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Couple SNM curiosities (PIX)

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  • Couple SNM curiosities (PIX)

    Last one for now...Here are a few from SNM. Saw several "touchstones" here, including the last Hamilton car, the Stevens prototypes, The Plain Brown Wrapper, and this...

    ...Bob Bourke's personal Bourke Coupe, customised 54 Starliner that sports a number of changes never put into production.


    Here's a 1924 Light Six coupe with bodywork by an outfit in Shanghai, China (now how's that for ahead of its time), built for C.C. Goodrich of tire company fame and donated to SNM by the Goodrich family. Look closely at the roof: no B-pillar...this thing's a 1924 hardtop!





    ...And here's a puzzle pic, strictly for forumites who have not been to SNM. What is this?


    S.

  • #2
    I haven't seen this before but would guess it to be the trunk controls of the Muppet movie car. This is where the driver sat to control the car with the Muppets being the front seat.
    Frank van Doorn
    Omaha, Ne.
    1962 GT Hawk 289 4 speed
    1941 Champion streetrod, R-2 Powered, GM 200-4R trans.
    1952 V-8 232 Commander State "Starliner" hardtop OD

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    • #3
      A cigar, please, for 41Frank! 'Tis indeed the ultimate in Backseat Driving, the trunk of SNM's ex-Muppet Movie 51 Commander 2dr post. Here are two more shots of the car, which was one of two 51s used in that endearing film...



      ...The museum is seeking to raise funds to restore the 51 to its movie appearance (as painted by Dr Teeth And The Electric Mayhem!). In the meantime, a large movie still of the car is "displayed" on the front seat. I was surprised and quite pleased to see this car in SNM, given that the main Studebaker memory of that generation is probably of Fozzie Bear driving around in his "natural habitat"...

      S.

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      • #4
        Nice pix. I like the touches on the 24 Light 6. Perhaps the first 2 Door Hard Top???? I would be most interested in the details of the additions to Bourke's personal Car. What are they? And did you get pix of the changes? Anyone else have that info? I would love to see it.

        sals54
        sals54

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        • #5
          sals54--

          Going from memory re Mr Bourke's 1954 Starliner:

          *front fenders (one only initially, and perhaps still) modified to provide ventilation beside cowl, forestalling the usual front fender trailing-edge water trap/rust issues--Mr Bourke said his "fix" worked perfectly, but was just that bit too costly to adopt for production; had Stude known how long that basic body would remain in production, maybe they'd have gone ahead with the mod anyway!

          *black, rather than the "normal" grey/taupe, dash and interior metal

          *Dayton wire wheels

          *Mesh grilles

          *Taller stainless atop rear fenders--almost "fins"

          There would've been some other details too but I forget what they were...Had I the money and/or the ability, I'd be after a '54 Starliner project car, to make into a "clone" of this one. Only thing different would be chrome wire wheels instead of the silver-painted ones visible in the pic; the chrome wires on a jet-black car would look superb...

          S.

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          • #6
            That IS some tall stainless on the quarters. Wish there was a better pic.

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            • #7
              Believe the rear fender trim is cast aluminum.

              Richard

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              • #8
                quote:Originally posted by sals54

                Nice pix. I like the touches on the 24 Light 6. Perhaps the first 2 Door Hard Top???? I would be most interested in the details of the additions to Bourke's personal Car. What are they? And did you get pix of the changes? Anyone else have that info? I would love to see it.

                sals54

                Someone will kick it up soon but there was an old turning wheels that had a feature? article on Bourkes personal car. Steve
                sigpic

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                • #9
                  The rear fins are cast metal, not stainless. They are taller than the normal stainless, but shorter than the '56 Golden Hawk fins. Bob Bourke personaly made the sand mold to cast these fins. There are no spares. This is what Bob wanted for production.

                  The front bumper has '53 C/K bumperettes. The parking lights are below the front bumper.

                  I believe that the wheels were chrome, but Bob didn't want to pay to have them redone so he painted them (had them painted). I believe that SDC authorized the expenditure to have these wheels rechromed.

                  I have worked on, with Jerry and Bob, and provided parts for this car. Bob owned this '54 Starliner from when it was new until he died.

                  Gary L.
                  Wappinger, NY

                  SDC member since 1968
                  Studebaker enthusiast much longer
                  Gary L.
                  Wappinger, NY

                  SDC member since 1968
                  Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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                  • #10
                    Gary--

                    Thanks for the further info on Mr Bourke's Starliner. Much of my interest in cars is as the art form they once were...rolling sculptures...and few cars matched the Bourke coupes from that perspective, so it was a real delight to see the designer's own example of the breed, tailored to his wishes. That car was one of the specific reasons I wanted to get to SB this year. Incidentally, there aren't more pix of it because this is the only angle from which the car can be seen; it's in the "double-decker" storage/display in SNM's basement, tucked between a '32 Rockne and a wall...I did not even notice the tall rear fender trim pieces until I was looking at my photos onscreen (and simply guessed they were stainless)!

                    Do you happen to know BTW whether Mr Bourke reconfigured the other fender-to-cowl join on his Starliner? I know he initially did one fender to test his idea, and found that it worked well; have always wondered whether he later did the same to the other side.

                    S.

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                    • #11
                      Thanks for posting the photo of Bourke's car! This was not part of the display when I was there last year. If for no other reason than for the grille treatment, I wish this had been put into production.


                      [img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

                      Clark in San Diego
                      '63 F2/Lark Standard

                      The Official Website of the San Diego Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. Serving San Diego County

                      Clark in San Diego | '63 Standard (F2) "Barney" | http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

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                      • #12
                        quote:Originally posted by showbizkid

                        Thanks for posting the photo of Bourke's car! This was not part of the display when I was there last year. If for no other reason than for the grille treatment, I wish this had been put into production.
                        Bob Bourke was required, against his better judgement, to put a lot of Buick style chrome on the 1955 models.

                        Gary L.
                        Wappinger, NY

                        SDC member since 1968
                        Studebaker enthusiast much longer
                        Gary L.
                        Wappinger, NY

                        SDC member since 1968
                        Studebaker enthusiast much longer

                        Comment

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