1953 article

[rkapteyn]

https://journal.classiccars.com/2020/11/04/pick-of-the-day-1953-studebaker-coupe/

[studegary]

Nice article and a nice late, South Bend assembled, 1953 Commander Starliner with OD.

[Hallabutt]

Finding a unmodified top tier car is rather rare. The asking price probably comes pretty close to the cost of restoration. Given the high cost of everything today a previous owner is helping to subsidize a new owner's enjoyment.

Bill

[Al from Eatonville]

Not to nitpick, but the oil filter canister should be orange and the manifold holddowns should be black. People lose points at judging for things like that. Plus the car itself is not a coupe, but a hardtop. Beautiful car YES; I drive a coupe [4HC3], not a hardtop.

[Al from Eatonville]

And the bracket for the oil filter canister should also be black with the air filter housing being incorrect [the one pictured would be for an oil bath and not for a dry paper type which would have had a barrel form housing]. Never hurts to read a Fred Fox feature article.

[Flashback]

?? Fuel pump ?? Heater hose clamps ?? air cleaner element ?? carb mounting nuts ?? wheel covers ?? Carpet ?? Dash color ?? Shift lever knob color ?? Missing molding lower right door panel. And on and on . But of course I am joking. We can pick a 399 car. This is a really nice car. .

[rockne10]

It's also being offered through Hyman Ltd classic car broker.
Am I the only one who noticed the front door arm rests are on backwards?

[Flashback]

Am I the only one who noticed the front door arm rests are on backwards?[/QUOTE]

Nope,,, I noticed, and some other little things. But I am not being critical. What i was gonna ask in my first post : Does these things make it a modified ???

[Skip Lackie]

Not to nitpick, but the oil filter canister should be orange and the manifold holddowns should be black. People lose points at judging for things like that. Plus the car itself is not a coupe, but a hardtop. Beautiful car YES; I drive a coupe [4HC3], not a hardtop.

Agree that the oil filter can should not be green, but will disagree that it necessarily should be orange. As it was explained to me decades ago (I think by Dennis Lambert of N&A), the Fram oil filter kits that were sold by dealers or places like Western Auto were individually packaged and were painted orange. But the ones that were installed on the production line were painted black. Fram provided them to Studebaker (and other manufacturers) as a big crate full of the cans, with a separate box with the hoses, fittings, etc customized to fit each particular model of engine. Car makers could paint the housings any color they wanted -- which Studebaker did not do.

[Hallabutt]

Most of the items described were apparent at a glance. Some of the changes could be attributed to whether they were factory installed or dealer installed. There were also differences because of production lines in South Bend and Vernon. The judging process is the only real platform that any of this really matters, and we have moved significantly away from the concourse judging of decades ago. The result is that it's a fools errand to nit pick someone else's car unless specifically asked to do so. The fact is this is a beautiful car, someone looking for something like this might die before he found a more perfect example.

Bill

[StudeRich]

As everyone said it's a really Beautiful Starliner, but...
A little "Studebaker expertise" would have gone a LONG way on this very expensive restoration.

At First, I thought that the Air Cleaner Bracket is wrong making the Air Cleaner not level, then I noticed that it is a Oil Bath with the Oil Bath Bowl missing, converted to Dry Filter. They had to be level to keep the Oil Level.

Of course I saw all the little things everyone noticed, the Wrong Color Oil Filter really "Jumps out at you", including the Yellow Dipstick Handle like all NEW Cars have.

I don't think anyone saw or mentioned the really Poor Climatizer Installation that does not allow the Heat to be controlled or turned OFF!
This is not just a "Cosmetic" error issue, but an actual Mechanical Malfunction!

It sure looks like that Hotter Upper, Heater Hose is going to the Heater Core under the Seat and NOT to the Control Valve!

[rkapteyn]

How many of you have or read the book by Bob Bourke that shows all these details?

[studegary]

How many of you have or read the book by Bob Bourke that shows all these details?

I believe that you are referring to "Studebaker's Finest" by John Bridges, not Bob Bourke. I have copy number 2 of the initial signed and numbered copies, autographed to me 9/23/92.

[t walgamuth]

It's also being offered through Hyman Ltd classic car broker.
Am I the only one who noticed the front door arm rests are on backwards?

Hyman always asks top prices.....do they get them? I don't know but their website always has interesting and nice stuff on offer.

[ddub]

Doesn't strike me as a bad price if the car is as nice as it appears and mechanics are sorted.