Studebaker employed the Commander name across a variety of products from 1927 until the demise of U.S production in 1964. It was reflective of upscale models and included the Starliner, 2-door hardtop editions. Besides being restored over the past five years, this 1954 Starliner has received several mechanical upgrades, including a 350 Chevrolet “Stroker” V8 engine. This beauty can be found in Redondo Beach, California, and is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $59,823.
The company built 68,708 automobiles for the 1954 model year, and 31,570 of those wore Commander badging. Drilling down further, just 5,040 Starliner hardtops were assembled, making them a rare find 68 years later. While it’s likely the seller’s car had a 232 cubic inch V8 under the hood, a lot of different stuff is there now, reflecting sizeable investment. The Chevy-sourced 350 produces a whopping 375 hp and is paired with a 4-speed manual transmission. The front end was channeled to bolt and weld in Jaguar XK6 power-assisted rack and pinion steering and front disc brakes. As a result, we’re told this Studebaker drives like a modern auto.
The body and two-tone body look straight and shiny, and all the chrome is said to have nary a flaw. Its interior was redone with custom upholstery and a removable stereo with Sony Bluetooth technology was added. The seller can provide all the car’s maintenance records and details of the custom changes that were made. The odometer reading is just over 13,200 miles, but we don’t know if that’s in total since 1954 or since the restoration. The only reason the car is for sale is that he needs the room for an original Studebaker Avanti that he recently purchased. If you were looking for a vintage Stude that drives like new, maybe this car is in your future?!
wow….wonder what their going to do with their new 63 avanti ?
Make another street rod?
Having lived above a Studebaker dealer for 4 years and across the street for the next 10 it’s hard not to like them. I’ve always had a soft spot for STUDIES. If I had the money and time this would be mine.
$59K ? Even with the improvements I don’t think the car is worth that much. I love Studerbakers but $59k could bring you home some ever nice cars.
Agree…..but even as a stock Studie V/8 guy…..that SBC is a great improvement !
Kinda light on photos for that much scratch.
What the heck is the horizontal blue line on the rear window? Perhaps the seller can explain?
Could be the “Thin blue line” to show support for Law Enforcement…
I’ve loved these ever since I was a teenage kid, I have a photo of me in the 70’s sanding primer on a ’53 starliner. That’s about as far as I got before moving on to another project. I have a ’48 Lincoln in the garage I value at 30K, unfortunately I don’t think the wife is gonna go along with an extra 30!
Why wouldn’t they shut the hood completely when taking pics? Or wouldn’t it close all the way?
Drives like a modern car! Right up ’till those Jaguar bits need to do anything!
Nice to see that the Steelers Nation is alive and well in Redondo Beach, California!
Maybe the Washington Football team should buy this…
I have been driving Studebakers since my first 53 Commander coupe in 62. I would not speed that much on a car that has been modified like this one. A 289 and disc brakes would be fine. I would take a 3 speed overdrive over a 4 speed
I have always liked these, we called them slippery Studebaker’s because there aerodynamic design. Have seen fabulous cars on the salt flats and also modified street cars, that were to die for.. I am having a bit of sticker shock, like Steveo, I feel that is a little high for this car, but I do like it.
Nice car, I had a 56 Power Hawk,which had pillars, Silver Hawks, these were all actually rust buckets if inSouth Bend or other northern places. The
air vent in the fender held salt,sand etc and also the floors. The engineers
wanted to change them to the cowl but the brass loved them there. On one model had the headlite frames from the truck line a few years earlier..No$$$$$
No Commanders were built during the Lark era – 1959-1963. The Commander came back for 1964 and the last Commander was built in March, 1966, at the Hamilton plant.
Lookout, here comes the grammar Nazi …
Their – belonging to those people
There – the place where you’ll find it/them
They’re – attributes they share
Useless phrase: “try and …”, as in “try and fix it;” if you’re sure you can fix it, the “try and …” adds nothing but empty words. If fixing it is in doubt, the you’ll “try TO fix it.
(Leaving now.)
english majors kin be ‘car guys’ too. Accept all kinds here ~
they let ME in~
Always liked the body on these. In fact I once knew of one sitting in a farmers orchard. Always thought I’d like to get it but when I finally did, it was gone. I took too long to get a place where I could work on cars and someone beat me to the punch.
After I bought and restored my ’53 I scoured the country trying to fine some of the fog light bumper guards. Never did. It’s nit-picky but a solid color vs. two tone really brings out the nice lines of these cars.
I like the suspension and driveline changes. In order to drive an old car in todays traffic it’s really the minimum of what’s required not to impede the traffic flow and not to have a museum piece or a parade only vehicle. It is a nice car. Not fantastic. Not excellent. But it is nice. So when I see a “nice” car or things like International Harvester Scouts commonly have asking price of over $50,000, it makes me realize how much value the USD has lost in the last 25-30 years.
Two questions regarding this;
#1: $59k? Are you kidding me?
#2: 350 stroker? Either some one has no idea of what they’re (grammar o.k.?) talking about or someone put a 350 crankshaft into a 302 or 327 to make a 350. Either way it would not be considered a stroker engine.
For those of you who don’t understand that; A small block Chevy engine that has a 4″ cylinder bore can be a 302, 327 or 350 cubic inch engine depending on the length of the stroke, or piston travel, which is determined by the crankshaft.
Cool car, silly description, outrageous price. Thank you, Bye!