The Lost Company, Studebaker

When I was a young boy, there was a car company called Studebaker. Remember the Golden Hawk? How about the sleek and powerful Avanti? That was only two of the many makes and models they made. I remember a man saying, oh, maybe 40 years ago "When they start thinking of Studebakers as classic cars, the world will have gone crazy."

Well, folks, call it a crazy world and I am in there as crazy as many others who think the Studebaker Company went away too early. Way too early. Those classic lines of the early Studebakers were matched by no other. My high school car, a'55 Studebaker President Speedster, was and is, a classic.

Now take a look at this car! A 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe Coupe!

Here is the story. Mr. Jason Michaels restored it with his dad. Neither being a mechanic (I relate to this!) they began the process. From 2007 to 2009 they worked to bring this California rust free car back to its original beauty.

Jason, it was a successful trip, my friend! This is a quote from a letter Jason wrote to me:

"The restoration process submerged us into a subculture that we didn't know existed. The land of Studebaker is peppered with some wonderful people across the USA and the world. I now drive our Studebaker weekly - an ambassador for a great brand that met an untimely demise, but that lives on in the hearts and minds of car enthusiasts worldwide."

Jason has also started a website featuring some of these wonderful people and the cars they restore and drive. Click here to take a look. Make sure you subscribe so you will get a notification each time Jason has a new post. I have been signed up for over a year! I love to see what these people are up to. And, low and behold, they mentioned the '55 in his last post!





No, this next car was not mine, but it is just what it looked like except someone had painted mine black. And I, being a young hotrodder, painted two big stripes down the center. I was told mine was one of five built as a predecessor of the 56 Golden Hawk. It had a Golden Hawk emblem within the chrome strip on the hood, a 352 V-8 with a 4bbl Carter carb, Borg Warner transmission, beautiful dash with six Borg Warner gauges, speedometer, tach, gas, oil, temp and vacuum. The speedometer went to 160, and one day (with recap tires) I had it up to 145 and had to back off because the dirt was floating up off the floor and getting into my eyes. What an idiot I was!



My thanks to Jason and his dad for all the loving work they did restoring this wonderful car. It didn't look this nice in 1950 when it was born!!

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