Hemi Powered and Strange-Shifted Speed Seeking Studebakers #3

Posted by GreaseGirl on Sep 1, 2010 in Featured, Racing | 1 comment

Bonneville Salt Flat Racing Studebakers

I’ve already covered the two record-taking Studebakers for this 2010 Speed Week in previous articles of this Speed Seeking Studebakers series (#1 1953 Studebaker Coupe & #2 1949 Studebaker Pickup). So before looking at more racing Studes, I wanted to show you some of the fine Studebakers that spectators were driving around on the salt!

To begin with, is Bob Weaver’s 1953 Studebaker Coupe.

I’m not sure color has as much to do with speed as the aerodynamics body of the Studebaker coupe – but in this case yellow=fast! My 5-year-old nephew exclaimed “Yellow cars are the fastest” while wandering around Gene Winfield’s shop a couple of months ago, and in this case I’d say he’s right!

It isn’t just the yellow color and aerodynamic body that’s making this Studebaker go fast. This special Stude has a Chrysler Hemi powerplant! I was amazed at how snugly it fit in the engine compartment. This hot rod sure looks just as pretty under the hood as above it!

Any Studebaker-fan knows that us Studebaker owners are a quirky bunch of folk! So I wasn’t overly surprised when I saw this 1950 Studebaker convertible coupe roll up.

If the airplane-nose isn’t enough to make this old car stand out, then the fishnet & high-heeled leg sticking up out of it is! Of all the strange and original shifters I’ve seen, this one takes the cake!

From hot rod, to quirky, and now to round it off in the more rat rod category is this chopped up truck seen at the nightly car show at the Nugget Casino in Wendover.

I loved its custom airplane-styled windshield and lime-green accents. Its nice rusty patina is offset nicely by that touch of chrome on its wheels too!

Lastly, of course I was there on the salt with my own 1955 Studebaker Champion Coupe. (Note: Did you know that a “coupe” is differentiated from the “hardtop” by the B-pillar in between the front and rear-seat windows?)

Stude liked it out on the salt!  We had tons of fun meeting new friends… like this sleek blue #653. Continue onto the next story to read more about this #653 Studebaker Race car with a Flathead!