A Studebaker you will never probably see in the flesh

[Effie]

That's a standard issue CT plate of that era. However, the "L" might designate a plate issued in Litchfield county (northwest CT).

[Studebaker Wheel]

That's a standard issue CT plate of that era. However, the "L" might designate a plate issued in Litchfield county (northwest CT).

After my original post I studied that plate under high magnification and it now appears that the plate might be 1953. I did a search and found a site with samples of all the Connecticut plates. It appears the size and design were unchanged between 1938 and 1953 just the small tag with the date was changed. Interesting irony here in that one of the only two 1938 President convertible sedans extant was owned by John Felletter (now deceased) who resided in Avon CT. The car is still in the Felletter family but is seldom shown.

[SN-60]

Studebaker did not make a convertible of any kind in '37 but there are a few surviving examples with bodies made in Europe (Swiss, Belgian or English). Of course in '38 they did offer the convertible sedans on either the Commander or President chassis. There are two surviving '38 Presidents and about five Commanders. Two were shown at the Lancaster SDC Intl meet, one belonging to Raplh Snyder and the other to George Vassos, the latter being a RHD originally sent to New Zealand.

The Vassos car, formerly owned by Larry Warner, was the '38 Commander Convertible sedan I was referring to. Pale yellow in color, Warner brought this car back to the U.S. from New Zealand

[Cowtown Commander]

Thanks for sharing your photo with us. It is hard to see from the photo but the license plate lamp is the same as those found on 1938. Were the pipes a modification on just this car? My parts book lists two President convertible sedan models, S2 which had 2 side mount spares & S3 with rear spare. I would assume that it would be impossible to have side spares and the pipes so I assume that this must have been a S3 body style. Would the car have had the floor shifter of the 38 or the column mount shifter of the 39?

What were the production numbers on the 38 Convertible Sedans? I believe that Frank Wenzel, president of the Antique Studebaker Club is in the process of completing restorartion of a 38 Convertible Sedan is it a Commander or President?

[Studebaker Wheel]

As I stated in the original post those pipes were non-functional and obviously not original. No doubt added by the owner. There were only eleven S2 side mounted '38 Presidents assembled and 87 S3 non side mounted. There were a total of 224 Commander convertible sedans in that model year. Yes Frank Wenzel purchased the '38 President conv sedan from Scott Nordman of Paducah, Kentucky about 3 years ago. Scott had purchased the car in Australia. I was involved in both transactions. Frank is painting the car red, similar to the one shown in most of the ads (see below). It is now about 90% completed. The center fold ad below from the March 1938 Studebaker Wheel magazine.

[JRoberts]

Studebaker did not make a convertible of any kind in '37 but there are a few surviving examples with bodies made in Europe (Swiss, Belgian or English). Of course in '38 they did offer the convertible sedans on either the Commander or President chassis. There are two surviving '38 Presidents and about five Commanders. Two were shown at the Lancaster SDC Intl meet, one belonging to Raplh Snyder and the other to George Vassos, the latter being a RHD originally sent to New Zealand.

I remember those cars at the Lancaster IM. They were gorgeous and rightfully attracted lots of attention.

[Studebaker Wheel]

The Vassos car, formerly owned by Larry Warner, was the '38 Commander Convertible sedan I was referring to. Pale yellow in color, Warner brought this car back to the U.S. from New Zealand

Yes, I knew the previous owner in New Zealand Jimmy Phillips. He bought the car from the dealer whose wife drove it originally. Jimmy was a WWII aviator (co-pilot) on a Liberator bomber. He stayed at my place during a visit to the U.S. in the early 1980s and offered to sell me the car when he got home. I would have loved to owned it but finances at the time and other priorities got in the way. That color by the way is Tulip Cream.

[Effie]

Those CT plates were in service through 1956 when replaced with rectangular blue plates, you have to read the tab to get the year.

[kurtruk]

Stunning to see them together.

[kurtruk]

But there WAS a '40 Convertible Sedan there. Don't 'cha all remember????

And a dual cowl phaeton, no less!

[Studebaker Wheel]

Know the car well. It is a '40 Champion (not '39 as stated). Yes, done by Derham of Rosemont PA. The cost of the body was $2500 in 1940. Restored back in the 1970s by the late Sam Alcorn of Bethelehem, PA. He passed away only a few months after completing it. The current owner is a friend of Sams. Believe he is re-restoring it. I have photos of it when it was just completed. It started life as a 4-door sedan painted Laurel Green serial G-46072. Have a lot of original documentation on it. Not a factory job so did not mention it in my previous posts.