Brian Earnest tells the tale of a 1967 Mustang that came back for an encore

The “gone but not forgotten” saga of Gene Leopold’s 1967 Ford Mustang GT was almost more of a “gone and good riddance” story.

But Gene’s son Kris was determined to change the ending.

It’s not that Gene, a resident of Superior, Wis., didn’t like the hot Acapulco Blue Mustang GT he bought new back in 1967. Heck, he custom ordered it exactly the way he wanted it, and he loved driving it for the first five years of the car’s life.

But when Kris wanted to play detective and determine if the car still existed many years later­ — and maybe see if he and his dad could somehow get it back — Gene wasn’t so sure.

John Norris takes us across the pond for the ‘Haynes Classic’ car show

In the world of motor enthusiasts, the name John Haynes looms large and is instantly recognizable among vehicle owners. A life-long motor enthusiast himself, he founded the internationally recognized Haynes Motor Museum in the U.K. in 1984, some 20 years after he had founded a publishing empire which printed easy-to-follow, do-it-yourself maintenance manuals for vehicle owners. John sadly passed away in February 2019 at age 80, leaving the museum which bears his name as one strand of his legacy in the small Somerset village of Sparkford in southwest England.

David Temple talks Motorama dream car Skylark

Buick turned 50 years old in 1953 and celebrated its birthday in style. The company delayed the release of its new V-8 until this model year, improved the Dynaflow (which some had called “Dyna-slush”), updated its B- and C-body cars for the final time in that styling cycle and released the new Skylark, a sporty-looking, limited-production, factory-customized model.

Old Cars reports on the best ‘Barn Finds’ from MCAN 2025

MCACN’s Barn Finds and Hidden Gems display of forlorn muscle cars is just as popular as the much larger display of restored and beautifully preserved muscle cars that share the floor of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Here, in the barn finds display, gear heads can live out the dream of discovery and ponder the potential of about two dozen desirable but deteriorated muscle cars, from Shelby and Boss Mustangs to Hemi MoPars and big-displacement cars from “The General.” 

Al Rogers unearths the hidden history of a special 1970 Olds 4-4-2

On May 30, 1970, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway came alive for the annual 500-mile race with racing legend Rodger Ward behind the wheel of a muscular 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2, that year’s official Indy Pace Car. Ward paced a formidable lineup of race car drivers including Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney and Al Unser, Sr. When the checkered flag dropped after 500 miles, Unser had claimed victory driving the Johnny Lightning Special.

As part of the post-race celebrations, Unser took a victory lap in the Indy Pace Car for all the spectators to see. He was met with the cheers of the hundreds of thousands of people at the speedway echoing across the race track. Unser forever became a part of Indianapolis Motor Speedway history with his win, as did the pace car that carried him.

More than 30 years after millions of people watched Unser’s post-win procession on their televisions at home and in-person at the track, the once-famous 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 Indy Pace Car was left to decay in Michigan. 

David Burrows coverage of the Studebaker and Avanti dual meet

The 61st Annual Studebaker Driver’s Club (SDC) and the Avanti Owner’s Association International (AOAI) completed their joint meet at Meadowlands, Pa., near Pittsburgh, Sept. 16-20. Members of both clubs had been asking for renewal of a joint meeting with a full sharing of events, joint meetings and activities. It was two years in the planning with many of the activities finally taking place at the Washington County Fairgrounds, close to the host hotel.

Gregg Merksamer talks ‘Hearsemania 2025’

The 2025 “Hearsemania,” held in Lima, Ohio, from June 13-15, proved a truly epic experience marking the centennial of the Superior Coach Co. entering the hearse- and ambulance-building business. The firm was originally founded in 1923 to manufacture bus bodies for locally made Garford Motor Truck chassis.

AngeloVan Bogart talks about a fine 1933 Graham Blue Streak

Amid the depths of the Great Depression, Graham was on top with the most modern-looking American car in 1932. When the little-changed 1933 models returned to the streets in 1933, Graham could boast it had “the most imitated car.” 

Gregg Merksamer highlights some ‘weathered wheels’

Weathered Wheels has long been one of the most popular departments in Old Cars, and we’ve had a lot of folks contribute over the years. Ron Kowalke, Steve Isola, Ken Lorek and Coy Thomas have all shared dozens, even hundreds, of images with us over the years.

We simply can’t get enough cool “yard art” photos, and we know a lot of our readers share our affinity for colorful, rusty iron.

These articles and a whole lot more can be found inside the January 1, 2026, issue of Old Cars.

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For more than a half century, America’s most popular truck has been the Ford F-150, and many people probably assume it was also the first truck. However, the first truck was built several years before the Ford Motor Co. was even incorporated. 

In 1896, Daimler built what is recognized as the first truck, and six years later — more than a century before today’s Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck — Studebaker laid claim in 1902 to building America’s first electric truck.

Since neither the 1896 Daimler nor the 1902 Studebaker truck are common sights, few would know what either vehicle looked like unless shown photos. However, William Eggers has built replicas of both trucks that are stylistically faithful to the originals and bring their history to life. 

The wiz behind the trucks

Known as “Wild Bill” because of his love for motorcycles, William Eggers began tinkering around at age six, well before attending vocational grammar and high school. When he was 12 years old, he made a wooden go-cart with his family’s old lawn mower. Eggers was buzzing along Sunrise Highway in Queens, New York, until the police caught up with him and brought him home. After they left, his mother said, “I’m so proud of what you made.” 

Eggers then took construction technology in college “until they said I know more than the professors and I’m wasting my time,” he recalls.

For 55 years, Eggers was a carpenter contractor in Manhattan until the Sept. 11 tragedy. Now retired to Goshen, Conn., his projects take about a year to complete.

Eggers is currently reproducing the first aircraft that was made by Gottlieb Daimler and not the Wright Brothers.

“I’m having too much fun in my shop seven days a week.” 

Eggers has expanded his skill set beyond carpenter to engineer, sculptor and welder, all without a computer. In addition to recreating early vehicles, Eggers refurbishes old motorcycles. The vehicles that Eggers has recreated are often sold to museums and private collectors. Besides the 1896 Daimler and 1902 Studebaker trucks, he has duplicated the 1867 Roper, the first coal-fire-steam motorcycle; an 1865 Wells Fargo stagecoach; and the chariots used by Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd in the movie “Ben Hur.” 

Recreating the earliest trucks

Inventor Gottlieb Daimler was determined to find applications for his engine, and he applied it to a motorcycle, trolley car and the first truck. His truck was basically a carriage with an engine.

The engine was called a Phoenix, a two-cylinder unit that produced 4 hp and could propel the Daimler truck to a top speed of 6 mph. It could run on gasoline, coal gas or lamp fuel.   

The Daimler’s engine was located in the back of the truck. Two helical springs were used to protect the engine, which was sensitive to road vibrations.  The engine was behind the rear axle and drove that axle with a chain. A bench seat was in front. There was a steering wheel which directed chains to move the leaf-sprung front axle right or left. The hauler had a payload of 3,307 lbs., and its wooden sides could drop down to make a flatbed. This first truck was used to deliver beer kegs to taverns in London.

Eggers also made a replica of an 1898 Daimler commercial vehicle. “This was the first truck with the engine in the front,” Eggers says.

The 1902 Studebaker electric commercial vehicle was powered by a single Westinghouse standard vehicle motor.  It was rated at 40 volts (pressure to make electrons move) and 24 amperes (amount of current). This resulted in 1.5 hp. The top speed was 13 mph with a driving range of 40 miles per charge.  The motor was under the bench seat and moved the rear wheels with a chain.

The Studebaker had a tiller for steering, and there were two brake systems with one working on the rear axle drums and the other working on the countershaft of the motor. Both brakes were foot operated. There were four speeds forward as well as four speeds for backward motion. The electric speed control was at the seat to the driver’s left. There were semi-elliptical front springs and full-elliptical rear springs.

Eggers obtained measurements of the early trucks by going on the internet at his local library. 

“I made my own scale ruler to measure any part,” he said.

With any project, he starts construction by building the frame and wheels and then moves onto the body and fittings. For the Daimler, Eggers was able to determine the body was built from mahogany. 

“All the steel brass fittings I made myself,” he says. “The springs came from the Amish off their carriages. The chain is stock and fits factory gears.”

He notes the original Daimler truck rolled on hard iron wheels.

“I have a steel band around the wheels for strength and a rubber inset, because when I sold it, the new owners did not want steel ruining the floors.” 

One is hard-pressed to tell the difference between the original Daimler truck and Eggers’ reproduction. One divergence is the powerplants. Instead of the original Phoenix engine, Eggers installed a Kohler. “It has about two times the original power in one cylinder.”  

Eggers’ 1902 Studebaker truck recreation is likewise faithful to the original. Again, he went to the library to find pictures of the original.  

Again, Eggers created the brass fittings and built the body.

“Dark wood is mahogany, and painted wood is popular,” he says, adding that the “lamp oil lights are from the Amish…. all springs from the Amish. Axles are also from the Amish, adjusted for my needs.” 

Since obtaining an electric Studebaker engine would be impossible, Eggers used a Leeson Motor Speedmaster 24-volt system with two deep-cycle 12-volt batteries. Unlike the original, which had four forward and four reverse gears, Eggers’ model has one gear forward and one reverse.

Although Eggers does not own a computer, he has a website. All of his projects can be seen at www.williameggersmotorcycles.com. 

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With just 703 built, there just weren’t many 1964 Studebaker Daytona convertibles built, especially now, 60 years after they were minted. And among those few survivors, Neil and Robin Loughlin’s example stands tall. Neil largely restored the Daytona himself, and despite the excellent results of his work, he’s not afraid to drive it. We discovered Neil and the car one Sunday afternoon at the Bakers of Milford car show in Milford, Mich.

Studebaker goes out on a Lark

Automobile designer Brooks Stevens effected more than a facelift when he created the refreshed Studebaker Daytona hardtop in 1964. The crisp chiseled and squared-off roof that Stevens grafted onto the now-five-year-old 1959 Studebaker Lark body looked every bit as up to date as Chevy’s equally formal-roofed ’64 Impala. Yet the Daytona body was even older than the Lark itself, having been based on the earlier Studebaker body shell that dated to 1953. Lacking the finances to offer an all-new car after poor sales of the 1957 and 1958 Studebaker models, Studebaker designers and engineers added shorter new front and rear fenders to the 1953 Studebaker body’s basic center section, thus saving significant tooling expense in creating the new compact Lark for 1959. The 1953 Studebaker was already smaller than its contemporary competitors from the “Big Three,” so of course the 1964 Daytona was narrower than the full-size 1964 Chevrolet. Further making the Lark appear smaller among other cars of its day was the fact that most American cars had grown substantially wider since the 1953 Studebaker body debuted. However, the relatively small size of the subsequent Lark and Daytona models based upon the old Studebaker body fit nicely within America’s expanding compact car market.

Sales success of the Lark helped make Studebaker profitable again, but there still wasn’t money for a new body in the early 1960s, so Studebaker relied on facelifts to keep the Lark looking fresh. 1961 brought new roof tooling to a few models and a change to quad headlamps on the higher-end Larks. 1962 saw a change to the rear fenders of all compact Larks but the station wagons and quad headlamps across the board. That model year also saw the introduction of the Daytona two-door hardtop and convertible models in the Lark series. In pitching the new Daytona for 1962 in a brochure, Studebaker said it was “America’s New Action Car! Sports car type bucket seats, a handsome and handy between-seat front console, and a woodgrained dash with clear, sports car type instrumentation are highlights of the Lark Daytona’s Action Styled interior ­— all dramatically suggestive of the outstanding performance and handling made possible by its optional 4-speed gearbox and up to 225 HP power range.” The “glamorous” Daytona was also fitted with “luxurious” vinyl upholstery materials, as well as a fully carpeted floor, and was available with a six-cylinder or the V-8 mentioned in the brochure. A convertible version of Studebaker’s sporty new Daytona was the official pace car for the 1962 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, hosted in the South Bend automaker’s home state of Indiana.

Changes were minor from the 1962 to 1963 Studebaker Daytona hardtops and convertibles, but a facelift of the bread-and-butter Studebaker sedans, coupes and wagons gave the cars a forward-leaning, flush headlamp-and-grille treatment. However, Studebaker’s sporty Gran Turismo Hawk and Avanti coupes remained little changed from the previous year.

What really made the Daytona stand out in 1964 was its available performance options. Lacking money for frequent styling changes, Studebaker had attempted to garner attention through performance with its Hawk coupes, which continued into the 1960s due to dealer demand, and the stunning fiberglass-bodied Avanti coupe, which debuted in 1963. Studebaker’s overhead-valve V-8, introduced in 1951, had been a farsighted-enough design that more than a dozen years later, it was being boosted to outputs exceeding one horse-power per cubic inch.

By the 1960s, Studebaker designated its high-output V-8s as its R-series engines. The “base” R1 engine developed 240 hp from a 289-cubic-inch displacement. Next came the R2, also a 289, but equipped with a supercharger for a factory-rated 289 hp. The R3, also supercharged and with a slightly larger displacement of 304.5 cubic inches, gave a power rating of 335 hp. The final engine in this series, dubbed the R4, ran two four-barrel carburetors without supercharging for 280 hp. It was this engine that Studebaker selected to create a “street sleeper” from its relatively docile-looking Daytona hardtop.

With a top speed of 132 mph and 0-to-60-mph acceleration of 7.8 seconds, Studebaker’s R4 Daytona could show its taillamps to any production sedan. Its performance was rivaled only by that of the Pontiac GTO, which was also released in 1964 (see Old Cars “Wangers Secret Weapon,” Dec. 1, 2024).

As might be expected, performance carried a mileage penalty. An R4 Daytona owner could expect little more than 12 to 14 mpg. With a total carburetor venturi area of 13 inches, the Daytona’s 304.5-cid engine was capable of gulping plenty of fuel.

With its R-series, Studebaker worked very hard to establish a high-performance image for the 1964 lineup, sending a number of cars to the Bonneville Salt Flats to set production-car speed records. Advertisements played up the powerful R-series engines, disc brakes and the company’s position that Studebakers were “different … by design” from other American cars.

Magazine road test reviews of Studebaker’s performance cars were generally positive. Gene Booth, the editor of Car Life magazine, went to South Bend and assisted in building a Daytona hardtop with the full R4 Super Performance Package. This car ended up being the only Studebaker equipped from the factory with the optional R4 engine (304 cid with two four-barrel carburetors).

Performance cars of the 1950s and 1960s have a great reputation for going like lightning in a straight line, but once they come to a corner, watch out. To give the Daytona some measure of road-handling ability, Studebaker fit it with an Avanti suspension package that consisted of stiffer springs and shocks, anti-roll bars front and rear and front disc brakes. To best translate to the pavement the engine’s power, these performance cars came standard with traction bars and a limited-slip differential. To put the R4’s power to pleasurable use, Studebaker fitted its hot Daytona model with a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed transmission.

Not many performance Daytonas were built with one of the optional R-series engines, making them one of the least-known and rarest muscle cars ­— and real “sleepers” ­— even today. The 1964 Studebaker Daytona conceded little to the fastest-moving midsize cars on the street in their day, and their low production numbers make them scarce collector vehicles today.

By all accounts, all Studebakers from the mid 1960s were rare. Despite their performance cars and their budget-priced models, Studebaker’s Lark, its Daytona derivative, along with the Hawk and Avanti, were not enough to stop Studebaker’s sales slide. In the fall of 1963, Studebaker’s board of directors acted to slow down the South Bend assembly lines. At the start of the model year, the company was building 60 cars per hour. By late October 1963, some 2,500 workers were laid off and the line speed was reduced.

Rumors spread across the industry that Studebaker’s board of directors and the company’s president, Sherwood Egbert, were at odds over the future of the automotive division. The board’s opinion was that it was finally time to find a way out of the auto business. Lending strength to the board’s argument were the undeniable facts that Studebaker’s subsidiary companies were profitable, while the growing losses at the automotive division were bleeding the corporation dry.

Despite being terminally ill with cancer, Egbert fought the directors tooth and nail in his efforts to continue automobile operations. However, when he underwent further cancer surgery that month, the board took the opportunity to force Egbert out and execute their plan to wind up automotive production.

Although it would, by necessity, have to be done slowly and methodically, lest the company expose itself to contract lawsuits from angry dealers (which would have drained even more precious revenue from the company’s depleted coffers), the directors quickly put their plan into action. Meeting with the leaders of UAW Local 5, which represented Studebaker’s assembly workers, the decision was made to close the South Bend, Ind., plant and continue production at the company’s small Canadian factory in Hamilton, Ontario, which could, it was believed, be operated at a profit.

The closure of the South Bend plant was announced on Dec. 9, 1963, and the final car, a Bordeaux Red 1964 Studebaker Daytona two-door hardtop originally intended for shipment to a Pennsylvania dealer, rolled off the assembly line on Dec. 20. This car is now part of the collection at the Studebaker Museum in South Bend.

After the South Bend closing, production continued at Studebaker’s Canadian plant in Hamilton, Ontario, which was overseen by Gordon Grundy, the president of Studebaker of Canada. Grundy was a dedicated Studebaker executive who, like Egbert before him, wanted to see Studebaker continue as a builder of automobiles.

The “second series” Canadian-built 1964 lineup was not much different from the South Bend offerings; however, the entire Challenger series (along with the Hawk, Avanti and all trucks) was dropped. Six-cylinder Daytona models that had not previously been offered in the United States (but had been available in Canada and export markets) were added to the U.S. lineup.

Life with a Lark Daytona

Neil was 18 years old when he purchased the featured 1964 Studebaker Daytona convertible, and now it’s Robin’s favorite car from their private Studebaker collection. Neil remains attached to the car and says, “I’ll never sell it!”

Purchased in 1981 as a non-running basket case, the Laguna Blue Studebaker Daytona convertible was almost immediately sent to Westmoreland Restorations in Blairsville, Pa., for rust repair, body work and paint application. It was a body-off-frame restoration with Neil completing the remainder of the restoration at his shop in Ortonville. A busy career at Chrysler Corp. took precedent over the Studebaker restoration, but Neil stayed the course. After a nearly 20-year process, the end result in 2001 was an award-winning Studebaker that he and Robin remain rightfully proud of. It has been judged twice at Studebaker Drivers Club nationals meets and scored 393 and 389 out of 400 points.

Despite its high-scoring status, Neil and Robin regularly drive their Daytona convertible when Mother Nature cooperates. It has racked up nearly 30,000 miles since the restoration in 2001, yet it still looks factory-fresh thanks to Neil’s efforts to keep it pristine and well maintained. The convertible is one of three Studebakers in the Loughlin collection. It shares garage space with an award-winning 1964 Daytona hardtop that competes annually at the Pure Stock Drags in Stanton, Mich., and a recently restored 1957 Golden Hawk.

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Bruce Garvey refused to believe his car was cursed. His 1949 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe sedan was just too lovable, and too solid, to ever be a permanently doomed by bad luck.

But it’s a good thing Garvey has a good sense of humor.

“I had a ’46 Studebaker that I wanted to re-do, but it was too far gone,” recalled Garvey, a resident of DePere, Wis. “I wanted a runner, and so I bought this one in northern Illinois, just north of Chicago — and it blew up on me on the way home! [laughs]. That was in 2005, 2006, somewhere in there.”

Garvey soon decided that the Champion was going to be his maiden automotive restoration project, and with the help of family friends it turned out great — with the exception of one other little hiccup.

“Well, we had a little explosion in the garage,” he says. “I don’t want to point any fingers or get into specifics about how it happened … but I had second- and third-degree burns over about 21 percent of my body. UW-Madison did a phenomenal job [with his treatment and recovery] and the volunteer fire department did a great job of saving the rest of the house as well. Overall, I’d say I was out of commission for about two months, I guess, and it took about a year to recover.”

The ’49 Champion was in the garage at the time and was slightly luckier than Garvey. “A few panels had to be re-done, but luckily the interior was out of it at the time,” he says. “All the interior and chrome were elsewhere in the house. The main chassis had to be repainted and I think two doors and two fenders.”

So how good did the project turn out? Last September Garvey decided to have the car judged at the Studebaker National Meet in Manitowoc, Wis., not far from his home. 

“I drove it to the show and lost a headlight, but we got still 391 out of 400 points! I thought that was really good, for a car that was pretty much all done at home with friends and family!”

THE POST-WAR CHAMP

The Champion model was a success almost from the beginning for Studebaker. The nameplate was introduced in 1939 and sold more than 33,000 copies that first year. As was the case with all the American car companies, World War II put a temporary halt to production, but thanks to its war contracts and the early traction gained by the Champion, Studebaker emerged from the WWII hiatus in good shape financially and ready to hit the ground running with postwar production.

The 1946 Champion was basically a warmed-over 1942 model, but a year later Studebaker launched what was considered the first true “new” car lineup. The new Champion was a product of Raymond Loewy’s design studio and had a love-it-or-hate-it look with a wrap-around rear window futuristic styling that made more than a few observers joke that they couldn’t tell whether the car was coming or going. In addition to the new rear glass, the redesign included flat front fenders and interior niceties such as courtesy lights and backlit gauges. Under the hood was a 169.6-cid L-head six-cylinder rated at 80 hp. It was hooked to a three-speed manual gearbox.

For 1949, the Champion continued as the base model in the Studebaker hierarchy, a step below the Commander, and was available in Deluxe or Regal Deluxe trim levels — the difference was mainly a chrome windshield surround and rocker moldings on the Regal Deluxe. The Champions were available as a base coupe, two- and four-door sedans, the five-passenger Starlight Coupe, and a convertible in the Regal Deluxe lineup. Prices ranged from $2,019 for a bare-bones coupe up to $2,467 for the droptop.

The main updates for ’49 were new standard wraparound front and rear bumpers and a different grille with a full-width horizontal stainless steel bar.

Garvey’s ’49 is one of 10,005 Regal Deluxe four-door sedans built for the model year. It would have had a base price of $2,149.

The Champion line underwent several other dramatic changes in the following years. The memorable “bullet nose” Studebakers arrived a year later in 1950, and another major redesign came in 1953 with another makeover from the Loewy studios — this time a racy new facelift courtesy of Robert Bourke.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

The Studebaker enthusiast community is famous for its members’ willingness to share knowledge, sell stuff and go out of their way help each other. That was exactly the experience Garvey had during his first restoration attempt. He not only found helping hands in his own social circle, but from total strangers as well.

“I did a little homework and the Studebaker community is just so helpful,”: he says. “You can buy parts at some of these wholesale houses out of the original catalogs, the same parts numbers… Parts are available and people will help you anytime to get you what you’re looking for. That’s one of the big reasons I chose a Studebaker.”

Garvey’s sedan was originally sold in Alma, Neb., on May 31, 1949. It was originally titled in Illinois, he said. Beyond that, he’s a little fuzzy on the car’s history. Somebody had obviously taken very good care of the car, however. Overall, it was in excellent original condition.

“Structurally, it was very good, but the paint was pretty well shot. It did have some rust in the posts — in between the front and back doors, so we welded some metal in there,” he said.

Much of the interior is original. The front seat still has a cover on it that Garvey suspects has been there almost from the beginning. The engine and transmission are original and have accounted for all 79,000-plus miles on the odometer. The six-cylinder did require some work after the breakdown on the maiden voyage home to Wisconsin.

“The guy hated to get rid of it. It was blowing a little blue, we just didn’t know how bad it was gonna get … A little more smoke and I knew it was done. Broken rod,” he recalled. “So we re-did it, but that’s the original six that’s in it.”

Garvey admits he wasn’t dead set on keep the Champion all stock and authentic when he first acquired it, but he’s glad he did — especially after getting it judged last year.

 “We had some plans, but when we got into it we decided to go straight original,” he says. “Actually, a lot of the paint was done in a plastic booth with 2x4s in the garage. A friend of ours is very good with paint, so he did the paint job … We took every component out of the engine compartment and sanded and painted it. I mostly did the grunt work on the grinder!

“The bumpers are original, the bumper guards were re-chromed. Otherwise, we did all the stainless steel trim by ourselves, pulled it all off, put new glass in it, except the back windows are original. The paint is Midnight Blue. Studebaker always stapled their paint tags under the glove boxes, so we knew that was the original color.”

Even in Studebaker circles, the early post-war year cars are a bit on the oddball side. That’s precisely why guys like Garvey like them. The ’49 Champion is both nostalgic and different, and it has a certain charm that’s hard to define.

“It’s just a fun car. When we take it to shows, it is unique. A lot of people coming up and looking at it,” he says. “And it’s not bad to drive. It brakes very good… When you get into tight quarters it’s a little tough with no power steering — and like an 18-inch diameter steering wheel, like you are driving a semi! But the three-on-the tree is fun, and with the overdrive we’re getting 60, 65 mph an hour.”

“I just kind of like it. It’s only a 3-year window that they made these. And like they say, with these you can’t tell if they are going forwards or backwards!”

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Studebaker had a brief but prolific period of offering superchargers on its cars, the first being the Golden Hawk. In 1957 and 1958, the Golden Hawk was Studebaker’s top dog in price, sportiness and performance, and as such, it was equipped with a McCulloch supercharger as standard equipment atop its Studebaker 289-cid V-8. Superchargers would become optional on several Studebaker passenger cars in the 1960s, but would you believe there were two Studebaker trucks built with superchargers?

Robert Paxton McCulloch, who founded the company that originally built McCulloch superchargers, sold McCulloch Engineering in the 1940s to Borg-Warner. He continued to dabble in superchargers and even continued to file new patents, and by the 1950s, had new superchargers to offer. He eventually put his new supercharger efforts under the Paxton name. By 1958, McCulloch had sold Paxton to Andy Granatelli who, four years later, sold Paxton to Studebaker Corp. of South Bend, Ind. Incidentally, Granatelli was head of Studebaker’s racing division at this time.

Beginning in 1963, Studebaker began offering the Paxton supercharger atop its 289-cid V-8 on some passenger car models and gave these supercharged cars the R2 designation. Production records exist for the 1963 R2-powered Avanti (1,552 R2 cars built), Lark (327) and the Gran Turismo Hawk (278) — but we’ve never seen mention of an R2-powered Studebaker truck. That is, until the accompanying documents were uncovered by the Studebaker National Museum and sent to us via Old Cars reader Mason Maynard. The period documents — Studebaker Truck Production Order forms — show two 1963 Studebaker Champ 8E7 Series 1/2-ton trucks built with the Paxton supercharger of the 289-cid V-8-powered R2 passenger cars. Not surprisingly, these documents show one of the trucks was delivered to the Paxton Products Division of Studebaker; the second shows the destination as “Indianapolis, Ind. Snider” — likely Snider Auto Service, an authorized Studebaker dealer in Indianapolis.

The R2-powered truck with the earlier serial number (E719327) and earlier order form date (Oct. 18, 1962) is the truck that went to Snider in Indianapolis. The 1/2-ton truck was built on Studebaker’s 122-inch wheelbase, making it a long wheelbase/longbox truck, and it was painted “Parch. White” for Parchment White with trim 1316A. It was further fitted with five Firestone 500 series 8.00-15 nylon blackwall tires, an automatic transmission and 3.73:1 gears in a Twin-Traction differential. Under “Special Options,” the production order form says “Avanti Jet Thrust 289 Engine with supercharger — Dev. 5338” (a regular-production 8E7 Series Studebaker truck had a 259-cid V-8). Truck E719327 had a final assembly date of Nov. 7, 1962.

One day later, on Nov. 8, 1962, the R2-powered Studebaker truck built for the Paxton Products Division of Studebaker underwent final assembly. According to its two Studebaker Truck Production Order forms, it was built on the Studebaker 112-inch truck chassis, making it the short-wheelbase/shortbox version, and it was painted Velvet Black with the same trim (1316A) as the white R2 truck built for Snider. While the tires were also Firestone 500s, they were smaller in size (6.70-15), and a handwritten note on the earlier form states the tires are to have narrow-band white sidewalls. This truck’s forms also differ by noting a three-speed transmission and 4.55:1 gears in its Twin-Traction rear differential. It was fitted with a radio and given VIN E719345.

The second truck is unique for having two separate Studebaker Truck Production Order forms. Both show a final assembly date of Nov. 8, 1962, but the dates the orders were written are almost two months apart, the second form having a “date written” entered as Dec. 17 — more than one month after the truck was built. However, both forms agree with each other, though the later form dating to December 1962 provides more detail in the “Special Options” section of the production order form, probably to reflect changes to it after it left the assembly line.

Under special options, the Dec. 17, 1962, form for the black shortwheelbase Studebaker truck outlines many special features: the Jet Thrust engine with supercharger (R2), of course, but also a T10 passenger car four-speed transmission, dual exhaust, gauges, a radiator with an oil cooler, a special propeller shaft, disc brakes and power steering, all of which were to be added by the engineering department. It appears this truck had an engine change from the Oct. 30 to the Dec. 17 production order forms. Both forms mention the engineering department, with the earlier form identifying a Mr. P. Deblumenthal as the person to whom the truck should be directed. The second form identifies this man as M. P. Deblumenthal, presumably Studebaker engineer Michael P. de Blumenthal.

In 1963 and now, these would be fast, powerful trucks — especially the shortbox/four-speed pickup — and both would certainly be worth remembering 60 years later. So, where are these hot supercharged ’63 Studebaker trucks now? If you recall the trucks, or know of the present location of either one, email oldcars@aimmedia.com. 

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South Bend, IN – The Studebaker National Museum recently acquired the Bonnie Doon Special, a Studebaker-powered Midget race car. This car was built by W.C. “Barney” Barnum of Mishawaka, Indiana, in 1948, and sponsored by the Bonnie Doon Ice Cream Company. It campaigned extensively in the AAA Midget racing series in the late 1940s and early 1950s, both locally and nationally. It’s best finish was in 1953 when it carried driver Rex Easton to third place in the season-end rankings.

Midget racing traces its roots to the mid-1930s as an affordable and exciting motorsports series. Studebaker’s Champion engine, which debuted in 1939, was a popular midget powerplant due to its ruggedness, compact design and its high-RPM abilities.

This special piece of local history will be on display beginning this holiday season.

The Studebaker National Museum is located at 201 Chapin St., just west of downtown South Bend.  It is open Mon.-Sat., 10am-5pm, and Sun. Noon–5pm.  Admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for seniors over 60, and $7 for youth ages 6-18.  For more information, please call the Museum at (574) 235-9714 or toll free at (888) 391-5600 or visit their website at www.studebakermuseum.org. For an additional cost, visitors can tour The History Museum, which adjoins the Studebaker National Museum.

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Steven Barker is the lucky recipient of his grandfather’s Silver Hawk. He also gets kudos for finally being the one to set the poor Studebaker free from its barn existence.

This is the story as told by Steven…

“My grandfather’s 1957 Studebaker Silver Hawk had been sitting in a barn for 32 years. It had interior damage from mice and needed bodywork. My late father got it back in shape with new interior and paint. Then he put it back in the barn for another 8 years. The Hawk seemed destined to spend its days in a barn, but I had hopes that someday it would be mine. In 1961 my mom inherited the Hawk from my grandpa.”

“Here I am pretend driving it (above photo) when I was 12 years old. Those memories never faded and only made me long for the car even more. It was filled with my childhood memories that no other car could recreate. Fast-forward 51 years… I finally inherited the Hawk from my mother and spent the next 3 years getting it roadworthy and now thoroughly enjoys it. My dream came true and it is still running well today!”

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The annual Concours d’Elegance at Copshaholm, held on the grounds of the Oliver Mansion (aka Copshaholm) in South Bend, Ind., continues to grow and amaze its visitors. The event has an unparalleled emphasis on unique classes, outstanding automobiles and themed displays or recognition events each year, and the 2022 event on July 9 was no different.

In a nod to a hometown hero, the Studebaker National Museum hosted an Avanti class at the concours with nine entrants on display. The Avantis present provided a visual demonstration of each generation of Avanti automobile as it evolved. (The concours’ 35-year-old participation eligibility rule was waived for this class.)

The concours’ Avanti class recognized the 60th anniversary of the car’s introduction to the general public on April 26, 1962. A highlight of this special anniversary class was a display of the first production Studebaker Avanti (serial number R-1001), and the last production Studebaker Avanti (R-5643). The concours marked the first time ever that the first and last Avanti cars were in one place at one time. This possibly once-in-a-lifetime event resulted from the Studebaker National Museum contacting and coordinating with LeMay – America’s Car Museum and the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, to present both cars together. the LeMay museum, located in Tacoma, Wash., owns R-1001, the first production Avanti, and the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, in Cleveland, owns the last Studebaker Avanti (R-5643).

The concours committee additionally decided that the event would also be an excellent opportunity to display examples of the six post-Studebaker generations of Avanti. The committee settled on excellent representative vehicles of each generation, including additional examples of both a 1963 and 1964 Studebaker Avanti. Avantis built by successors to Studebaker included a 1978 Avanti II (Newman & Altman), 1981 Avanti II (Newman & Altman), 1983 20th Anniversary Edition prototype (Blake), 1990 Avanti four-door sedan (Cafaro) and a 2007 Avanti convertible (Kelly). However, the stars of the class were the first and last production Studebaker Avanti automobiles.

R-1001, the first production Studebaker Avanti, was donated to The LeMay – America’s Car Museum in 2001. It had been primarily driven on the East Coast and had led a hard life. The vehicle underwent a complete restoration over a number of years and was proudly displayed at the concours as it left the production line at Studebaker. The car was ordered on April 26, 1962, and had a shipping date of June 25, 1962. The car was initially held by Studebaker in South Bend, serving multiple duties at the plant and headquarters.

Dick Goldfarb, of Massachusetts, was the original retail purchaser of R-1001 after Studebaker released the car for sale in 1964. Dick and his wife, Laura, were guests at the concours, and Dick was proud to be reunited with his Avanti. When asked of his memories of the car, he smiled and remarked, “If the keys were still in the car, we would be long gone.”

R-5643, the last production Studebaker Avanti, was ordered on Oct. 7, 1963, and had a final assembly date of Dec. 31, 1963. It was ordered from the factory with the R-3 engine package, making it the ninth of nine such cars. It carried a unique piece of provenance discovered in its trunk soon after the original buyer’s purchase. A note in the trunk read, “This is the last Studebaker Avanti built 12/31/63, Happy New Year W.H. Bennett Sr.”

Mr. G.E. Westin, of Youngstown Ohio, placed the order for what would be the last production Studebaker Avanti at Jerry’s Auto Sales of Warren. Upon discovery of the aforementioned note, Mr. Westin contacted Studebaker, inquiring about the status of this claim. In January 1965, Bill Dredge, manager of Studebaker public relations, confirmed this was, indeed, the last Studebaker Avanti built in South Bend.

Joe Erdelac, an AMC & Studebaker dealer in Cleveland, purchased the car from Mr. Westin, and, in 1975, offered the car for sale at $100,000. The car was not sold and was then donated to The Crawford Auto Aviation Museum of the Western Historical Reserve, where it has resided ever since.

Studebaker Avanti fans should commend the The Studebaker National Museum, The LeMay – America’s Car Museum and the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum for working together to make this union happen.

More info

Studebaker National Museum
www.studebakermuseum.org

LeMay – America’s Car Museum
www.americascarmuseum.org

Crawford Auto Aviation Museum
www.wrhs.org/crawford/

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South Bend, IN – The Studebaker Avanti was one of the industry’s most imaginative and sensational vehicles. For the Avanti’s 60th anniversary, the Museum will explore the Avanti’s improbable origin story and its place in the 1963 automotive landscape. The exhibit will look at contemporary reviews and road tests as well as promotional materials and advertisements. Additionally, the exhibition will discuss the Avanti’s early production difficulties and its life beyond Studebaker. This exhibition will open on April 4 and will be on display through Oct. 30, 2022.

The Studebaker National Museum is located at 201 Chapin St., just west of downtown South Bend.  It is open Mon.-Sat., 10am-5pm, and Sun. Noon–5pm.  Admission is $10 for adults, $8.50 for seniors over 60, and $6 for youth ages 6-18.  For more information, please call the Museum at (574) 235-9714 or toll free at (888) 391-5600 or visit our website at www.studebakermuseum.org. For an additional cost, visitors can tour the exhibits and Oliver Mansion at The History Museum, which adjoins the Studebaker National Museum.

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“Here is a 1937 Studebaker Dictator 5a. We’ve owned this car since 1980. It is an AACA Grand National winner. It’s one of the last survivors of this model, possibly the last as we’ve never seen another in all the many shows we’ve attended.”

“It has a wig-wag light on back bumper that lights up and wags when you step on the brake. That was an option available on this model in 1937.”

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