Hi folks!
Just found this forum. I've been a member of SDC since '80, but my Stude roots go back over half a century. One of my earliest memories is when the family '48 Champion 2 door was sold. This was in 1955, because my dad had bought a one-year-old yellow '54 Conestoga to replace it. I was 3. I guess I was pretty precocious car-wise at that early age because dad liked to quiz me about cars in front of his friends, and I knew the make of most by sight. I was naturally a Stude nut. In '59 or so dad bought a blue '56 1/2 ton Transtar which became his daily commuter. Mom drove the wagon, which blew the automatic in '60. It was replaced by a brand X.
In early '61 dad came home all excited and took me by the North Hollywood Stude dealer used car lot (Phil Rausch Studebaker?) and pointed to the back row. "I bought that coupe" he said. It was a '54 Commander Starliner in Azure Green with a Lance Green top. There was a price on the windshield; $495. I loved that car, and wanted it when I became old enough to drive. Dad bought a new '64 Comet and sold both the truck and the Starliner. I begged him to save the car for me, but I was only 12. The new owner drove it away for $35. I still regret it.
When I was 15, I bought my first car. I had no drivers license, so my future brother-in-law drove it home. It was a yellow/white '56 Clipper custom 4 door. Paid $50. Now that I think about it, it only had 80,000 on the odometer. It was straight, good original paint, and rust free . The Ultramatic worked fine in low, but started slamming back and forth in second (any guesses?). Also, the power steering worked fine in one direction only. It sat in the garage and I would start it and sit in it. The electric antenna was stuck down, so I got one station on the radio. This was when I first started appreciating that "old car smell".
In 1969 I then dragged home a '56 Patrician, originally white/green, but now solid white, with the engine partially removed. The car was on the side of a gas station, and I paid $25 for it. I remember noticing that there was a green '58 Packard hardtop in the driveway of a house across the street from the station. I knew it was rare even then. That Packard was there for some years after. I always wanted to knock on the door and ask the owner to sell, but never did.
The Clipper and Patrician never saw the road in my possession. The poor Clipper became my school of auto dismantling. A Packard guy bought them from me for $25 in 1970 because I had bought a '65 brand X.
Fast forward to 1980. There was a blue '62 Daytona convertible (259 auto) on the lot where I worked. The owner, Billie H., had been a secretary on the Mr. Ed T.V. show and had bought the car thru the show. She said that all the execs were driving Avanti's and she wanted a convertible. I asked if the car was for sale, and she agreed to sell it to me for $1000. The car was in pretty good shape in '80 except for lots of parking lot dings and a caved-in right fender and door. She said a police car hit it, and she was never paid for the damage. I joined SDC and started restoration on the Daytona.
Frost and French Studebaker/Packard had practically everything I needed right over the counter; new bumpers, fenders, trim, medallions, grille, taillights. Inexpensive too.
One thing they didn't have was a right front fender. I started scouring the wrecking yards looking for one, and ended up buying a whole parts car for $300.
I wish I had that parts car today. It was a '62 Daytona hardtop, white with black interior, 289 4bbl, 4-speed, hill-holder, spotlight, bumper tips, etc, etc,. An absolutely loaded car, dead of unknown causes. Looking back, I should have transferred the running gear into the convertible, especially the T-10, but I was (kinda still am) a real purist and didn't want to vary from the convertibles' build sheet. I stripped the parts car down to nothing but a shell and a rear axle and two tires to haul it away. There was a die-cast T/T on the trunk that I then thought was a dealer name tag. I took everything but the Twin Traction!!!
Just found this forum. I've been a member of SDC since '80, but my Stude roots go back over half a century. One of my earliest memories is when the family '48 Champion 2 door was sold. This was in 1955, because my dad had bought a one-year-old yellow '54 Conestoga to replace it. I was 3. I guess I was pretty precocious car-wise at that early age because dad liked to quiz me about cars in front of his friends, and I knew the make of most by sight. I was naturally a Stude nut. In '59 or so dad bought a blue '56 1/2 ton Transtar which became his daily commuter. Mom drove the wagon, which blew the automatic in '60. It was replaced by a brand X.
In early '61 dad came home all excited and took me by the North Hollywood Stude dealer used car lot (Phil Rausch Studebaker?) and pointed to the back row. "I bought that coupe" he said. It was a '54 Commander Starliner in Azure Green with a Lance Green top. There was a price on the windshield; $495. I loved that car, and wanted it when I became old enough to drive. Dad bought a new '64 Comet and sold both the truck and the Starliner. I begged him to save the car for me, but I was only 12. The new owner drove it away for $35. I still regret it.
When I was 15, I bought my first car. I had no drivers license, so my future brother-in-law drove it home. It was a yellow/white '56 Clipper custom 4 door. Paid $50. Now that I think about it, it only had 80,000 on the odometer. It was straight, good original paint, and rust free . The Ultramatic worked fine in low, but started slamming back and forth in second (any guesses?). Also, the power steering worked fine in one direction only. It sat in the garage and I would start it and sit in it. The electric antenna was stuck down, so I got one station on the radio. This was when I first started appreciating that "old car smell".
In 1969 I then dragged home a '56 Patrician, originally white/green, but now solid white, with the engine partially removed. The car was on the side of a gas station, and I paid $25 for it. I remember noticing that there was a green '58 Packard hardtop in the driveway of a house across the street from the station. I knew it was rare even then. That Packard was there for some years after. I always wanted to knock on the door and ask the owner to sell, but never did.
The Clipper and Patrician never saw the road in my possession. The poor Clipper became my school of auto dismantling. A Packard guy bought them from me for $25 in 1970 because I had bought a '65 brand X.
Fast forward to 1980. There was a blue '62 Daytona convertible (259 auto) on the lot where I worked. The owner, Billie H., had been a secretary on the Mr. Ed T.V. show and had bought the car thru the show. She said that all the execs were driving Avanti's and she wanted a convertible. I asked if the car was for sale, and she agreed to sell it to me for $1000. The car was in pretty good shape in '80 except for lots of parking lot dings and a caved-in right fender and door. She said a police car hit it, and she was never paid for the damage. I joined SDC and started restoration on the Daytona.
Frost and French Studebaker/Packard had practically everything I needed right over the counter; new bumpers, fenders, trim, medallions, grille, taillights. Inexpensive too.
One thing they didn't have was a right front fender. I started scouring the wrecking yards looking for one, and ended up buying a whole parts car for $300.
I wish I had that parts car today. It was a '62 Daytona hardtop, white with black interior, 289 4bbl, 4-speed, hill-holder, spotlight, bumper tips, etc, etc,. An absolutely loaded car, dead of unknown causes. Looking back, I should have transferred the running gear into the convertible, especially the T-10, but I was (kinda still am) a real purist and didn't want to vary from the convertibles' build sheet. I stripped the parts car down to nothing but a shell and a rear axle and two tires to haul it away. There was a die-cast T/T on the trunk that I then thought was a dealer name tag. I took everything but the Twin Traction!!!
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