Postwar Studebakers

imidazol97 · April 2022

Is this the same car? I wanted to see the wheels. I assume the wheel covers are original?

https://www.autabuy.com/details/?vid=82870974&Year=1957&Make=Studebaker&Model=&ref=vdp-similar

uplanderguy · April 2022

The Provincial is the Commander station wagon, middle of the hierarchy. The car probably had full wheel covers but even if it had dog dish (factory) caps, they would've had some Studebaker identification on them so these are aftermarket wheels, although they look nice. Good color car too I think.

That's a decent-looking wagon for the time I think. Rather trim, and the beltline looks low on the car I think. I really like the Packard wagon this year. Supercharged.

Thanks guys, for posting. I hadn't seen it.

sda · May 2022

Charles Phoenix Joy Ride did a review today of a 63 Lark. I know, I know…

uplanderguy · May 2022

Thanks....ugh, terrible aftermarket upholstery in that car.

sda · May 2022

I thought the interior didn't look original even though it was said the car was an original survivor with low miles. Looked a bit ragged to me. That color doesn't do it any favors.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Just got back from the 58th International Studebaker Drivers Club meet in South Bend. I took a bunch of pics but will just post a few here. Here's a '63 Lark Regal four-door sedan, in Rose Mist, that was in the parking garage of my hotel there. Although the wheels are too bright, otherwise the car was quite stock.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Here's the last production-line Studebaker built in South Bend. The car has just under 24 miles and is a veritable N.O.S. Studebaker. This car always makes me weak-in-the-knees. Bordeaux Red, Avanti R1 engine, 4-speed, Twin Traction, in-dash tach, 50/50 split front bench seat....and no radio.

I've said it before, but I think the styling makes one think the car is larger than a compact. The 15 inch wheels, and four headlights (If you could see them) add to that larger-than-compact vibe.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Jaunty little '61 Champ 1/2 ton pickup, with the double-wall bed and exterior fenders.

uplanderguy · May 2022

'53 Champion Starliner, front; '55 President Speedster in back.

'64 Cruiser original car; nice Bermuda Brown paint and excellent original interior

1914 Studebaker, with owner in sartorial splendor

uplanderguy · May 2022

This Avanti won its class:

sda · May 2022

The interior of the 64 Cruiser looks luxurious and comfortable without being ostentatious.

imidazol97 · May 2022

Thank you for posting the pictures!

uplanderguy · May 2022

'63 Champ 3/4 ton pickup

uplanderguy · May 2022

This is the number 8 record-setting Avanti from the Granatelli Bonneville trials. The actual car, not a copy. The ad below is the same car. The wheels were changed to the Studebaker-authorized Halibrands at some time. I'd have picked the polished ones, but what do I know.

uplanderguy · May 2022

This is the end of the pics for here.

1962 to '64 (I can't tell) Diesel truck. This is a 96BBC model--96 inches from bumper to back-of-cab, with the normal front-end styling chopped off to accomodate longer trailers on American roadways.

ab348 · May 2022

That diesel with the nose job isn't bad-looking. I assume the early '50s styled cab was the basis for that? It actually looks a lot like other diesel medium/heavy duty trucks of the '60s.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Yep, when you didn't get the 96BBC, here's what the front end looked like. Cab styling, basically, went back to '49 but this white fiberglass grille began in '57.

Without looking real hard, the rounded cab styling reminds me of Mack.

thebean · May 2022

imidazol97 said:
Thank you for posting the pictures!

+1
I really enjoyed the pics. Thanks also.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Thanks for being interested.

I had to laugh--I saw a '64 Cruiser, dark blue, in the downtown area out there with a "Goldwater '64" sticker on it. The owner was nearby and said he bought the sticker on eBay. He says people ask him who 'Goldwater' is, LOL. He said he also owns a Stude that was originally from AL and under the carpet he found a "Wallace in '68" button. He said, "I don't think I'll be displaying that with the car", LOL!

uplanderguy · May 2022

I normally hate websites like this one, but I gotta say that I didn't see any non-factual info posted here. From about a week ago. The Avanti was primarily conceived in 1961, but 1962 was actually an 'up' year for production at Studebaker, despite a forty-day strike.

UPDATE: Major goof saying that only the R1 could be had with a three-speed automatic. Even the R3 could be had with that. Only the R1 could be had with a three-speed manual.

https://www.hotcars.com/things-everyone-forgot-about-the-studebaker-avanti/?fbclid=IwAR00m_rnMLxsmhQZBlN2LjZNUlsYc8T6A_DaJhY-nr4uEbEdjIkztoYFUHA

imidazol97 · May 2022

Classic Cars has an article on Studebaker Hawks.

And a Studebaker Champion, 1950, on next to last page in pea soup
green for sale for $25K. Just like the one my parents bought in 1951.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Thanks for the heads-up. I no longer get that mag via subscription.

Just saw this pic on FB. One of the best '64 Stude colors IMHO; Strato Blue.

The character of the car still seems almost contemporary today. And could be had with disc brakes, abnormal for the U.S. industry at the time.

fintail · May 2022

Not quite the downsized GM rear door shape of a 63, but still trim and angular enough to age well. It wouldn't have looked ancient quickly,

uplanderguy said:
Thanks for the heads-up. I no longer get that mag via subscription.

Just saw this pic on FB. One of the best '64 Stude colors IMHO; Strato Blue.

The character of the car still seems almost contemporary today. And could be had with disc brakes, abnormal for the U.S. industry at the time.

uplanderguy · May 2022

I'm now of the mindset that high-volume can normalize bad or at least 'meh' styling.

Studes of the sixties were largely considered 'out there' compared to Big Three styling, but at Hershey a few years back, next to a red '64 Daytona Hardtop I was salivating over, was a '63 Olds F-85 Cutlass two-door. I'm sure that in my life I'd seen more of them than '64 Studebakers. But I thought that F-85 looked dumpy about from every angle--other than I liked the interior door panels. That was it for me. Funny that I always thought the '63 LeMans (with the rectangular taillights, not the Tempest's double-round lights) looked nice. But I think GM deliberately made the instrument panels rather 'meh' to not cannibalize sales too much from the same division's big cars.

Just MHO, nothing more.

sda · May 2022

This is a generalization I think Pontiac made a concerted effort to give their dashboards a premium look that challenged those shopping more expensive brands like Buick or Olds.

uplanderguy · May 2022

To my eyes, the 1965 Bonneville and Grand Prix panels, especially, were as beautiful a panel as ever put in a postwar domestic car. My next choice on that rung is the '64 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk.

My friend has always said he thought Olds in the sixties was the quality-engineering division at GM, but I think the big '65-66 Olds instrument panels are rather out there.

fintail · May 2022

Sometimes I am kind of surprised Stude didn't run with the "European" theme more, with their disc braked large sunroof moderately sized cars, but maybe the market wasn't there yet. IIRC they did advertise the cars as being more reasonably sized.

It probably only cost 10% more at most to make a larger car than an intermediate, but they could sell it for 30% more. Kind of where we are with cars vs trucks/SUVs in recent years.

uplanderguy said:
I'm now of the mindset that high-volume can normalize bad or at least 'meh' styling.

Studes of the sixties were largely considered 'out there' compared to Big Three styling, but at Hershey a few years back, next to a red '64 Daytona Hardtop I was salivating over, was a '63 Olds F-85 Cutlass two-door. I'm sure that in my life I'd seen more of them than '64 Studebakers. But I thought that F-85 looked dumpy about from every angle--other than I liked the interior door panels. That was it for me. Funny that I always thought the '63 LeMans (with the rectangular taillights, not the Tempest's double-round lights) looked nice. But I think GM deliberately made the instrument panels rather 'meh' to not cannibalize sales too much from the same division's big cars.

Just MHO, nothing more.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Supposedly, the dealers were actually asking for more mainstream styling, which the '64 was supposed to bring. By that time, things were too-far gone. U.S. production ended only three months after the new styling was introduced to the public.

Two big 'nails in the coffin', I've read, and I believe, were that there were a lot of leftover '63's in dealer and factory inventories when the '64's were introduced, which dealers were willing to discount a lot, and also when JFK was assassinated, American commerce ground to a halt for an extended period. On the day the South Bend shutdown was announced, on Dec. 9, photos at the plant show the flag still at half-mast for JFK who died only seventeen days earlier. Those two things added to headaches that had occurred in the '63 model year such as production issues with the Avanti and also the Wagonaire which delayed cars for dealer stock and no doubt resulted in lost sales.

No one in my family ever owned one, but I admire the plucky nature of Studebaker and I also like their entire lineup, especially in the '63 and '64 model years.

fintail · May 2022

I think that 64 above is at least as nicely styled as anything from the big 3 that year, and even a little more modern than some. The large cars from the big 3 in 65 were a leap forward, but I don't think Stude was really behind. I think size might have impacted more, that was an era where many thought value was size for the dollar (such as my grandpa and his like of Chrysler Newports).

I find those later cars attractive too, that was a real high time for the domestic industry in general, so many good choices from all makers.

uplanderguy said:
Supposedly, the dealers were actually asking for more mainstream styling, which the '64 was supposed to bring. By that time, things were too-far gone. U.S. production ended only three months after the new styling was introduced to the public.

Two big 'nails in the coffin', I've read, and I believe, were that there were a lot of leftover '63's in dealer and factory inventories when the '64's were introduced, which dealers were willing to discount a lot, and also when JFK was assassinated, American commerce ground to a halt for an extended period. On the day the South Bend shutdown was announced, on Dec. 9, photos at the plant show the flag still at half-mast for JFK who died only seventeen days earlier. Those two things added to headaches that had occurred in the '63 model year such as production issues with the Avanti and also the Wagonaire which delayed cars for dealer stock and no doubt resulted in lost sales.

No one in my family ever owned one, but I admire the plucky nature of Studebaker and I also like their entire lineup, especially in the '63 and '64 model years.

sda · May 2022

The new for 64 GM intermediate sedans had a clean practical design that in a way copied Studebaker and Rambler though the GMs were a bit larger in overall size.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Yes, the Chevelle et al were on a 115 inch wheelbase, compared to 109 for Stude two-doors and 113 for four-doors.

My Stude friend who has written for HCC before has also said that these '64 GM midsizes were so superior to the '63's in size, character, and simple engineering (no 'foolishness'--his words--like rope drive, aluminum V8's, rear transmissions, etc.) and that they certainly didn't help Studebaker's fall 1963 sales position.

I've often thought these midsize GM's for '64 sold well as people who liked their old '55-57 Chevys had something similar in size and shape all over again, while the full-size Chevys had just gotten bigger and bigger.

imidazol97 · May 2022

Got a good look at a '63 Avanti last Sunday.

It's a color I don't see on the typical Avanti's at the local orphan show near Springfield (oh).

The super bright sun made it hard for my Sony digitial to do the high contrast shots.

thebean · May 2022

Very nice pics, @imidazol97. Thanks for posting. It’s funny, but as I get older I have less appreciation for the Avanti and a lot more for the ‘64-‘66 Cruisers. Maybe it’s because my family had a ‘60 2dr Lark, but really I think the clean design and similarity to MB’s that I like.

uplanderguy · May 2022

imidazol, thanks for posting. That's a non-original color, although it's more gold than the factory 'Avanti Gold' color was, for sure....it was more like Chevy 'Fawn Beige'. The Avanti was definitely a bold move for a small company like Studebaker.

Bean, here's the back seat of my '66 Cruiser with 27K miles: No photo description available.

fintail · May 2022

Technically not a Studebaker, but I saw one of these rarities on the road today, same cocaine white color:

imidazol97 · May 2022

Am I reading this right that the car originally was red?

The colors looks like "chrome yellow" from the commercial Studebaker choices for 1963/2 on the color chart.

ab348 · May 2022

If you look at a 1964 Stude color chart it lists P-6434 Avanti Red as a specific Avanti color, so I'd assume 6334 is the same, perhaps a late introduction.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Yes, the car was originally 'Avanti Red', specific-to-Avanti color and one of the original colors at introduction time. It really wasn't bright red; it was a somewhat-muted red, firethorn-ish, very similar to Honduras Maroon on '62 Corvettes. Here's one:

The "BKV" on the sticker indicates black vinyl interior, and AC-3289 are front seat belts.

"Silent Muffler" always cracks me up. Studebaker's prez Sherwood Egbert wanted the 'loudest mufflers legal' and made 'silent mufflers' an option.

Not shown on the sticker are power disc brakes as they were standard equipment.

The "500" tire line on the sticker means Firestone 500's, which supposedly were considered a performance tire then. They show on the build sheet for my old '63 Lark Daytona Skytop that had Avanti power.

uplanderguy · May 2022

That white Avanti fin posted is from the Stephen Blake era at Avanti and is probably an '85 model IIRC.

It's the LSC (Luxury Sport Coupe) which extended the original's wheelbase--aesthetically poorly IMHO but gave a roomier rear seat. This one is supercharged.

I stopped in Avanti with a friend of mine who worked at Chrysler in WV at the time, in '86 or so I think. It had just been announced that they were moving from South Bend to Youngstown, OH (fairly-near where friend and I grew up). He filled out an application in South Bend, in the building where Studebaker Avantis had been 'dolled up' after production across the street, and was hired at Youngstown where he was rather a jack-of-all-trades there, for about three years.

fintail · May 2022

uplanderguy said:
That white Avanti fin posted is from the Stephen Blake era at Avanti and is probably an '85 model IIRC.

It's the LSC (Luxury Sport Coupe) which extended the original's wheelbase--aesthetically poorly IMHO but gave a roomier rear seat. This one is supercharged.

I stopped in Avanti with a friend of mine who worked at Chrysler in WV at the time, in '86 or so I think. It had just been announced that they were moving from South Bend to Youngstown, OH (fairly-near where friend and I grew up). He filled out an application in South Bend, in the building where Studebaker Avantis had been 'dolled up' after production across the street, and was hired at Youngstown where he was rather a jack-of-all-trades there, for about three years.

The one I saw was a LWB car, in white just like that, on the same Corvette (I think) wheels.

sda · May 2022

I still find it interesting that electric wipers was a big deal as late as 63. Were they one or multiple speed and did it include windshield washers? I would hope that on expensive car like the Avanti they were included. On a lesser car like my 62 Galaxie and mom’s 63 Dynamic 88, they only had one speed electric wipers and no windshield washers. The silent muffler was more expensive than I would have thought.

fintail · May 2022

Spotted in another group, note a fun detail:

uplanderguy · May 2022

Two-speed electric wipers were standard on all ‘63 Studebakers. The only domestics I can think of with vacuum wipers that late were Ramblers, and don’t quote me on this but I think I’ve read that AMC used them til around 1970!

Always thought it odd that 1956 Packards had vacuum wipers while even Stude trucks that year had electric wipers.

uplanderguy · May 2022

Fin, I’m stumped on the detail in that ‘54 wagon, other than chartreuse wasn’t a factory color!

fintail · May 2022

uplanderguy said:
Fin, I’m stumped on the detail in that ‘54 wagon, other than chartreuse wasn’t a factory color!

Look at the steering wheel

uplanderguy · May 2022

Ah, the Victoria license plate should've given it away!

You could get a RHD Lark in the U.S. in the early sixties.

Can you imagine the resale value five or six years later? Discontinued brand, PLUS RHD in the U.S.?

My hometown dealer sold one '63 RHD Rural-Router to a fellow who worked at the post office with my Dad.

sda · May 2022

That’s a fairly convincing ad. I wonder if the rural route Lark was limited to the six and that’s why no V8 availability was mentioned.

fintail · May 2022

@uplanderguy - have you ever seen a RHD Lark ? That's a new one for me

uplanderguy · May 2022

I have never seen one in person, although a guy who joined our Ohio Region Stude club and lived about 45 mins. away had one. It needed a lot. I saw pics. I don't think he renewed membership after the first year.

I liked the '63 whitewalls as in that brochure...narrow, and right up against the white wheel. Maybe three years ago I saw a '63 for sale in an ad, where the car was advertised with 9K-odd miles. It had those whitewalls so I believed the mileage.

uplanderguy · May 2022

I looked in brochures and also Studebaker Drivers' Club articles about the '63's and don't see that the V8 was N/A if one bought the Rural Router, but it does seem like the V8 might clash a bit with the intended economy spiel used in advertising the RHD car here.

Postwar Studebakers

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