Postwar Studebakers

thebean · February 2019

Yes, I’ve followed the story of the ‘66 as I read through all the posts in this thread. What a super nice car! But, I didn’t realize it was your 4th. Very nice.

uplanderguy · February 2019

Thanks!

uplanderguy · February 2019

The wife of the original owner of my white '63, above, told me that her husband used to enjoy having gas station jockeys check the oil, as they'd often comment on the chrome valve covers, air cleaner, dipstick handle, etc. She also said en route to Yellowstone, they blew past a Cadillac and at the next gas station, the guy pulled in and said "What do you have under the hood of that Lark?". Funny.

uplanderguy · February 2019

Just came across this photo, of a car I'd much-enjoy owning exactly as-is:

berri · February 2019

That color would look good today really.

ab348 · March 2019

The CBC posted this retrospective on Studebaker's Canadian plant, with a couple of videos. The longer of the two is from shortly after production relocated and paints a very positive picture, sadly it never was sustained.

https://www.cbc.ca/archives/when-the-last-studebaker-rolled-off-the-canadian-production-line-1.5021835

berri · March 2019

I think Studebaker finances and marketplace consolidation had already doomed them.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I had seen those short videos yesterday for the first time--pretty neat as not many photos or videos of the last few years at Hamilton or South Bend exist. Ironically, three of the four Studebakers I've owned were built at the Hamilton, Ontario plant.

I think it's odd that the one '66 on the truck has black wheels. Studes used white wheels from '62-66. I wonder if a customer specified black wheels. Stude would do things outside-the-book if a customer wanted; I've seen production orders with things like this on them before.

uplanderguy · March 2019

Pretty and authentic '53 hardtop, from Facebook today. I love the color combo. This is an early model, with the 'tri-star' hood emblem that M-B complained about. Later '53's just have a "V" here. I've seen the word "lithe" used to describe the styling, and I would concur.

fintail · March 2019

Definitely compared to another popular 1953 hardtop:

uplanderguy · March 2019

The Stude was long, but its styling belied that. Definitely went with a "less is more" styling philosophy.

As you know our family had Chevys growing up and I'm a Chevy guy now, but those early fifties cars, really most any Big Three make, don't do a single thing for me.

berri · March 2019

That 53 Chevy coupe - Harley Earl didn't always design a winner in the looks department. But back in those days already I have to think customer bigger is better mentality may have held Studebaker sales back a bit. Designer wise I think that Stude was ahead of the curve.

fintail · March 2019

For 52-54 mainstream cars, I much prefer Ford styling to GM - seemed much more modern, GM had a hard time breaking away from some of the 40s style pontoon cues.

I've laughed about it before, I would have been pretty irked if I bought a 54 Chevy once seeing the 55s. I bet there was a huge sale on leftovers.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I'd have been irked had I bought a '54 Chevy (although I liked the grille better than '53) instead of a '55, and a '64 instead of a '65!

I like liking under-the-radar stuff, but the '55, '56, and '65 Chevys which I'd be happy to own, blow that philosophy right out of the water.

sda · March 2019

I used to like the 66 better than the 65 because I thought it had a cleaner look and most 65s I saw were base models with the two tail light lenses instead of the better looking three. I like the 67 with the sportier dash with round shaped instruments, and any 67-69 with the optional hidden head lamps.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I like the round taillights of the '65, and the plain body sides of the Impala--only with wheel opening and rocker trim. '66 added that side molding smack down the side. Not always, but generally, I think the first year of a new styling is best, as subsequently the styling was changed just to change something.

I love the '67 instrument panel too. In fact, inside, a '67 Impala is a more deluxe automobile than the same year Pontiac Catalina IMHO. Of course, the Pontiac came with a 400 and Turbo-Hydramatic, but Chevy back then was good at putting their money where you could see it.

ab348 · March 2019

The '67 Chevy Impala or Caprice was IMO the high-water mark for full size Chevrolets in that decade.

uplanderguy · March 2019

My grandparents bought a new, dark plum-colored (don't know what Chevy called it) '67 Impala Sport Coupe with matching-color cloth and vinyl interior. I thought it was just beautiful, in and out. To my eyes the '65 is a little purer outside and not so "hippy", but I don't think the '67 instrument panel was equalled in a big Chevy before or after.

berri · March 2019

Funny thing Up, I recall a couple of dad's in my neighborhood not really initially taking a liking to the 65. It seemed to be the rear end. OTOH, we teenagers jumped right on that 65 bandwagon. I think eventually most buyers came to find the 65 styling more attractive, but I guess those coke bottle lines and rather protruding taillights were initially a bit radical for some. For 65, while I like the Chevy, I really prefer the Pontiac or Buick.

berri · March 2019

Now how about the 66 Chevy? Seemed to evoke a lot of disagreement on whether it was a step forward or backward. Definitely more conservative. Maybe the 67 struck a nice balance,

ab348 · March 2019

I never liked the taillights on the '66, thought they looked cheap. The front end didn't look as elegant as the '65 either.

When the '65 first came out I remember it seemed to have a low-tail rake to it, which I think they changed to make it look more level during the production run. Those cars also suffered from frame rust later in life IIRC,

uplanderguy · March 2019

I still like the '66, just not as well. I love the round lights and plain sides of the '65. I'm vague on this, but I seem to remember reading that the '66 frame was beefed up from the '65, and when the Caprice option was offered mid-year for '65, it had a sturdier frame. Cross-posting this pic here:

I really like the '65 Pontiac, but I don't like that the instrument panel was black-vinyl-inserted the whole way across, no matter what color interior, unless you got the Bonneville or Grand Prix. The wood just made that panel IMHO.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I've read that they delivered over one million Impalas alone in '65, a record I'm sure hasn't been beaten by anyone since.

uplanderguy · March 2019

When the '65 first came out I remember it seemed to have a low-tail rake to it, which I think they changed to make it look more level during the production run.

I've read that very thing too, but I can't say I personally recall. Hey, I was six when the '65's came out in Sept. '64 but a junior motorhead even then.

ab348 · March 2019

New post today on Dean's Garage with some photos of Studebaker concepts:

http://www.deansgarage.com/2019/future-studebakers/

berri · March 2019

Brooks Stevens was involved in those designs. Interesting and kind of futuristic for the times.

uplanderguy · March 2019

The two-door hardtop is on permanent display at the Studebaker National Museum. I've seen the one four-door sedan, black, on display there before too.

The hardtop has a polarized glass C-panel, and a Sylvania light bar up front.

Stevens did quality work IMHO, on a shoestring. He joked that he did the '62 Lark and Gran Turismo Hawk for "about the price of a Plymouth door handle", LOL.

uplanderguy · March 2019

This Avanti is currently at Amelia Island. It was restored by Brad Bez, who owns a restoration shop and has done several Avantis, at least. Avanti Grey replaced black as an exterior color, as it was hard to get a good finish on fiberglass, with black. Black was later reintroduced as an optional color at some nominal extra cost.

berri · March 2019

Is that a 53 Buick Skylark convertible next to the Avanti? I like the Avanti's cockpit.

uplanderguy · March 2019

That is a '53 Skylark.

One thing I like about the Avanti interior is that virtually everything is soft to the touch.

I like the car without any outside mirrors, but I know that's impractical today.

fintail · March 2019

I still prefer round light Avantis, that pretty one brings it home. Pure design.

berri · March 2019

When square headlights hit the market they were all the rage initially. Perhaps even a reason behind the spike in 76 Cutlass sales. I liked them and chose the 76. But in retrospect, I think the GM colonnades looked better earlier with the single round headlights. As for the Avanti, I agree with the round headlight preference. The headlight area was too large for the square lights to me.

ab348 · March 2019

Keep in mind with the Avanti there are at least two flavors of "square lights". The first was a square bezel with the existing round light, then much later on, a rectangular sealed-beam headlamp as well. Before all of that was the original round bezel with round sealed-beam, which is what I think looks best of all.

uplanderguy · March 2019

As is so often the case, the original round-light design is purer I think. I don't know why, but lately I've been wanting a '64 (square headlight enclosures) in gold with the Halibrand wheels, LOL. I'll never own one most likely, but I think it's because I like the thicker seat backs. Also, 3800 Avantis were built with the round lights and 800 with the square enclosures, by Studebaker--but then, Avantis built for almost twenty years after Studebaker, had the '64-style headlight design.

I could very much enjoy a '63 in turquoise with the tan interior.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I know this is sacrilege, and they're worth big bucks, but other than the big rear wheel cutouts, not a fan of the '53 Skylark. Looks like a car body placed inside or on top of another, down the side. I do like the wire wheels of course.

Now that I think about it...didn't one of the Skylarks have very large, or deep, wheel openings? Now I'm not so sure that one pictured is a '53.

ab348 · March 2019

uplanderguy said:

Now that I think about it...didn't one of the Skylarks have very large, or deep, wheel openings? Now I'm not so sure that one pictured is a '53.

The '54 had wheel openings that swept back into the body.

uplanderguy · March 2019

Thanks ab348.

berri · March 2019

I don't really get excited by the 53 Skylark or Fiesta, but they were built in very small numbers with some advanced features, so i still find them interesting for their time. That's a nice picture ab, thanks. But I still prefer the 55/56 Buick looks. The Skylark is a little busy styling wise, but of course it was as much a show car as a consumer product for well to do buyers.

uplanderguy · March 2019

Interesting, ahem, marketing for the 1964 Studebaker police package's interior roll bar.

uplanderguy · March 2019

Recent discovery in Aurora, IL--sent to me by an old coworker:

uplanderguy · March 2019

Interesting ad for the '63 cars I'd never seen before today. I have to believe it was in a trade magazine like 'Automotive News'. Optimistic, I'd say.

uplanderguy · March 2019

Nice early '50's truck seen on Facebook this a.m.:

berri · March 2019

Never saw many Studebaker trucks growing up. Don't know sales volumes, but seemed if I saw an outlier it was usually an IH or Willys. I'm sure someone else probably had the opposite experience though.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I saw them around, but we had a fairly strong but small dealer owned by one family for forty years where I grew up. In the late eighties when I would go to South Bend for swap meets, I'd often get off the turnpike in western OH and go in on the old US 20 or US 6 and I'd see them parked out in fields then in Indiana, mostly.

I have an older friend who would go to South Bend to buy parts from Studebaker at their parts depot on the south side of town, which was still run by Studebaker through 1972. He said he remembers a farmer in overalls ordering a truck part or parts and telling the counter guy, "If this doesn't fix it, I'm just parking it out in the field!", LOL.

uplanderguy · March 2019

That style of Stude truck above was different in that the running board was inside the door, instead of outside of the truck.

uplanderguy · March 2019

I think by the mid-fifties, Studebaker had largely not paid much attention to truck sales. I can remember seeing a 1963-model-year dealer agreement someone had brought to a club meeting. It was for a small dealer in Barberton, OH that also sold M-B and had originally been a Packard dealer. There was another, larger, more-established Stude dealer (who did not sell M-B) within four or five miles. The Barberton dealer's agreement was to sell a minimum of 25 new Studebaker cars but only two trucks. That is telling I think.

berri · March 2019

Were they still making the Lark looking pickup in 63?

uplanderguy · March 2019

Yes, the Champ was made 'til Dec. '63, as a '64 model by that time.

uplanderguy · March 2019

They were still building these into the '64 model year. This is a 96 BBC, 96 inches from bumper to back of cab, so longer trailers could be pulled. They cut off the front of the hood and grille to do this.

https://www.virtualparking.net/vehicle-153-1964_studebaker_96_bbc.htm

ab348 · March 2019

I can honestly say I never saw one of those before.

In the engine specs it shows a small-displacement diesel 4-cylinder. What would that have been, a Perkins diesel or something else?

Postwar Studebakers

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