude Museum. Those wheels, I'm pretty sure, are disc brake wheels since they have the slots.
Back to the '64 for sale--I always liked the way the hood looked from inside the car, visible in the one pic...crowned fenders and that slim "S" hood ornament. The '63 view out the hood was somewhat 'chubby' looking instead.
What do you think it will bring? Seems pretty low right now. Then I am pretty much clueless on vintage car prices.
Hard to say. That engine package is desirable to Stude guys, and every bit of that sheetmetal except the trunklid is still available NOS and pretty reasonably. The car's not in great shape, but I have to say I like the car, color, and I could live with it in that condition (except the wheels!) assuming it runs as well as described. Sometimes with that R1 engine and its 10.25 compression ratio, getting good gas can be an issue. The supercharged engine is actually better in that regard but also a good bit more expensive to buy these days. Five days left...my guess (and there are too few of these cars to really base it on), I'll predict it will go to around $5K.
Although some people add them later, that car's grille badge indicates the complete 'Super' package (the engine was available by itself but did include a tach even then). The 'Super' package includes the engine and the heavy-duty suspension pieces, radius rods, etc., and the 160 mph speedometer, visible in the one pic.
I think I'm smitten.
Too bad I don't have any money. That, and it couldn't be farther away from me. LOL
I'd say that's 125K miles, the way it's spouting blue smoke. I still like the car though.
http://s287.photobucket.com/user/studebakerlady/media/100_0348.mp4.html
Nice color combo. Funny that it is in Bellingham, like you mention in the other thread - that area is a hotbed for odd cars. I went to school there and lived there for a few years after. Lots of oddities there - I remember there were several fintails at least occasionally driven, a few Citroens, a Euro Ford Escort and grey market Audi A3 (not sure how they did that) and lots of 60s era American cars. A guy I knew in school had a 55 Packard hardtop for a time (this was late 90s, so not exactly a late model car). Also home to a leading MB DIY guru.
Judging by past auctions, seller is a die-hard Stude guy, which could be good (he knows the car) or bad (he knows when to abandon ship).
I'm a little less enamored seeing that blue smoke. I can actually handle the, ahem, 'patina' since that seems more respectable now than it used to be.
I am so used to old Euro cars that a little smoke doesn't catch my eye - maybe that's just Stude being kind of European again
My fintail smokes a little sometimes, probably needs a big valve adjustment if not an eventual valve job. I'd do that before any cosmetic work, even if on my car too the body and interior have a lot of patina.
You would THINK as bad as that car smoked that he wouldn't have posted a video of it putting down a smoke screen. When I was quite young, a guy down the street had an old bullet nose that smoked so badly that there were no bugs for blocks around. He still had it when I was in high school and it still continued to smoke and I mean BAD!
I had three Studes as collector cars (although the last one had a GM engine). The '63 and the '64 had Stude V8's and both had 103K miles when I sold them, and they'd smoke a little at start-up, but that was it. I like the dark green sedan, but even the ad now says "Odometer reads 24K; could be 124K". I'd say that's pretty likely. I still like '64 Studebakers though, and the R1 is interesting on a sedan, even if it does need a valve job. LOL
From the Studebaker Drivers' Club forum, the high bidder (so far) on the Jet Green '64 Cruiser R1 is from Germany. I thought that was somewhat interesting.
2 days 10 hours left, and it's at $5,049.00 with 22 bids; a little past my estimate.
Dark green '64 Cruiser with Avanti power sold for $6,650, sure was more than I'd have thought.
My next door neighbor does very well buying and selling classic cars on eBay. Several have gone to Sweden and Germany.
All three of mine went to Australia. I have a couple friends who have expressed dissatisfaction that the cars left the country; however, in my experience, once I sent those fellows detailed pictures and gave a price, there was no 'tire kicking' involved...they accepted my price and got my money quickly.
That is what Don my neighbor says about foreign sales. He got tired of selling local to people wanting a 60 year old car to be like a new one. My barber sold her 1956 Ford PU that was beautiful to a Swedish buyer. Said it was so easy it was scary. She got a wire transfer into her account and a company came and picked up the vehicle. I think she had it on Craigslist.
They LOOOVE old American cars in northern Europe, huge enthusiast groups for them there. Those oh-so-evil socialists now have more spare cash and free time than their supposed capitalist counterparts. Funny how it worked out.
Those who complained about the exports were free to vote with their wallets too. Lots of fintails have gone back to Europe, that's how it goes.
I remember when people would go to the EU and buy up old RR and ship them back here. I had a friend in Alaska with 4 classic RR in his garage. There is a RR club that drove seveal 1920s RR to Alaska. I have pictures someplace of them.
My Studebakers weren't even for sale, really...each time, I was approached and asked if I was interested in selling. My friends complained that I didn't give everyone else an even chance to buy; just sold directly to the Australians; however, I did have people ask me if I ever wanted to sell, let them know (particularly my '63 Skytop R1), but it never went beyond that. I might be wrong, but I have a hunch the sales would not have taken place so quickly otherwise. I got the money wired to me too. I do feel a bit bad that not quite a year before I sold my '63, the original owner expressed interest in buying it for a daily driver and I told him I didn't think that wouuld be a great idea, and I threw out a somewhat inflated price but also said I wasn't intending to sell. The actual sale happened pretty quickly, with college coming for daughter no. 1. The original owners were very nice folks.
Oh, I can't begin to tell you when I've owned nice old cars the times people tell me to give them first chance if I ever want to sell it. I've had notes shoved under my wiper blades a number of times too.
So, six months or a year passes and I make calls to these people.
" Ah...well....this isn't a good time right now"
There's a saying in the car business..." Don't count the BE-BACKS, count the GREENBACKS"
Oh yeah, back in the 60s and 70s, British exporters would even advertise directly in places like Hemmings or Cars & Parts. Prewar lower line (like a 20/25) and earlier postwar RRs were seen as thirsty white elephants by the British, but in the land of cheap gas and a desire to be seen as classy, many found homes. A lot of 30s-50s RRs in the US that are RHD were shipped over then.
Regarding offers on cars, I don't really get them for my car - but people do ask how much it is worth, and are usually astounded at the relatively low value.
I've always posted quite a bit to the Studebaker Drivers' Club page, where I had pics of my cars in my signature line. That's where the Australian gents knew what I had and made the offers.
Although I like the '64 styling better, everyone who likes Studebakers was surprised that my white '63 was built with both the Avanti engine and sunroof, which either in and of itself was considered rare but both were almost ridiculous. Fourteen built, and I know because my wife and I went through all the production orders ourselves (back when she would do such things!). Ours was the very first serial number to have both options, 4,224 V8 cars into production.
1 of 14 is a cool bragging right. I wish I had breakdowns on old MB production, but they really don't exist - which is surprising with the German love of detail and numbers. I know the fintail's color is uncommon, has to be no more than a few percent of production.
Those weirdo low volume cars can still be had on new MBs, as they can be special ordered. Someone on another forum found a 2011 Bluetec with leather and distronic, possible 1 of 1 for the American market anyway.
Well, the production paperwork exists for Studes, but to get certain production breakdown numbers, somebody ends up having to go through all the build sheets ("production orders"). Someone had already made available to me, the serial nos. of the 628 '63 Lark Avanti-powered hardtops, and two-and-four door sedans (the ones available with sunroof). So we looked at those 628 production orders, looking for "Sun Roof". No one has tackled yet how many Studes of all types, '61-63 were made with sun rooves. I can extrapolate, but I don't know how accurate that would be. I never saw a real one before I bought mine, and even all these years later, I bet there's not even fifteen that I've heard about/seen pictures of/seen in person.
Now here's a Studebaker I'm dying to know what it will bring. It's a '63 Wagonaire, and I don't believe I've seen another as authentic-looking, even though it doesn't have its original engine and doesn't have the bumper 'winguards' that all Daytonas had that year:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Studebaker-Wagonaire-Daytona-/131108409592?
He spent a lot of money on that vehicle. I doubt he will get it back selling it. Those labor of love projects are just that. It is cool with that sliding back open. Never saw one before.
I believe he did most of it himself. I'm somewhat familiar with him and he has done cars and sold them before. He does the work and then wants to move on to the next. Luckily, a good chunk of NOS stuff is still available for that era Lark. In '93 I bought two NOS doors, two NOS rear quarters, NOS grille panel (surrounds the headlights and grille), NOS trunklid, and end panel and I didn't have $700 in them all. They're higher now, but still cheap compared to other makes. I also bought NOS door handles, bumpers, bumper ends ("winguards"), license plate guards, grille, grille chrome surround--all but the bumpers are still available NOS. Mirrors, emblems and wheelcovers have been reproduced.
Because I'm obsessive, I would add the winguards (bumper corner ends), a hood blanket, and would find someway to sew in the little Lark bird 'emblems' that would have been in the original seat backs, front and rear. I'd also put a stock air cleaner on it. All minor. But that is a beaut.
Keep us posted on what that car brings. I like unusual vehicles. Around here everyone has a 1955 to 57 Chevy Hardtop, convertible or Nomads. My next door neighbor has several.
Me, too. I grew up on Chevys but have avoided them as old cars to buy. Now, I'll admit that I
"fall off that wagon" when I see a nice '55 or '56, or '61 or '65 Chevy. Still like them a lot. Mustangs--I can see why people like them, but when I go to a local cruise and there's muliples of them, it all becomes less interesting to me. Chevelle SS's, Camaros, etc.--I generally walk right by them unless they appear bone-stock, and even then I might walk right past 'em! LOL
Geez, the Wagonaire is also in Bellingham but it's a different seller than that dark green '64 sedan was!
Bellingham is about an hour and a half from where we live and it's not a very large town. What are the chances of that?