New Bodyshells (a future possibility) ?

[avantilover]

As our Stude parts cars are used up, I'm wondering whether it will someday be possible to get a complete (or partial) new bodyshell for some of the more popular Studes?

I seem to recall reading about the remanufacture of the 1968 Chevrolet Camaro bodyshell, seems to be a good idea for some of our cars too. In any case I don't suppose any original tooling is still around or is it?

John Clements
Avantilover, your South Australian Studebaker lover!!!

[sbca96]

quote:Originally posted by avantilover

As our Stude parts cars are used up, I'm wondering whether it will someday be possible to get a complete (or partial) new bodyshell for some of the more popular Studes?

I brought up a similar idea on the Avanti forum in regards to AMC
(Avanti Motor Company) using their own chassis, and retaining the
original body mounting locations with their updated Avanti. Then it
would allow sales of the new chassis to all previous Stude Avantis
and Avanti II with the Stude frame, plus an easy Lark swap. I was shot
down (as usual) being told that there was no market for that, people
would not pay the cost, and Avanti frames dont rust (huh?)

quote:I seem to recall reading about the remanufacture of the 1968 Chevrolet Camaro bodyshell, seems to be a good idea for some of our cars too.

1969 Camaro body shell. They cost about 10k, just for the uni-body
section, sub-frame sold separately. They expect to sell many, since
a usable 69 Camaro hulk is over 7000. You can find complete Avantis
for 7000, JDP is selling one. Hawks even cheaper.

quote:In any case I don't suppose any original tooling is still around or is it?

Someone might have the orginal tooling, but I think that the last one
to have the Hawk was Stude, the Avanti was Newman & Altman, Lark was
Canada, the Avanti was be the best bet.

Tom

1963 Studebaker Avanti, 102,000, custom made brake brackets to mount 1998 Mustang GT 4 wheel disc brakes (soon to get 13" Cobra front brakes), 2003 Mustang Cobra 17" wheels, GM altenator, will be getting : 97 Camaro Z28 tan leather seats, 97 Camaro Z28 T-56 6-speed trans, Ported 'R3' style Avanti heads with stainless full flow valves, 'R3' 276 duration cam w/chrysler solid lifters, shortened push rods, aluminum cam gear, Edelbrock AFB Carb, GM HEI distributor, 8.8mm plug wires, waiting in the garage.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Anything is possible, I suppose...
But considering that Chevrolet made over 200,000 Camaro's in 1969....there will be a broader market for a replacement body.
Shoot, the survival rate alone (for 1969 Camaro's) is greater than the total number of Hawks and Avanti's combined...for ALL the years of production. I do recall that the people building this body were sued by GM for making it at all. Seems a compromise was reached and they were selling it with the quarter panels not welded on. Don't know if that still holds true today. Good thing is that there would be no parent company coming along to sue you if you were to build a replacement body for a Hawk or Avanti. Some amazing things are coming out of the eastern Euopean countries nowadays (complete '41 Willys bodies, etc)... and the China connection has yet to be explored for more than little doo-dad Stude parts...
Interesting topic. Anyone have a few million to sink into a Studebaker hole?
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by avantilover

As our Stude parts cars are used up, I'm wondering whether it will someday be possible to get a complete (or partial) new bodyshell for some of the more popular Studes?

I seem to recall reading about the remanufacture of the 1968 Chevrolet Camaro bodyshell, seems to be a good idea for some of our cars too. In any case I don't suppose any original tooling is still around or is it?

John Clements
Avantilover, your South Australian Studebaker lover!!!

[JDP]

Many a vendor has looked into just repopping just the C-K front fenders for examples. As Jeff pointed out, it's a size of market issue. Let's assume you could build fender tooling in the far east for the bargain price of 100K, that would be 200K for the pair, add maybe $300 each unit cost and shipping for a run of of 1000. You now have 400K in 500 pairs and that's a lot of money for most Studebaker vendors. Body shell ??, don't even think about it. I've heard that the tooling cost for the 47-52 stainless rear fender splash guards doomed even that project for now.

Studebaker On The Net http://stude.com
Studebaker News Group

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.autos.studebaker

64 Daytona HT
64 R2 4 speed Challenger
63 R2 4 speed GT Black
63 R2 4 speed GT White
63 GT Hawk
63 Avanti
62 Daytona HT
53 Coupe

[Dick Steinkamp]

Here's a couple in fiberglass...

http://www.hotrodssuperstore.com/1919studckbr.html

http://www.the-glas-shop.com/

[Scott]

It would be cheaper to find pretty solid parts cars with good body shells, strip the cars, take the shells off the frames, restore the shells to like new and sell them in primer. Of course when the parts cars dry up, as you said, it'll get hard to keep going. I'm pretty sure that there will still be Studebakers to fix up for another 100 years, unless they all end up in Detroit and sit outside for that period!

Now wouldn't it be fun (or not) for a bunch of guys to get a shell in that condition, get a chassis and everything else for a particular model and build it from the ground up during an international meet?! Could it be done?

[Swifster]

Frames could be done, but it would need to be a place like Art Morrison, and it wouldn't look anything like the original. I know they've made frames for various C-K projects and they state they can make any frame with CAD-CAM technology and with any suspension.

I'm looking into one of these for the Daytona. The frame comes without the body mount perches (seperate).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom - Lakeland, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

Michigan Speed - www.michiganspeed.com
Club Hot Rod - www.clubhotrod.com
LS1 Tech - www.ls1tech.com

[avantilover]

quote:Originally posted by Scott

It would be cheaper to find pretty solid parts cars with good body shells, strip the cars, take the shells off the frames, restore the shells to like new and sell them in primer. Of course when the parts cars dry up, as you said, it'll get hard to keep going. I'm pretty sure that there will still be Studebakers to fix up for another 100 years, unless they all end up in Detroit and sit outside for that period!

Now wouldn't it be fun (or not) for a bunch of guys to get a shell in that condition, get a chassis and everything else for a particular model and build it from the ground up during an international meet?! Could it be done?

You're probably correct Scott, but there aren't that many of them here in Australia, as another Aussie once said in a post, some of the "parts cars" would be restored here. The reverse situation for those who collect Aussie musclecars, most of them are here.

John Clements
Avantilover, your South Australian Studebaker lover!!!

[stude53]

Hey Avantilover,

Speaking of car bodies, have you come up with a Stude of your own yet?
I hope so, but I may have missed it.

Regards,
Bob (stude53)

[avantilover]

quote:Originally posted by stude53

Hey Avantilover,

Speaking of car bodies, have you come up with a Stude of your own yet?
I hope so, but I may have missed it.

Regards,
Bob (stude53)

Hi Bob,

Not yet, at our last meeting Marty told me the '47 Champion had more rust than expected, and was a bit "old" "so we'll get you a Lark."

I need to save the money, but as he's a mechanic with 50 yrs experience and is the club registrar, I'll await his suggestion. Was actually quite funny, I had an old Stude Lark convertible ad and his comment was "you can't afford it" LOL. Besides, since I don't have as much hair as I used to a Convertible is out.

What I'd like to do is to replace all wiring looms as I don't wish to risk a fire ie "The SDC recommends all owners carry a Fire Extinguisher in case that wiring the mouse nibbled gives you a hot foot."

BTW, I notice that some restore their car without removing the body from the frame, how can you be sure that the frame isn't holding any surprises after all those years unless it's restored? I know this would cost more, but you'd have a car that you knew for certain is 100% OK.

John Clements
Avantilover, your South Australian Studebaker lover!!!

[Scott]

I think most people never take the body off the frame. That kind of restoration is beyond the skills or financial means of probably at least 75% of Studebaker owners. When I get a Studebaker I always have the chassis checked over by a certified mechanic. Usually it's just getting it in the air and taking a look at various stress points and body mounting points. I've had some kind of rough cars, but I've never had one yet that I've really worried about the chassis. Floors yes, chassis no. Maybe I just live dangerously.

Speaking of dangerously, when I first got my black GT hawk I e-mailed some pictures to a friend of mine. I said I thought it was the kind of car I could see James Bond driving. He wrote back and said,"James Bond? I don't think so. It looks more like something a Hasidic Jew would drive." Hasidic Jews aren't usually associated with high style and danger - or are they?

[stude53]

John,

When I first got my 53 hardtop, I didn't do a frame off (my 53 spent its life in Oklahoma and Texas in fairly dry areas and had very little surface rust underneath), but I spent several days under the car with cleaning materials and a wire brush removing all dirt, grease, grime and surface rust, then coated everything with a rust killer, and after it was thouroughly dry, I primed with a rust preventative primer and painted The frame with an epoxy paint. Then I undercoated the floor bottoms, and repeated the process inside the quarter panels, the inside floors, and front fenders. My son, a body man, then fixed the three small rust holes(replaced trunk corners and around fender vent with new metal) and prepared the exterior for paint.

I've had my 53 since 1985 and it still is as solid and shiny as the day it came out of the paint booth with its new paint job.

It depends on the starting condition whether or not a frame off is necessary.

Regards,
Bob Feaganes (stude53)[8D]

[JBOYLE]

quote:Originally posted by Scott

Speaking of dangerously, when I first got my black GT hawk I e-mailed some pictures to a friend of mine. I said I thought it was the kind of car I could see James Bond driving. He wrote back and said,"James Bond? I don't think so.

Ian Flemming (author of the Bond novels) drove an Avanti...so in a way Bond did drive a GT...only with a different body.

[quote]It looks more like something a Hasidic Jew would drive." Hasidic Jews aren't usually associated with high style and danger - or are they?[quote]

Though not being any sort of an expert on that faith, I'd say anyone living in Israel (where most of their neighbors want to destroy them) is associated with danger!

63 Avanti R1 2788
1914 Stutz Bearcat
(George Barris replica)

Washington State

[Studedude1961]

Even Studebaker Corporation could not afford to tool for a totally new bodyshell after 1953. That's one of the reasons it went out of business. I would think it highly impossible to finance something like this even if several dozen of us cozy up to Warren Buffett in Omaha this fall!

Studedude1961
--1963 Cruiser

P.S. Anyone know Bill Gates?

[garyash]

There is always a guy at the York swap meet with fiberglass body parts for '53 cars. I think he makes an entire body, too. Someone else have info on these or other fiberglass bodies for Studebakers? Forget the '39 truck "repro", not even close! I agree that it isn't likely that steel bodies will get reproduced.

On the James Bond sub-thread: yes, there is a '53 Studebaker in the Bond novels. Bond's friend Felix Leiter had a black Studillac in the novel "Diamonds are Forever". See the bottom of:

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/literary_007world_northamerica1.php3?t=&s=articles

The website pictures aren't "correct" for what was described in the novel, but at least they tried.

Gary Ash
Dartmouth, MA
'48 M5
'65 Wagonaire Commander
'63 Wagonaire Standard

https://www.studegarage.com