Studebaker President Speedster (1955)
for sale
Price: US $20,000.00
Price: US $20,000.00
OK; ALL!!!. Listing our B/W Speedster; this car is a GREAT Weekend Driver. Have spent the last year and half following behind what was
described as “frame-on restoration” from a seller whom we picked this car out
of California in 2009. Next paragraph (or so) is a (cut/paste)
of the advertisement in 2009; it is as follow:
“
1955
Studebaker President Speedster”
“Frame-on
Restoration in 2003-04-$22, 500 OBO”
“As 1 of only 420 Speedsters built in the Los Angeles, CA
(Vernon) plant, this is indeed one of the rarest of the rare & a Great
Investment!”
“This car was Studebaker's answer to the Corvette &
Thunderbird with a twist, this car's a 4 seater. It was designed to compete
with the 'Vette & Bird, but to appeal to sports car/hot rod enthusiasts
with kids. 1955 was the only year for the Speedster; in 1956 Studebaker took a
slightly different approach with introduction of the Golden Hawk.”
“I purchased this car in 2002 in the SF Bay area and it was trailered to the resto
shop where it was evaluated. It has a V8, Auto, PS, and Pushbutton Radio. The
shop, Studebaker Parts & Service, is like an old-time garage; they only
work on Studebakers and know them inside& out. The car had been sitting and
needed lots of work, however it had virtually no rust and the original interior
was exceptional. It was decided the car only need a frame-on restoration, and
we happily discovered the drive-train to be in great shape, with the exception
of the accessories, radiator, gas tank, brakes & lines, generator, voltage
regulator, etc. About $20k has been spent on the car's mechanical restoration
thus far. The car now runs, drives & stops great and is currently
registered and exercised regularly. It was driven from the restoration shop in
Long Beach to San Diego with no problems & glided right down I-5. I love
driving her, my Dad had a 55 President Hardtop just like this one except the
dash & it was really something-I spent many years in the back seat &
riding shotgun.”
“Some of the chrome was pitted and replacement parts were found, then re-chromed. The stainless steel butter knife down the sides was redone.
The fender spears are perfect with NOS spears. The body shop straightened any
imperfections in the body, however no filler was used. Paint was matched to be
as close as possible to the original. Radio works & sounds great, Tach
& Clock do not function & the heater blower motor need attention. I've
reduced the asking price to $22, 500 or best offer & my investment is more
than this amount. By comparison a Studebaker Speedster sold in 2004 at Barrett
Jackson Scottsdale for $40, 000 (plus that nasty buyer's premium).”
Now, we have laughingly started calling this car our “20 footer”; it looks pretty
dang good from 20 feet. Get any closer; and, you can start to see her short
comings. Year and half ago, after picking up another Speedster (yellow/green
car) we decided to get up off the couch and get busy evaluating our old Stude’s We made up our minds to continue the
‘frame-on’ efforts on our 20 footer. Find the missing items; repair the broken
stuff; and, in general get the old girl to a point where she is truly a
reliable driver. You turn on a switch and what is supposed to come on comes on;
or, in a nutshell have a cool old car to drive and have some fun in/with. Needless
to say, found flaws; corrected many; and, still have a mile (or so) of work to
go; but, am fairly trusting in the car that I have taken her to/from work (70
miles R/T) a half dozen times (or so); and routinely (weekly) exercise the car (likely
30-40 miles) on Saturday’s/Sunday’s. NOTE! if you buy this car, you better
be prepared for a 20-30 minute conversation (at any moment) when driving it
around; I have had guys chase be home just to look under the hood, share
memories and/or just look.
All
kidding aside; it’s not a $40K to $70K “10” restoration; maybe a 6.5 on the 10
scale. I can honestly say that what is supposed to be on the car is on the car
(and works); or, is in our possession and will transfer with the car if/when
sold. I will be happy to chat it up with you; good, bad and ugly. Yes, it looks
like the car suffered front end damage (left front fender), sometime in its
life; and, somebody did use body filler when they fixed it and re-sprayed the
Black/White. We did find rust on driver/passenger (front) floor panels; used
POR in lieu of welding in new replacements. We did weld in (few) patches under
rear floorboards, under back seats, and front of both rear wheel tubs. The
engine runs fairly decent; pulls well and getting better every time she’s
driven. It does not burn oil (but does run low at 10-15 PS); the tranny’s
coming back to life too as it shift just about as described in the maintenance
manual.
Anyhow, thanks for looking. If you have questions; ask them. We will ask for a $500.00
deposit; and, of course cash, wire or cashier’s check prior to signing over the
title and transfer of the car. NOTE, sale is final once title is signed over. Best Regards!
update: 2016-11-13
Condition: | Used | Year: | 1955 |
VIN (Vehicle Identification Number): | 7808011 | Mileage: | 100,000 |
Interior Color: | White | Make: | Studebaker |
Number of Cylinders: | 8 | Model: | President |
Transmission: | Automatic | Trim: | Speedster |
Body Type: | Coupe | Engine: | 259 V8 |
Warranty: | Vehicle does NOT have an existing warranty | Drive Type: | RWD |
Vehicle Title: | Clear | Fuel Type: | Gasoline |
Sub Model: | Speedster | For Sale By: | Private Seller |
Exterior Color: | Black/White |