This is the only known pic of my first car, a 56J in high school, 1968-1970. Back then, it was popular to remove the hubcaps and paint the wheels black. I also installed extra long rear spring shackles, which were popular back then. Ditto for the corkscrew style spacers in the front coil springs. I do not see a passenger side windshield wiper; just a guess but, if I only had one wiper I put it on the driver side. It had a floor shift 3spd/OD, but was originally an Ultramatic, and a PO cut the column shift lever off to a 2-3" nub, then stuck the plastic shift knob back onto that nub. It had PACKARD script valve covers, so was likely a 55 or 56 Packard replacement engine, 352 or 374. It also had power steering. I recall the rear seat arm rest was stuck in the up position, and back then I did not know about the hidden release lever, to lower it. So if 3-4 passengers were in the back seat (not uncommon), someone had to sit on top of that raised armrest. LOL. The rear seat was also a no-go for "making out", but the front bench seat worked well, though I recall a young lady's hair once getting tangled hopelessly in the door window crank knob.
I recall the headlights sometimes went off at night, and the first time was a hair raising experience. They'd usually come back on in a few seconds, and I eventually discovered they only went off when hi-beams were on, so kept them mostly on dim. Back then the car was only 12-16 years old, so Studebaker's infamous headlight blackout problem, many of us have experienced, has been around a looong time.
Lotsa memories of that old 56J, and I consider myself VERY fortunate to have had it as my first car. It began a 56J love affair that remains today, and my blue & white 56J is within sight as I type this.
I recall the headlights sometimes went off at night, and the first time was a hair raising experience. They'd usually come back on in a few seconds, and I eventually discovered they only went off when hi-beams were on, so kept them mostly on dim. Back then the car was only 12-16 years old, so Studebaker's infamous headlight blackout problem, many of us have experienced, has been around a looong time.
Lotsa memories of that old 56J, and I consider myself VERY fortunate to have had it as my first car. It began a 56J love affair that remains today, and my blue & white 56J is within sight as I type this.
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