The question that inevitably comes up in conversation is why Studebaker? Well the best answer I can come up with is that it probably seemed like a good idea back when I was a 15 year-old school student buying my first project car. But as I quickly found, once you have one Studebaker you just seem to get hooked and more follow. I’ve had five of them since then.
This particular Studebaker, a ’29 FD Commander Brougham shares the garage with a ’25 Standard Six roadster and the latest non-Studebaker addition to the family, a genuine one-owner A Ford also from 1929.
In the late 1920s Studebakers not only held every American stock car record, they created a string of new ones. Speed and endurance records were popular with the record breakers. Commanders proved to be particularly adept at hill climb events, with advertising of the day claiming that ‘If they had claws they’d climb trees’.
However the Great Depression severely dented sales of expensive cars and, as a result, only 25,000 FDs of all styles were produced. The Brougham body style, which was available only on Commander and top-of-the-range President models, is a four-door sedan minus the rear quarter windows of regular sedans and is one of the rarest of the 13 styles offered. Priced at around US $1,600 Commander Broughams came only in Regal specification, which included wire wheels with dual spares, trunk, rear seat armrest and a choice of mohair or broad cloth interior trim. The bumper bars, shock absorbers, dual tail lights and air horn fitted to this vehicle were optional extras.
One of only two complete examples of the body style in Australia, the car’s early history is sparse. Based on what can be gleaned from the small amount of material that came with it, it appears to have been restored in the late ‘70s and extensively rallied around the Central Coast of New South Wales until its then owner moved to the Gold Coast.
In the late ‘80s it was offered for sale at a collectable car auction at Jupiters Casino, where it was bought by a business man who’d had a big win at the races and thought he’d like an old car. Initially it was stored at his Brisbane home and later at his horse stud outside Ipswich. It remained unregistered and unused until we acquired it in 2004. By then it had been badly neglected.
The original straight eight engine block was irreparably cracked so another had to be sourced, which was no easy feat considering how few were sold here. The very well seasoned replacement came from western New South Wales where it had spent many years in the open with the cylinder head removed. Replacement con rods were sourced from the US and correct manifolds and carburettor came from Albury and Murwillumbah respectively.
The rebuild involved pouring new crankshaft bearings, a task that takes on mammoth proportions when you realise these engines have eight big end and nine main bearings. Other work involved rebuilding the steering box and brakes, manufacturing a new oil pump and rewiring. A repaint and return to its original five-colour paint scheme is planned. The photos were taken at the 2010 RACQ Motorfest by mister-cars.com editor, MURRAY HUBBARD. |
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