I have good memories of the many Studebakers that my family owned. Dad had an old Stude from the thirties. My aunt had a black convertible in the "cornpicker" era. Brother had a '50 that was the fastest car in Medina County Ohio in it's day. Another brother had a '53 Comanche (sp) that was a sweet car. Another brother had a '55 Commander that would run like a striped a$$ed ape. Then he bought a '59 Super Hawk that would spin both back wheels in second gear, without touching the clutch. All these cars had overdrive rearends, with the exception of the '50, and the low gear ratios fooled a lot of so called "hot" cars off of the starting line.
To answer your question - I don't think I'd try a cross country trip in ANY 63 year old car. Especially one that parts are no longer available for.
But. They were nice cars in their heyday. Electric wipers when most were still vacuum powered. Overdrive transmissions gave good fuel economy, and the associated low rear end gearing gave fast acceleration. The hill holder was something that I never heard of on any other make of automobile. I had lots of fun in the '55 Commander, toying with the Ford V8's at an uphill grade stopsign. I could sit there casually with one foot on the clutch and one on the gas, while Ford was heel and toeing the clutch, brake & gas all at once.
And the kickdown on the overdrive was slick. Like the passing gear in a modern automatic.
I'm sure there were bad times. The company is out of business and long forgotten. But the good times are vivid in my memory.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Restoration Story: Fordson Major - by Anthony West. George bought his Fordson Major from a an implement sale about 18 years ago for £200.00 (UK). There is no known history regarding its origins or what service it had done, but the following work was undertaken alone to bring it up to show standard. From the engine number, it was found that this Major was produced late 1946. It was almost complete but had various parts that would definitely need replacing.
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1964 I-H 140 tractor with cultivators and sidedresser. Starts and runs good. Asking 2650. CALL RON AT 502-319-1952
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
