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  #1  
Old 09-19-2006, 10:51 PM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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Location: Lafayette Indiana
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studebakers finest (the 53 coupe)

i was up in so bend last summer and picked up a book at the museum (several actually).

i have always had a real soft spot for the 53 coupes, the starliner and the starlite. my dad worked at studies in the late forties and early fifties...also granddad and an uncle. dad had an eye for good design. we had a starliner hardtop with the 232 v8. it was ivory and teal green. the top was teal. it also had the scallop on the side painted teal by the po. that car was so low and sleek it still looks modern today. (til you open the hood).

as a designer i really appreciate the many exquisite details in the design of the body including the bumpers recessed into the sheet metal, and the many repeated details from the grill openings to the side windows to the taillights to the rear wheel openings. and none of the design features look forced. take away those details and the basic design still is exquisite.

and it was an aerodynamic gem as well. the 53s and 54s still run at bonneville with great honking supercharged motors. i believe they were the first full fendered car to run 200 there.

the book has a great many period photos including many stages of design using clay models with various details considered and rejected. many of the rejected ideas still were pretty cool looking but the final design is undeniably the best combination of all those shown.

so if you like studies this is a great book.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #3  
Old 09-20-2006, 09:14 AM
Jim B.'s Avatar
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Those are the Raymond Loewy designed coupes, aren't they?

I was offered one by a neighbor back in 1965, you had to let it coast down the hill to get it going, but it could've been mine for $20.00

I decided to let it ride, I never liked the looks of them much, not even the Avanti models later on or the Starlight coupes earlier, those bullet nose ones. (My father's old 1939 Studebaker Commander, that was another matter though...)

Loewy was involved with some other interesting auto designs- streamlined locomotives, the Coca and Studebaker logo, Greyhound Scenicruiser buses and the refrigerators of the era. A significant designer, no doubt of it.
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  #4  
Old 09-20-2006, 06:49 PM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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and much much more. studebakers from 1939 to 1963, many many european cars and more.

tom w
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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #5  
Old 09-20-2006, 06:50 PM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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i have a copy of the ad with the yellow one on a shelf just behind me here in my library!

tom w
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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #6  
Old 09-20-2006, 07:21 PM
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My dad had a two tone blue '53 Champion; the 1st car I remember, although I do recall a a picture of him with me and an earlier Pontiac. I will always associate Studebaker and my father.
regards,
Mark
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  #7  
Old 09-20-2006, 07:34 PM
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Yep, Ray Loewy did a brilliant job making a large car look low and sleek but my favorite is the '57 Studie Golden Hawk,nice,supercharged 289 V8,solid lifters with a Muncie 4 speed,had an off the mark performance few cars could equal.
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Old 09-20-2006, 08:43 PM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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of course the hawk is a 53 coupe with fins and a mercedes style grill. in fact the fins are fiberglass added over the simple 53 fenders!

back in the day i loved the hawks when they were new.

i now have come back to the 53s as the first and simplist of the line.

tom w
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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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  #9  
Old 09-20-2006, 09:32 PM
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Studie got a lot of years out of that basic design and made all sorts of variations, on what must have been a shoestring budget.

The Avanti was a gorgeous design too, and the cockpit in the Avanti still looks cool today, as long as the car isn't aqua green inside and out. Some of the 70's era Avanti II's are sort of tacky though, with cheesy wheels, luggage racks on the decklid, and red velour interiors.
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  #10  
Old 09-21-2006, 02:10 AM
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A good friend of mine in College had a black '54 hardtop coupe (Starliner ?). It had been mildly customized before he acquired it. The doors were bereft of handles and were operated by small buttons recessed into the windshield moulding, and the trunk and gas flap were operated by buttons in the glove box. There was a master lock in the right grille to shut off all power to the solenoids.

We drove it from Cincy to Colo and back in the mid '60s with no problems, although he had many stories to tell from previous trips. Was really nice to drive and I still have the extra key I used on that trip. Unfortunately he has passed on and the car was sold. Have not seen it since the early 70's
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  #11  
Old 09-21-2006, 08:14 AM
t walgamuth's Avatar
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dad's starliner had the nose emblem taken off and filled too. they look best that way.

i had a champ coupe for a few years that i was going to street rod but it got moldy inside and i sold it to a fireman here locally who was going to build it up to run at bonneville. but he lost interest and it ended up in the hands of a very good friend whose father also worked at studies about the same time my dad did. that car has had the nose shaved too, and maybe the sides.

his son actually bought it and put it on the road while still in high school, using all the stuff that was in it when he bought it, including a replacement engine which was the "big" flathead six.

it was nice to see it running.

the guy i bought it from had let it sit under a tarp for about 20yr. the car is in surprisingly good condition considering the ravages of time. it has the original interior which is rolled and tucked naugahyde in white. the outside is off white.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.
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