Different by design

2011-02-23T12:43:00.001-06:00

Here is a picture of the action in my Pease piano.

2011-01-16T21:21:00.002-06:00

Well, the Hawk has been sold, my Studebaker papers have been sold and I've moved to Oregon. I miss having a Studebaker, but someday I'll get another one.

Now that I am in Oregon, I've tried to contact some of my "friends" (more like old acquaintances) and I have to say that except for some good friends in Minnesota either nobody reads their email or they're too busy or rude to respond to emails. It's pretty sad that people are so wrapped up in their day to day existence they can't spare 5 minutes to acknowledge a message. What's the point of living - in fact what IS living - if you can't even interact with anybody other than someone standing right in front of you?

2010-09-24T16:46:00.002-05:00

The EMF-Studebaker papers I have posted on this site have been sold to a consortium that has donated them to the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend. That should be good news for most people. I think that's where they belong.

2008-09-22T15:29:00.003-05:00

Here are two pictures of my old 1850s Gaveau. I loved that piano but I haven't seen it in 20 years. At least I know it's in good hands.

2008-01-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

Here is my Pease piano made about 1891. It needs work, but it's a very pretty piece and has nice tone. It should only get better from here. The front ornate panels are made of flashed glass, where a very dark (almost black) purple glass is blown onto a clear glass base, then etched down to leave a pattern.

2007-11-16T12:43:00.001-06:00

Here's my car:

2007-03-16T13:13:00.001-05:00

My Cruiser has been sold. It will travelling to sunny Arkansas sometime this summer.

2007-02-19T19:20:00.000-06:00

I apologize for leaving such a long gap in my posts. I do have more material to post, but I seem to keep forgetting about dragging it out and scanning something! I'll post more soon.

2006-09-03T17:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I bought a 1973 Beetle to use as a commuter car for a while and I need to sell my 1966 Cruiser (with V8 and Automatic transmission),.The Cruiser's not perfect, but as you can see it looks pretty sharp. I have new fenders and front valance panel for it and some other parts. It runs well, the interior is good, except the front seat is torn a bit, and it could use some floor repair. It has new rear wheel bearings, new kingpins and bushing, newer battery, less than 2 year old starter and distributor. The front brake flex hoses are new and the disc brakes work great. I am asking $2000 for the car. I even have a custom made car cover for it! If anyone is interested please e-mail me.

2006-05-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

This letter describes the allotment of Studebaker-Flanders 20's for most of 1910 for the San Francisco dealership owned by Weaver. It is sad to realize that so many of these cars were made and so precious few are left today.

2006-04-15T18:02:00.000-05:00

Here is some interesting reading from the founder of the Garford Company, A.L. Garford.

2006-03-25T09:30:00.000-06:00

This is one of the earliest letters in my collection, from 1907. The writer is Clement Studebaker Jr. One of the most interesting things about this letter is the watermark used on page 2. Apparently Studebaker had their own paper specially made!

2006-02-18T11:07:00.000-06:00

This letter from Chester Weaver is interesting reading for the candid assessment of the 1909 EMF cars.

2006-02-05T14:36:00.000-06:00

This letter, written by Chester Weaver, discusses the new "EMF 13". I believe this car actually ended up as the 1913 Studebaker, but it's possibly a totally different offering. I do not know if the "13" was an official designation at the time or just a reference to the 1913 model by Weaver.

2006-02-04T16:13:00.000-06:00

Here is an official telegram regarding the legal reaction of Studebaker to the E.M.F. contract dispute.

2006-01-22T15:59:00.000-06:00

This was my first Studebaker, which I needed to sell in about 1993 to raise money for college. It's probably in either New Mexico or Texas now. I haven't seen it since I sold it. Great color!

2006-01-21T09:58:00.000-06:00

Written almost exactly 95 years ago, this letter written by George Keller gives interesting details about the EMF car bodies and the installation of "fore doors". What a difference from the way cars are constructed now!

2006-01-15T12:40:00.000-06:00

For those interested in sales of the EMF cars, this letter (actually two letters) shows some interesting detail on the matter of EMF production. I was surprised to see that there is no such thing as a "1910" EMF car, since they were not produced in batches by model year! This might be new information for the historians.

2006-01-10T20:55:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the quality of this letter, but I thought I should include it, since it is Weaver's response to Flanders' letter I posted last time. This copy is on 95 year old onion skin paper!

2005-12-31T14:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a letter by Mr. Flanders that accompanied the certified copy of the resolution by the officers of EMF in regards to its new sales policy. After reading through this letter I am able to determine that the letter I previously posted by L.H.R. is Mr. L.H. Rose. Happy New Year!

2005-12-23T21:05:00.000-06:00

Here is a letter from L.H.R - whose full name I cannot tell from the signature - to the men at Studebaker in San Francisco about the Flanders car and new developments in the works. I assume these were developments contemplated for 1911. This is after the blowout in 1909 regarding the sale of EMF cars by Studebaker. I should be posting more of those documents in the future.

2005-12-18T14:19:00.000-06:00

This is a telegram Chester Weaver appears to have sent from South Bend to his office in San Francisco about the EMF deal falling apart. I have some others that refer to the subsequent publicity in the San Francisco papers and how they tried to control the situation. Interesting stuff.

2005-12-13T09:08:00.000-06:00

This is another J.M. Studebaker letter from my collection. It's an interesting example of how J.M. showed his concern for his employees and their relation to the company.

2005-12-11T14:22:00.000-06:00

About 1990 I chanced upon some interesting old Studebaker letters at an antique shop in California. Here is one of the signed letters from J.M. Studebaker. Even though this was late in his career, it clearly shows him as a man who knew his business and stayed involved with it on a personal level.

2005-12-10T11:01:00.000-06:00

Here are two pictures showing the differences between an original 1962 GT hawk emblem (left) and the so-called reproduction (right). There are several differences. First, the original is either a thin casting or, more likely, a stamped metal part. You can see when they are upside down that the "reproduction" is a solid casting, with no detail visible on the back side. Second, because the new part is a casting, the pins are cast in and have to have a certain amount of draft. The originals were soldered or welded on the back and are basically cylindrical rather than conical and are longer than the pins on the "reproduction". Thirdly, the original has sharper details and the wings are longer, as is the bird's body. The original on the left has just been replated in gold over nickel (as it came from the factory) and still has sharper detail than the "reproduction". You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

These differences are important for several reasons. The conical pins on the new part do not fit into the original barrel clamps on the car and almost seem too big for the holes in the trunk, glove box door, etc. The solid casting of the new part may or may not take the bending required to get it fit on the trunk of the car. I have one on my car now, but neither my body man, nor I have the courage to seat it the way it should be. We believe it will probably crack - although I honestly can't say it will. I will be putting one of the replated originals there instead. Another problem is the loss of some sharp detail in the "reproduction". By itself it looks OK, but next to an original it looks rather crude.

The point here is to BEWARE of people claiming to offer reproduction parts. This new part is emphatically NOT a reproduction since it is cast rather than stamped, has slightly different dimensions, pins that are conical, not cylindrical, etc. Don't be fooled by false advertizing. If you choose to use them, at least I hope this will show you what you will REALLY get, and keep you from unrealistic expectations.

When I have the chance I will show the difference between the front factory spears for the GT Hawks and the so-called "reproductions". I'll just have to take one off my car to get some pictures of why they don't fit, etc.

2005-12-02T21:14:00.000-06:00

Here's another view of the Hawk. The rear bumper has been replated and the back overlay stripped and repainted (mostly one square at a time!).

2005-12-01T20:14:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the new seat covers in place. They're so much better than the old worn out ones.

2005-11-27T18:32:00.000-06:00

This is my first post!

Here's a picture of my 1962 Studebaker GT Hawk. This car spent many years in Arizona and Georgia. I am in the process of restoring it and so far the engine and carburetor have been rebuilt, the seats recovered with perfect reproductions of the original seat covers and some paint and body work has been done. This car also has stock air conditioning, but at the moment it is not charged - but it's winter now, so it doesn't matter!