Not all Studebakers are rusty

[starliner62]

I'm working on a 1964 Cruiser, doing a few upgrades. I have been all over this car and found zero rust. Factory disc brakes, power steering, air conditioning. Going to make someone a nice car.

[StudeRich]

And this Cruiser spent most of it's life WHERE? You definitely got a GOOD one!

Wherever it was, I am guessing it was in a GARAGE most of the time.

[mch]

probably spent time in either dry Arizona or never ever saw the mailman in rain, sleet or snow

[HAWK64]

Just love that floor.

[BRUCESTUDE]

How about the trunk? My '64 leaked thru the rear window seal, thus had a few small holes in the floor, and the reinforcing channel (below the trunk lip on the right side) had cancer too. If yours is good...great!

[sals54]

You aint lyin... I found a 62 Convertible a few years ago which had shiny white original paint under the front carpets and in the trunk. Go figure. It had lived for decades in a garage in the San Francisco Bay area. It got parked cuz the engine started running rough. I transplanted a 259 4 speed in place of the 6 cyl 3 speed.

[starliner62]

Tha car has spent a good portion of it's life in the Carolinas. The trunk is just as nice as the floors. It has been a pleasure to turn a bolt without it breaking off. It had a bunch of fuel delivery issues, so I pulled and cleanned the tank, replaced the fuel line from tank to carb. The engine and transmission are pretty fresh as far as I can tell. All brakes have been replaced with the hydraulics being rebuilt. The car has been idle for a few years, hence the fuel and brake issues.
The 50th anniversary of the Tri-State meet is this weekend in Maggie Valley, NC and hopefully, it will be a good test drive for the old girl.

[jclary]

Great! With the hurricane reports...if you have to evacuate, why not make the Tri-State your evacuation destination. However, leave by Tuesday and avoid the traffic!

[TWChamp]

My 1950 Land Cruiser also has near zero rust, and I was surprised to see it spent it's life in the humid eastern states. The only 1950 I know of that might have even less rust is the one from Milaca, MN that spent it's life in North Dakota. I posted about that one a year or so ago, after I spotted it on Craigslist and checked it out.

[kmul221]

My 63 GT t hat spent, it’s life in Arizona & California Is also. Rust free

[candbstudebakers]

You aint lyin... I found a 62 Convertible a few years ago which had shiny white original paint under the front carpets and in the trunk. Go figure. It had lived for decades in a garage in the San Francisco Bay area. It got parked cuz the engine started running rough. I transplanted a 259 4 speed in place of the 6 cyl 3 speed.

As Sal states this was a rather nice rust free car, how do I know? well I picked the car up from Sal and had it at my shop while it got new tires and a new top installed then shipped it to new owner in the UK along with another nice 60 convert. I have had many nice rust free Studebaker's and my guess all have spent a lot of their life in a garage and out of the weather, cars do rust here in California if not taken care of since there are ares that water finds its way into the car and trunk.

[wittsend]

... cars do rust here in California if not taken care of since there are ares that water finds its way into the car and trunk.

Absolutely. Cars stored outside often get rain water in the interior and trunk areas. It gets under the carpet/mats and stays sarturated for a long time. Therefore you can put many a California car up on a lift and the underside looks fine. But lift the carpet and it is another story. It rots from the inside out. Another aspect is coastal salt air. So many times I've raced up to Santa Barbara (70 miles one way) only to find that drip rails, windshield frames, edges of trunks/hoods etc. suffer from extensive rust.

The irony is my Studebaker is from Canada. And while it found its way to the California desert I'm thinking it never saw many miles there. Most of the items in the trunk (as well as spark plugs, air filter etc.) are all of Canadian origin. Yet this car was no worse than most every California car I've owned. And as a 51 year resident I've owned many.

[wdills]

If that car spent most of its life here in NC or SC for that matter, it must have been in a humidity controlled garage. My Hawk came from New Mexico and Dad's 50 came from California, both needed floor boards, trunk floor and trunk tail panel replacements. My dream is to one day restore a car that doesn't need a lot of new sheet metal.

[stude1964]

Great find! I'm tired of dealing with rust. I'm at a point I want to clean, gas and GO!
Rob in PA.

[Bamajak]

I think the car belonged to the Studebaker dealers wife in Winston-Salem, NC............................