Rock River Valley Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club
Our Charter, Keeping the Studebaker Marque Alive
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Welcome to the Rock River Valley Studebaker Drivers Club Website
Last Updated:
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Updated "Featured Cars of the Third Quarter +1 month, 2020 |
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August 1st, 2020 |
Updated the 1953 to 1955 Champion History Page |
Click on the Globe left to go to the Sub-Site "Articles", if you are interested in automotive trivia and history, else don't bother.
August, September, October STUDEBAKER FEATURED CAR OF THE MONTH
This
1955 Studebaker Commander Deluxe (W4) is owned by Bob and Janis
Givins. As most of our membership remembers, Givin's 1955 Coupe was
totaled in an accident. When they determined another Studebaker was
in their future, they wanted the more roomy 4 door sedan instead of a
five passenger couple like they had. After a long search and looking at
several car, they purchased this car in Red Wing Minnesota. The
Deluxe 4 Door Sedan was the number one selling Studebaker for 1955,
actually outselling the similar Champion Deluxe. This was the middle
trim level, between “Custom” and “Regal”. There were 16,768
sold at a base price of $2,014 dollars just $129 dollars more then
the Champion, netting you a 259 Cubic Inch V-8 in place of the
Champ's in-line six.
This is
a second series car, produced after the first of the year (1955) and
features the wrap-around windshield, Studebaker called Altra Vista.
Notice in the profile photo that the wing window is much shorter then
on the earlier models and the dogleg “A” pillar. This car has
several features that were extra cost items. Duel exhaust (AC-2725),
two-tone paint, white wall tires, full wheel covers (AC-249),
Automatic Drive, and those front fender top ornaments (AC-2343). The car has also been upgraded with “Vintage Air” air
conditioning and a modern solid state radio.
August, September, October BLACK SHEEP FEATURED CAR OF THE MONTH
This
1957 Chevy 210 4 Door Sedan is owned by Fran and Kathy Tremain. The 1957 Chevrolet 210 4 dr. sedan was purchased on eBay, it had spent
the last 25 years in a farmers shed in Southwest Missouri. When we
pulled it out of the shed the tires crumbled off of the rims. The
car was red and white, but had originally been gray and white. The
Chevy received an extensive frame on restoration. It kept its
original 235 6 cyl. engine and two speed Power Glide transmission. New features that were added during the restoration are Vintage Air
A/C, Custom Auto Sound Stereo, Dakota cruise control, Electric
clock, and Electric wipers replaced the vacuum wipers.
The
1957 Chevrolet is the third version of the tri-five Chevy's (1955,
56, & 57). It's an American icon and one of the most popular
cars to ever come down an assembly line. Even people not remotely
interested in cars can identify a 1957 Chevy. They know somebody who
had one, or they've seen them at car shows, or they spotted a
low-mileage original sitting in Grandpa's garage. That's because more
than 1.5 million were built, in 19 body styles and 460 model/color
combinations.
The
1957 Chevy was a full face-lift, restyled for the jet age. The
overall look was to be inspired by jet fighters. Quarter panels were
shaped like the tail of an F-86 fighter, the lower edge of the rear
bumper caps had a blacked-out area (the black paint is missing on
Tremain's car) that was to look like jet exhaust ports. The headlamp
bezels were designed to evoke jet engine intakes. Inside the car,
designers installed a jet-age instrument panel. Chevrolet wanted its
customers to feel they were sitting behind something almost
supersonic.
On
December 8, 1956, it debuted in New York City. GM Stylist Clare
MacKichan oversaw the design. Wanting to add the jet type distinction
to the 1957 model, the designers went as extreme as they could while
saving the deck, roof and doors from the “55-56” models. Despite
these constraints, the '57 model was 2.5 inches longer and almost 2
inches lower than the '56 models. It has a larger windshield and a
lower hood. Harley Earl wanted the car to look as big as possible. To accomplish that, stylists stretched the fender profile to an
extreme length, pushed the headlamps as far apart as possible and
took the grille across the entire front end.
The
210 Four Door Sedan (2103) series was quite popular, with 273,696 (both
6 & V-8) units sold at a base price of $1,967 (V-8 265 base was
$2,067), and weighing just 3,409 pounds, running on a 115 inch
wheelbase. That 235 cu. in. six is making an amazing 140 HP,
considering at its introduction to car production in 1950 it only
made 105 HP. Ref.
Classic Car Database.
Gasser Wars magazine did the linked
story below in one of their issues this summer. They have given us
permission to share the article with you as long as we give them
credit. The article was written by Phil Morris. It is an article
about Gordy Buetsch's dragsters and his life long love of the sport. Click on the link below "Gasser Wars" and enjoy the article in a seperate window.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!
The next link will take you to the Gasser Wars Magazine
The club meets the first Monday of every month, unless that date is a holiday, then the meeting is on the next Monday.
Date of Next Meeting:
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Meeting Dates for 2019 - 2020 |
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January 6th, 2020 (Cancelled) |
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February 3rdd, 2020 |
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March 2nd, 2020 |
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April 6th, 2020 |
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May 4th, 2020 |
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June 1st, 2020 |
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July 6th, 2020 |
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August 3rd, 2020 |
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September 7th, 2020 |
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October 5th, 2020 |
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November 2nd, 2020 |
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December 7th, 2020 |
Location: Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles Street, Rockford IL
Time: Dinner at 5:30 P.M. Meeting starts at 7:00 P.M
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No information is currently available.
This web site is owned by The Rock River Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, All contents © 2019, Rock River Valley Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, and may not be reproduced without permission.
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