Studebaker "Sparrow"

[studegary]

Those are the Brooks Stevens cars, Chris! How many times have you mentioned that in your previous posts??

Craig

Stevens, Bourke... Yeah, that sounds the same ya know.... lol
Oops.[/QUOTE]

They don't sound the same to those of us that knew both of them <G>.
The Bob Bourke 1954 Starliner was his personal car.
The Brooks Stevens cars were Studebaker owned prototypes that Brooks "liberated" from Studebaker and then his estate sold what should have belonged to the SNM to the SNM.

[t walgamuth]

I had a fellow give me one of those Chevy II four cylinder engines (it was a 235 six cut down more or less) when I was in college and working construction in the summer. I had thoughts of putting it in my Bugeye sprite. I sat the chevy engine on the ground and pulled the sprite up next to it. The engine was so tall that even sitting on the ground it was clear it would have stuck up through the hood by a long shot! I don't remember what I did with it. Scrapped it I think. I suppose it also would have weighed at least twice what the little sprite four did. The sprite displaced 950 CC or about fifty some cubic inches. The chevy would have been about 2800 cc I suppose if it were 2/3 of the 235....about 162 ci.

[raprice]

I remember seeing the article in Turning Wheels that Chris described. I just had to wonder how successful that "Sparrow" would be. In my mind I try to speculate what the car would look like in "person." I really thought the design was quite clever, utilizing interchangable doors in order to save money. The article was terrific anyway.
Rog

[wise raymond]

i thought the car looks a little like the humber super snip from the uk about the same time 63,64. a roots group company

[Dwain G.]

Yeah, I guess things worked out for the best. On second thought, too bad they didnt spend the funding for this project on the Champ pickups. It could have been an awesome looking truck had they designed a fleetside bed for it along with other updates.

"Champ trucks"......Now that's something that has always mytified me. Otis Romine was quoted as saying something like '"they would only give me 10 or 20 dollars at a time". Yet, here comes the 8E Champs with completely different front springs, steering, and suspended pedals, and a new firewall stamping. Where did that development money come from?

[studegary]

"Champ trucks"......Now that's something that has always mytified me. Otis Romine was quoted as saying something like '"they would only give me 10 or 20 dollars at a time". Yet, here comes the 8E Champs with completely different front springs, steering, and suspended pedals, and a new firewall stamping. Where did that development money come from?

The development for most of that came from the Larks.

[8E45E]

The development for most of that came from the Larks.

They also sold off a couple of their non-automotive divisions they acquired a few years earlier for a profit. Gering Products was one of them the corporation sold in 1962.

Craig

[StudeRich]

Whom ever decided to Re-tool the Champ Cab Rear Panel, did not use economy of Design sense to remove the Three Impressions from the original 1960 that made NO improvement, and NO ONE noticed! .

Usually changes were made to make the "New" Models look different to help Sales, but THIS sure was not one. The Original over the rear window Panel not only looked better, but had more strength, makes 0 sense.

[nels]

I like the smaller one. It probably would have sold well but Studebaker never would have made money on them as they would have again appealed to the CASO with
only base base base models ordered. Besides, if the Avanti project didn’t happen, my life would have changed completely. Maybe I would have collected Duesenburgs or Ferraris. haha, sure. But, I’m glad I went with the Studebaker crowd.

[8E45E]

Besides, if the Avanti project didn’t happen, my life would have changed completely. Maybe I would have collected Duesenburgs or Ferraris. haha, sure. But, I’m glad I went with the Studebaker crowd.

I agree, Studebaker would have been as exciting as an American Motors car of the same era, had the Avanti, along with the performance engines in Larks and Hawks not happened. To this day, I cannot warm up to owning an AMC product from the early to mid-1960's.

Craig

[JRoberts]

To me those prototypes at the beginning of this thread really are ugly. Of course this is said being an owner of a '65 Cruiser. I also am the owner of a '61 Champ that a lot of people don't care for. All this said maybe I am just bias.

[PackardV8]

The Pontiac Tempest beat the Chevy II by one year and International by a few months to the market with a four cylinder engine. Like the International, Pontiac's four was '1/2 a V8'-based at 155 cubic inches. Craig

Since it's a slow day here, the Pontiac Tempest four cylinder was half the 389" V8 and thus 194.5"

I had a fellow give me one of those Chevy II four cylinder engines (it was a 235 six cut down more or less) . . . . The chevy would have been about 2800 cc I suppose if it were 2/3 of the 235....about 162 ci.

Close, but not exactly. The 235" was the old second-generation Stovebolt, replaced in 1962 by the third-generation Chevrolet 6-cylinder, the 194" and 230". The four cylinder Chevy II version was 153" or 2/3s of the 230".

In 1970 GM ceased installation of the 153" engine in their cars in the US because of low demand; however, the engine continued to be used in cars in other markets around the world, notably South Africa and Brazil. The engine was also standard equipment in USPS Jeeps. Currently descendants of the 153" engine are used in industrial forklifts, generators and marine applications. My machinist is always looking to buy core engines to rebuild.

jack vines

[8E45E]

To me those prototypes at the beginning of this thread really are ugly. Of course this is said being an owner of a '65 Cruiser.

I believe they were styled by Randy Faurot, not one of Studebaker's most creative car designers.

Sherwood Egbert did the right thing IMHO, and hired Brooks Stevens & Associates to update the 1962 Lark and Hawk. Unfortunately, the Sceptre, which would have been totally his design, bumper-to-bumper, never saw production by the time car production in South Bend came to an end.

Craig

[studegary]

I believe they were styled by Randy Faurot, not one of Studebaker's most creative car designers.

Sherwood Egbert did the right thing IMHO, and hired Brooks Stevens & Associates to update the 1962 Lark and Hawk. Unfortunately, the Sceptre, which would have been totally his design, bumper-to-bumper, never saw production by the time car production in South Bend came to an end.

Craig

If the Sceptre came out for 1964 or 1965, I would have purchased a fully equipped one new instead of my 1964 Fury and 1965 Sport Fury.

[8E45E]

If the Sceptre came out for 1964 or 1965, I would have purchased a fully equipped one new instead of my 1964 Fury and 1965 Sport Fury.

It would be interesting to know how 'fully equipped' a Sceptre would have been compared to a '65 Plymouth, had Studebaker introduced it.

Chrysler offered far more options that Studebaker ever did. One must keep in mind Studebaker never offered Cruise Control, 6-way power seats, remote outside mirror, even on 1957-8 Packards. I won't mention power windows, or tilt steering wheel as the Avanti already offered them, and S-P also offered power antenna as an option in the 1950's.

Craig