Fathers and Studebakers

[plee4139]

I'm sure many of you had fathers who drove Studebakers. My father was not one of them, as he preferred mostly Chrysler and GM cars. My sons are luckier - their dad drives a '56 Sky Hawk.

[63 R2 Hawk]

My father would only buy Ford products, but one time he traded his Ford in on a '49 Studebaker but didn't keep it very long, went back to Fords. I have a vivid recollection of that car, I was about 5 or 6 and remember Dad was getting ready to drive it to Grandma's house. I was sitting in the back seat with the rear suicide door open, playing with the interior light switch and my sister slammed the door on my thumb-she swears it wasn't on purpose. All the other doors were closed. When I started hollering, she tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. Dad came running out, tried to open it but still no luck. He was ready to get the crowbar and pry it open when a neighbor, hearing all the commotion, suggested opening the front door. Apparently there was a dealer installer lock that prevented the rear suicide door from opening unless the front door was opened first. My thumb still throbs when I see one of those old late '40s Stude sedans....

[studegary]

My father owned a lot of new and used cars of various makes, but no Studebakers. I got into Studebakers on my own.

[mmagic]

Dad started with a 47 Starlight Coupe... then a 52 Land Cruiser... then a 55 President .. then a 63 Lark...

So I claimed the 55 when I went off to College and followed with a 62 Dayton HT.... then in 2011 in a matter of 6 weeks became the owner of 60 Champ, '55 Speedster and 63 Lark projects all blessed with the same drive train.... The finished Champ has been more fun than I could have imagined a truck to be. Can't wait to finish building the Speedster and the 63 rips at me to restore or rod as it only has 23,000 miles but all the soft parts are dust and it has title issues.

[37CoupeE]

All my dad drove was Studebakers, when he passes in 1999 his daily vehicles were a 1963 Wagon (which he went out and bought when he heard of Studebaker Closing) and a 1957 Transtar.
His 1st Studebaker was a 1930 Erskine and he had one when he passed, it is now mine.
Growing up the only cars that we had were Studebakers.
He also had an Indian motorcycle that he bought in January of 1947 and had just totally rebuilt it before he passed.
My first car in 1970 was a 1950 Starlight coupe that we got from a junkyard near Shawno, WI.
We rebuilt that car from the bottom up and I drove it in High School, it is still with me today.
He always said to not buy what he does because the company will go out of business.
He is the one who gave me the love of vehicles and the love of working on them.

[sasquatch]

My dad liked the independents; he had Studebakers, Packards and a 1953 Willys Aero Lark.

[allstateguy]

my dad only owned one Studebaker. The new 51 Champion I came home (at age 2 days) from the hospital in.

[Commander Eddie]

My dad bought his first Studebaker after the war when he got out of the Navy and moved to Indianapolis. He immediately became a Studebaker man. He had been a pilot and gunners mate in the Navy and was very mechanically inclined. He loved the engineering and craftsmanship that went into them. I grew up riding in them and just naturally gravitated to them when I became old enough to have my own car. My brothers and I grew up watching dad work on them. He was meticulous about doing regular maintenance and loved to pull the wheels off to check the brakes and bearings. He was always tinkering under the hood and would explain what the engine parts were and how they worked if we showed an interest. We gained a great appreciation for Studebakers through dad. We were all heart broken when Studebaker built their last car. What a tragedy.

[53k]

I'm sure many of you had fathers who drove Studebakers. My father was not one of them, as he preferred mostly Chrysler and GM cars. My sons are luckier - their dad drives a '56 Sky Hawk.

My dad did not own a Studebaker either though he had some interest in them. Part of the problem was there was no dealer in our town. I remember when the 2R trucks came out he loaded up the family and drove about 30 miles to a dealer that had several new 2Rs. He later tried to convince my uncle (his younger brother) to buy a 2R pickup, my uncle bought a '53 Ford half-ton instead. I remember another uncle on my mother's side who did drive at least one Studebaker a '47/'48/'49 Commander sedan. When I talked about buying a Studebaker my cousin's husband fondly remembered his Studebaker because of the glowing dash instruments. My brother later bought a new '61 Champ 1/2-ton, but traded it later on a new Barracuda. My wife's brother-in-law had a '60 Champ 1/2-ton long bed with the big six and overdrive and Twin Traction. He pulled a travel trailer with it with no problems. He sold it because it was getting rusty.

[raprice]

My dad always preferred the independent makers. When I was 2 years old, he bought a 1939 Studebaker Commander and owned it until 1950, when he bought a Nash Ambassador. We also owned a '51 Studebaker Commander State Convertible. The first car that I owned was a '40 Champion business coupe when I was in college.
We had a joke in our family that whatever car Dad bought, the company would eventually go out of business. This was true of the Rickenbacker, Devaux and Jordan that he once owned. The last car my father owned was a '64 Mercury Monterey. That broke the mold. We told him that, since he bought a Ford product, the Ford Motor Company would go out of business.
Rog

[davepink53]

My Dad did never owned a Studebaker and he called me a fool when I bought my first, a '64 Cruiser about 40 years ago. I am still a fool, I guess!

[57pack]

My Dad was a Studebaker man from the end of WW2, waited months for his 1946 Champion. When my Mother totaled the 46, he purchased a 1948 Champion, then a 1952 Champion, 1955 Champion, and his last new Studebaker a 1964 Commander. I drove the Commander in High School and College and for a few years after graduation. Dad switched to a Chevelle Malibu wagon in 1967, his last car. We kept the 64 Commander untill the mid 1980's until it would no longer pass inspection due the infestation of the rust mites.

[Commander Eddie]

My dad always preferred the independent makers. When I was 2 years old, he bought a 1939 Studebaker Commander and owned it until 1950, when he bought a Nash Ambassador. We also owned a '51 Studebaker Commander State Convertible. The first car that I owned was a '40 Champion business coupe when I was in college.
We had a joke in our family that whatever car Dad bought, the company would eventually go out of business. This was true of the Rickenbacker, Devaux and Jordan that he once owned. The last car my father owned was a '64 Mercury Monterey. That broke the mold. We told him that, since he bought a Ford product, the Ford Motor Company would go out of business.
Rog

Mercury eventually did join the ranks of the orphan cars.

[Swifster]

My dad never owned a Studebaker. He bought Chrysler and Ford products. I'm the first in the family with a Studebaker. And I was born 4 months after the South Bend plant closed.

[studegary]

Mercury eventually did join the ranks of the orphan cars.

That depends on how you define "orphan". The company that manufactured Mercury, Ford Motor Company, is still very much in business, so I do not consider Mercury to be an orphan even though the brand has been discontinued.