Postwar Studebakers

uplanderguy

Thanks, SDA. The only Studebaker in the '60's available with power windows was the Avanti, and the rear window in the Wagonaire.

We have a foot of snow and a bunch of salt on the roads and on my garage floor, so I'm OK with my friend keeping it in his storage building 'til after his taxes are done!

fintail

This local guy appears to have some parts car Studes - parked alongside lost-cause parts car MBs of the same era.

uplanderguy

Just like at the dealerships!

That's a '64 Daytona sedan--the only year they made a four-door sedan Daytona.

fintail

I just thought of searching CL for the other cars I spotted. I thought the Daytona nameplate seemed odd.

Here it is, a bit weathered

And a Hawk I spotted in another ad by the same seller, appears to be on original plates

This is how cars decay here - not the rustbelt scenario where a car dissolves over a long weekend, but a slow process always made worse by parking under trees/

And from another ad, a pretty Lark convertible I am sure someone here can tell us about its authenticity:)

uplanderguy

That Hawk doesn't look too bad, but I hate when they didn't have a tachometer! Why Studebaker didn't just put a matching bezel there, instead of leaving it completely blank, I'll never understand! LOL

That '63 Lark convert looks pretty nice, but hooboy, the authenticity stuff! No white interiors that year; bumper guards in front one bolt in too close on each side; not Avanti-powered but has the 'Avanti Powered' badges, a foot (!) or more too high (and people drill holes to put stuff in the wrong place! As long as I live I'll never understand that); no yellows offered that year.

Thanks for posting; interesting stuff for sure.

fintail

I knew there'd be something to pick apart on that Lark

Mr_Shiftright

uplanderguy said:

That Hawk doesn't look too bad, but I hate when they didn't have a tachometer! Why Studebaker didn't just put a matching bezel there, instead of leaving it completely blank, I'll never understand! LOL

That '63 Lark convert looks pretty nice, but hooboy, the authenticity stuff! No white interiors that year; bumper guards in front one bolt in too close on each side; not Avanti-powered but has the 'Avanti Powered' badges, a foot (!) or more too high (and people drill holes to put stuff in the wrong place! As long as I live I'll never understand that); no yellows offered that year.

Thanks for posting; interesting stuff for sure.

I think the Hawk is too far gone.

Lark convertible looks "ok" but air cleaner is wrong of course, and I don't think the upholstery is correct either, in terms of material, although the pattern looks about right. And the valve covers (??). Shouldn't they be yellow? Can't tell if rear bumperettes are missing. I think the white walls should be fatter

berri

I never really cared for the early (1960) Lark styling, but thought Studebaker did a good job using that platform several years later. Unfortunately, once people get frightened of a possible orphan, it is pretty hard to turn the ship around, even if you didn't have Studebaker's financial issues. Chrysler was very lucky in the first part of the 60's that they managed to stay afloat. Perhaps they had the advantage of a fairly large dealer network.

uplanderguy

I like the early Larks in a convertible or two-door wagon--there's a "cute" factor to them--but overall, I like the '62 facelift and later, cars much, much better.

Sales picked up for '62, even with a strike, but it wasn't enough.

Stude signed up a lot of "dual" dealers in '59 to sell the Lark, which provided a fat profit for the first time in quite awhile, but guess what? When the "Big Three" compacts came out, those dealers were pressured to drop the Lark, which isn't really surprising.

uplanderguy

That Hawk is too far gone, for sure. I was looking at authenticity stuff. Amazingly, that Hawk doesn't have the old vertical stripe of rust in the rear of the front fenders. I'd have expected that, for it sitting on the ground for what looks like years and years.

That Lark is in far better shape, but speaking only personally, I couldn't own a car with so many owner 'modifications'. Your car, your tastes, though, of course.

berri

Uplander, you're going to have to sell that Studebaker you just acquired. The May Hemming's Classic has a short article from a son remembering how one day he came home and his school teacher mom had bought a brand new red 62 Studebaker Hawk with a four speed. Evidently she wasn't shy with the accelerator pedal either. Now stereotype teacher or accountant...you're going to have to show her up for the sake of your professional reputation

uplanderguy

I enjoyed that article, berri. The son said it had black bucket seats but you can see the red seats in the pic! I suspect son wrote the article before he dug up the old color pic; the steering wheel and instrument panels in those cars were black though.

Does anybody here get "Collectible Automobile"? The April '17 edition has an article on the Studebaker-Porsche project in the early '50's. There is a color drawing/rendering of it in front of a Studebaker dealer that I am absolutely certain was drawn from a photo of my hometown Studebaker dealer that is on the 'net. That was not a Studebaker-issue building design; my friend, the local dealer, said his Dad had a local contractor design and build the building. The likeness is amazing. Where the actual dealer had the dealer name, the drawing just has letters spelling "STUDEBAKER". Even the angle of the drawing is the same as this 1947 photo:

http://www.studegarage.com/IMAGES/sign/broadway_filer_oct03.jpg

berri

The Porsche Studebaker concept didn't sound too great, but I like the shot you posted with the Studebaker convertible. You didn't see many of those! I wouldn't be surprised with your thought on the dealer; Ohio, Michigan, Illinois - they were thriving places back in those days.

uplanderguy

My friend Ed, the dealer's son, just turned 88 and said that convertible was the car he drove in high school. It was red.

This was in small-town Greenville, PA, in the NW part of the state. Population was never above 10K. Filer's was a Studebaker dealer there from 1926-68 (continuing on as a Parts and Service dealer until 1968). In Jan. '69 the Chrysler-Plymouth-AMC dealer took on the Studebaker Parts and Service franchise. I never knew this 'til I saw it in the archives at the Studebaker National Museum, but my friend Ed confirmed this.

uplanderguy

On 'dot three' of the preview, here's the drawing of the Stude dealer:

http://collectibleautomobile.com/current-issue/

Here's a photo of my hometown dealer again:

http://www.studegarage.com/IMAGES/sign/broadway_filer_oct03.jpg

There's a color photo or two online of the Filer dealership, and it's also the same red brick as the "Collectible Automobile" rendering.

I've never seen a pic of another Stude dealer that's even close in design and size/shape as my friend's was.

I sent a copy to my dealer friend.

fintail

You mean that exact yellow Lark was the car your friend had? That is an uncanny building resemblance, indeed. The extended brick ornamentation on the false front makes it look like more than a coincidence.

uplanderguy

No, I must've misunderstood. He drove the '47 Champion convertible in the black-and-white photo of his Dad's dealership.

fintail

Ah that makes more sense. I knew you Stude guys were into finding vehicle histories, but that would be too much of a coincidence

uplanderguy

Really.

I told the story here before, so won't again, but try finding a serial no. of a Chevy from a woman's description of her old car and the dealer she bought it from. We did that for her Avanti, LOL.

uplanderguy

Here are some pics of my nerdy, although original, new Stude:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?99931-Considering-Dentistry-for-a-second-career

The chromed air extractor/taillight framing was only installed at the factory on cars after 1/1/66. This car was built in Nov. '65 and originally had the body-colored, painted bezels. I think the chrome is a bit busy with the trim below the decklid. The originals were included with the car and I'm told there are some chips on them as they are potmetal. I might return to those ones.

sda

uplanderguy said:

Here are some pics of my nerdy, although original, new Stude:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?99931-Considering-Dentistry-for-a-second-career

The chromed air extractor/taillight framing was only installed at the factory on cars after 1/1/66. This car was built in Nov. '65 and originally had the body-colored, painted bezels. I think the chrome is a bit busy with the trim below the decklid. The originals were included with the car and I'm told there are some chips on them as they are potmetal. I might return to those ones.

Awesome, looks great! I know you can't wait to get behind the wheel and go for that first drive.

uplanderguy

I am anxious. It's by-far the lowest-mileage, most-original Stude I'll have owned.

fintail

Looks good, great colors. When exactly do you take delivery?

berri

I always thought that vintage perhaps looked best in the 4 dr version. Congratulations and say hi to Mr. Ed

uplanderguy

LOL. Thanks!

My inspector/delivery guy/friend can store it at his place (inside) for a couple or three weeks. I'm completely OK with that as it's still snowy and salty where I live--including my garage floor. He wishes to get his taxes done first. He is cutting me some rate-slack on delivery too, which I much-appreciate.

The Studebaker Drivers' Club international meet is in South Bend the first week of May. I won't have a confidence level to drive it that far, so soon, and I'll catch some flak from friends for that, but that's OK. I'm going anyway, via Cruze.

Something else I'm sure I'll catch some ribbing about, is I've placed an ad in the 'Classic Cars' section of our local paper, for next Fri-Sat-Sun, asking simply for recommendations for shops to do light work/maintenance on a '66 Stude with 283 engine. Cost me $36 but I'm trying to explore other avenues for local service, which was really frustrating me five years ago when I sold my last Stude.

berri

Hey Uplander, today's Wall Street Journal has a short article about a lady executive at Shelby Automotive who ended up with a bullet nosed Champion 4dr and used it for awhile as a daily driver. Apparently, one time while she was gone Carol Shelby dropped an overhauled engine it for her as an appreciation bonus. Personally, I'm not a fan of the bullet look, but like the side profile of those 4dr's, the longer wheelbase Commander even more.

sda

uplanderguy said:

LOL. Thanks!

My inspector/delivery guy/friend can store it at his place (inside) for a couple or three weeks. I'm completely OK with that as it's still snowy and salty where I live--including my garage floor. He wishes to get his taxes done first. He is cutting me some rate-slack on delivery too, which I much-appreciate.

The Studebaker Drivers' Club international meet is in South Bend the first week of May. I won't have a confidence level to drive it that far, so soon, and I'll catch some flak from friends for that, but that's OK. I'm going anyway, via Cruze.

Something else I'm sure I'll catch some ribbing about, is I've placed an ad in the 'Classic Cars' section of our local paper, for next Fri-Sat-Sun, asking simply for recommendations for shops to do light work/maintenance on a '66 Stude with 283 engine. Cost me $36 but I'm trying to explore other avenues for local service, which was really frustrating me five years ago when I sold my last Stude.

You have the perfect marriage. A Studebaker with Chevy 283. As you are a Chevy fan and have those as your current cars, how good can it get?

uplanderguy

For a mechanical dummy like me, who likes Studebakers and has to rely on others for repairs and maintenance, a Stude with the Chevy engine is indeed the perfect marriage, although (and I understand this; I used to be this way myself), there are Stude purists who turn their noses up at non-South Bend, non-Studebaker-engine Studes.

uplanderguy

berri, my wife likes the 'Bullets', but I never did. They were the highest sales-volume Studes ever built though.

On the long-wheelbase Commanders and Land Cruisers, I don't mind the profile, and I do like the suicide doors.

berri

Didn't Rizzo in Grease drive a Champion 4dr like that - your wife may be a greaser at heart (although when I was in high school the female greasers were referred to as skanks) Personally, I liked their big hair and attitude!

sda

uplanderguy said:

For a mechanical dummy like me, who likes Studebakers and has to rely on others for repairs and maintenance, a Stude with the Chevy engine is indeed the perfect marriage, although (and I understand this; I used to be this way myself), there are Stude purists who turn their noses up at non-South Bend, non-Studebaker-engine Studes.

That I understand perfectly. I couldn't imagine buying an Olds and it not having an Olds engine but I would today if the car was otherwise nice.

uplanderguy

LOL!

berri

Oh no - not the Chevymobile

uplanderguy

My favorite Studebakers of all are 1964 models, with '63's right behind; all Studebaker, made in South Bend. But the later Canadian ones are easier to have maintained. I'm sure anxious to see mine in the flesh--25,800-odd miles.

fintail

Would be interesting to know the story, too - estate or preserved by an enthusiast?

uplanderguy

I have the names of the original owners; I might have to try to search them out online. Absent that, I'm going to get the retail sale card from the Stude museum, to see what they did for a living and what they traded in. I'm also going to get the dealer contract card to see how long the dealer was in business. Supposedly the car was in FL for 30 years before the guy I'm buying it from, which leans I think towards it having had one owner in FL, but maybe not.

fintail

I wish that data was available for all old cars. I have the name of the original owner of the fintail, but as the selling dealer was standalone, the Stude museum wouldn't help (would they have MB sales data when it was a joint dealer?). The original buyers of your car retiring to Florida and keeping it as a sentimental object of some kind might make sense.

uplanderguy

I doubt if the Stude Museum has M-B standalone dealer info. On the contract card for my hometown Stude dealer, out in the 'comments' section it has handwritten "D-B 10-17-57" which took me a few minutes to realize was "Daimler-Benz".

fintail

Yeah, I think the standalone places maybe had little or no Stude involvement. Do you know if data was preserved from joint dealers about MB transactions? It'd be interesting to know what early MB purchasers used as a trade as well.

uplanderguy

Delivery on April 17.

isellhondas

I am far from being a purist but, to me, a Studebaker with a Chevy engine in it is no longer a Studebaker. It has become "something else". I don't mean that in a bad way either. I think part of my bad feeling come from the fact that that car represented a last gasp from a dying company desperately trying to stay in business.

Back in the early 70's I ran across a guy selling what was a pristine 1966 Studebaker/283. It had less than 20,000 original miles on it and I clearly remember he was asking 700.00 for it! Had I needed a car I would have grabbed it. Again, noting wrong with that combo. 283's were wonderful engines both than and now. It just wouldn't have felt like I was driving a true Studebaker but that would have been OK too, just different.

Does that make sense?

sda

isellhondas said:

I am far from being a purist but, to me, a Studebaker with a Chevy engine in it is no longer a Studebaker. It has become "something else". I don't mean that in a bad way either. I think part of my bad feeling come from the fact that that car represented a last gasp from a dying company desperately trying to stay in business.

Back in the early 70's I ran across a guy selling what was a pristine 1966 Studebaker/283. It had less than 20,000 original miles on it and I clearly remember he was asking 700.00 for it! Had I needed a car I would have grabbed it. Again, noting wrong with that combo. 283's were wonderful engines both than and now. It just wouldn't have felt like I was driving a true Studebaker but that would have been OK too, just different.

Does that make sense?

Maybe to a lesser degree because it would still be a GM product, but I feel the same with buying and Olds V8 wanting the Olds engine only to get the Chevy V8.

uplanderguy

Funny, I'm already called a vendor about a single exhaust for the car as I've been told the original exhaust is going. He said, "I've made one of those Studebaker single-exhausts for a 283 and I won't make another". He said that there was some twisty engineering (my words, not his) to get an exhaust on that Chevy V8 to make it fit the Studebaker chassis/body. I thought his might look original and be cut "as original", but some place will just have to make one up I guess.

berri

He can't afford the oil Isell

Heck, so many brands in the past bought GM Hydramatic trannies that I'm not sure GM parts were all that unusual back in those days. But here's what I'm thinking Uplander - I'm pretty sure that American Motors had a very similar color shade back in that era, so get yourself a Rambler or Ambassador in it as well. Some of the neighbors may already think you're a bit unusual with that Studebaker, so let them talk about the old man down the street with two orphans.

uplanderguy

You know me, berri. Other than the '63 Classic, late-'60's Ambassador hardtops, first AMX's, and '74 Matador coupes, I just really don't like AMC products. It's usually the interiors and instrument panels, even in the models I listed which I like the exterior styling. No worries in the neighborhood about me adding an AMC to the household!

berri

Seriously, I think you're going to enjoy that Studebaker and many younger people will think it is kind of neat

uplanderguy

That would be a nice side benefit. I think it is nerdy-cool, and in a good exterior/interior color.

uplanderguy

Same year and model as mine, but done up as a police car. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

Even with shipping, I'm still comfortably under his asking price.

https://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/6065584744.html

uplanderguy

That car does have the factory '66 FM radio though, of which I'm jealous.

berri

Studebaker cop car - just doesn't have the right look for that application unless you are in South Bend. Not a whole lot of 66 cars had an FM radio.