In 1954, Studebaker and Packard joined forces in a merger designed to continue their relevance. It turned out not to be a match made in heaven and the Packard brand was gone after 1958. But in 1955, they maintained their differences, and the President was resurrected as the top Studebaker. This ’55 edition looks stunning, yet the seller says work would be needed to make It a show-quality automobile. Located in Orange Park, Florida, this rare family car is available here on craigslist for $16,500. A nod of the fedora goes to T.J. for yet another great tip!
The Studebaker division of the new Studebaker-Packard Corp. produced just over 116,000 cars in 1955. And nearly 25,000 of them carried President badging. 15,600 units were 4-door sedans, and if the seller’s Stude is the Deluxe model, if would be only one of about 1,000 built with that many doors. President styling was a bit awkward with those bolt-on lights hanging from the front bumper. And the rear fender skirts on this sedan also seem out of place (IMO).
We’re told this “Prez” has just 60,000 or so miles and the 259 cubic inch V8 and 3-speed manual transmission are original to the machine. It’s said to run and drive flawlessly and has newer parts, including the battery, voltage regulator, and generator. We suspect that the paint is a redo and older but in the original white over yellow colors. The interior is from the factory and looks both flawless and comfortable.
Though suggested by the seller, I see no need to update this car’s paint, so you should have a turnkey car ready for outings to Cars & Coffee on a weekend near you. Chances are that finding another one of these vehicles in this condition would be time-consuming. The seller isn’t opposed to a trade if you have something interesting to bring to the table.
The car with severe under bite. You have to admit, car designers of the 50s must have had a field day with designs. I’m sure more than one said, “I can’t believe they went with my kooky renderings”. I say, this site should be offered in a high school or college history class today. I mean, look at the last several postings here, the Packards, the Lincoln, this, styling glitz off the charts and people loved them. Okay, Studebaker Presidents not so much, but the sky was the limit the likes we’ll never see again.
I like these Studes except for the front bump. Same with the Speedster, the designers couldn’t figure out the front bumper. Just plain ugly! Compared to other 50s cars of that time I think it holds its own. Considering what limited budget Studebaker had I think they did a nice job with the styling.
The original of this last series of Studies was the ’53 Starlight Coupe. It was, as conceived by my departed friend, Robert “Bob” Bourke, clean as the proverbial whistle, probably “the” design of the 20th Century (along with Albrecht Goetz’ BMW 507). The translation from coupe to sedans resulted in some awkwardness although it was still head and shoulders above the rest of the ’53 crowd. Well, I’ll concede that Howard “Dutch” Darrin’s ’53 Kaiser “Anatomic” designs also broke new ground.
As mentioned above, we’ll never see designs which can hold a candle to what many consider the outliers of the ’50s.
I bought my ’53 on pure looks alone. I had an Olds engine with the 4 speed automatic transmission ready to go into a ’39 Chevy sedan that never made it after the Studebaker showed up. Just looking at the pile of chrome on this one is sure hard to look at.
A 55 T-Bird and a 55 Studebaker met one night in the parking lot of a seedy motel and the Daimler SP 250 was conceived.
Gippy, you are correct, this does look like the Daimler father. I hadn’t thought of the connection! And, as said, this over-developed from the beautiful 1953 Studebaker design. Sort of a catfish look without the whiskers.
I liked these Studebakers, they were handsome cars, well maybe with the exception of the nose. It looks like a really nicely done restoration, inside and out, and actually I like the fender skirts on this one, I may be in the minority here, but I’d keep them.
Man! What a nice ride. I especially like the “underbite” front end !
Appears to be in great shape. I do like the yellow though that color is not for most cars.
I had a 55 President Deluxe which I bought in ’79 while in college, about 45 years ago to the day. I learned that was the low end Prez. The deluxe two-tone scheme had the break at the bottom of the rear pillar, so the deck lid and rear quarter were body color. This is a top of line State. The biggest reason the Deluxe is rare is because as I recall from my research back then one could get a loaded Commander for $50 more, or go up to the State for maybe $250. The President revival alone just wasn’t enough, and even in ’55 the uncharges were reachable so folks passed on the Deluxe. Kept and restored mine, discovering and returning to the original dark blue top over light blue body. Alas, engineering study took time and I met The Girl before getting to the interior. I thus passed on my Deluxe, too and sold it to a distant cousin to finish. I remember the little 259 V-8 would move that thing along better than you’d think, too.