Lemon and lime? pics please, Remembering my grandfaters bumble bee car, yellow and black, 50’s I guess
You never saw one?
This was definitely one of their more popular color combinations that year:
Hemmings just ran an article about a 64 Hawk… Pretty cool to read a story about a rare bird indeed.
http://blog.hemmings.com/?p=642392
Blackbird
Lately I have been lusting over the 65’ Buick Riviera… There is one about 5 miles from me…and I believe it has recently been parked and is in “disrepair” The time might be sooner than later methinks…
Im going to have to pay that Riv a visit today… Hmmm
There is a pretty active national Riviera club. Name escapes me right now but easy to find on Google. The boat tails are highly sought after. Mine were just too new. But they are big and heavy.
I have to admit not knowing a lot about the Studebakers, but I’m starting to think that the Hawk is what my Junior High teacher had. Looks pretty similar to what I remember 50 years ago. No wonder he talks about it all the time. I’ll have to inquire further sometime. I wonder if the guy still has it.
I remember going with my dad when I was 4 1/2 years old to see the new Studebaker at the dealer. This was in the summer of 1946. It didn’t look like any car I had ever seen. There was a big crowd of people in the showroom. My dad put me on his shoulders so I could see the car. Seventeen years later, when I was home on vacation from graduate school, my dad had purchased a new Studebaker Lark. He had me go with him to the dealer to have the car serviced and so I could see the new Avanti. I had the same thrill as I did seeing that 1947 Studebaker back in the summer of 1946.
“I remember going with my dad when I was 4 1/2 years old to see the new Studebaker at the dealer. This was in the summer of 1946. It didn’t look like any car I had ever seen.”
First, by far, with a post-war car!
This was a truly appropriate, totally accurate slogan that Studebaker used for these revolutionary new models.
And, here is a bit of trivia that you may or may not have known:
The new “Planar” independent front suspension of those 1947 Studebakers was an extremely rugged piece of engineering.
Why do I say that?
Because Enzo Ferrari copied it for his new (at the time) racing cars!
@VDCdriver The planar suspension was rugged, but the 1947-49 Studebakers did have alignment problems. Consumer Reports noted this in its,1952 ratings of used cars. My uncle bought a new 1948 Studebaker Commander and he complained about the need for more frequent alignments tjan with his previous car–a 1940 Buick. In. 1950, Studebaker went to a full independent.front suspension. However, I still like the 1947-49 Studebakers over other cars of that time period. One other issue with those Studebakers is that the envime had to be pulled to remove the oil pan.
The fiberglass bodies were made by MFG corp who also made boats and the Corvette bodies for Chevrolet…Right after the Avanti was launched, MFG went on strike which greatly limited Avanti production and doomed the car as an eager market went unserved…You could still buy the Hawk models, including the Silver Hawk and the top of the line Golden Hawk which shared the supercharged engine.
The Avanti was a very fascinating car back in the day as far as looks were concerned. I remember the first time I saw one. It was bright red and was sitting out in front of the local Dodge dealer.
My parents had a Studebaker when I was a kid. I vaguely remember it being a '51 Commander in Gray or something like that.
Like Honda Blackbird I also lust for an early Buick Riviera; preferably with the dual-quad 430.
Someone in a neighboring town has a super slick '64 Riviera in kind of an olive green. It’s kept parked under an awning with tags up to date but I’ve never seen it moved.
I always keep a small telescope in the console for checking cars out at distances and while the Riviera is fairly close the scope doesn’t show a single rust fleck or door ding.
LOL… @ok4450 now maybe I will drive round with a Pirate Scope…to peep cars at a distance. Oh hell…I will just continue to walk up and knock or say hello. I cant tell you the funny conversations I’ve dived into or funny characters I’ve met when asking if someone wants to get rid of an obvious garage or driveway “ornament”…one of my most evil techniques is to wait till the guys wife or GF is around and ask within earshot of the Boss… Oh brother…LOL That technique is deadly effective…
Its probably how I’ve been able to own over 200 vehicles… I need to find a better way…Now I think about all the money I wasted in title fees…just to own the thing…only to sell the thing… Silly.
The 65’ Riv was moved…and now Im lookin for it…and getting upset… Had a dream about Clam Shell Headlights last night…I think Im getting the fever
Blackbird
“You could still buy the Hawk models, including the Silver Hawk and the top of the line Golden Hawk which shared the supercharged engine.”
The Silver and Golden Hawks were not contemporaneous with the Avanti.
Silver and Golden Hawks were last produced for the 1961 model year.
In 1962, Studebaker unveiled the beautiful Gran Turismo Hawk, which was actually a very artfully restyled “old” Hawk. The Avanti went on sale for the 1963 model year.
But, if your point was that any of Studebaker’s engines could be obtained in any model, then you are correct.
A GT Hawk or a Lark could be optioned with any of the various Avanti engines.
Honda Blackbird, I’ve heard that the old man who owns that Riviera I mentioned bought it new and refuses to sell it. Guess it will sit there until his passing and ends up as part of an estate sale.
As for my scope, I use that to check out cars a mile or so away. A few years back while on the top of Simpson’s Rest in southern CO I spotted some old cars way down below and used it to see if there was anything interesting there. There was; a '69 Grand Prix and an AMC Rebel.
Unfortunately, my reference points from up top were not so visible at eyeball level and due to the constraints of time I had to abandon my driving in circles time.
I don’t think the better half is interested in more (according to her…) scrap iron either… 
As for Studebakers, I like the Hawks more than I do the Avantis and that 304 engine is a screamer for its size.
That’s how I bought my Corvair. It was sitting in a farm yard and I convinced them to sell it to me for $150. Of course it took some tuning up and TLC. When we picked it up and went inside this non-descript farm house, they showed us their project. They were building a full scale basketball court just off the living room. Complete with wood flooring that they had salvaged somewhere. Amazing. You’d have no idea from the outside what was going on and they sure didn’t need a Corvair sitting around distracting them.
Sorry, I don’t know how to post a pic but I am sure if you Google 1955 Studebaker President Speedster , you can find a pic. They only came in a few color combos.
I am not familiar with a Bumble Bee car but d\Dodge made a lot or yellow and black “Super Bee” cars in the late 60s. They also made a “Rumble Bee” later that despite the name was just a trim package and not necessarily high performance.
A search of the 1955 Studebaker Commander Speedster first shows the guacamole car in VDCdriver’s link;
