More Proof of Just How CASO Studebaker People Are

[Mike Sal]

It continues to amaze me how cheap *ss Studebaker people have been over the years. I have been gathering a registry for all 1966 Studebaker cars for a while now. In 1966 most brands including Studebaker made seat belts standard equipment.

One thing I've been noticing is how many cars were ordered with "Delete Rear Seat Belts". Even though they were free equipment, you could shave $14.90 off the price of the car by deleting them. Who needs safety equipment anyway.....it's just the kids riding back there.....
Mike Sal

[PackardV8]

For true, Mike. But one would have to know how many fleet sales there were. A dealer trying to shave the numbers for a bid would not care about the kids/grandmothers in the back seat if it meant the difference in winning a bid equal to a year's volume for his dealership.

jack vines

[warrlaw1]

I've never seen an officer fasten the seatbelt for someone they tossed on the back seat

[Hallabutt]

We know now how important seat belts are, but remember there was a great deal of concern about being trapped in your car, by your belts. No real world data fifty years ago.

[Buzzard]

Mike,
I'm not trying to railroad your post but one must consider the times. Circa 1964, we lived in what is now an affluent (now you can't even buy a tear down for under 2 Mil) part of greater Vancouver in a bungalow my folks paid $12,000 for a couple of years earlier. My Dad owned a 1956 Studebaker Commander, 4 dr sdn, 289 4BBL column shift OD and was looking to upgrade to a newer auto. He & Mom chose and ordered a 1964 (new at the time) Canadian Pontiac(more like your Chevrolet than American Wide Track Pontiacs) Parisienne 2 DR HT, 283 automatic. My Dad deleted the Power Steering option because it was thought to rob too much power from the engine and he wanted to retain the passing power of his Studebaker. Now I don't know if you recall the full size GM's of that era but if I recall it was 6 1/2 turns lock to lock so you can imagine parallel parking. Looking back he probably saved $35.00. So what I'm getting at is it wasn't just Studebaker owners although many of them may have been more frugal.
Bill

[t walgamuth]

My first used Mercedes was a 72 220d. It had manual steering, a very rare delete option, nice except when parking. I bought it from a dealer in Logansport not far from here. I always suspected a frugal farmer might have ordered it that way.

- - - Updated - - -

Mike,
I'm not trying to railroad your post but one must consider the times. Circa 1964, we lived in what is now an affluent (now you can't even buy a tear down for under 2 Mil) part of greater Vancouver in a bungalow my folks paid $12,000 for a couple of years earlier. My Dad owned a 1956 Studebaker Commander, 4 dr sdn, 289 4BBL column shift OD and was looking to upgrade to a newer auto. He & Mom chose and ordered a 1964 (new at the time) Canadian Pontiac(more like your Chevrolet than American Wide Track Pontiacs) Parisienne 2 DR HT, 283 automatic. My Dad deleted the Power Steering option because it was thought to rob too much power from the engine and he wanted to retain the passing power of his Studebaker. Now I don't know if you recall the full size GM's of that era but if I recall it was 6 1/2 turns lock to lock so you can imagine parallel parking. Looking back he probably saved $35.00. So what I'm getting at is it wasn't just Studebaker owne
s although many of them may have been more frugal.
Bill

Probably saved more like $8. heh heh!

[Mark57]

Interesting discussion... as I pointed out to Mike yesterday, my '66 was delivered to a Portland Oregon (Mark's Motors) dealer inventory with no specific buyer lined up, yet the rear seatbelt delete option was preselected at the factory. It was a Commander 4 dr 6 cylinder (so pretty plain jane), but had been upgraded with the 230 I6/Automatic combo along with full wheel discs and a horn ring. No back-up lights or radio though. There was apparently some sort of swap between Mark's Motors and The Studebaker Center in Seattle because the car was sold new by the latter about 1 month after arriving on the west coast.

[Bill Pressler]

The '66 Cruiser I bought this past April has the rear-seat belt delete notation on the production order, although it was built with wire wheelcovers and no radio! The dealer apparently added a radio from the parts dept. as it is a Stude radio with the '66-only black knobs. The car was built in Nov. '65 and not sold until April 16, 1966 to Vernon and Fay Hutchinson of Grand Junction, CO from Osborne Motors there. The SNM tells me it was the last new Studebaker sold by the dealership and paperwork I got from them shows the Hutchinsons traded in a '53 Studebaker on it.

[Alan]

My father bought a 53K in Sept. of 53. It had no seat belts, no turn signals, no radio and he blew his mind when he saw the cigarette lighter. They removed it and dropped the price $0.50. That was the top of the line Regal. And Buzz, I was in Vancouver and New Westminster in 1972, then drove over to Pentiction. As I was driving along the Fraizer River, it looked like coffee grounds and smelled like last years catch. It was like heaven coming over the hill and looking at Okanagan Lake.

[alaipairod]

I've never seen an officer fasten the seatbelt for someone they tossed on the back seat

........Having had the privilege to ride in the back seat of a patrol car a few times........I can agree with Dave........Rear seat belts in CA patrol cars were non existent back in the day....

[kmul221]

I once went to view a 57 Packard sedan 4 sale,it had ,radio & P/W but no steering or brakes,was purchased new by sellers grandfather,a rather dd combiation I thought.

[alaipairod]

Seat belts

...When we were doing the restoration on our '57GH, I made it a point to install seat belts, both in the front and rear seats.
I was unable to do the period correct installation on the front seat, as hardware wasn't available to connect the hook up belt to the door..
A 5 hole pattern exists on both doors for this hook up...........I plugged them, and installed regular belts....On the rear belt installation, I was advised to tuck them away, when being judged at a Studebaker event, as that would constitute a 2 point penalty...........On the road....Me and my grandkids are hooked up....

[sals54]

........Having had the privilege to ride in the back seat of a patrol car a few times........I can agree with Dave........Rear seat belts in CA patrol cars were non existent back in the day....

There was a good reason for the lack of seat belts, or the lack of belting in the perps... My brothers, all cops, have confirmed that if the rear passenger was, in any way belligerent, or spitting, or other, they would find a good reason to "have to" hit the brakes. Dog, pedestrian, squirrel, whatever it was, was good enough opportunity to aquaint the idiots face with the wire screen between the front and rear seats. I always got a good laugh about that. Its a great visual.

[57pack]

As I have mentioned before concerning my Dad’s last new Studebaker.
It was a 1964 Commander four door sedan, white with blue cloth interior. Had no radio, only front seat belts, rubber floor covering, no reverse lights,and no power steering.
It was a v8, three on the tree, with od .
Options were, full wheel covers, quad headlamps, hood ornament, and front and rear bumper guards. Plus a heater.
It was a in stock car on the lot of Pryzwara Motors in Runnemede NJ.

[Commander Eddie]

Back then people just did not understand why they should use seat belts. About that time I personally witnessed two head on collisions in the middle of the night, with no traffic. The drivers had been drinking and all died of their injuries. Their cars had no seat belts. Oddly enough, I had installed belts in the car I was driving at the time. It was a 1955 Studebaker Commander Coupe. I took these incidents as a lesson in why I chose to install them. But that was not the common thinking back in 1966/67.