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http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?68095-Neil-Young-amp-Stude- bakers&p=707785
http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?68117-1962-Hawk-Road-Trip-- - Click-amp-Clack
I don't even change my own oil, but I've taken two different Studebakers as far as 250 miles away at one time, and I never broke down. So I'd say it's not an absolute 'given' as Tom and Ray say! Of course, the thing is to be prepared, as they say.
That image was taken in 2005 on the 50th anniversary of the James Dean crash at Cholame, California on September 30, 1955. The car was 50 years old when I made that trip and it was 103 degrees when we passed through Bakersfiled, CA on the same route that James Dean took. I made that trip in the Commander five times, while James Dean only made it once in a Porsche, and that was a one-way trip.
I do carry some tools and extra parts (fuel pump, breaker points, water pump, duct tape) only had to use the breaker points on a trip. I also carry a Studebaker Driver's Club roster so I can call someone for help if I break down. It is like having an Auto Club membership.
I also recently posted a picture of the Commander in Las Vegas around 1995. I made at least 5 trips there over the past 15 years, which is 290 miles from my home.. This is an article about my friends from Brea CA, who drove their '55 Commander to the Studebaker meet in South Bend in 2007.link title The only thing the broke down was an electric fuel pump that he added before the trip to stay on the safe side.
http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?23768-Greenville-PA-trip-o- - - - n-Drive-Your-Studebaker-Day&highlight=greenville+car+show
Post no. 22 has a picture of my old Skytop Lark that I really like and had forgotten about...one can see the optional 'tinted glass, all windows' (like old Coke bottles!) in the pic, as well as the brushed-metal air cleaner that was part of the Avanti R1 engine option.
Here's what the front-fender badge looks like--script mimics that on the Avanti--this badge not seen on many Larks or Hawks in '63:
http://www.studebakerparts.com/studebakerparts/store/s/agora.cgi?product=misc3c&- - next=60&xm=on
Also in the first link is a pic of the old Studebaker dealer in my hometown. They also sold M-B and in front of me now is a 1958 color 8 by 10 of the building with a new dark green Stude pickup out front, and a neon M-B 'tristar' neon light in the one showroom window.
http://www.goodingco.com/car/1963-studebaker-avanti
The photographer must have had the camera about laying on the ground, but on a white car, the lack of grille from that angle is unattractive I think. Just walking around the car, you wouldn't notice. Still, later '63's had a grille installed there.
For a long time, I didn't like the square glass headlight covers of the '64 model or the woodgrain wheel and trim inside, but then a friend got one last year and from the photos, I'm thinking maybe I like the '64 better. But I'll see a clean '63 like this and my mind changes again. I don't know.
That interior is not red under a light, it's the factory orange interior!
That got discontinued somewhere in the '63 run. I know a gold car with that interior not real far from here!
http://www.hemmings.com/hmn/stories/2011/10/01/hmn_feature6.html#PhotoSwipe13586- 84666982
I know they're not practical, but I love seeing bias-plys on old cars!
I've said this before, but I wish they would've put the smallest emblem on the front fender of the R1 Avanti. My eyes are always drawn right there. I like the small 'Supercharged' emblems the R2's have there.
The round lights remind me of owl's eyes, but the square lights remind me of 70s era cars.
I have changed my mind back and forth on whether I like round or square head light covers better. On one hand, the Avanti-X and reproductions seem to favor the round headlights, on the other hand, the square headlights had more influence on cars that came later, as shown by the example below:
http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/Auto-14%201963%20Studebaker%20Avanti.htm-
If you go back far enough, you can find an early example of any type of design that somebody did, but few took notice and it did not catch on at the time. For example, the overhead camshaft engine was first used in an 1898 Wilkinson, so I guess we should all thank Mr. Wilkinson for that idea or we would now all be driving around in vehicles that have flathead, and/or OHV engines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automotive_superlatives
I agree that black and dark blue cars are hard to keep clean. Ian Flemming ordered a black one and it took a lot of time to finish the paint and body. Dealers were discouraged from ordering them in that color.
The only blue for Avantis was the light aqua blue one shown in the earlier post for Avantis, but I like that color, and it was popular
After seeing that picture again, I am back to favoring the round headlights over the square ones.
"Avanti Turquoise" is probably my overall favorite Avanti color, with black being second.
It seemed that Studebaker was getting the early jump on the competiton with the early release of the Avanti, but with the early production problems, that advantage turned into a liability. It was a case of bad timing with the first Sting Ray and Buick Riveria being introduced the same model year. Avanti production did not reach its highest point until January-February 1963, and it was downhill after that.
The Chrysler Airflow and Cord 810 had similar stories. Early introduction of a radically different car at a New York auto show, big publicity followed by few cars to sell. Ford did not make that mistake with the first Mustang introduced two years after the Avanti.
Sorry, but I don't think that happened. If it happened at all, it happened very early because I do not believe Studebaker delivered cars with wide white wall tires in 1963. I collected plenty of literature and factory photos of Avantis during my 45 years in the Studebaker Drivers Club, (I joined when I was 15 years old) but the only time I saw a wide white wall tires from the era when they were built was on the cover of Motor Trend Magazine. I have seen a few being shipped with black wall tires, but that was rare. Just Google "Factory images of 1963 Studebaker Avanti" and you will see Avanti’s almost always looking like this.
I believe that if you took an Avanti to a Studebaker meet with wide whitewall tires, the judges would take off points. What do you say Uplanderguy? I really like the look of those Avantis and am back to lovin' the round headlight covers.
JL, I have a book with that very pic in it. I'd love to just saunter through that room with today's money and pick one out to bring back with me! I heard that when South Bend shut down (Dec. '63), there were new Studes of all models, body styles, and engines and options in storage lots around the city. How'd I love to pick an Avanti, Daytona convertible, Gran Turismo Hawk, Champ 1/2 ton long-bed pickup, and one-ton Diesel Transtar to bring back with me. Ah, it's sweet to dream! I was only 5 1/2 when that shutdown occurred, and my Dad never looked at Studebakers, that I know!
I'm convinced that at a Studebaker Drivers' Club meet, one would lose points in judging with an Avanti with wide whites.
I am adding this to my post. An expert can tell within a three or four month period of time when an Avanti was built by the location and size of the rear view mirrior stuck on the windshield. It started out too small and located too low, then the size increased, then they moved it higher, then they increased the size again and seemed to move it down a bit. I have seen so many variations. Mine was built in February 1963 and it had the larger mirrior but located too low to see out the back window very well. My friend had one that had a smaller mirrior and located even lower on the windshield.
That's interesting. I enjoy all the info about these cars.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What is the name of that book? I must have missed that one. I just found that image today looking for factory photos with tires to show they were never wide whitewalls. I would like a book with more of those photos. I looked at that image quite a few times today still amazed at the beautiful lines of that car.
http://www.ritzsite.nl/63Stude/1963_Studebaker_Lark_Cruiser.JPG
BTW, that's my favorite four-door Studebaker. If you got the optional broadcloth interior, the seat trim was right up there with Cadillac, although the exterior size and character were decidedly European.
BTW, that dealer postcard was photographed out at the Studebaker Proving Ground, about 15 miles west of South Bend on Rt. 2. I can tell by the brick fenceposts, which are still there when you drive by.
Amazingly, there are still Studebaker prototypes abandoned on the grounds there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luOtiRTDf_g
I think there is a definite MB influence in that Stude, too.
Here's a company that sells correct tires for old MB - I might treat my car to a set of these this year, as the tires on it date to when Clinton was still in office.
No other U.S. car at the time had disc brakes, and I'm scratching my head trying to think of how many others at the time had a quadrant P-R-N-D-2-1 that permitted manual shifting of an automatic, too.
I think the only U.S. car that might have beat it to curved side glass was the Lincoln Continental.
Those tires are expensive, but not as bad as I thought. Sure gives you the authentic look.
If your current tires are that old, I hope you're not doing too much highway driving! My '64 came to me with '94-dated tires, and they were hard as rocks even though they showed a lot of tread and no sidewall cracking. I've been scared enough by stories over the years, and advice from folks supposedly in the know, that I won't go over ten years on a set of tires on an old car anymore. My Skytop's tires were bought in '03 (back when I could find 195-75-15's locally; they looked great IMHO and were very, very close to original size) and for the last couple years (before I sold it), I was getting a side-to-side 'waddle' from the rears at low speeds.
That brought back a question that I wanted to ask. Did the '2' position lock the transmission in second gear or did it just lock out third gear? That is, if you came to a stop with the transmission in the '2' position would it remain in second when you started up again or would it start in first and shift into second but not into third? The reason I ask is during that period the Ford cruise-o-matic had two 'Drive' positions with one of them providing a start in second gear. It was advertised as being for starting on slippery surfaces. My dad's '64 Rambler he same thing.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
I rarely take the old car on the highway much - a couple times a year, under an hour's drive - and it still concerns me. I'd like to take a small trip in it this summer, but not on the current tires. The car lives in a dry place and the tires are maintained, but age has to take its toll - and the fronts wear a little funny, likely due to some suspension component wear. I will have it inspected this spring, and hope to have new tires this summer. Radial wide whites are never cheap.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Still a very attractive looking car IMHO
Were they still making the Airflow models then? If so, maybe they get some attention because of the historical significance of those cars for their time? Personally, I look at cars like music, don't car about history, just what I like! Then again I like some weird ones like the 59 Impala or 62 downsized Mopars . Maybe just because they were a little different, or maybe because they remind me of something, someone or sometime. I think enjoyment should drive these kind of decisions.
My Lark had a bench seat and had the Flightomatic auto trans (P-N-D-L-R). It was also a three-speed automatic that started from a stop in second, although there was a way to get a 1-2-3 shift that involved shifting from L to D then back, which I was always somewhat scared to try.
Studebaker six-cylinder automatics had first-gear start in "D".
No, but the '63 Lark and Cruiser full wheelcovers had a broad band of white on them, no matter what exterior color the rest of the car was.
http://www.hagerty.com/classic-car-articles-resources/Features/News/All-Articles- /2013/01/17/Studebaker-Avanti-Turns-50?utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=email&u- tm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Hagerty%20Weekly%20News%2001-21-2013
They look a lot like the ones used on the Lark.
International also used Stude's '64 and '65 full wheelcovers (a favorite of mine) into the '70's:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-International-Pickup-Truck-Brochure-/350138831699
Checkers are so goofy, I enjoy them too although they are rarely seen. They were made in Kalamazoo, MI.