Maybe it’s dramatic to say, but I don’t think my life will be completely fulfilled until I own something made by Studebaker, that plucky independent from South Bend, Indiana. Just look at how gutsy this 1951 Commander Land Cruiser is: the “bullet-nose” grille, those suicide doors, the name itself—”Commander Land Cruiser.” It sounds like a tank, but it looks like nothing else on the road. The seller of this Maui Blue example, which apparently wears its original South Bend-applied coat of paint, is selling it to buy something “more reliable and less finicky.” Luckily for you, if you’re a Studebaker fanatic, this one’s had a lot of tinkering done already, but nobody’s bitten at its $8,000 starting bid here on eBay. You can find the Land Cruiser in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
In the seller’s words:
Engine runs and car drives….but not reliably….it will run fine in the afternoons but struggle in the mornings. I frankly don’t have enough time to fiddle with it as I have for the past three years. I was able to drive it without issue to the local car show last year but since then I have found I am tuning the car more than enjoying a drive.
Fortunately, the problems facing the new owner can’t be too dire, as the seller posted a video of the 120-horsepower, 232-cubic-inch Studebaker V8 ticking away, its solid lifters making themselves known, but not too loudly. It has a new oil pan gasket, new valve cover gaskets, new intake and exhaust gaskets, and new driver’s side core plugs (numbers 1 and 2). The engine has also been repainted, and perhaps most importantly, it has a new 6-volt OEM-style wiring harness. The carburetor is a Stromberg Aerotype two-barrel, an extremely reliable old carburetor (I have one on my ’53 Buick).
The interior materials are, according to the seller, original. That includes the upholstery and the headliner, and both are in “great shape.”
In addition to the engine work, the car has new brake shoes, universal joints, spare tire, seat belts, tail pipe, and differential gasket. As you can see from the photo above, it also has an automatic, which was a $201 extra.
Aside from the Commander State Convertible, the Land Cruiser was the most expensive Studebaker in the line in 1951, and it rode on a wheelbase that was four-inches longer than other models: It was truly the “Cadillac” of Studebakers. That status, combined with this one’s originality and the fact that the current owner has clearly cared for the car, makes it a tempting early-1950s independent for those who want something a little different and bold. Clearly, the opening asking price has turned some people off to the car, but honestly, it doesn’t seem that far out of line. What would be a fair bid for this Stude?
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