Different 1955 President Speedster look?

[SN-60]

I refinished and installed a set of GT Hawk headlamp bezels on My '55 President Speedster a while ago for a 'different look'. Generally, I've gotten positive comments on this, but
wondered what My fellow Studebaker Forum members think of this look? Comments?

[JEWELL]

I think it looks darn good SN-60, for that matter the whole car looks great.

[55champion]

Very nice and I love the "Skirts"...

[dean pearson]

I like the Bezels, and the car is super sweet.
Just a matter of opinion but i personally don't care for the skirts.
Don't like the way they look on my 52 either.

Dean.

[55s]

Very nice car. I like the skirts. They look good on black. I'm afraid I prefer the original headlight rims on 1955s, but I do think the GT rims make a GT look classy.

I still have a set of fenderskirts. Originally they were going to go on a 1955 Champion Coupe. They were painted yellow, and somehow didn't look right.

Then they were re-painted green, for installation on the 1955 Commander coupe in the avatar. However, I delayed 2-3 months because they required drilling a holes in the fender. Three months later, my new 195 75R15 tires started showing black through the wide whitewall tires. The tire store took them all back, but replaced them with 205 75R15s. The skirts no longer fit.

Maybe the skirts will go on my mom's Speedster. It was originally lemon lime, but was painted black many years ago. I'm probably going to repaint the car back to its original lemon lime colour and think about repainting the skirts for it.

Philosophy: Once, when we were heading off to a judging meet, I pleaded with my dad to take off the chrome reverse wheels on his red 1963 GT and put back the original rims and tires so he would score higher. He looked at me and said "I don't care about the judging. These rims make the car "go" faster!" So, if you like the GT headlight rims, and they make the car go faster for you, keep them on and enjoy.

[Noxnabaker]

I think that a top-of-the-line car should have much chrome & especially on a darker car where the brightwork stands out.
But still: yeah, it aint that bad!

[StudeRich]

Ed, I guess you would not have asked if you did not want "OPINIONS", right?

The '63/'64 GT Headlight Rims do look OK, I think with the massive amount of front end Chrome, the '55's may look a little better completing the "look" with the stock rims though.

As far as the Skirts go, many of you know what I think about those! I like the sporty, racer look, not the lead sled, tail dragger, slow and low, cruiser look!


That is a very nice, to be proud of, Speedster otherwise though.

[52hawk]

I like the bezels-since I need new bezels for my 61,I've been thinking about the GT ones.Now I can see that they would look good! Thanks for the pics. On the skirts,I like 'em ,but I don't like 'em? Don't know!

[52-fan]

I like those headlight bezels on the 55 better than I would have guessed. The stock look is great, but those look good too. The seam between the fender and light will make some people think they are aftermarket. I've never cared for fender skirts.

[StudeMann]

I am a designer by profession (Architect) so I have a very critical eye. I find the GT headlight bezels a little too 'fine' compared to all the other stock trim. For example, the stock fender trim near the headlights is wider with less sharply defined lines than the GT headlight bezels. I am not a fan of the fender skirts either.

That being said, it's hard to beat the lines of any C/K model. Nice car!

[SN-60]

This is the kind of pro and con discussion that I really enjoy..... and I want to thank everyone that's replied so far on this question (both pro and con). I actually find Myself in agreement
with EVERYONE who has replied on this thread (both pro and con)...that may sound strange, but basically, We ALL really understand and enjoy are STUDEBAKERS!!!

[63t-cab]

Ed,I really have a soft spot for 55 Speedsters "for that matter all 55s" cuz of that front end artwork.I'm a bit un-decided with the gt doors,though I do'nt flat out dis-like them <G>. but now you have me wondering how would the gt doors look if the whole thing was chrome ?

[SN-60]

To: 63t-cab,---A completely chromed GT headlamp bezel?....never even considered that...interesting! By the way.... in the front end photo I believe I had the '64 GT headlamp bezel 'gaskets' installed backwards!
I later on installed them with the 'thick' side turned to the inside of the bezel, and I liked the look better...the gaskets were 'still there' but didn't protrude as much.

[studegary]

I will revert to my discussion with Bob Bourke on these later headlight bezels. Bob said that they were added to bring the visual fender line out further to go with the extended nose (hood/grille) of the Gran Turismo models.
Neither of us felt that they would be appropriate for 1953-1955 C/K models.

[warrlaw1]

I like the stock bezels. My body shop put a bit of black plastic welting between the fender and the bezel and I like that look even better. They did the same between the rear fenders and tail light housings and between the front signal light surrounds and the fenders. I'll lose points but it LOOKS like a more expensive car (lol).