OK folks, here it is in all its glory, you asked for it on Canadian Poncho, my 1964 Studebaker Daytona two door hardtop. For you number crunchers there were a total of 1734 Daytona hardtops produced in '64, 1077 in South Bend Indiana and 657 in Hamilton ON. This one is Canadian, and is one of 52 that came freom the factory with the 289 V8 and a 4-speed floor shift. The car left the Hamilton factory on September 25th 1963 and was shipped to National Motors, Victoria BC. It returned to Ontario in 1988 and was restored by the previous owner in the early 2000's. It is a high option car, with front disc brakes, bucket seats, dual exhaust, front seat belts and twin traction (Stude speak for limited slip diff.) I first drove a Studebaker in 1989, my friend Ray Wallace's '65 Cruiser, and have been hooked on these '64-66 Studebakers ever since. Bought my first Stude in '91, a '66 Daytona from the original owner, sold that in '98 to purchase a house, went looking to buy it back last year and ended up with this one instead. This car has been restored as a tribute to the last Studebaker off the line in South Bend, a Bordeaux Red '64 Daytona Hardtop with the Avanti R-1 package. Brooks Stevens, the famous industrial designer who penned this car, is also the same gentleman who coined the phrase "Planned Obsolescence" as a marketing tool. As it turns out, many of his designs, like this and the '63-91 Jeep (Grand)Wagoneer, have a timeless quality to them. Thanks Todd for a great website!
-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 12th of July 2010 04:33:45 PM
A great car Jonathan! For you folks not familiar with Studebakers, they were very well built cars with bulletproof V8's (not to be confused with the 289 Ford, the 289 Studebaker V8 was 100% Studebaker designed and built and utilized a high nickle content block, steel crank and gear driven camshaft). The best kept secret about Studebaker is the amount of NOS parts still available at reasonable prices. The rear 1/4 panels simply bolt on! Well worth looking into if you are searching for something a little less mainstream (one of these would look great in the garage parked beside an Acadian)
Well, that's my plug. I've actually been thinking of opening up the forum (or starting a separate website) for all Canadian built vehicles including Ford, Studebaker, Chrysler, Bricklin etc. They all have a great story to tell.
A great car Jonathan! For you folks not familiar with Studebakers, they were very well built cars with bulletproof V8's (not to be confused with the 289 Ford, the 289 Studebaker V8 was 100% Studebaker designed and built and utilized a high nickle content block, steel crank and gear driven camshaft). The best kept secret about Studebaker is the amount of NOS parts still available at reasonable prices. The rear 1/4 panels simply bolt on! Well worth looking into if you are searching for something a little less mainstream (one of these would look great in the garage parked beside an Acadian)
Well, that's my plug. I've actually been thinking of opening up the forum (or starting a separate website) for all Canadian built vehicles including Ford, Studebaker, Chrysler, Bricklin etc. They all have a great story to tell.
Maybe I should rephrase that. I didn't mean that to run down the Ford 289. It's a good motor too however you wouldn't believe the people who A) think Studes were junk and B) thought Ford made the 289 in these cars.
