1950 Studebaker Commander Starlight

1950 Studebaker Commander Starlight Coupe
Commander Big 6 Engine, Overdrive, Heater, Radio

When you think of 1950 Studebaker you think of designers like Raymond Lowey, Virgil Exner and Bob Bourke whom all designed various Studebakers. Bob Bourke's all new "bullet-nose" design was brought to the Commander in 1950. If you look at a P38 Aircraft and then look at a 1950 Studebaker, you can see how the P38 influenced the design of the 1950 Studebaker. If you look at the rear of the car you can see the resemblance to an airplane cockpit. These cars were often referenced as not knowing which way it is going as the rear design could almost be the front of the car. In 1950, an all-new independent coil front suspension replaced the prior transverse leaf spring front independent set-up used by Studebaker. .
The 1950 Studebaker Commander is powered by a six-cylinder L-head engine that produced just over 100 horsepower. It sat on a 120 inch wheelbase which provided ample interior space for the 5 passengers In 1950 Studebaker had two models, the Champion and the Commander. The Commander was the top of the line and had a longer sleeker stream lined front end which not only added a nicer look to the "bullet nose" but also provided a better ride for the passengers. The 1950 Commander Starlight is one of the most sought after post-war cars Studebaker made. There were 72,560 1950 Commanders built as compared to 270,604 1950 Champion models. The Commander Starlight weighs 3220 pounds while the Champion Starlight weighs 2715 pounds, This additional weight helped inprove the ride. Additionally the Commander had 100 horsepower in its engine and the champion only had 85 HP. . .
This is an original nearly rust free Commander which set untouched in a friends garage for over 35 years. I have owned this car for 10 years and planned on keeping it long term but life events changed this when I had a chance to buy my uncles Chevrolet Convertible and sentiment won out. This one was showing its age with some pits on the chrome, paint needing TLC and an interior showing its age so last year I decided to freshen it up for a nice driver and I put an Lebaron Bonney interior in it, freshened the original Studebaker Surf Gray paint and replaced the pitted pot metal chrome. My plan was to take it to some local car shows this year but as indicated above plans changed. I had been driving it as is prior to this and still received many thumbs up. The chance to purchase the Chevy came after the car was in its present state. .
You could almost refer to it as a barn find!. AND YES, I KNOW I WILL REGRET SELLING IT. .
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ENGINE As the car only has 53,xxx original miles on it the engine is quite solid. The brass coolant distribution tube was actually still good which indicates that this car was prepared well for long term storage. The distribution tube helps cool the rear of the engine and these are often bad, They are very hard to find. . I replaced the fuel pump, water pump, spark plugs and wires, hoses, tune up type items, and the carburetor was rebuilt. The radiator was pulled and taken to my radiator shop for a check-up. It passed with flying colors! I have gone through this car and checked it out fairly thoroughly afters its long storage. I have driven this car locally for the last 8 years or so and am very pleased with its performance. The engine is the commander six which has 245 CI.. This engine is far superior to the Champion 170 engine and is a pleasure to drive.
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BRAKES The braking system was renewed as the wheel cylinders, master cylinder, hoses etc all needed some attention. It was upgraded to silicone or DOT 5 brake fluid so that the braking system would not clot due to inactivity. The shoes were like new. This car has an accessory called "hill holder" which holds the brakes on when you are on an incline and the clutch is depressed. This keeps you from rolling backwards when on a grade and taking off from a stop.
TRANSMISSION The clutch disc and pressure place along with throw out bearing were replaced shortly after getting the car as the clutch was starting to slip at times. The transmission is a T86 with overdrive. This is the same transmission used on the Studebaker V8 cars, it is much heavier duty than the T96 used in Studebakers equipped with Champion engines, The transmission is in great shape and has never caused me any problems. The overdrive works well and is greatly appreciated when going over 40 MPH.
BODY All four fenders have been removed and new rubbers and fender welt were installed. When the rear fenders were removed the inner fenders were cancer free and were painted so they would last many more years. The inner fenders are often rusted out. The rear fenders had some rust behind the gravel guards which was removed. I am fortunate to have a lot of NOS Studebaker parts and replaced items as needed and did not document every item replaced. The front fenders were pulled so that the inner fender + paint job which was originally just a flash coat on the top would cover the entire inner fender. Now I want to tell you what the floor boards and inside the trunk are SOLID SOLID SOLID, I cannot see where there was ever any cancer in these. It is amazing to me how rust free this car was. Storage in a dry garage for 50 years sure preserved this car. I have personally been all over this car and I cannot find any signs of it ever being wrecked or of body panels being replaced, they are still all original to the car. The window mechanisms in the door were lubricated as after 65 years the original lubrication was mostly gone. The taillight housings were rewired and NOS headlight buckets were installed. The trunk sports a brand new trunk mat. I do not see any cracks in any of the original glass. The frame is solid. I painted the under carriage after cleaning off the light surface rust and years of dirt and grime. The VIN is 4446551
PAINT The paint is good driver quality or local car show quality in my opinion and is similar to the type of paint job it had when new. The cowl under the hood and the door jams are still original paint. Initially I only wanted to paint selected body panels like one door which was full of door car dings but determined I would not be happy with that solution as todays paints, while the color is the same, to the eye I could tell the difference. The paint used was Dupont Nason Enamel which provided the closest match to the original I could find. Dupont primers were also used so that the paint would last another 50 years. The paint shines nicely but does have some flaws which could be removed with wet sanding should you so desire. I did this car for a driver and I am personally very satisfied with the paint job.
CHROME/TRIM Some of the original chrome was showing it age so I replaced quite a few with NOS pieces.. NOS chrome includes headlight bezels, tail light bezels, hood ornament, "commander scripts", hood badge, front fender ornaments etc. The original front eggcrate air grills were upgraded to chrome from painted as I like the look. Early 50 cars had chrome grills and painted headlight bezels while later cars had chrome headlight bezels and painted grills All four of the hard to find "commander lettered" hub caps were replaced with NOS ones as the originals had dings in them. I added the accessory beauty rings as I also like that look. I also replaced all four bumper guards with NOS ones as the originals had dings in them. The bullet is original to the car and is in real nice shape as is the trunk handle. The lucite inserts on the hood ornament and fender ornaments are almost always flawed while these are in NOS condition. The original rubber gravel guards on the rear fenders were also replaced with the very hard to find NOS pair.
MISC The tires are bias belted tube type tires, they have ample thread and I do not see any cracks on the sidewalls but they must have some age with them, they were on the car when I got it and have been problem free when driving it. Two tires are Allstate brand and two are Armston, The gas tank was removed, cleaned and coated with that stuff to make it last many more years.. The car originally came without turn signals. As most drivers today do not know what hand signals are, I added original factory turn signals to the car. The rear windows on this car resemble the front of an airplane cockpit. The windshield wipers are vacuum operated and while the motor is new the vacuum wipers do not work like modern electric wipers The original jack is in the trunk! The warranty tag is still hanging on the radio. Those are just some of the signs of how well this car was taken care of.
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Now for some pictures of the gorgeous chrome etc
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INTERIOR
It has a new interior from Lebaron Bonney which includes door panels and seats. The color is gray The headliner to the car is original and there are not any holes that I can see. The sunvisors are also original to the car and are in excellent shape. I went with a carpet set from Ernie Loga as I believe he has the best carpet set on the market and it fits without modification. The carpet color matches the head liner. The aluminum door sills have both been replaced with new as the originals were showing wear. The arm rests are also new. The storage compartments on either side of the rear seat have upholstery original to the car on the arm rest portion. . All gauges work. The radio has the sought have accessory of the crank-up antenna! The radio plays most of the time which is pretty amazing (failed once for some reason, worked when turned off and on. )
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PICTURE 31 . Administration According to NADA, average retail for this is between $18,150 up to $32,120. I will gladly try to answer any and all questions and will be glad to supply additional pictures. The new owner is responsible for any shipment and must arrange such shipping themselves. I will work with the shipper on this end I sold one like this in 2015 for $17,500 on Ebay and the owner was very satisfied. I was pleasantly surprised to see they have gone up $2000-$3000 in the past three years. These do not come available very often.
. Remember this is a rare car and the value should do nothing but go up.
I have described it to the best of my ability. A $500 non-refundable deposit is due within 24 hours (Paypal or cash) and full payment is due within 7 days or as agreed to with the seller. Paypal cannot be used for complete payment. Car must be picked up within 10 days unless prior arrangements are made. The existing owner must have cleared payment before it will be released. This car is for sale locally and I reserve the right to remove it from this auction at any time. Car is being sold as is, with no warranty expressed or implied.