1939 Studebaker..what model?

[Guest]

My husband & I own a custom & restoration shop. We have been working on old vehicles for a long time, but I am stumped! I have never had any dealings with a Studebaker ever! Yesterday I purchased a 1939 Studebaker car, and I have no clue what model it is. The tag is all worn so no info from that, and the guy we bought it from has no title. I will give as much information as I can and maybe someone can help me figure out this mystery.

4 door suicides
over-drive transmission
front suspension was out of the norm
split back window

I have some pictures but the front cap is off and the running boards are missing. Let me know if you can help.

Thanks,

Missy


Missy Holifield
Owner/CFO
Wolfman Concepts
1939 Studebaker

[gordr]

Big car, or small one? The Commander and President of that year were quite large cars, comparable to a Buick in size. The Champion, which was introduced that year, was quite small, a little under the size of a Ford of the same year.

Under the hood, on the firewall, there should be a metal body tag, stamped with raised characters. If you can find that, and give us what's stamped on it, we should be able to decipher it.

Champions, by the way, had 4-stud wheels, and the larger cars had 5-stud.

That "unusual" front suspension is called a Planar Suspension, and it is a fully-independent suspension using a transverse leaf spring.

Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

[Guest]

ok...here is the information from that tag:
9AW-3
27217

It looks like it is 5-stud

Hope that helps.

Thank you,

Missy

Missy Holifield
Owner/CFO
Wolfman Concepts
1939 Studebaker

[dictator27]

1939 Commander Cruising sedan(W 3), 27217th built in '39. Front suspension used from 1935-49.

Terry Godkin
Surrey, British Columbia

[mbstude]

Nice find. Get it going and it'll be the best driving car you own.

A buddy of mine has a '38 version of your car. All original too. Out of all the cars he has, the '38 has got to be my favorite. [^]



Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[barnlark]

Welcome Missy. Here are some shots to help you and others envision some things. Sorry, not a 1939. I searched for good 1939 pics and fell short. We have some terrific prewar experts and fans here on the forum who will have better images to hopefully share soon for what you can have if restored.

Good suspension shots:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20999&SearchTerms=1939-1940,Commander

1940 Commander pics link:

http://tinyurl.com/pdt4po

[Guest]

gordr: thanks for your help..great info and you helped get the ball rolling on decode
dictator27: You Rock!! Thanks for decoding. I usually decode everything that comes into the shop myself but this one had me stumped.
mbstude: I think it was an awesome find. I am just giddy about it!!
barnlark: Great pics! I have some pics I want to post of mine too.

Now this car needs a full resto. I wanted to find something that we could restore from the ground up our way with my touches in it!! This will be MY personal car. We will need some parts for this car a little later so hopefully I can get those from some members on here.

Thanks Again to all
Missy

Missy Holifield
Owner/CFO
Wolfman Concepts
1939 Studebaker

[barnlark]

This should help, too.

http://www.studebakervendors.com/

[Guest]

Here are some pictures:





Missy Holifield
Owner/CFO
Wolfman Concepts
1939 Studebaker

[Anne F. Goodman]

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26450

This one is still for sale I think.

Mabel 1949 Champion
Hawk 1957 Silverhawk
Gus 1958 Transtar
The Prez 1955 President State
Blu 1957 Golden Hawk
Fresno,Ca

[barnlark]

Scroll down and check out the 2 door picture on Istude's post.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13022&SearchTerms=1940,President

[JRoberts]

Glad to have you among us on this forum. I think you will find there is a lot of information available from the members here.

Consider joining the Studebaker Drivers Club and then your local chapter as well. You can join the SDC right here on this website. You can also get info. here about your local chapter.

Joe Roberts
'61 R1 Champ
'65 Cruiser
Editor of "The Down Easterner"
Eastern North Carolina Chapter

[s2dbkr]

Do you have the grill ?
That will narrow it down considerably.

[silverhawk]

That is a pretty cool find!

Dylan Wills

'61 lark deluxe 4 door wagon

[stude freak]

39studegal.My buddy has 2 39 champions ,one is a parts car and one is street rodded.I have some pics of it but i can't get them on here.I read the book computers for dummies and it was over my head.I think he has an extra grill too its driver quality but no good enought for showcar in his opinion.I'll check with him and see if he wants to sell anything.

David Baggett '53 coupe