Dealerships recalled

[wagone]

Just a little info on two dealerships in east central Wisconsin. When I was small (if that was ever possible) in the early '50s the local dealership was Markel Motors--my dad bought his first Stoodie there, a 1942 Champion purchased in 1947. I still have a plastic windshield scraper or two with the dealer's name on the handle. By the early '50s Markel Motors was gone and replaced by Marshall Sales and Service--a father son operation with perhaps two other mechanics and a bookkeeper. My dad bought two new Studes from them (and a new '51 Champion from Markel Motors). Marshall's also sold Mercedes Benz autos and in the early '60s the son (Dick Marshall) and his wife were killed when their Mercedes skidded on ice covered roads. After retirement the father (Gordon) lost his life in a boating/fishing accident (drowned). My first Stude, purchased from Marshall's, was a '54 Loewy/Burke coupe. The only other significant (to me) auto at Marshall's from those years was a '58 Packard Hawk sitting on their used car lot in about 1960. By 1970 or so Marshall Sales and Service was gone, although the small building exists to this day and is, I believe, an appliance sales and service enterprise.

[Swifster]

Does anyone know if the museum can track what dealers sold what cars? I would think for warranty purposes that Studebaker would have tracked the new car transaction for in-service dates, etc.

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Tom - Lakeland, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

Michigan Speed - www.michiganspeed.com
Club Hot Rod - www.clubhotrod.com
LS1 Tech - www.ls1tech.com

[KevinSheen]

Crowley, LA had a dealership called Moore and Stossel. I'll try to dig up some info on it. Kevin in the Stoogebaker

1963 Champ

[Starlite51]

I'm also interested in hearing more about Capitol Motors in Sacramento. My Daytona was delivered to N. Sacramento at delivery but I'm unsure of the dealership. Was there any other dealers in that area?

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Tom - Lakeland, FL


There was French's Studebaker Dealership in Florin CA just 10 miles south of Sacramento..
I bought their '56 Transtar shop truck from the owners son about 4 years ago ...I'm still trying to get more info, pics and relics from him about the dealership. It was small store doing mostly car repair.

Also my grandfather sold Studebakers '58 thru '59 at a small dealership in Salem, Ohio.
I can't remember the name of it .. I think they also sold Packards .. as a kid I remember it was next to a bowling alley on State St in Salem .. and it had a service garage above it . where on the weekends while he was selling new cars on the first floor I was playing in the used cars parked in the upper floor ... then he moved on to sell Edsels in 1960 ... before selling cars he worked at the Mullins plant making fenders for Pierce Arrows .. wish I had saved the pics and the stuff he had before he passed. I had many promo cars he had given me over the years that I felt I had to cut up an customize ... I even had a 55 T Bird Jr from when he sold Fords..

this is my first post so excuse me if i did it wrong
John

[gaboy]

quote:Originally posted by Bill Pressler

Detweiler's was in Uniontown, not Washington. Sorry for the oops!

Bill

YEP....you are correct!
I just sold the "original" Daytona "repurchased" by the Detweiler grandson (featured in TW) with 25,000 miles to a "corporate collector" here in Atlanta-now that car will be preserved for all to see that visit his collections. (he also has an Avanti!)

That Daytona was so new that I was getting nervous that my insurance coverage should have been doubled! I was correct according to the first offer out of the mouth of the collector I think that in the future we will see the value of our cars escalate quite considerably. JP has remarked that we (Stude owners) are too cheap-don't be afraid to ASK YOUR PRICE.

[Swifster]

quote:Originally posted by nm dude

Renger`s Sales & Service was located at 10210 Chalmers, Detroit. I moved to New Mexico in 1970, and have no idea what is at that location today. On March 17, 1966, I took delivery of a new `66 Daytona Sport Sedan at Renger`s. V-8, automatic, Mount Royal Red, black vinyl top, white interior. Sticker price was $3,037, I paid $2,058. Stii have the bill of sale, wish I still had the car.

On my next trip back I'll get a picture of whatever's there .

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Tom - Lakeland, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

Michigan Speed - www.michiganspeed.com
Club Hot Rod - www.clubhotrod.com
LS1 Tech - www.ls1tech.com

[nm dude]

Renger`s Sales & Service was located at 10210 Chalmers, Detroit. I moved to New Mexico in 1970, and have no idea what is at that location today. On March 17, 1966, I took delivery of a new `66 Daytona Sport Sedan at Renger`s. V-8, automatic, Mount Royal Red, black vinyl top, white interior. Sticker price was $3,037, I paid $2,058. Stii have the bill of sale, wish I still had the car.

[Swifster]

quote:Originally posted by BeeJay

Bought my first "53 used from Henry Moss and Sons in Detroit. They were on Livernois near Ewald Circle. That was in '55.

I actually worked at that dealership in 1985 as a service writer when it was Dick Harris Cadillac. Unfortunately it was torn down 10-15 years ago to build a Walgreen's.

NM Dude's recollection of Renger's on Chalmer's facinates me because the area hasn't changed and I can't place where this dealer was located. I know after the little article from the Oakland Press showing the remains of the painted Studebaker sign on the former Davis Motors in Rochester, MI that this is currently an ice cream store.

I'm also interested in hearing more about Capitol Motors in Sacramento. My Daytona was delivered to N. Sacramento at delivery but I'm unsure of the dealership. Was there any other dealers in that area?

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Tom - Lakeland, FL

1964 Studebaker Daytona

Michigan Speed - www.michiganspeed.com
Club Hot Rod - www.clubhotrod.com
LS1 Tech - www.ls1tech.com

[Roscomacaw]

I couldn't field a guess at Freddie's fate, Gary - but I'll bet Dad ain't selling Studebakers anymore![:I]

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[garyash]

One of the dealers in Baltimore, MD was Schwing Motors. Freddie Schwing, the son of the owner, dated my older sister in the late 1950s. I was always glad to see him come to the house because he drove the coolest car - a two-tone green '53 Starliner. I must have been 13 or 14 at the time, but I was hooked on Studebakers. My sister soon dropped him for someone else. I wonder what ever became of ol' Freddie and his father's dealership?

Gary Ash
Dartmouth, MA
'48 M5
'65 Wagonaire Commander
'63 Wagonaire Standard
www.studegarage.com

[BobPalma]

Bill: Great photos! Do you have any idea who is driving the Champion convertible in the parade? [?] BP

[57slvrhwk6]

Was wondering if anyone knew anything about the J.H. Adams Studebaker dealership probably located in the Pasadena/Alhambra area near Los Angeles? His son, Bill Adams, was my father who was a salesman at the dealership (as well as at least one other in the area) after WWII. As a side note, my father met my mother when he delivered a loaner Studebaker convertible from the J.H. Adams dealership to be used by the city of Alhambra for a parade. Turned out that my mother was one of two former Alhambra beauty queens (she also finished 3rd in the 1949 Miss California Pageant) assigned to ride in the Studebaker. I've supplied a link below to a picture of my mother riding in the parade in that Studebaker convertible (she's on the right) with the J.H. Adams Studebaker dealership name attached to the side of the car. There is also a picture of my parents standing next to their Studebaker as they are leaving on their honeymoon in 1949. This is about all I know of the dealership and would appreciate hearing from anyone who may know more.

http://community.webshots.com/user/takenitslo

[John Ratliff]

When talking about dealers, there are 3 I think about. First is Walt Anderson Motors in Boise, Id. In late '57 I bought a '56 used Golden Hawk. That was my first Stude. I still have a sales brochure for the '57 Hawks from that dealer. Then there was a small dealer in Nampa, Id. that I got my '58 Silver Hawk. The third dealer was Wm. J Sweeney & Sons on mission st. in Daly City, Ca. I wonder if anyone out there remembers any of these and what the name of the Nampa, Id. dealer was? [?] Forgot to take my memory pills

[Laemmle]

Also in Baldwin Long Island next to the famous Rayynors Chicken joint is a service station called Burks...this used to be a mom and pop Studebaker operation.

[Laemmle]

quote:Originally posted by r1lark

My family (grandfather, father, and uncle) owned Warta Motors on Sunrise Highway in Merrick (Long Island) NY. They also owned Packard Hempstead in Hempstead NY, which was a Packard-only store.

At the Sunrise Highway store, besides Studebaker and Packard, they handled Mercedes, DKW, Simca, and some other makes. After Studebaker stopped building cars in Hamilton, they took on both Toyota and Datsun, until Toyota threatened to drop the franchise if they didn't drop Datsun. Needless to say, they kept Datsun and dropped Toyota.

The dealership was closed in late 1969, by which time my grandfather had retired to Florida, and my dad & uncle had gotten tired of the high taxes, crime, etc in NY and relocated to North Carolina. When they were cleaning out in '69, my dad gave Harry Barnes (who visited the dealership often) all the parts he could carry off.....mainly older parts. A lot of the parts were thrown down an old well in the service department!

All the relatives drove Packards and Studebakers. My grandfather always had Packards. My mother and aunt always had a new Studebaker. When I was a small boy, my Mother had a '60 Lark hardtop (V8) that my brother would 'borrow' at night and outrun the cops in. I was with my mother one day when someone ran a stop sign, and the front of the Lark got crunched. (It subsequently got repaired.) Her last Studebaker was a '64 Challenger 4-door, 6 cylinder/auto with air conditioning! My brother eventually got that car, and it was finally parted out in the early '70s. I have a few parts from it (gauges, ignition switch, etc; wish I had the perfect red dash and the A/C setup!)

My memories of the Studebakers and Packards from when I was a boy is what got me into Studebakers. I have 10, and my dad has one (a '64 Challenger 2-door V8/3 speed) that is in the middle of a long restoration. No Packards yet, but I still want a '55 Clipper hardtop with Torsion Level, or a '56 Executive hardtop.

I am working on a history of the family's dealerships, for either a website or magazine article. A lot of the cars sold at the Sunrise Highway store had pictures taken of the owner/car upon delivery; my dad still has all these slides. He also still has the books that logged the cars sold with purchaser's name, serial number, etc. My dad saved some of the invoices from the interesting cars and well-known purchasers. Another story is the brand new (just off the carrier ) '57 or '58 Golden Hawk that had less than 100 miles on it before it was destroyed (with my dad driving) in an dispute with a garbage truck.....the garbage truck won.

Lots of stories, I know I will remember some more.

If anyone remembers these dealerships, or knows of any cars that are still around that were sold new at one of these dealerships, please let me know.

Paul

Visit The Studebaker Skytop Registry website at: http://hometown.aol.com/r1skytop/myhomepage/index.html