1955 President Speedster

1955 Studebaker President Description

OK; ALL!!!. Listing our B/W Speedster on a “BUY IT NOW” deal starting at $25K. Have spent the last year and half following behind what was described as “frame-on restoration” from a seller whom we picked this car out of California in 2009. Next paragraph (or so) is a (cut/paste) of the advertisement in 2009; it is as follow:

“1955 Studebaker President Speedster”

“Frame-on Restoration in 2003-04-$22,500 OBO”

“As 1 of only 420 Speedsters built in the Los Angeles, CA (Vernon) plant, this is indeed one of the rarest of the rare & a Great Investment!”

“This car was Studebaker's answer to the Corvette & Thunderbird with a twist, this car's a 4 seater. It was designed to compete with the 'Vette & Bird, but to appeal to sports car/hot rod enthusiasts with kids. 1955 was the only year for the Speedster; in 1956 Studebaker took a slightly different approach with introduction of the Golden Hawk.”

“I purchased this car in 2002 in the SF Bay area and it was trailered to the resto shop where it was evaluated. It has a V8, Auto, PS, and Pushbutton Radio. The shop, Studebaker Parts & Service, is like an old-time garage; they only work on Studebakers and know them inside& out. The car had been sitting and needed lots of work, however it had virtually no rust and the original interior was exceptional. It was decided the car only need a frame-on restoration, and we happily discovered the drive-train to be in great shape, with the exception of the accessories, radiator, gas tank, brakes & lines, generator, voltage regulator, etc. About $20k has been spent on the car's mechanical restoration thus far. The car now runs, drives & stops great and is currently registered and exercised regularly. It was driven from the restoration shop in Long Beach to San Diego with no problems & glided right down I-5. I love driving her, my Dad had a 55 President Hardtop just like this one except the dash & it was really something-I spent many years in the back seat & riding shotgun.”

“Some of the chrome was pitted and replacement parts were found, then re-chromed. The stainless steel butter knife down the sides was redone. The fender spears are perfect with NOS spears. The body shop straightened any imperfections in the body, however no filler was used. Paint was matched to be as close as possible to the original. Radio works & sounds great, Tach & Clock do not function & the heater blower motor need attention. I've reduced the asking price to $22,500 or best offer & my investment is more than this amount. By comparison a Studebaker Speedster sold in 2004 at Barrett Jackson Scottsdale for $40,000 (plus that nasty buyer's premium).”

Now, we have laughingly started calling this car our “20 footer”; it looks pretty dang good from 20 feet. Get any closer; and, you can start to see her short comings. Year and half ago, after picking up another Speedster (yellow/green car) we decided to get up off the couch and get busy evaluating our old Stude’s We made up our minds to continue the ‘frame-on’ efforts on our 20 footer. Find the missing items; repair the broken stuff; and, in general get the old girl to a point where she is truly a reliable driver. You turn on a switch and what is supposed to come on comes on; or, in a nutshell have a cool old car to drive and have some fun in/with. Needless to say, found flaws; corrected many; and, still have a mile (or so) of work to go; but, am fairly trusting in the car that I have taken her to/from work (70 miles R/T) a half dozen times (or so); and routinely (weekly) exercise the car (likely 30-40 miles) on Saturday’s/Sunday’s. NOTE! if you buy this car, you better be prepared for a 20-30 minute conversation (at any moment) when driving it around; I have had guys chase be home just to look under the hood, share memories and/or just look.

All kidding aside; it’s not a $40K to $70K “10” restoration; maybe a 6.0 on the 10 scale. I can honestly say that what is supposed to be on the car is on the car (and works); or, is in our possession and will transfer with the car if/when sold. I will be happy to chat it up with you; good, bad and ugly. Yes, it looks like the car suffered front end damage (left front fender), sometime in its life; and, somebody did use body filler when they fixed it and re-sprayed the Black/White. We did find rust on driver/passenger (front) floor panels; used POR in lieu of welding in new replacements. We did weld in (few) patches under rear floorboards, under back seats, and front of both rear wheel tubs. The engine runs fairly decent; pulls well and getting better every time she’s driven. It does not burn oil (but does run low oil pressure at 10-15 PSI); the tranny’s coming back to life too as it shift just about as described in the maintenance manual.

Anyhow, thanks for looking. If you have questions; ask them. We will ask for a $500.00 deposit; and, of course cash, wire or cashier’s check prior to signing over the title and transfer of the car.NOTE: Buyer is responsible for arranging pick up, shipment and transportation of the car to final destination. Sale is final; once title is signed over.Best Regards!