[|)] Well, when I finally got a PO for my 53 coupe, I was a bit let down as I'd hoped it might give a clue as to where it was sold new. There's no such clue.
In the "destination" block it simply says "stock" - which means it was built for inventory stock that dealers would draw from as they stocked their showrooms or searched for one for a client.
This car was built in the Los Angeles (Vernon), CA plant. Option-wise, it shows ONE optional item on it's build sheet - AC2314, which is full disc wheelcovers (which oddly enough, the car was fitted with the "bottlecap", standard, small covers when I got it and I would bet those have been on the car it's whole life)
Truly, the car was austerely equipped most of it's life. No radio, no climatizer, no cigar lighter. Just your basic auto. Being a "Deluxe" edition, it was pretty sparsely trimmed too - which I find attractive, BTW.
And somewhere along the way, someone added factory back-up lites to it. The holes in the decklid to accomodate the fixtures are rather crudely cut but this was not visible once the fixtures were mounted.
All in all, as pretty as it is, a pretty unremarkable edition of a 53 Starlight Coupe.
But after thinking about what the PO revealed, one thing struck me as odd. This car was built late in the 53 model run - Date Written is Aug 12th '53 and Date Shipped is Sept 9th '53. The odd thing is that this car came with the Tri-star emblems, front and rear. And I've read that they changed in mid-year to the V emblem to quell Mercedes-Benz's gripe about their trademark tri-star being infringed upon.
A quick check of the parts book confirms this for both South Bend and Canadian-built Studes. But there's NO mention of the LA plant making the switch. Consequently, I have a very late production Tri-Star Stude. I think that's kinda neat.
Production was kinda low outta the LA plant so maybe they decided to just use up what stock of hoods and deck lids they had on hand already and never used all the ones that were drilled to accept the Tri-star emblems before the model year ran out.
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
In the "destination" block it simply says "stock" - which means it was built for inventory stock that dealers would draw from as they stocked their showrooms or searched for one for a client.This car was built in the Los Angeles (Vernon), CA plant. Option-wise, it shows ONE optional item on it's build sheet - AC2314, which is full disc wheelcovers (which oddly enough, the car was fitted with the "bottlecap", standard, small covers when I got it and I would bet those have been on the car it's whole life)
Truly, the car was austerely equipped most of it's life. No radio, no climatizer, no cigar lighter. Just your basic auto. Being a "Deluxe" edition, it was pretty sparsely trimmed too - which I find attractive, BTW.
And somewhere along the way, someone added factory back-up lites to it. The holes in the decklid to accomodate the fixtures are rather crudely cut but this was not visible once the fixtures were mounted.
All in all, as pretty as it is, a pretty unremarkable edition of a 53 Starlight Coupe.
But after thinking about what the PO revealed, one thing struck me as odd. This car was built late in the 53 model run - Date Written is Aug 12th '53 and Date Shipped is Sept 9th '53. The odd thing is that this car came with the Tri-star emblems, front and rear. And I've read that they changed in mid-year to the V emblem to quell Mercedes-Benz's gripe about their trademark tri-star being infringed upon.
A quick check of the parts book confirms this for both South Bend and Canadian-built Studes. But there's NO mention of the LA plant making the switch. Consequently, I have a very late production Tri-Star Stude. I think that's kinda neat.
Production was kinda low outta the LA plant so maybe they decided to just use up what stock of hoods and deck lids they had on hand already and never used all the ones that were drilled to accept the Tri-star emblems before the model year ran out.
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
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