53 Commander Skytop FS in FL

[bams50]

Kind of a neat custom, looks like it would be an easy resto:

http://tinyurl.com/yapmeyu

Robert (Bob) Andrews- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys)
Parish, central NY 13131

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[Invalid User Name]

Bob, that's only about an hour north of me. If you are interested in placing a bid, I'll check it out for you. []

Doug
Venice, Florida
1950 Champion
9G F1

[Jerry Forrester]

Very neat car.
I'd like to see someone buy it (I wish I could) and put back to it's former 'custom' glory. I'll bet it was a show winner 'back in the day'.
Somebody close please check it out and post the particulars.

Any guesses as to what the final bid will be? I'm thinking over 6K even with the rusted floor boards and trunk floor.


Jerry Forrester
Forrester's Chrome
Douglasville, Georgia

[woodysrods]

Great candidate for a top chop or even a convertible conversion.[]
Good Roads
Brian

Brian Woods
woodysrods@shaw.ca
1946 M Series (Shop Truck)

[r1lark]

quote:Originally posted by bams50

Kind of a neat custom, looks like it would be an easy resto:

http://tinyurl.com/yapmeyu

Robert (Bob) Andrews- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys)
Parish, central NY 13131

GOD BLESS AMERICA

An article on this car can be found in the December 2003 Turning Wheels. It's a really neat car, and a neat article. The car was sold on eBay in 2006.

Following is some condensed info and a few pictures of the car in better days:
1953 Starliner with a Skytop, customized in early 1964 by Studebaker Stylist Paul McKeehan. Later model components were used liberally, including the Skytop assembly, '64 Hawk gauges and AM/FM radio, overhead Avanti rocker switches, a black prototype Avanti steering wheel with a Hawk horn button, '64 Hawk front and rear seats, a '64 Lark foot-operated emergency brake pedal assembly, electric window lifts from '55-'58 Studebakers, a '64 Lark firewall-mounted master cylinder, 289 engine/Powershift transmission combo, rear traction/stabilizer bar setup, and '57/'58 springs front and rear. Two pictures of the completed car are shown below, with the second picture taken in front of southern California's The Art Center School of Design of which Paul was an alumnus. Information and the first two pictures are used with permission from Turning Wheels, the Studebaker Drivers Club's monthly publication; the article appeared in the December 2003 issue and was written by, and pictures provided by, Paul McKeehan.



Here is one picture from the 2006 eBay ad:



Paul
Winston-Salem, NC
Visit The NEW Studebaker Skytop Registry website at: www.studebakerskytop.com

[bams50]

WOW, it really is an extra-special car; and it's only $3550 currently with no reserve! Too bad it was allowed to deteriorate that far, but it may open the door for someone with limited up-front money[] I thought about it a little, but I can't. Too bad, I'll be in FL in August...

Robert (Bob) Andrews- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys)
Parish, central NY 13131

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[barnlark]

I'll have to dig out my old TWs and see if the dash is the same. That, the seats and door panels all seem to have been changed from those original pictures. Cool provenance, though. Much better parts and design source than just any back yard customizer's personal vision, that's for sure! When I first saw those pictures and the top was hidden by plastic, I just cringed. [8D]

[wcarroll@outrageous.net]

Interestingly, the article doesn't mention the Speedster dash (one of my favorite features), however in one of the article pics you can see the top portion of the driver's door panel which has a very wide pad that stops with a slash just behind the steering wheel. This matches the door panel motif of the Ebay car.

My only concern having worked with hardtop C/K's is the structural integrity of the roof.

Did the Skytop kits have a frame to make up for this? How did they attach?

I would think a coupe would make a much better candidate for the Skytop.

Either way, I like it -and the best part is I could totally fit my 12ft Longboard in it without having to buy a Wagonaire!! [8D]

http://community.webshots.com/user/s2dbaker?vhost=community

[StudeMann]

Is that a radio antenna I see coming out of the trim behind the drivers door in the color photo? That's not stock, is it?

I would be tempted to check it out if it wasn't on the opposite corner of the continent and I didn't already have my car in pieces in the garage.

Cheers!

"Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat...a Studebaker!"

51 Land Cruiser (Elsie)
Jim Mann
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

[StudeMann]

Will,

You already have a beautiful Starliner you could cut the roof out of for your board. You don't seem to be afraid of a torch!

Jim

"Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat...a Studebaker!"

51 Land Cruiser (Elsie)
Jim Mann
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

[Bullet]

I just talked to my neighbor, John McKeehan (Paul's son). From the pictures and ebay listing he confirmed that it was his Dad's car in the day. John remembers riding in the back seat of the car, and even with the A/C on it was hot back there. He commented on the "true" spoke wheels and the skytop. He is going to show his Dad and try and keep him from wanting to buy it. Good luck, I told him.

Mark

[bams50]

Wow, knowing more about this car, I bet it does a lot more than it currently is at[] Remember, the high bidder will own it!

Robert (Bob) Andrews- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys)
Parish, central NY 13131

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[barnlark]

Originally posted by Bullet

I just talked to my neighbor, John McKeehan (Paul's son). From the pictures and ebay listing he confirmed that it was his Dad's car in the day.
Mark, this is great news. Please ask him what the interior was finished in fabric-wise when he had it. It looks like it's either white leather or vinyl in those black and whites, but could have been anything. Also, is the current instrument panel original to his design? Does anything else look exactly how he designed it and what has been changed?

[wcarroll@outrageous.net]

Hey Jim-

Are you the Studeman that emailed me about my car? If so, just wanted to make sure you got my emails. Email just isn't as reliable as it used to be.

You're right though, if my Commander knew I was checkin' out pics of a Starliner with a revealing top online I'd be in big trouble!!

quote:Originally posted by StudeMann

Will,

You already have a beautiful Starliner you could cut the roof out of for your board. You don't seem to be afraid of a torch!

Jim

"Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat...a Studebaker!"

51 Land Cruiser (Elsie)
Jim Mann
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

http://community.webshots.com/user/s2dbaker?vhost=community

[Bullet]

I will talk to him tomorrow and see what he can remember. It was just a casual conversation from this afternoon when we talked and I had printed the listing/forum discussion. Paul was written up in TW several years ago. He loves to talk Studebakers, Paul that is. And I like to listen. I will let you know what I find out. John his son, just remembers his Dad having alot of cool old cars around and having to ride in them. Nothing special to John.

Mark