Could an Early 1966 Cruiser this have left the factory that way?

[jnormanh]

The engine bay area looks freshly painted as well; do you suppose the internals were removed prior to new paint job?

It looks like a very nice repaint, engine out, trunk interior, etc. The paint job alone is worth probably $2K. AC fix could be from $200 to $800. Seems to me it's a bargain anywhere near the starting bid. I'd leave the side trim as is. It would be a big PITA to redo it well and would add little to the car's value, IMO.

[bjackameit]

Here it is - - -

It looks like a very nice repaint, engine out, trunk interior, etc. The paint job alone is worth probably $2K. AC fix could be from $200 to $800. Seems to me it's a bargain anywhere near the starting bid. I'd leave the side trim as is. It would be a big PITA to redo it well and would add little to the car's value, IMO.

It will disappear once it ends on eBay so here is a pic --

[Xcalibur]

When I was a kid... well, a little older, waiting to get into grad school in the early '70s, I worked at a Ford dealership for a while. We got in stuff like this occasionally. One of the best was a full-sized four-door with two different models trim!?! Chrome and stainless EVERYWHERE! I know it was from the factory because I was the one who checked-in and inspected each new car as it came off the truck.

But, my personal fave was the opposite, a 1971 Continental WITHOUT the port-hole C-pillar windows. The middle-aged lady who had bought it brought it back and traded for another otherwise identical coupe when she saw that every other new Conti had port-holes! I used her trade as a parts-chaser and VIP pick-up car my entire time there.

[allen04084]

In the pictures, it looks a bit too blue for Timberline Turquoise - any thoughts on whether this car was repainted a Studebaker color? I don't think there was another blue like this in 1966.

[Mike Sal]

It's always possible during the re-paint the owner had access to NOS Cruiser side trim & had it put on instead of the small lower trim. I know I like the wide trim better, but will stick with the original trim on mine.
Mike Sal

[8E45E]

The chrome tail lights were always an accessory that the dealer or owner could have added at anytime.

Chrome Refreshaire vents were an mid-year running change as per Post 15 here:http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ht=refreshaire

Craig

[StudeRich]

The 20th. V8, and the 39th Car built for the 1966 Model Year, built on Aug. 23, 1965, now THAT"S Early, probably on the FIRST or Second DAY of Production!

I see they had progressed from 6:40X15, 6.40/6.50, and 6.50X15 '59-'64 Lark 8 tire size to 775X15 by then.

It looks MUCH better with '65 Cruiser Trim, the only thing better would be '64 Daytona Sedan Trim.

I could believe that the 39th Car COULD have been short the Radio and Vanity Door Moulding, but that's about ALL. And even that could have been changed like the Body Side Mouldings, Upholstery and Paint.

By the way that is a much better Paint job than most, the complete Engine Compartment, Trunk and Door Jambs has been painted to match the close to Timberline Turquoise Green Body finish, just lacks a bit of Blue.

[bjackameit]

The 20th. V8, and the 39th Car built for the 1966 Model Year, built on Aug. 23, 1965, now THAT"S Early, probably on the FIRST or Second DAY of Production!

I see they had progressed from 6:40X15, 6.40/6.50, and 6.50X15 '59-'64 Lark 8 tire size to 775X15 by then.

It looks MUCH better with '65 Cruiser Trim, the only thing better would be '64 Daytona Sedan Trim.

Yep -- I prefer the 1964 Daytona side trim with black center paint on these sedans -- but then -- I own a 1964 Daytona sedan.

[allen04084]

The 20th. V8, and the 39th Car built for the 1966 Model Year, built on Aug. 23, 1965, now THAT"S Early, probably on the FIRST or Second DAY of Production!

So, at what point on the line were the holes punched for the trim? Or was that part of the stamping process? Had to be before paint. I wonder....... if holes were part of the stamping process, if they had left over 1965 fenders and doors already punched - at the end of the 1965 production - and leftover trim, maybe they just decided to use them on a production 66 Cruiser on the 1st or second day of production?? How much time went by between the end of 1965 production and 8/23/65??

[jclary]

-- but Studebaker was in parts using-up mode --

Well, if that was really a priority of management, and considering how much stuff is still around after well over half a century after ending production..."using-up parts mode" could qualify for Studebaker's biggest failure ever!

[jnormanh]

So, at what point on the line were the holes punched for the trim? Or was that part of the stamping process? Had to be before paint. I wonder....... if holes were part of the stamping process, if they had left over 1965 fenders, doors already punched, and trim if they just decided to use them on a production 66 Cruiser on the 1st or second day of production?? How much time went by between the end of 1965 production and 8/23/65??

The holes were almost certainly punched at the same time as the sheet metal was formed. They could have been punched in the forming die itself, or immediately after in a second operation. No way would the formed doors have been accumulated and later re-handled to punch holes.

[Mike Sal]

This was a very well appointed car for such an early one. If you look at the photo of the 1rst '66 to come off the line (photo in March '86 issue of TW) you can clearly see car #1 and #2 have the correct trim for '66. The first one is a commander, but I can't tell about the 2nd one.

The fact that the body number is so low, it tells me this was not a left over '65 body shell. My money says if you removed a door panel you would see patched up trim holes.

Another testament to the cheapness of studebaker owners is that they deleted all the seat belts just to save 30 bucks....

I wonder if anyone has any other photos from that first day of production?
Mike Sal

[bjackameit]

Using Up Parts --

Well, if that was really a priority of management, and considering how much stuff is still around after well over half a century after ending production..."using-up parts mode" could qualify for Studebaker's biggest failure ever!

Yes -- Ed Reynolds (cited as the "last man out of engineering" in South Bend) is quoted in Richard Langworth's fine book Studebaker The Postwar Years: "The move (of production to Hamiiton) was to use up some of the material and parts on the shelves, and dealer franchises called for the repurchase of all cars and parts should we stop building cars. So we kept building cars -- at least to use up the parts stock we had." It is of course more complex than that -- some new parts were needed for Canadian production and the 1966 facelift -- but there was also the priority of trying to use as much of what they had as possible which, as noted, in some cases was quite a lot. So indeed a lot of parts are still around -- which is great for Stude folks today.

[Guido]

I wonder if this is Sam Miller's old car? I think Leonard Shepherd inherited it after Sam passed away and sold it shortly thereafter. Tom Roamer I think also owned a '66 Cruiser (which may have sold on e-Bay), not sure if that may have been the same car. Both Tom and Sam were from Charlottesville (Sam was storing Studebakers at Tom's family farm in the 1970's). Gerald Hiter would be the best person to ask as he did work on Sam's cars before he passed away.