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!!

Mike's Show-N-Shine loves comments. Go to the "comments" below and let me know what you are thinking. If you have a product you would like me to review, let me know. Automobile related only, please.

Our Story and a Mustang Commercial, circa 1964

After many posts about local car shows, show-n-shines, cruises, and parades, I am going to take a minute to talk about my own Mustang, and share with you a commercial that I found on You-Tube. I hope you enjoy my Mustang story and the commercial.

When my wife and I returned from Taipei, Taiwan in 1969, we needed a car for her, since I was going to my next duty station in Keflavic, Iceland and she would have to stay behind for the next year. So her brother and I went out looking and found a 1966 Mustang coupe. It was red with a landau top and six cylinder automatic. So it was great looking and just what my wife would like. So we bought it. It cost $1500.00 plus tax, title and plate. We financed it for 18 months and, if I remember correctly, our payment was $55.00 per month after putting down $600. I was so excited to drive it home and let my wife see what we had found! She was very happy!

Off I went to Keflavic. I came home in February of 1970. We kept the car for a couple of years, and traded it in and got $300 for trade on a 1968 Dodge Challenger, 383 4bbl, coupe, white interior and beautiful bright blue exterior. I loved the Challenger, but always missed the Mustang.

We went through a number of "classic cars", starting with a 1955 Studebaker President Speedster "Golden Hawk" (another story!) a 1977 Datsun 280Z, a 1929 Ford Model "A" business coupe, a 1946 Chevy pick-up with a 350 4bbl, bucket seats and a great stereo system, and a 1989 Mazda RX7 that we would drive to go "Mazdaing" to pick up ice cream. There were different reasons for selling each one, but it was never a "good day" in my life when they were sold.

Then, about six years ago, the itch came again. We were looking in the GR Press and found a Mustang in Whitehall, Michigan, and, although they said it needed work, we took a ride with my wife's mom and dad and went up to see it. Well, like they said, it needed work. It was all in parts and a real mess. Me, I am not up to that kind of work. But the man said his wife would like to sell her 64 1/2 Mustang. I had seen it when we opened the garage. RED! That was good. An automatic! That was good. Real spoke wheels! That was good. I was almost sold. "What engine does it have?" I asked. It had the 289 V-8 4bbl. Sold! I said....oops. Will you throw in the front license plate with it!? She said yes, I said (again) sold!

We paid them and headed for home. My wife followed me. I was so excited to drive it back home!

Since then we have fixed, repaired, and replaced many parts. Actually, it didn't need much, but it had rarely been driven since being restored 15 years prior to our purchase. The tires had the twin red-walls, which looked good, but slipped and spun with barely any acceleration. They were 15 years old! So, four new tires. Four new shocks, gas in front, air in back, two coil springs, two leaf springs. Headers, custom made exhaust, Flowmaster mufflers, new seat belts, and a few other minor items over the next five years.

One more major thing to be done, but, darn it, it costs lots to paint an entire car.
I could have it painted for a few thousand, but I really would like a complete job which means taking off all chrome, all trim, stripping it down to raw metal, and shooting it with high quality Dupont paint. At my age, and with my slightly worn out body, it has to be someone else to strip it and paint it.

So it goes to the car shows as a "driver" not a true show car. We will never win a trophy, although we did receive a "sponsors choice" award at the Zeeland Car Show three years ago. Will we ever be able to pull it off and have a professional paint our Mustang? Probably not. Will we enjoy driving it to car shows, show-n-shines, parades etc? You betcha!

So, come visit us when you are at the next car show and you spot us there. We will have the hood up (just an engine) and the trunk (nice display) and you can take a look. I display it with pride. Afterall, it is a 1964 1/2 Mustang! Red. 289. 4bbl. and real spoke wheels!

Hey, maybe someone wants to take on painting a car to help an old guy out! Who knows what kind of strange thing might happen! Maybe "Pimp My Ride" will call me! Maybe pigs can fly!

Now, let's take a look at an ad for a 1964 1/2 Mustang. You must turn off my music first- just go to the sidebar, find the listed music, and click on the "II" at the top, left. Then click on the arrow in the middle of the You-Tube square. You are in business. Enjoy! Mike

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Well, I'll be!

Just when I wrote that it would never happen, here it comes! My wife and I attended the Walker (MI) Auto Show this morning, sponsored by the Walker AMBUCS. Not a big show - maybe 30 or so cars. As the morning progressed, yours truly noticed the judges were visiting our Mustang a bit more than usual. You guessed it!! We won our first trophy! Best Classic Car! Our thanks to the Walker AMBUCS, the judges, the Walker Festival Auto Show and all of the volunteers who made this event possible. You can bet we will be there next year and try again to impress the judges.

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Leave a comment if you would like. Just click on "comments" below.

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Garmin. Have You Tried GPS? Have You Tried Garmin?

Folks, I received my new Garmin just a few days ago. I ordered it on-line from Meijer Inc. at a very good price. It is a Garmin StreetPilot c340 and it is a blast!

I have been looking for a good price on a GPS for about a year. When I first saw one, they ran about $300 to $800 for an average priced GPS. While looking on the Meijer Website, I ran across a very affordable price of $143.99 for the c340 that usually sells for $399. And free shipping! That is a savings of over $250! Now, before you write me, I know that this was a discontinued model. But remember, the "shelf life" on most electronics is six to twelve months before it is either discontinued or replaced with an upgraded and up-priced model.

Back to the Garmin c340. Take it out of the box, put the mount on it, stick it to the windshield and you are ready to go! It is truly that simple! I do think they should have a warning on it to make sure you put it into the car before trying it out. Mine would not connect to the satellite from inside the house the first time. Now I can bring it back in and load up all of the addresses that I will be visiting that day for my job, all over town. Then just click on the preloaded addresses and I am off and driving. Clear display, bright colors, easy to follow! Touch screen for easy use. Many selections in the menu make it so fast and easy.

The voice is easy to listen to, although she does sound upset with me if I go a different direction than what she told me to! She seems a bit stern when I make her "redirect" her planned route. But the truth is, it is done quickly and effortlessly. There are always two ways to go around here to get to your destination. So if you take a right when she says go straight, she will recalculate the destination using your direction traveled and do it within a few seconds!


Did I say I love my Garmin?


If you would like more information on the Garmin, go to their website, or visit Meijer on their website and take a look. Meijer even has a "buy two" deal for about $288 for both. A package, one for you and one for the missus!

I bet you think they paid me a bunch for writing this post. Nope! I am just so exited to have this Garmin that I had to tell everyone to take a look. Don't wait long! They won't last at this price and then you will have to pay more for the "new" model.

For you classic car buffs, all you need is a "cigarette" plug to help charge the batteries. If you don't have a smokers model, it should still have the plug-in.
It is sure going to help me around the state this summer so I don't get lost finding the next car show!

Luther's Cruisers Car Club Garage Tour-Ada, Michigan

This is a "garage tour" that was taken in 2006. What a time we had! The owner of this collection of great automobiles and collectibles will go unnamed for security purposes, but I will say this. He is well past retirement and still restoring cars. His kids said "Dad, please sell off some of this stuff so we won't have such a mess to clean up". Sure. As he showed us some large trailers full of signs he just purchased and brought home to add to his collection.



The first picture is of the owner. Many will recognise him, but I won't tell you if it is the guy on the left or right.










The previous pictures are of the inside of one of the garages. Mixed with the great and rare paraphernalia are some of his wonderful automobiles. Study hard. How many items do you recognize from your past?

The following are a few of the many garages, sheds and lean-to shacks that he has his collection in. The main area is full of cars and thousands, yes, thousands- can you say tens of thousands? individual automobile paraphernalia.








The next section are some of the cars. Must have been 30 in all stages of restoring. Most were totally done, and done well. The first picture is of a totally restored engine, just can't remember which car it will go into!












I hope you have enjoyed this tour. Stay tuned for MORE!

Great Car Collector: Clive Cussler

This post will be a bit different than the past few. There are not too many car shows right now, so I am going to give you a site that is full of great pictures of famous cars. I am a big fan of one particular author, Clive Cussler. I don't know how many of you have read his books, but I have read and own them all. He writes about adventures at sea. Many are based on actual events or on historical accounts with a twist.

If you have never had the opportunity to read a Clive Cussler book, give it a try. There are about 30 books, all available at Amazon. Check out "my library thing" in the right hand column!

Clive also does some non-fiction writing, telling how he searches for and documents shipwrecks that have been "lost" for many years. He is responsible for finding the Hunley, a civil war submarine that was brought up by private investors a couple of years ago. His books about hunting for and finding these ships are a great read. He even found one ship that ended up under a parking lot!

Clive is also know for his automobile collection that contains over 80 vehicles. You should visit his site and observe his fabulous cars. Like his 32 Stutz Speedster, 55 Studebaker President, 31 Auburn Speedster and a number of Town Cars.

Clive also occasionally works his cars into his books.

Get to know Dirk Pitt, the hero in many of the books. Get to know what NUMA is and how he has made it into a real and vibrant institution. From book to reality.

And, by the way, Clive Cussler is featured on the cover of Hagerty Insurance's new magazine. A great article and great pictures of his cars.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. If you visit the pages at the highlighted words, you can enlighten yourself and get smarter!! We all need some education now and then.