1957 Scotsman sedan Questions

[tom_byrne]

New to this site, glad I found it! I have been trying to find info on the 1957 Scotsman. So far, all that I seem to find is that it is the "Rodney Dangerfield" of Studebakers- no respect! I have a shot at possibly buying one soon, I am going to look at it next week hopefully. All I know so far is this: two door, six cyl., three spd w/OD, good body, decent chrome and interior, has not been started in about a year. Seller is looking for about a grand. Is it worth it? Any info on these cars is appreciated. Thanx! PS: Thanks for the response Mike- I should have mentioned it is a two door sedan, not a truck though....[:I]

[45 tonner]

Hi Tom,I would say the truck as described would be worth that much.You might want to check out the Studebaker truck talk forum @
www.network54.com/forum/23885 There are several postings regarding scotsman trucks.You're right,they dont seem to get much respect, but they're cool trucks.If you end up buying it,enjoy! Mike Burton

[Roscomacaw]

Ahhhh.. 45 .... I think Tom is talking about a Scotsman CAR - not truck. Maybe that just points up the Rodney Dangerfield treatment Tom laments! [:0]
Tom, IN SPITE of the fact that the Scotsman car offerings of 57 & 58 outsold all other models of Stude cars, (body style for bodystle, mind you) they ARE pretty rare nowdays. And for ME, that makes them desirable. That one can see past the glamour of a Silver or Golden Hawk, helps keep perspective on the heart of what Studebaker stood for in those tough years.[B)]
Studebaker had taken a beating from the BIG 2 in the early-to-mid 50s. Ford & GM were out to topple one another and poor little Studebaker couldn't even get in the game. Not because they didn't have a good product but because they couldn't build that product cheap enough to slug it out with the big boys. The '57 Scostman was their response. They tried to put together a bare bones basic transportation car that might have a chance to tempt bargain hunters their way. And it worked - to a degree.[8)]
In fact, if it hadn't worked, then in all probability the 57 or 58 Studebakers would have been the very end of the line. There wouldn't have been any time or money to develop the miracle baby that was the Lark and there would never have been Avantis, Super-Larks/Hawks and the like. The minor success of the Scotsmans kept the doors propped open in South Bend so that all that neat stuff could play out.
Damned few Scotsmans survive now. Surely their count is well below that of the admittedly rare '58 Golden Hawks (just under a thousand of those were made). Yet, as you say, they're not "glamorous" and therefor get no love and attention lavished on them.
Certainly, even when fairly new, they had the least resale value you could expect for a used car. That, conspired with the fact that a fair number of them were bought for rough and uncaring fleet service, surely took it's toll on their numbers early on. Even 20 or 30 years ago, a Scotsman in a junkyard was a rare sight. I'd guess that most of them died within 10 years of their manufacture.
I've often thought a Scotsman would be an easy resto project. There's VERY little pocket-busting chrome work to redo. And the interior is about as austere as you could hope to find. YET... the quality that is Studebaker is still there.
A thousand bucks isn't a bad deal at all, for this car. Go give that baby a home and trust that you'll be in an exclusive group once you drive it about. Also trust that it'll draw praise, no matter what.
Come back and tell us about it after you give it a home. We'll be happy to help with tips and encouragement.

Miscreant at large.

[raprice]

Tom,
The way you describe the car, it sounds like a great buy. Keep in mind that the Scotsman was a bare bones car. That being said, the Scotsman saved the Studebaker Corp from the trash heap until the successful '59 Lark came on the market. If it hasn't been run for a year, that's not a real detriment. I would install a new battery and check the oil to make sure that there isn't any water mixed with the oil. If you buy it, make sure to drain the oil and put fresh oil in the crankcase before you run it. Actually, you may want to drop the pan to remove any gunk at the bottom first.
What ever you do, best of luck.
Rog

[tom_byrne]

Thanks for the advice and info guys. I'm hoping to get up to eyeball it this week, if possible. As you may have seen from the news, we got socked with a LOT of snow here in Jersey and the car may be in- accessable. I'll keep everyone posted.

[raprice]

Tom,
We got the same snow you got. We live on Long Island and received over 14 inches out here in Suffolk County, a little more further east.
Right now, my Stude is in the Coverit out back and surrounded by mounds of snow.
Rog