I found a 56 commander in a barn...

[Jeremiahjack]

I am the second owner of this car.
She seems solid. I have yet to find any cancer. The motor is stuck, and I plan to pull it in a couple of weeks and work on it over the winter.
I have zero experience with Studebakers, but had to have it the moment I saw it. I need some good resources to do research on things like correct hub caps, correct upholstery material, correct color to repaint the engine.
Is there any studebaker experts near me in Tualatin, Oregon?

[rockinhawk]

Welcome to our world! looks like a great find. 2dr sedans are hard to come by. this one belongs to my son-in-law,but he seems to have lost interest in it. It's a Champion and runs great. Good luck with it.

[STEWDI]

Congrats! The '56 sedans had appeal and were competitive (except no hardtop model ) with the big three and AMC.
In fact, at our chapter's summer meet, with 60 or so cars and trucks of many years and models in the running including Hawks and Avantis, all the teens and young adults had a separate vote for their favourite. The winner turned out to be a '56 Commander Deluxe 4 door in Airforce Blue over Daybreak Blue!

Your car, when "done", will scoot pretty good with its 259 cube Stude V8, and is as reliable (perhaps more so) as any V8 of the era.

You'll find all kinds of help here in SDC and there are many active members in Oregon.

WELCOME!

[Michidan]

Oh I really like it. Nice find, you can have some fun with that one.

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

The Northwest Chapter is centered in Portland, OR and we are hosting the Pacific Can-Am Zone Meet in Kelso, WA August 28th - 30th, 2015. You should attend this major event. Info at www.sdc-nw.org

[Roscomacaw]

Neat find. Looking at it, it appears to be an F2 - a lower trim level 2dr sedan There's a tag on the engine side of the firewall that should read 56B-F2 with a body sequence number below that.
I see it has a kickdown switch on the throttle linkage - indicating a 3spd manual trans with overdrive. That's gonna be fun to drive! There's a fair number of '56 Commanders in existence, but I don't think there's too many with this lower level of trim - which I find quite attractive.

There's at least a couple of Club chapters in Oregon - chapters with lotsa helpful and welcoming folks to advise you.

[55 56 PREZ 4D]

A 56 got me into Studebakers. My mother owned one back in the mid 60's.
There are some very informative things to look for on this site.
Near the top of this page, "Studebaker Drivers Club Home Page",
Go to "resources", Click on "Tech Tips, specs and data"
14th bullet down "Thing to do after you bought that Studebaker"
Also, Google "Studebaker Vendors". You will find parts and resources galore and several very qualified experts in your neck of the woods.

[Mrs K Corbin]

since the air cleaner is still there, you might get lucky and it not be completely stuck....
Try dumping about a gallon of 50/50 mix acetone and tranny fluid(or diesel) down the carb throat and pulling the spark plugs and dumping some more in the ones that don't already have some. Leave the plugs out. Let it set a week and try turning it by hand. yank the starter and use a small prybar on the flywheel and rock it back and forth a little at a time.
If it moves at all, remove the rocker covers and pull the rocker arms to make sure the valves aren't stuck.
A rubber hammer and some WD-40 might get them unstuck, but you don't want to bend a pushrod by turning the flywheel against a stuck valve or worse...

once you get the engine turning by hand pretty freely, at least 6 or 7 full revolutions, drop the pan and clean, clean, clean. Put the pan back on, add oil and pull the distributor and prime the oil pump.
re-install the starter and start turning it over just to see if you have oil pressure. Once you have that, and the valve train is unstuck. reinstall your rockers.

Add some electrical, some gas and hope for the best!

[Mrs K Corbin]

@ rockinhawk..... If he don't want that car, I do!

[mbstude]

@ rockinhawk..... If he don't want that car, I do!

My step-dad owns it. He'd probably sell it, it's been several years since it was driven. He bought it and the Wagonaire next to it in 2004. He threw a bid in on ebay on each of them and ended up winning both. He drove the wagon a lot at first but the '56, not so much. They've both been sitting for a long time. PM me and I'll pass along his contact info.

[rockinhawk]

My step-dad owns it. He'd probably sell it, it's been several years since it was driven. He bought it and the Wagonaire next to it in 2004. He threw a bid in on ebay on each of them and ended up winning both. He drove the wagon a lot at first but the '56, not so much. They've both been sitting for a long time. PM me and I'll pass along his contact info.

Hey! If he wants to sell... I want 1st dibs! They have been stored at my shop for years. I especially love the wagon.

[jclary]

Hey! If he wants to sell... I want 1st dibs! They have been stored at my shop for years. I especially love the wagon.

Well...once you figure out the storage fee...cash outlay might not be too bad!

[rockinhawk]

Well...once you figure out the storage fee...cash outlay might not be too bad!

True enough John, but I am a soft touch when it comes to these old cars. I'v never charged anyone a storage fee. One man had twin boys born in 1998. He bought a 49 Ford 2dr sedan and a 50 Studebaker truck. He was going to fix them up for the boys to have as teenagers. He never fixed anything. They both sat at my shop until a few weeks ago. The boys are now 16 so he gave them the car and truck "AS IS". They sold the Ford and took the Studebaker home with them to work on it. I hope to see it running down the road soon.

[Commander Eddie]

You'll find a number of Studebaker folks right here in the greater Portland area. The local chapter (Northwest) has several excellent mechanics and very knowledgeable members. Click on the link above from "studebakercenteroforegon". Jerry is our parts guru and knows as much about Studebakers as anyone.

[jclary]

I understand completely Neil. I've done the "storage" thing for years myself. Reminds me of the time two very elderly men had a breakdown in an old car that should have already been in the scrap yard. A local car dealer was called and they towed it to the dealership garage. Several weeks later, a phone call was made stating the car was ready. The elderly man was my wife's grandfather. His son, my father-in-law, took him to pick up the car. While the repair bill was minuscule, the three mile towing and storage fee far exceeded the value of the car!

My father-in-law, a fire department major (& ex-cop) grabbed the invoice, pushed by the staff, and walked directly into the office of the owner of one of the largest car dealers in the southeast. After about a twenty minute closed door "chat," he emerged with the bill marked "Paid in full." Ol' Gramps drove that car back to my father-in-law's house. It was his last drive. The car was sold, and "Gramps" lived out his last days in peace. He...being a grizzled old chain gang guard himself, tended to sneak a nip from the bottle every now & then. Truth being, he and his buddy were doing that when they broke the car.

I had never before seen anyone be charged "storage" on a vehicle in a shop for repair.