Studebaker Body Drop - Auto Assembly

An interesting article about the Studebaker automobile assembly "body drop" process.

See the full article here.

Studebaker - Genealogy of Automobile Companies

This is an amazing poster tracking the genealogy of automakers.

"A flowing history of more than 100 automobile companies across the complete time span of the automobile industry. From 1900 to 1925 over 3,300 organizations were formed to produce automobiles in the United States. In 1910 alone 400 new startups entered the industry. Most attempts lasted less than two years. While car sales exploded (from 1910 to 2010 US sales rose from 200,000 to 11.5 million cars) the strongest entrepreneurs bought out rivals and combined forces. Today, ten companies account for about 90% of all US automobile sales."

See the full poster here.

Studebaker National Museum - 5 Great Cars

Nothing can compare to visiting the Studebaker National Museum in person, but below are photographs of just a few of their beautiful cars.

Featured here:

- 1950 Studebaker Commander
- 1952 Studebaker Commander
- 1963 Studebaker Lark Sedan
- 1961 Studebaker Hawk
- 1951 Studebaker Commander from the Muppet Movie

1950 Studebaker Champion Drawing

Nice article and great drawing by Joe Sherlock.

"Demand for the bullet-nose '50s proved so strong that Studebaker added a third shift at its large South Bend factory and ran its Southern California and Hamilton, Ontario, assembly plants at capacity. A 14-month long model year produced 343,164 cars - the most for any vehicle in Studebaker's long history. By the end of 1950, company employment was up to 25,000 - a peacetime record."

Click here to visit Joe's website.

New Fuel Pump - Studebaker

I've had better mornings. Hopefully Doc will be back on the road with a new fuel pump shortly.

Quick Digression - Marquis DeSoto - Custom Cars

The story of a custom car and a one-of-a-kind guy. Not a Studebaker, but full of that same spirit and love of classic cars.

“I’ve never taken an art class,” Mr. Heller said. “I have a B.A. in psychology. I never realized this is what I wanted to do.”

He had held down an office job in San Francisco and “wore a suit and tie” before being laid off. In 1971 he moved to Woodstock, where his family had a house. Two years later, he opened Fabulous Furniture in nearby Boiceville."

Read the full article on the NY Times website.

Official Petition - Studebaker - Pixar's "Cars 2" Movie - Update

Updated 11/24/08 - We now have more than 150 signees on the petition!

Sign the Official Petition to lobby for a Studebaker in Pixar's "Cars 2" Movie.

A sequel was announced for a Summer 2011 release of Pixar's "Cars 2." Pixar's John Lasseter commented "the Cars are going international" in the sequel, but there's no reason that a Studebaker - an American icon and one of the first electric cars (1902) - shouldn't be included in the new film.

Sign the petition.

Read the forum thread on the SDC website.

Studebaker Fuel Efficiency

From the Los Angeles Times:

"Look beyond the nostalgia factor in this film produced for Studebaker dealers. Listen to the comments. The Studebaker Lark was, according to this film, intended to give consumers what they wanted: a low-priced, fuel economy car. We know today, of course, that Studebaker failed for many reasons. But these executives were positive they had read the market correctly."

See the full article about Studebakers and fuel efficiency.

Paul Newman - Doc Hudson - Hudson Hornet

One of the motivators for our buying Doc (the Studebaker Champion) was my daughter's love of the movie Cars. We'll always have a soft spot for the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and for Paul Newman's portrayal of Doc Hudson.

RIP Paul Newman. Your donation of more than $250 million to charities is commendable. A real class act.

As an aside, Cars 2 is set for a 2011 release.

Studebaker - Photostream - Flickr

There's an excellent photostream of Studebaker vehicles on Flickr. More than 90 members added 900+ photographs of Studebaker vehicles. You can join the group to add your own photographs.

See a photostream of Studebaker vehicles.

From the Flickr group moderator:

"About STUDEBAKER - Different By Design

All things Studebaker. A group to post your photos of Studebakers past and present. Your scans and photos of Studebaker memorabilia and ephemera are welcome also. Vintage photos or the pic you took today. From the wagon era to the last 1966, post it here. Erskines included and Packards from the Studebaker - Packard Corporation years as well.

Just remember that Studebaker is the focus here and keep it positive. No put downs of other makes and no offensive language. No modern glamour photography - there are lots of flickr groups for pics where the gals are the main event. The primary interest here is the cars and the corporation. The history and the legacy."

Bleeding the Brakes

The first "to-do" on the Studebaker Champion was to bleed the brakes. My neighbor recommended the Vacula VAC180051 vacuum brake bleeder and clutch bleeder. The Vacula uses compressed air to create a powerful vacuum brake bleeder that can be used to bleed and flush hydraulic brakes and clutches.

Note: If your brake system is using synthetic/silicon brake fluid, you must continue to use silicon brake fluid. If you use a different type of brake fluid in the lines with the synthetic brake fluid, you'll need to replace the lines and start over; it's one or the other.

See the Vacula brake bleeding tool here.

1950 Studebaker Champion Photographs

Below are a few photographs of our 1950 Studebaker Champion. Additional high-res pictures are located here.

My Dad and I, two car lovers with zero car repair experience, took on "Doc" in December 2007. Named "Doc" by my four year-old daughter [in honor of the Fabulous Hudson Hornet in the Pixar movie, Cars] this '50 Studebaker Champion is a true labor of love. More than just metal and grease, Doc is a place where my Dad and I can talk about his childhood, parenting, and the complexities of life in the '00s.

If you have a Studebaker story, send it to me at jason [at] jasonmichaels [dot] com and I'll publish it on this blog.

"Thank you" to Heidi for sharing this project with 101Cookbooks.com readers.

1950 Studebaker Champion

My Dad and I were independently fond of the Studebaker Champion. In December 2007, we bought a 1950 Studebaker Champion from a father/son restorer team in Chico, California.

We started this project with the original Shop Manual and a Studebaker International catalog.

View the Studebaker International website here.