Of all of the cars I took in during my one trip to Bonneville nearly ten years ago, only a handful made any real impact on me at the time. That’s not to say I wasn’t looking…I was just so in awe of the place that cars actually became the last thing on my mind. Those that did etch themselves into memory did so on merits I hadn’t considered before. And to be fair, most were Studebaker products. Prior to the salt, I hadn’t seen much of anything about a Studebaker that wasn’t a bullet-nosed sedan that shouldn’t have left the early 1950s. But then I laid eyes on an Avanti, and though it is kind of funky, in it’s own way it’s pretty badass. That’s been most of my reactions to Studebaker products since…Champ trucks are cool, Larks are neat, and then…
Oh, damn…excuse me for a moment.
This 1953 Studebaker Commander bypasses my pre-1960 issues and immediately starts checking off boxes I didn’t know I had on my “must have” list. It’s a real-life Hot Wheels car packing 526ci of Cadillac power under the very louvered hood. And that’s only just the tip of the iceberg. From bottom to top, front to back, not an inch of this Stude was left alone. The underside of this machine is clean enough to eat off of, the interior is stunning, the pinstriping work is dead-on, and the whitewalls…
This is one of those finds where you could write for days on what you see, but in reality all you need are the pictures. Well, that and a shot at the keys, which have been in the hands of the likes of Wayne Carini from Chasing Classic Cars. Sit down in the customized Volvo-sourced buckets, drop the TH400 into gear, and you can either cruise to your heart’s content or use the big-cube Caddy’s wave of torque to make you giggle like a kid that just got away with murder.
eBay Link: 1953 Studebaker Commander
“Studillacs” were quite common in the 1950s and early 1960s and I seem to remember one being driven by Felix Lieter in an early James Bond book. This gem harks back to that era but it needs to lose those foul wheels and tyres and six inches off its ride height.
Torq thrusts and whitewalls? possibly the most popular wheel in the US is foul, huh? you sir are an idiot.
That’s gorgeous.