This was extracted from a photo of E. Front Street and So. Montgomery. Each time I see one of these Studebakers (I must rely on "Ray from Villa Park" to identify the year), I am taken back to the years when I had a crush not only on all the lovely ladies I loved and lost back then, but also the revolutionary newly designed Studebakers!. I drove Bill Stewart's Studebaker one year when I was up in Jackson New Hampshire with Fred Kuser. It won my heart. For some strange reason, I loved all the "off brand" automotive marques back then. Hudson, Nash, and Studebaker were the object of my automotive lust, even though the talk of the day was that they were unpopular and had minimal trade in value when compared with "the big 3." What a bunch of baloney! They were built to last and usually outlived the major auto manufacturers. It would be my guess that this Studebaker was an Ira Keats car demo.
BY THE WAY: THE DATE 1949 IN THE PHOTO IS WHEN THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN....NOT THE YEAR OF THE CAR.
- Hi Tom, You are right. This is probably a Keats Studebaker demonstrator. That is a dealer license tag. It appears to be brand new and it is a 1949 Commander Sedan. It is not the Land Cruiser, because it does not have the opening vent window, in the rear door. This was the senior model, with the bigger six engine. The following year, the iconic bullet nose styling was introduced. You either loved it or hated it. I loved it. The gas station to the left, is that same Gulf station, we talked about, shown in previous photos. A very rare car is parked in the station, to the far left; a 1948 Frazer Manhattan. Studebaker's were not that popular in this area. I remember my father saying they were oil burners. Sure enough, when I was driving in the late 1950s, I would get behind an older one, and it would be puffing smoke out the tailpipe. I finally purchased a Studebaker in the early 1970s; a mint Blue Mist 1963 GT Hawk, with a factory 4 speed and the Sweepstakes 289 V8. It was a one owner car, garaged in the back of a Polish bakery off of Liberty St. I loved that car and it is one that should have never gotten away. rayfromvillapark
- Hi Tom, You are right. This is probably a Keats Studebaker demonstrator. That is a dealer license tag. It appears to be brand new and it is a 1949 Commander Sedan. It is not the Land Cruiser, because it does not have the opening vent window, in the rear door. This was the senior model, with the bigger six engine. The following year, the iconic bullet nose styling was introduced. You either loved it or hated it. I loved it. The gas station to the left, is that same Gulf station, we talked about, shown in previous photos. A very rare car is parked in the station, to the far left; a 1948 Frazer Manhattan. Studebaker's were not that popular in this area. I remember my father saying they were oil burners. Sure enough, when I was driving in the late 1950s, I would get behind an older one, and it would be puffing smoke out the tailpipe. I finally purchased a Studebaker in the early 1970s; a mint Blue Mist 1963 GT Hawk, with a factory 4 speed and the Sweepstakes 289 V8. It was a one owner car, garaged in the back of a Polish bakery off of Liberty St. I loved that car and it is one that should have never gotten away. rayfromvillapark
Hi Tom, You are right. This is probably a Keats Studebaker demonstrator. That is a dealer license tag. It appears to be brand new and it is a 1949 Commander Sedan. It is not the Land Cruiser, because it does not have the opening vent window, in the rear door. This was the senior model, with the bigger six engine. The following year, the iconic bullet nose styling was introduced. You either loved it or hated it. I loved it. The gas station to the left, is that same Gulf station, we talked about, shown in previous photos. A very rare car is parked in the station, to the far left; a 1948 Frazer Manhattan. Studebaker's were not that popular in this area. I remember my father saying they were oil burners. Sure enough, when I was driving in the late 1950s, I would get behind an older one, and it would be puffing smoke out the tailpipe. I finally purchased a Studebaker in the early 1970s; a mint Blue Mist 1963 GT Hawk, with a factory 4 speed and the Sweepstakes 289 V8. It was a one owner car, garaged in the back of a Polish bakery off of Liberty St. I loved that car and it is one that should have never gotten away. rayfromvillapark
ReplyDeleteRAY: I WOULD BET THAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO STAN NOWAK WHOSE FAMILY HAD THEIR BAKERY ON PARTRIDGE AVENUE FOR YEARS. WHEN MOM AND POP NOWAK PASSED AWAY, YOUNG STAN TOOK OVER AND RAN IT UNTIL IT CLOSED IN THE 1970'S. THEY WERE THE VERY BEST AS FAR AS QUALITY. YOU HAD TO GET TO THEIR SHOP EXTREMELY EARLY IN THE MORNING OR YOU WOULD MISS OUT ON THEIR INCREDIBLE BAKED GOODS. MY FAVORITE WAS THEIR COCONUT MELT- AWAYS. I'M THINKING OF DOING A "TIMES" COLUMN ON NOWAKS AS A FAMOUS NEIGHBORHOOD BAKERY ALA EET GUD.
ReplyDeleteTOM GLOVER
Hi Tom,I just spotted your post. You are absolutely correct. I purchased the 1963 Studebaker GT Hawk, from Stan Nowak. His parents were still living when I bought the car. I think he bought a new Ford. I don't remember selling him a Buick, when I was with Coleman, on Spruce St. The car was immaculate. It was garaged in the back of the bakery on Partridge Ave., and never used in bad weather. My wife, Madeline, always said the car smelled like baked goods, but I never smelled anything unusual. It was like a new car, even though it was at least 9 years old, when I purchased it. There will always be a place in my heart for Studebaker Hawks. rayfromvillapark
ReplyDeletePolish bakery off of Liberty St. Went their a few times with wife's Grandma.
ReplyDelete