Talk me out of this 1966 Commander.

[identity49]

I am a poor college student who has been living comfortably without a car for the last few months. Lately, I have been keeping my eye on the classifieds for an affordable daily driver for those occasional trips to the far side of town or back home to visit Mom.

Anyway, I happened upon a 1966 Studebaker for sale, asking price $2,500. The seller claims it runs "great", a very small amount of rust, with the only problem being it could use a brake job.

He sent some pictures and it appears to be in very nice condition. It is light blue, and looks beautiful:



I will be going to look at it in person tomorrow, but (newbie that I am) I am skeptical, and have no experience with older cars. Does this price seem incredibly low for a car that runs "great" and appears to be in such nice condition?

What are some things I should be asking about or problems to watch out for when I go look at it tomorrow? It has a 283 engine, 3 spd w/ overdrive. I wouldn't mind attempting some minor repairs like maybe the brakes, but anything major I don't have the skills to pull off.

According to the seller, this car is 1 of only about 800 that were produced. I am incredibly tempted to buy it...

Can any of you Studebaker buffs give me a good reason not to purchase this car??? It seems a little too good to be true...

[Allan Songer]

It would make a nice driver, but the asking price is too high in my opinion. It's the kind of car that you should be able to get for less than 2K--a four door stick shift Chevybaker isn't exactly on the top of the "collector" list. I doubt the car would bring more than 2K on ebay, but I've been wrong MANY times before.

Figure you'll probably have to drop at least a grand into it to make it a reliable runner--if you're lucky it might be less, or maybe A LOT more.

And take a CAREFUL look at the "minor rust," peel back the rubber floor mat (or carpeting) and look for holes in the floor. Look at the trunk floor!

[JDP]

Not "incredibly low" for a 4 door sedan, but maybe as much as a $1000 under current market. That's assuming that the rust in the rear of the front fenders and floors is minor and the interior is at least serviceable. Figure $300 for a do it yourself drum brake job, up to double that for disks.

JDP/Maryland
"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
Thomas Jefferson

[JBOYLE]

I'll let others with more direct experience with Larks and their later brothers address the value issues...but from a general old car standpoint....
It sounds like you don't have a lot of experience with older cars.

My word of caution is...remember:
Old cars don't have...ABS & 4-wheel disc brakes, airbags (or even shoulder harnesses) this car may not have PS, air, AM-FM and a lot of other stuff we take for granted today.

What it does have is something rare today: it is something you could probably do some repairs/maintenance on yourself.
Parts are easy to come by...the 283 is a Chevy engine...so parts won't be a problem.
Most other parts can be found at a number of Studebaker vendors...go to the homepage of this site and look on the left side column.

It it checks out...watch for RUST...get a AAA membership. Even if it doen't break, it's good for a discount at NAPA.

63 Avanti R1 2788
1914 Stutz Bearcat
(George Barris replica)

Washington State

[52hawk]

Price is OK,not great. Keep in mind that the old car will need periodic maintenance,a lot more work than a $2500 'modern' driver.
Rare to find a car this old that needs 'just brakes'...
I bought a '60 Lark for $2500,and put just about $1000 into it to make it a dependable and safe driver.

Oglesby,Il.
"Studebaker? It must be hard to find parts for those!"

[identity49]

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. One person said it's over priced, and another said it's underpriced, so I'll assume it's probably about right... haha. I'll definitely be looking out for rust issues, and will be asking how he went about maintaining the car. I'll try and take some pictures tomorrow and post them here.

JBOYLE- Thanks for the general old car advice. I have never had anything but "no-frills" cars, so I am used to some of the issues mentioned. That is good to hear about the ease of maintenance/repair, since I would like to learn more about it. Sounds like it could be a good car to go about tinkering with? I'm already a AAA member, too.

[Scott]

It's good to belong to AAA when you have a Studebaker for a daily driver. I've used up the tows my plan allows almost every year for the last 5 years. Granted, a few of them were for a 1973 Beetle I had the bad luck to own for a year.

[Studedude1961]

AAA Nebraska towed a fair number of Studebakers back when I had several. A wise investment!

[Studenut65]

My first car was a 1965 Studebaker Commander 4-door. It doesn't have power anything. I did end up putting shoulder belts in it. With that being said, they are great drivers and with the Chevy 283, you can get parts at local parts stores...it is a very dependable engine. I don't feel the price is terrible, but I would definately talk the seller down in price. Start low and you can both meet in the middle - don't just accept what he "wants" for the car. Just my 2 cents.

Nate

[Jeff_H]

That car looks A LOT like one at a auction I was at a month ago. Where is it located? There can't be that many '66 Commander 4drs that color around.....

Jeff in ND

'53 Champion Hardtop

[JDP]

My estimate is based on my experience as a buyer and seller of several hundred Studebaker's over the years. Since it's market based, it might be higher then a typical hobbiest might pay. All I can I can say s I'd e interested in the car at that price for resale based on hat little I know.

JDP/Maryland
"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
Thomas Jefferson

[JDP]

quote:Originally posted by JDP

My estimate is based on my experience as a buyer and seller of several hundred Studebaker's over the years. Since it's market based, it might be higher then a typical hobbiest might pay. All I can I can say s I'd be interested in the car at that price for resale based on hat little I know.

JDP/Maryland
"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
Thomas Jefferson

JDP/Maryland
"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
Thomas Jefferson

[identity49]

Jeff, it says you are in ND, and I am too, so I am guessing it probably is the very one you saw. Did you get a look at the car up close at the auction??

[Jeff_H]

Assuming this is the same car, here is a previous thread on that auction:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22835

I had a chance to look it over fairly well. Here are some other observations I had:

It was a V8 with column shift 3spd and OD. No PS or PB, etc. Vinyl interior with rubber mats. The wheelcovers were not correct for a '66 I think. There were some dog dish caps sold at the auction that might have been for this car originally. The ones on the car were '62s I think. Expired MN tags from '96. Tires good but likely >10yrs old.

The car had a lot of little issues body-wise besides the mechanical problems with the stuck clutch and brakes mentioned in the auction report in that other thread. Front fenders had a bondo job that was not real good. The deck lid did not fit well in the back corners and there was a large bondo patch in the center rear above the key lock that was literally lumpy from a poor sand and prep job. Looked like they did not use a sanding block. I suspect the whole lid was bent a little from some minor collision damage. The grill was a little tweaked and perhaps the front bumper too. Did not look serious though. I also suspect the rockers were not "real" since the moulding under the doors looked suspiciously like a house carpet edge strip (those extruded aluminum ones with the ribs). There may have been some angle iron under there. Certainly some galvanized tin in the floors in a few areas. The padding up the mat was damp, could be a windshield leak. That said, it seemed solid enough. I would have been tempted to redo all the body work if it was mine. I believe there are NOS parts available for this car pretty cheaply. On the other hand, the doors looked real good and the interior was pretty decent black vinyl. The paint job was in OK shape. The engine sounded OK for the few seconds they ran it too. I don't think it was a high mileage car. I certainly think it was worth more than $300. I think it would make a decent summer driver with little investment in repairs. I would not be embarrassed to tool around in it.

Hope this helps.


Jeff in ND

'53 Champion Hardtop

[CDeffaa]

I wish you luck with the car. And will look forward to hearing what your experiences are. My very first car was a '62 Lark Daytona convertible, and my second car was a '64 Studebaker Commander, and they were two of the best cars--most fun to drive--I've ever owned. I still have dreams of driving them sometimes, actually. They didn't have power sterring or brakes, but I liked feeling involved the process of driving the cars (in a way that doesn't exist with cars that have power everything). Keep everything well-maintained, pack the wheel bearings with grease. It's a fun car. But on ANY car that old, no matter what the brand, some part can wear out at any time just from age--a hose, a belt, wiring, a water pump, an alternator. That's life. But you'll have a comfortable, very roomy car. Have a good mechanic check it out, and if there's any doubt, replace belts or hoses, or shocks. Good luck. It looks beautiful. And i kinda envy you.

chip deffaa