Ever seen a roll bar in a Studebaker? Can’t say that I have, but this 1953 Studebaker Commander “Weekend Racer” project has one. The other surprise is what’s under the hood: an R2 Avanti Supercharged V8. Although the words Studebaker and racing aren’t usually used in the same sentence, the sleek, aerodynamic lines of the low-slung Commander would make it tempting once its factory 232-cubic-inch V8 engine was swapped out. This old school weekend racer from California was in storage for 34 years and has just been let outside to see the light of day again. It’s another find from the Pacific Northwest that currently calls Bellingham, Washington home. It is listed for sale here on craigslist for $8,500 and another tip-of-the-hat goes to super spotter, Curvette, for spotting this one.
At first glance, the Studebaker has an authentic, rough-around-the-edges charm to it. There are several body “imperfections” as the photos show some gray primer and sheet metal repairs but it looks solid. The seller says the custom-built hood bulge clears the supercharger mount, but that he has an Avanti side mount he can swap if the buyer wants to install a stock hood. It’s possible that the old Commander is still wearing its original Chippewa Green and Ivory Mist factory paint, and there’s front and rear bumper “patina” visible. The seller says, “the front bumper has a crude welded tow bracket mount, so I have a better front bumper included.”
The interior has an unglamorous racing look and is currently without carpeting. There are two comfortable-looking bucket seats and the black ribbed vinyl upholstery appears to be in good shape. It’s sporting an old-school racing steering wheel on the original instrument cluster and a black roll bar complete’s the black-and-white cabin decor.
The seller states that the Commander is said to have had a big block Ford under the hood at one point, but a previous owner decided to swap it out to a Supercharged Studebaker Avanti engine. The seller shares, “The engine was rebuilt, but never hooked up, or ran. It will need to be disassembled after so many years to check everything before running it and hooking everything up.” The seller also says the car’s supercharger will need to be rebuilt, it has a 9″ Ford rear end, a 4-speed manual transmission, and that a pair of original R3 exhaust manifold headers are included but will need bead blasting. On the surface, this could be a fun project and I hope this old Studebaker can be made roadworthy once again. I’d try to keep it in its current condition, warts and all. How about you?
WOW! What a cool and unique old school American classic find! Knocked out of the park with this one Curvette and a terrific article choice Ron. If this were in my garage it’d have the drivetrain done and the interior finished a bit more aesthetically (though leave the roll bar!), then repaint to original scheme. Find any Studebaker dog dish hubcaps and drive it.
GLWTS
Yep….sad the writer has not been around long…..these early 1953/54 Studes first saw the Bonnieville Salt Flats in 1955 where they started setting records with all kind of engines installed. This is a nice body which is the desired 1953 hardtop – the motor would be for a Stude kind of guy….boy aren’t those factory R-3 exhaust manifolds sexy ? Produced back in 1963/64 for the really hot Studes they have had a short run of reproduction but are scarce…..happy fun to the new owner – it’s priced right for a rusr free 1953 Hardtop.
yeah, one of the 1st sentences got me too as I seem to recall them tearin up the tracks (“…race Sat/sell Mon…”) and a family member “went the other way.” She bought one, wrenched it into top form then went racin… Course she was an Inspector @ the Fairchild Aircraft Plant in Hagerstown (later MacDonald-Douglass, inc). Quite a woman ! All Hail to great aunt Ginny !
So awesome. It even has tow tabs on the front. Now this is worth the asking price. Hopefully someone will see how cool this is and get it back on the road.
Boy, does one get deep into my history. Found the chassis for my ’53 in a wrecking yard for $35 delivered to my dorm parking lot. Same green color and no rust. After getting the running gear installed repainted it a medium metallic blue. Loved it.
A few years ago there was a black bullet nose Stude that drag raced .It was called Frankenstude it was crashed but I don’t know if it was ever repaired.
Chicken Hawk
Wow, I love this thing. Way to go finding another interesting car Curvette. Sometimes I ask myself why I look at so many of these ads as I really don’t have the time, money, space for another project right now. But it’s interesting seeing what is out there and one day I’ll make room for the next one. And this is a project I would love to get behind. I sure hope someone brings it back to life.
Well, I guess I’m in the minority, but if this were mine, I would have to put it back to original, because this was one of the most beautiful PostWar cars ever made.
i hear many call it a european design. Never thought of it that way but it does look abit french in body lines after all, eh? May B the https://www.facebook.com/groups/musclecarsmuseum/posts/2354516568266067/
is french too?
… -sorry, humor (esp irony) is not evident on-line-
One word Sweet!
I remember the Studi-Lacs. Very fast cars. Bill Frick Motors in Rockville Centre, New York made these customized aftermarket cars between 1953 and 1955, comprising a hard-top Studebaker Starliner coupé fitted with an OHV 210–250 hp Cadillac V8 engine.
I remember the Studi-Lacs. Very fast cars.Bill Frick Motors in Rockville Centre, New York made these customized aftermarket cars between 1953 and 1955, comprising a hard-top Studebaker Starliner coupé fitted with an OHV 210–250 hp Cadillac V8 engine.
This is the kind of stuff I like.
I can only imagine what Dave Kindig could do with this car.
His builds START around $400k.
Tried for some in my neighborhood on my paper route at 15 but didn’t get any until much later. Here’s the one – a 1955 – I got from Mr. Goode’s estate after he passed….tried to get every day I delivered his paper….
It had one….two….three….four….five – gone Possums under that hood….last on the road maybe 1971?
I’m drooling here. What a cool find? I would love to get this running. A Stuposum? A Possabaker? 5 possum powered? What kind of transmission? How slow was it?
Price has been dropped $2,000. !