Recently came across this article originally published in The Modesto Bee (Auto Supplement) Oct. 17, 1981.
Studebaker owners trade their tallest tales
United Press International
ST. Louis--- Someone who truly loves his Studebaker takes up two spaces in a parking lot. The smallest dent or scratch from a car door opened by a thoughtless driver can cause unending anguish.
"Studebaker cars have a distinct personality. They're almost like part of the family," says Fred Jones, president of the Missouri-Illinois Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. "When they're sold, the owners want to make sure they get a good home."
Studebaker owners who argue over details---"No, it's a '61; look at the grille"---are of a single mind in their devotion to a car that went out of production 15 years ago. That's why 500 Studebaker devotees gathered here this summer for their 17th annual international convention.
Hundreds of Commanders, Presidents, Golden Hawks, Champions, Avantis and other Studebaker models jammed into a motel parking lot for the chance to swap information, parts and tall tales. Not all were "jammed" into the lot, however. Several of the show-room condition models were parked across two spaces for protection against scratches from nearby vehicles.
Earle Haley, 60, of St. Louis invites passerby to sit in the spacious back seat of his Studebaker or view the easy-to-service engine.
"I took two girls to college in this," he said, proudly pointing to the large trunk of his 1957 President.
In the 1950s, Haley wrote the shop manuals--how-to-books used by Studebaker mechanics--at the company's South Bend, Ind., headquarters.
"The engineers ran wild," he said. "They did things like put left-handed threads on the left side of the car, so if you forgot to tighten the lug nuts, they tightened themselves as you drove."
Haley, sporting a baseball cap, pointed to brass nuts holding the carburetor to the manifold.
Brass nuts were more durable than steel nuts, and they were corrosion-proof. But brass cost more and is an example of how Studebaker spent itself into oblivion by 1966, Haley said.
Haley said many company oldtimers claim Studebaker made its best car in 1942, the final year before production was halted in World War II. The 1942 models with overdrive transmissions cruised at 70 mph and got 25 miles to the gallon, he said.
Haley's connection with Studebakers has lasted his entire life, he says.
In fact, he was born in one because their Studebaker didn't get his mother to the hospital in time.
"It wouldn't start," he said.
Submitted by:
KURTRUK
(read it backwards
)
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