Wednesday, April 18, 2012

1958 Studebaker Full-Sizes

Nineteen fifty-eight is again a difficult year for Studebaker, which is facing both the current recession and Curtiss-Wright’s dwindling interest in saving the moribund company. Duncan McRae once again updates the cars but, with a limited budget, struggles to fit the necessary quad headlights and fins to the cars - the result is far from satisfactory, to say the least.


Studebaker Scotsman
Quad headlights and rear fins remain unknown to the Scotsman, as is most of the optional equipment available with other series. In fact, it is the very same car as the one seen last year, without any modification.
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● Introduction: 1952 for this generation of Studebaker, 1957 for the Scotsman. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled inline six, 2.8-litre, 101 hp, mounted at the front. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Length: 514 cm. Top speed: n/a. Range: two-door sedan, two-door “Utility” sedan, four-door sedan, two-door station wagon. Note: the Utility sedan had its rear seat removed. Some Scotsman models were fitted with the same 4.2-litre V-8 as the Commander.


Studebaker Scotsman Econ-O-Miler
This new Econ-O-Miler is a heavy-duty version of the Scotsman, built on the same long wheelbase chassis as the President sedan. Most are sold to taxicab operators.
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● Introduction: 1952 for this generation of Studebaker, 1957 for the Scotsman. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled inline six, 2.8-litre, 101 hp, mounted at the front. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Length: 524 cm. Top speed: n/a. Range: four-door sedan.


Studebaker Champion
Unlike the Scotsman, the Champion receives large fins at the rear, but quad headlights remain optional.
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● Introduction: 1952. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled inline six, 2.8-litre, 101 hp, mounted at the front. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Three-speed automatic gearbox optional. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Servo optional. Length: 514 cm. Top speed: n/a. Range: two-door sedan, four-door sedan, two-door hardtop coupe (for export only), four-door “Deluxe” station wagon (for export only).


Studebaker Commander
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● Introduction: 1952. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled V-8, 4.2-litre, 180 hp, mounted at the front. Optional engine: V-8, 4.2-litre, 195 hp. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Three-speed automatic gearbox optional. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Servo optional. Length: 514 cm. Top speed: n/a. Range: four-door sedan, two-door hardtop coupe.


Studebaker Provincial
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● Introduction: 1952 for this generation of Studebaker, 1956 for the Provincial wagon. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled V-8, 4.2-litre, 180 hp, mounted at the front. Optional engine: V-8, 4.2-litre, 195 hp. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Three-speed automatic gearbox optional. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Servo optional. Length: 514 cm. Top speed: n/a. Range: four-door station wagon.


Studebaker President
All remaining Presidents are gathering in a single series this year. The four-door sedan is built on the long-wheelbase chassis, as the defunct President Classic was.
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● Introduction: 1952 for this generation of Studebaker, 1954 for the President. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled V-8, 4.7-litre, 225 hp, mounted at the front. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Three-speed automatic gearbox optional. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Servo optional. Length: 514 cm (coupe), 524 cm (sedan). Top speed: n/a. Range: four-door sedan, two-door hardtop coupe. Note: a single four-door station was built with a V-8, 4.7-litre, 210 hp engine.


Studebaker Marshal
For law agencies, Studebaker has devised a special heavy-duty version of its full-size car that can be used as a police interceptor, thanks to the powerful V-8 of the President fitted in the short-wheelbase chassis.
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● Introduction: 1952 for this generation of Studebaker, 1957 for the Marshal. Construction: body on separate chassis. Engine: water-cooled V-8, 4.7-litre, 225 hp, mounted at the front. Transmission: to the rear wheels through a three-speed manual gearbox. Three-speed automatic gearbox optional. Suspension: independent at the front, rigid axle at the rear. Brakes: hydraulic, to drums on all four wheels. Servo optional. Length: 514 cm. Top speed: n/a. Range: two-door sedan, four-door sedan, two-door station wagon.


Any mistake you’ve just spotted? A detail to add? A suggestion? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment!

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