1938 Commander 7A & 8A

Again, we do not have access to a TW articles for the 1938 Commander 7A & 8A series.  So the information here is only what we were able to glean from the Internet and other less reliable sources.

 

We however do know that 1938 is an entirely new design, done for the first time by Lowey and Associates, they are now Studebaker’s design department and would remain so through 1956.  The interiors design was influenced by Helen Dryden, the seats are a full five inches wider.  Broadcloth was standard, but mohair velvet and colored leather were optional.  The door handles and window cranks are newly designed and very elegant.

 

The Commander is replacing the Dictator, who’s name has fallen out of favor.  Studebaker starts the production year with the “Studebaker Six 7A” and the “Commander 8A”.  Early in 1937 Studebaker changed the name of “Studebaker Six 7A” to “Commander 7A” and the “Commander 8A” became the “State Commander 8A”.   This change over was announced by Studebaker in a letter to it’s dealers dated December 3rd, 1937 (STCS).

   There were no actual changes to either of the series.  So, what is the difference between a Commander and a State Commander?  There are few, but the most noticeable is that Commanders have bullet style headlights, mounted on the catwalks and State Commanders have the President style (Cathedral) faired in headlights, which makes each series easy to identify.  Other equipment standard on State Commanders and optional on Commanders was deluxe steering wheel, twin horns, and Hill-Holder.  State Commanders also have better appointments in the interior.  
Tell’s for 1938:
  • The new design for this year is much smoother, much lower, and six inches wider
  • The hood louvers are eliminated and the cars are nearly void of trim
  • A simple chrome bead molding stretches from the grille to the rear deck
  • Series 7A have bullet-shaped headlights mounted on the catwalks
  • Series 8A have Cathedral headlights
  • A new instrument panel has square gauge clusters
  • The grille seems taller and narrower
  • The grille has five distinct sections, separated by wider horizontal bands
  • The grille vertical center bar from last year is gone
 
Mechanical:
The engine, used on both series, formally used on the Dictator, is bored out 1/16th of an inch to 226.2 cubic inches, but makes the same 90 HP.  The the engine and seats are moved forward, the distance varies from 3 ½ to 5 ½ depending on which source you believe.  The front seat is at least five inches wider, Studebaker claimed six.  The tunnel is nearly eliminated by turning the transmission on it’s side.  The wheel base is 116 ½ inches, ½ inch longer then the 1937 Dictator it replaced.  Planer suspension, safety glass, dual tail lights, dual wipers and divided windshields are standard equipment.  Also included at regular price was a speedometer, engine thermometer, Autolite ignition, Borg clock, Casco cigar lighter, two-way Houdaille shock absorbers, spring covers and Bud steel disc wheels.
Optional Equipment:
Most of the options are not mentioned.  However, two items which seemed to get a lot of play are the free-wheeling overdrive transmission and the the vacuum actuated Evans “Miracle Shift.”  The control for this unit was mounted in the center of the lower part of the dash, which left the floor clear for easier seating of three front seat passengers.  It operated on the standard “H” shift pattern.  It was often troublesome and when “three on the tree” came out in 1939, became obsolete.
When data was available from Turning Wheels (TW) or Studebaker the Complete Story (STCS) it is used.  Else, The Classic Car Database (TCCD) & The Standard Catalog of American Cars (SCAC) is used.
→Information found between the arrows is from Turning Wheel feature articles written by Fred Fox←
What we can be fairly sure of is that the same body styles, depending on the source, were sometimes listed in different terms.
SB= South Bend, LA= Los Angles, and CAN= Canada
 
1938 Model 7A Commander
ModelDoorsPassengerPrice
Business Coupe23$875.00
Custom Coupe25$900.00
Club Sedan25$995.00
Cruising Sedan46$965.00
Convertible Sedan46$1,315.00
SCAC indicated the  production started September of 1937 and ended July of 1938, they put production at 19,260 units. TCCD listed models and prices exactly the same as SCAC for 7A models, but under “Six Series” with no production data.  They then listed the same 7A production number as SCAC did, under the caption “Commander Series 7A” with “price and model” information which matched SCAC’s 8A information.  Then under “Commander Series 8A” no data is available for “model, price or production”.  STCS lists the starting Serial Number at 5,582,001 for SB and 5,857,501 for LA. Engine numbers started at H-101, 1939 Commander engines start at H42,501, so we know that 42, 400 1938 engine number were assigned.
1938 Model 8A Commander
ModelDoorsPassengerPrice
State Custom Coupe25$995.00
State Club Sedan20$1,030.00
State Cruising Sedan46$1,040.00
State Convertible Sedan46$1,365.00
SCAC indicated the production started August of 1937 and ended July of 1938, they put production at 22,053 units.  TCCD has no data, in the “Commander Series 8A” link.  However, under “Commander Series 7A”, they listed production that agreed with SCAC for 7A, but listed “model and price” information that agreed with SCAC’s 8A information (exception TCCD listed the Convertible Sedan at $1,390). The information on TCCD is clearly confusion created by Studebaker changing the “Six 7A “ to “Commander 7A” and “Commander 8A” to “State Commander 8A”.  STCS lists the starting 8A serial number at 4,090,001 for SB and 4,800,001 for LA.  The 1939 9A serial numbers start at 4,110,001 for SB and 4,802,301 for LA, it would appear then that 20,000 SB and 2,300 LA serial numbers were assigned to 1938 8A production. (See 7A Chart above for engine serial number information).