Postwar Studebakers

fintail

I've seen modern MBs like that. They will have every option but something that I would want. I have seen more than one E-class with everything but lighting package. My Bluetec has almost everything but driver's assist - which would have been a fun toy. But little you can do when choosing from leftover stock.

isellhondas said:

fintail said:

If it has all original finishes, I wouldn't modify it either.

I always am puzzled as to how someone could order a car like that and pass on a radio.

I once saw a loaded 1956 Chevy Bel Air that had every option I believed was offered that year. Power windows, seats, steering, brakes Autronic Eye and more but, alas, that ugly plate where the radio should have been!

fintail

Were all radios a dealer-installed option then? That's how it was for MB at the time.

I'm fine with PS and PB. I remember my dad's 68 Fairlane was a 3 on the tree (289) with manual steering and manual brakes. Not an easy car to maneuver at low speed. especially for a new driver.

uplanderguy said:

My car was dealer stock. Unusual equipment though--wire wheel covers, no radio, no power steering, no power brakes. Radio was added by dealer I believe--I could never tell without seeing the build sheet. The no power steering and brakes is a maintenance 'positive' I think though.

uplanderguy

No, radios were available from the factory.

uplanderguy

Got home from three days working in Pittsburgh and saw I received the new Hemmings Classic Car in the mail. I turn to Bob Palma's column and there's a picture of my '66 Cruiser! His article was about original old cars with patina. A definite post-work 'pick me up'! I didn't know ahead-of-time about it.

fintail

Very cool. I was thrilled when my fintail just happened to be in a shot of the yearly club meet in the MBCA magazine.

imidazol97

I saw the Studebaker in HCC but didn't make the connection. Congratulations on the mention.

fintail

Speaking of having a car in print, my old car made it again, albeit at a much more local level. I got a copy of the bi-monthly MBCA newsletter today, and in the story about the upcoming annual gathering, I noticed this pic (my car is at left, the W110 at right is the "other" fintail that usually shows up, and the car in the middle is a friend's 300CD):

berri

Up, nice to get an incognito article on your recent purchase. I like that color. I recall that both greens and blues were popular back in those days. That HCC had several interesting articles in it.

imidazol97

I noticed in the HCC that came, the restoration of the Desoto Advernturer showed the gas-fired heater. Do I understand that right? The car did not use a hot water heater but rather burned gasoline to generate cabin heat?

Those gas-fired heaters are something I don't recall from those days other than the Corvair using one.

Mr_Shiftright

VWs had them, too.

uplanderguy

Thanks everybody. Fin, nice 'capture' of your car for sure!

uplanderguy

Haven't read the DeSoto article yet, but I'm surprised to see a gas-powered heater in a car like that too.

Mr_Shiftright

In case you want to fix yours:

http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Accessories/56gasheater/index.htm

fintail

Uplander, I think your car is nice enough to warrant a magazine spot or pic here and there, especially if given a really good detail. It is photogenic, and unusual.

The best for my car was in the MBCA Star a few years ago, where the random shot of the annual local chapter gathering just happened to feature this:

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

VWs had them, too.

But WHY in a De Soto? VW's and Corvairs were air cooled and the heater output was pathetic especially in an
old Beetle. If you had an exhaust leak you got exhaust in the car!

I NEVER heard of a gas heater in any other kind of a car until now. It seems they would have been dangerous!

imidazol97

My search said that it was an option in certain years of Desoto and was on certain Imperials. Salesman's books says model 801 was an option on Chry/Ply, Dodge/Desoto in 57.

http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=55805

uplanderguy

Excellent photo angle of the fintail.

I might've mentioned this earlier, but the last two big car shows in my hometown, I came across a firethorn-like '65 Satellite convertible, which immediately reminded me of my sixth-grade math teacher, Mrs. Miller's, car. I walked around front and it said "Owner: Nancy Miller". I met her husband at the show this year. His wife received the car as a college graduation gift in 1965 and has owned it since. Bone-stock and a nice Mopar. I think it'd warrant an article in a Hemmings publication as a one-woman-owned car for over 50 years. I sent her husband a Facebook PM suggesting it, but it looks like neither of them hardly-ever post anything to Facebook.

I recall the car, and admired it in the teacher's parking lot, in the 1969-70 school year.

fintail

That'd definitely make a good Hemmings or Hagerty story, but if the owners aren't part of the online social world, it might not happen. Are they in your town? You could drop them a line in person.

Mr_Shiftright

imidazol97 said:

My search said that it was an option in certain years of Desoto and was on certain Imperials. Salesman's books says model 801 was an option on Chry/Ply, Dodge/Desoto in 57.

http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=55805

Yeah, the link I posted was a "how to" for the Imperial gas heater. I suppose it was the 1950s equivalent of today's "cold weather package"?

The only groovy accessory I remember on my Studebakers was the hill holder.

uplanderguy

That'd definitely make a good Hemmings or Hagerty story, but if the owners aren't part of the online social world, it might not happen. Are they in your town? You could drop them a line in person.

They live in my old hometown, an hour-and-a-half away. She is from Long Island NY and the car came from a dealer there (they have the original invoice and pics of her in the car at the dealer on the day it was picked up!). I might drop a snail-mail message to them, and include either a Hemmings or Hagerty article of similar ilk, and promise I'll assist them if they want; if not, I'll never bring it up again, no sweat!

uplanderguy

Just sold at Mecum for $115,000 plus 10% premium. I love the car and color; I don't like early Avantis photographed from the pavement as the lack of grille, not very evident from walking around the car, is noticeable. Mid '63 saw the addition of a metal grill insert.

https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0817-300013/1963-studebaker-avanti-r2/

fintail

Wow, nice color indeed. With a light interior, it would be even more stunning. Healthy price, too.

uplanderguy

$126,500 in total. That has to be a record for an Avanti, and it's not an R3 either.

uplanderguy

I'd have preferred the interior they called 'fawn and elk'--beige throughout. I'd even prefer the turquoise interior. But I'd take the black.

uplanderguy

Another Avanti, a white '63 with a '64 front clip, sold there for $90K plus 10% premium. I can't stand non-authentic stuff, particular at prices like that, but I have heard that the square-headlight-enclosure '64 front end was all that became available in a time for replacement parts.

fintail

I know some people don't like the round light Avanti design, but I actually prefer it, in a way, it is more "pure". A green matching interior with white dash, or beige interior, would be very stylish. Nice looking car, and there must be some price when these hit 6 figures.

uplanderguy

I vascillate on whether I like '63's or '64's better. I think right now I like a '63 with a grille best. And I'm not sure fake woodgrain improved the '64's interior. Some like the '64's mono-colored interiors better. I do like the thicker seatbacks on late '64's.

uplanderguy

Here's the Mecum $126K Avanti, photographed from overhead, probably my favorite view of those cars:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155865362995942&set=gm.10154571007010916&type=3&theater

fintail

I wonder what has spurred the interest in these cars, I guess demand has finally exceeded supply. They were ignored for a long time.

uplanderguy

Even a nice R1 sold at a dealership for $59K not too long ago.

I'm old enough to remember that they were high from the beginning; I mean, as used cars, they brought far-more than other Studebakers. They then levelled off for a long time.

I think some of it is people wanting something different from the Big Three, and I think some of it is the mid-century modern vibe it gives off.

Some will say I'm crazy, but I think it's stood the test of time better than a '63 Corvette, although those still bring crazy money. I looked at some pics of a '63 split-window today. For one, I think the split window concept was a dumb idea, but the styling is definitely busier than an Avanti, and I hate the headlights-up look in them. They're a sedan-style door too (frame around the glass). All that said, of course I realize most would say the 'Vette is more dynamic styling than the Avanti.

I always thought the Avanti was sort-of a hybrid between luxury and sports car, but leaned more 'Vette-like than cars like the Riviera or Thunderbird.

fintail

It seems when I was a kid, a nice early Avanti might have been a 20K car. I guess the market has gone that way though, nice 190SLs were the same then, and are also well past 100K now.

I think an Avanti is definitely sportier than a Thunderbird - which to me lost that ideal in 1958.

sda

I enjoyed a couple of hours at the Pennzoil Auto Fair at the Charlotte Motor Speedway today and saw this nicely restored '59.

berri

3 on a tree - kind of surprising on a truck. Nice shape!

Mr_Shiftright

uplanderguy said:

Just sold at Mecum for $115,000 plus 10% premium. I love the car and color; I don't like early Avantis photographed from the pavement as the lack of grille, not very evident from walking around the car, is noticeable. Mid '63 saw the addition of a metal grill insert.

https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0817-300013/1963-studebaker-avanti-r2/

Mecum made a mistake. The 49 Crosley and 49 Chrysler Limo were the first domestic production cars to offer disc brakes. Avanti might be the first that actually worked!

uplanderguy

No one else offered them at the time. Studebaker introduced them in the Avanti in '62, and then offered them optionally on every car in their line through the remainder of their staying in the auto business. Those earlier cars were even more 'fringe' than Studebaker!

uplanderguy

I remember the show, but don't remember the breathy intro. Avanti immediately after the Rolls in the very beginning of the show opening at 4:15:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=856Dha49qwE&feature=youtu.be&t=4m14s

uplanderguy

If that's a '59 truck, it's a Scotsman. They made it the lowest priced pickup in America and reintroduced the grille and some other pieces first used several years earlier.

The lack of a rolled edge in the bed was unusual, as was the double-walled bed and concealed cab step, when it was introduced.

This styling came out in mid-'48 as a '49 model and it was quite long-in-the-tooth by '59 for sure.

fintail

Nice whitewall width on the Avanti. No doubt a chic car at the time.

Rolls-Royce prices have acted almost as bad as Seattle real estate. In the early-mid 60s, a new Silver Cloud was around 15K. Today, a Phantom starts at over 400K. There was a Phantom then that cost like 30K, but I consider it more special than a modern Phantom.

uplanderguy

Someone showed me this. I'm still loving mine, but for an all-Studebaker, South Bend-built Cruiser, hard to beat this one. I know what the value guides say as I was looking for a good while earlier this year; this place isn't giving it away but it's not crazy by any stretch. Totally original/authentic ones just aren't out there, and this one is authentic wherever fussy me looks, interior and exterior.

https://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/4250-cha/1964-studebaker-cruiser

fintail

The way I look at a car like that is that you need to really love the car, as it isn't for the casual fan, too obscure. At that point, what would it cost to restore one properly vs this apparently pristine correct car? The smarter money would definitely buy this one than restore one.

uplanderguy

For sure. I can spot non-authentic stuff on these cars a mile away, and this car doesn't disappoint. I will say the outside mirrors are aftermarket, which isn't unusual as even the driver's side was an option. The trunk mat is non-authentic, but reproductions are available reasonably. I remember the production number for '64 Cruisers, both South Bend and Canada, is 5,000-something (less than 5,100). In a four-door Cruiser I actually prefer the more M-B-looking '63, but one like this '64 is not often seen--and I go to South Bend national meets every five years and regional meets every year.

I love the unusual, as you know. There is no four-door '64 Chevy II, Falcon or Fairlane, Dart, or Rambler I could like nearly as well, LOL. I'm a fan of the big-cutout rear wheel opening, which really didn't start appearing on most Big Three family cars until much later. This car has disc brakes too. The fact that it was built one month before South Bend shut down (serial no. is less than 5,000 cars from the last South Bend car that's in the museum) is interesting to me too.

uplanderguy

Ugh, just noticed the picture of the paint off the upper portion of the steering wheel. I don't know why such an otherwise clean, sharp-looking vehicle shouldn't have had this taken care of. Shame on the dealer!

The wheel in my car is solid turquoise and no paint missing, luckily.

sda

Is that ac unit a Studebaker item? I wonder what it would require to get working? Overdrive is a plus. Nice car.

Mr_Shiftright

uplanderguy said:

Someone showed me this. I'm still loving mine, but for an all-Studebaker, South Bend-built Cruiser, hard to beat this one. I know what the value guides say as I was looking for a good while earlier this year; this place isn't giving it away but it's not crazy by any stretch. Totally original/authentic ones just aren't out there, and this one is authentic wherever fussy me looks, interior and exterior.

https://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/4250-cha/1964-studebaker-cruiser

Does seem a bit pricey by a few thousand. It might pull $10K if it were super nice.

uplanderguy

That is the factory A/C for a '64 Studebaker, although it was added at some point since it's not on the window sticker of the car.

uplanderguy

New points, plugs, wires, and an inexpensive carb rebuild, and it's starting again. I drove it twenty miles this morning up to 60-65 mph and stopped at McDonald's for a cold drink for ten mins. or so to see how it would start then--A-OK. My usual winter storage vanished this year so I have to pay for rental space (ugh!) but I'm still really liking this car. By far the most solid and original Studebaker of the four I have owned, even if not the best model I've owned. Snapped this pic this a.m.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/370868049751775/?multi_permalinks=842483525923556&notif_id=1508687776313809&notif_t=like

fintail

Looks good! I still think that's probably the best color for the car, but I am impartial as I like blue.

I am also in the storage rental club, as I think a couple years here outside in the damp would really harm my old car. I almost look at it as necessary maintenance.

sda

Your Studebaker looks sharp. It has a crisp look to it as only an original non restored can, or one that has has an exhaustive expensive restoration. Glad you are finally enjoying it.

sda

fintail said:

Looks good! I still think that's probably the best color for the car, but I am impartial as I like blue.

I am also in the storage rental club, as I think a couple years here outside in the damp would really harm my old car. I almost look at it as necessary maintenance.

Fintail, I should know this by now. What year is your fintail?

berri

I do like the color on that Studebaker and sure wish they'd bring more blue and green tones back.