53 2 door coupe VS 53 2 door sedan

[Guest]

I am not sure if I understand the differance between the 2 door coupe and the 2 door sedan. Can you all explain this to me and show pictures if you have them.
Thanks, duane

[Mike Van Veghten]

Eggzacktally...

And to add, the 54/55 Conestoga was built off of the Sedan layout.
Too bad...too. The Conestoga would have been a really nice car had they used the coupe layout.

Mike

[Jeff_H]

To add to those pictures, the coupe has a 120" wheelbase and the sedan is shorter at 116". None of the body panels are interchangeable except the front bumper and possibly the vent doors on the front fenders. Doors, fenders, hood, trunk, etc all are different.

[StudeRich]

That's a great comparison Dave, like NIGHT and DAY, I am sure that anyone who has seen both, would certainly notice the difference.

Of course on other makes, the only difference between a 2 Dr. Sedan & a Coupe was the length of the 1/4 window!

[63t-cab]

Rich,it's funny you say that!!! I had a white over green 55 President HT I used to drive to the local transfer station in my town(and chat with the fella running it often) after I sold it,I then would drive in with my blue 55 Champion 2dr. sedan(1st series) and he'd ask " what'd you do paint the Studebaker?"

[studelark]

Dave; Thanks for sharing these two factory photos. The Commander DeLuxe 2 dr. (4H-F3) was a fairly rare car. There were only 2371 such cars built in the 1953 model run and some lists do not even acknowledge such a car was built.

I remember that in the late sixties, the late Sam Miller owned such a car. It was a low mileage unit that came out of Charlottesville, VA. It was an overdrive equipped car with a radio. It was two-toned. The colors were 'chalked out' and I'm not sure what the colors were- if memory serves me at all, it was a medium gray over a medium red at the time. It was not an attractive car, but it was unusual. It was so odd, I liked it. I do not know whatever happened to it other than it was sold around 1970. Thanks, again, Dave.

Frank Drumheller
60S-W6
1948 M16-52 Boyer-bodied fire truck

[8E45E]

An equally quick way to tell, is the rear quarter windows on the coupe are hinged and swing out to open while the rear quarter windows on the two door sedan roll down. The coupe uses the 'C' body designation, and the 2 door sedan is known as the 'F' body.

Craig

[56H-Y6]

Hi

Thanks for posting these factory photos that demonstrate so perfectly the great appeal or lack of appeal of it that a design can have is not the details but the porportions that make a design succeed or fail. Note all the details and features are present on both cars, just that they look far better on the low, long C-body coupe, not so much on the short and dumpy F-body two door sedan.

Steve

[mbstude]

It's too bad. That 2 door sedan is not a bad looking car at all.

But when you put it next to a coupe... Well...

[Sonny]

You're looking at the 1953 Lark. Cover up both ends of the sedan and you'll see what I mean. I'd take that cute, little sedan in a NY minute! In fact, I like 'em just as good or even better than the coupe. Eeeeeeverybody has to have a C/K, blah, gimme the sedan any day. I'd sure like to find a '53 - '55 tudor sedan...

[Steve T]

Yep, I have a thing for 2dr post cars too, and would looove a '53-55 F-body Stude. (Even among the gorgeous Bourke Lowboy cars I actually prefer the pillared coupe over the hardtop. Would, um, take either with enthusiasm of course...)

The one feature of the '53-55 Fs I really don't care for at all is that weird two-piece rear quarter; on the upper-level '55s, at least, they tacked on that big chrome boomerang molding to camouflage the seam, and had I a '53-4 F I'd be on the lookout for a set of those to apply to it. (Either that, or modify the quarter "patches" to open backward like a Mazda RX8!)

S.

[StudeRich]

/Cut/'55s, at least, they tacked on that big chrome boomerang molding to camouflage the seam, and had I a '53-4 F I'd be on the lookout for a set of those to apply to it. (Either that, or modify the quarter "patches" to open backward like a Mazda RX8!) S.

OR...do what several owners have, and lead in the seam! Those look really Great, we have one of those here on the West Coast somewhere. It's a '55 Regal with the moulding removed I think.

[Guest]

Thanks for all the info, very helpfull!
Thanks, duane

[mbstude]

I have a friend in Florida that just picked up a '55 Commander 2 door sedan. Very solid little car and mostly complete, and it could be made into a decent car. Speak now before it gets parted out.

[candbstudebakers]

Sonny how bad do you want one? a friend has a rust free 54 commander with auto runs good, redone large brakes.