Help Identify Unearthed Studebaker Remains

[Backyard Archaeologist]

Greetings All,

I have been cleaning up an old farmstead dump in a wooded area of my property, mostly bottles and household goods from the WWII era along with a smattering of items from the '20s and '30s. Automotive debris are also in the mix; seat springs, belts, hoses, body panel fragments, etc. - nothing well enough preserved to suggest a particular year make or model until this turned up:


Hours of online image searching has not provided any answers (though I have enjoyed learning a bit about Studebaker in the process.)

Does anyone have idea what it is and/or what sort of Stude this artifact belonged to?

Thanks in advance.

[StudeRich]

It slightly resembles a Oil pump Pickup Screen that runs in the Oil Pan, but there would be NO reason to have that fancy embossed and painted "Studebaker" on it, so I think it is a screen that had something to do with a Heating and Defrosting System, like the Studebaker Climatizer System.

It is likely Pre-War, but a neat item.

[62champ]

I think that might be the center of a heater grill

[StudeRich]

Does that one say "Studebaker" ?

[Mark L]

Possibly a radio speaker grill?

[6hk71400]

That is my guest. It was usually mounted in the roof center just over the windshield at least on the 35 models

[Bud]

I'm thinking radio speaker grille. Bud

[Mark L]

My post in post 4 above was purely speculation. I now agree with 62champ in post 3 that it's a heater grill from a 1938 model, possibly with a different screen added.

I searched online for various model year brochures, between 1934 and 1941, that are currently available for sale. The overhead speaker grills were typically larger and were just a large ring or featured the Lazy S logo. Beginning with the 1940 models, the speaker grill was in the dash and did not have a logo.

I found these pages in the 1938 model brochure (I added the red circles to emphasize the overhead speaker grill vs. the heater grill). Of all the brochures I looked at, the 1938 brochure was the only one to feature a heater of this style.

[studestu]

The lettering font is what Studebaker used in 1936

[Backyard Archaeologist]

I agree. It is a 1938 Studebaker under-the-dash heater box common to all models of that year. From the few low resolution photos I have found, the '37 version was less stylish and had no emblem on it. In '39 they moved the heater under the front seat.

In either position, I imagine a sudden heater hose failure while underway could get exciting!

Great detective work,
Thanks again