How many have you saved?

[Scott]

I'm curious how many Studebakers forum members have saved from scrapping, or took a non-running vehicle and made it road worthy again, and assuming it hadn't run in at least 3 years.

I can claim two.

[JRoberts]

I can claim one. A 1950 2R6.
Joe Roberts

[61LaRk4dr]

I can say that I have made two full and am currently making one.

1947 M-5
1948 Landcruiser
1961 Lark (Current Project)

The 1947 restoration was a joint effort between my dad and I when I was 13 years old. I then restored the 1948 Landcruiser beginning the summer after my junior year in high school and completeing it 3 years later. I started on my current project just last year at the age of 23.

[JDP]

Maybe a third of the 400 or so I've owned and sold were not drivers when I bought them, everything from just needing a fuel pump to total projects.

JDP/Maryland
64 Daytona HT/R2 clone
64 GT R2
63 Lark 2 door
52 & 53 Starliner
51 Commander

[52hawk]

I can claim 2. A '52 Commander I pulled from the boneyard and is now being restored by another member of the forum,and my 61 Hawk which hasn't seen the road for about 16 years.[bought it as a basket case,took a trailer and 2 pickup loads to get it home]Last week I finally drove the Hawk out to the street and backed it back into the garage.

LaSalle,Il
61Hawk

[Anne F. Goodman]

1957 Silverhawk 12 years sitting outside when we bought it.
1955 Champion 12 years sitting outside when we bought it.
1949 Champion sitting for 7 years.
1958 Transtar sitting for 15 years plus.
1961 Lark got back on the road sold now a driver.
1959 Scottsman Pick up helped get back on the road from a 20 year sleep
Working on a club members 1955 Champion to get back on the road 10 year sleep.
Gonna help another club member get their 1949 Champion back on the road in time for the Zone meet.
Plus can't even keep track of how many we have helped get back on the road club members and friends. Simple stuff that we go to their houses to fix.
We bought our first Studebaker the 1957 Silverhawk in October 2000.
{ Update another 1955 Champion, 1957 Golden Hawk, 1954 Commander Coupe,1955 President State Sedan,1961 hawk,and I can't think of more right now but I know there is. 7/09}
Mabel 1949 Champion
1957 Silverhawk
1955 Champion 4Dr.Regal
Gus 1958 Transtar
Fresno,Ca

[KGlowacky]

Eight! One current 56 Stude wagon and 7 brand x. Come to think about it I never bought one running. I love the pain.

[Scott]

I was pretty sure JDP would get the award for most. That's a lot of cars, John!

Anne, I had no idea you'd been into Studebakers so long.

Great responses so far. It sounds like Studebakers on the road must be growing in number. People will start thinking the company came back to life.

[Blue 15G]

As far as Studebakers, I can claim 2. A '60 Lark Convertible that had sat for 8 years and my present car, a '54 Champion that sat for 30.

The '60 needed a lot less work to make roadworthy than the '54! (Obviously).

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

[Swifster]

Just the one in progress (it's not running just yet ). See the pictures in the signature below.

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Tom - Valrico, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona - 289 4V, 4-Speed

[8E45E]

quote:Originally posted by Scott

I'm curious how many Studebakers forum members have saved from scrapping, or took a non-running vehicle and made it road worthy again, and assuming it hadn't run in at least 3 years.

I'll say two for sure, and possibly one more. The '65 Cruiser I am currently working on was bought from the local autowreckers. If it didn't sell after a couple of weeks, it would have ended up with the rest of their parts cars. The other one was a '66 Commander which I bought for $100, threw in a battery and drove home. It was to be a parts car for Moby Grape, but when removing the interior, the body itself proved to be too good to be a parts car. I've since sold that car to another Forum member. I'll say the '66 Commander I'm also working on (Moby Grape) may have possibly been saved from death as I am still not sure if the previous owner's statement of having it hauled to the scrap yard was a just a threat or not.

Craig

[53k]

quote:Originally posted by Scott

I'm curious how many Studebakers forum members have saved from scrapping, or took a non-running vehicle and made it road worthy again, and assuming it hadn't run in at least 3 years. ...

Seven for me.
First was a '61 Lark OHV six convertible. I don't know how long it had been sitting, but the owner took a year to get back to me after I inquired about it- paid him $195 for it. It was completely original with 110k on it (rusty, shabby top, shabby interior, etc.) From the way it turned over I suspected a stripped timing gear which proved to be right. I kept it about 20 years then sold it on eBay to JP who didn't realize how rusty it was. He gave up on it and sold it at a loss to Lexmale in Lexington, KY. I don't know what happened to it from there.
Second was a '63 Daytona Skytop with 22,000 miles. It had been sitting outside on the street in Washington, DC for a number of years. Paid $100 for it. It was a strange car- 6 cylinder 3-speed, heater and no other extras. Very shabby, but had new front fenders. It still had the original 6.00x15 bias tires on it. The engine was free and I had little trouble getting it running. Breaking loose the stuck clutch was another story. I took it to the International at Indy and couldn't sell it- finally sold it to Chuck Naugle at York. He wanted it only for the Skytop- was going to scrap the rest.
Third was a '48 Champion two-door that a man gave to me for just removing it from his driveway. It hadn't been run in ten years and the brakes were locked up. I got them freed and started the engine pretty easily. The brakes actually worked fine and even the overdrive worked. I sold it at York.
Fourth and Fifth were the 23,000-mile R-1 Avanti and the 38,000-mile '60 Hawk that I got in the deal from England. Both had the engines partially disassembled some years earlier (PO was doing valve jobs on them in spite of the low miles). I got both put together and running pretty easily. Only small problem was the torque convertor drain plug was missing on the Hawk and I didn't know that. So, when I topped off the tranny and started the car I thoroughly rust-proofed the car and the garage. Sold the Avanti with a TW ad and sold the Hawk (4-bbl, 3.07 TT, split recliners, Wonderbar radio, door-mounted seat belts) to a college professor who only drove Studebakers- had 265,000 miles on his '60 Hawk and they told him to stop driving it because the frame was so rusty. My Hawk had been de-finned so he put the fins on from his Hawk and had the car painted black and white.
Sixth was a '65 Cruiser I bought at a Sheriff's auction about 10 miles from me ($125). It was a west coast car so it was absolutely rust-free and absolutely cooked on the interior. V-8, automatic, disk brakes, split recliners, Bordeaux pink with a matching interior. I don't know long it had been sitting, but the owner who lost it to the sheriff broke the windshield. Freeze plugs were rotted out and if you think that is a nasty job on your car you should try replacing them on a Chevybaker[xx(]. Anyhow, after making repairs (including a new brake booster), it ran and drove great. Sold it on eBay.
Seventh and last was a '64 GT that I bought on eBay from a three-day auction, no pix, poor description ($1200). It turned out to be a disk brake, four-speed, white with a very nice red interior and black vinyl top. The man from whom I bought it inherited it from his dad who bought it new and was meticulous in maintaining it (I got a pile of receipts for work done from new- six inches thick). It had been sitting outside for a year then in a garage for nine. Virtually all the rust had been professionally repaired and it had two new fenders on the car and two that hadn't been installed. I got it running in a day and, with 140,000 on the clock and no indication that it had ever been

[Skip Lackie]

I'm a small timer compared to those above. Really just two.

A rust-free, low mileage 3R5 (with a bad engine) that JP and I pulled out of a barn in Southern Maryland. I converted it to a 3R6 with the parts salvaged from my 3R6 that had been totalled in a head-on collision with a Firebird in 1976 (on the way to an SDC meet, no less!). Yes, I was hurt (a little, anyway), and no, it wasn't my fault. Still driving the "new" 3R6, and it's still not finished.

A 60 Lark hardtop, Ariz/Calif car with very little rust, but four banged up fenders. Bought it from JP ($300, I think) as it wasn't high enough class for him. Had 259, non-functioning power steering, non-functioning OD, bad clutch, one working brake cylinder, leaky radiator, no exhaust, and no back seat (John lost it somehow . . . . ). Did all the dog work, including rebuilding the PS on the car, replacing all four fenders with steel, replacing the 27 axle with a 44 TT, new clutch, radiator, brakes, dual exhausts, newly-upholstered back seat, NOS door/quarter panels, window regulators, vent windows, bumpers, grille, dash instruments, steering wheel, etc. Had at least $5K in parts in it alone, so drove it to work for a couple of years (white body, blue hood, gray fenders), then sold it to Lee DelaBarre ($1500?), who sold it to Ron Dame. Ron painted it daffodil yellow and sold it to some folks from Tennessee. It was in South Bend in June and looked gorgeous.

Buy high, sell low, that's my motto.

Skip Lackie
Washington DC

[studegary]

I don't think that I could come up with an exact number, but probably ten of the more than 50 Studebakers that I have owned.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

1959 DeLuxe pickup (restomod)

[Jeff_H]

I've only saved "one" so far but like to think it may add up to more than that (1-1/2 to 2) given all the parts used from other cars that went into it. There's several parts that came from a 'yard where I know the cars they came from have since been crushed. Other parts off cars that still exist but are unlikely to see the outside of a 'yard again unless its on the back of a flatbed on their way to the smelter. My '53 was sitting about 30yrs behind a chicken coop and looked like this before I dragged it home in '92.



A couple weeks ago.



Jeff in ND

'53 Champion Hardtop