1958 Studebaker Commander

coupe, pillarless

259 V8

Manual, 3-speed with overdrive

8482143

Clear

Gasoline

I purchased this 42,000-mile rust-free pillarless Commander Coupe on eBay in 2005, from the gentleman who had restored it in Clovis, N.M., during the previous four years. The car was originally sold in El Paso, TX, and spent most of its life there, with a short stay in Louisiana, from whence it travelled to New Mexico in 2001. I recently found out that that AC unit in the car is the "factory" one, and not the dealer add-on that I had imagined it to be, as it is an under-the-dash unit, but that's what Studebaker used for their factory-installed AC in 1958, according to the 1958 Shop Manual Supplement. Anyway, what I've done to the car is the following: had the carburetor completely rebuilt at a speed shop in Tucson, and recently put a new fuel pump into the car. It runs and drives beautifully, and the overdrive works fine. What doesn't work on the car are the following: the AC unit has to be fixed; either new pressure hoses and a compressor, or just hoses, I don't know; I haven't messed with it, as I never drove the car in Tucson, except on short trips around town; I kept it covered the entire time I lived there and owned it. Also, as can be seen from the photos, the trunk needs to be repainted, and new owner will have to figure out if he or she wants to remount the center-of-the-trunk-mounted antenna that caused all the trouble to begin with, when a vandal came through in the middle of the night and broke it off. This was not original with the car; the man who restored it in Clovis bought it and had it put on, and there's a bill for six hours'-worth of body work on the trunk to make the antenna fit flush with the surface of the trunk; you can see in the photos that Bondo was put around the antenna to make it look right, and fit flush with the surface of the trunk--there is no rust on the car, anywhere, which you can also see from the photos. I've also found out recently that this is a fairly rare body style--the pillarless coupe, that is. I bought it for the same reason that I assume any buyer of a finned-devil from the 50s would--I like the way it LOOKS! There's an aesthetic to these cars that hasn't existed since about 1964 or 65, and will never come back again. This is a low original mileage, restored car that is cooler than hell, style-wise, and somebody should pick it up. I am moving abroad and have to sell this as well as a 1958 Packard Hawk, and a 2003 Hummer H-2 (look for those cars, too, in the coming week). This car has no power anything, which is sort of an advantage, when it comes to things going wrong and having to be fixed in the future, for a person who wants it as a daily driver, which it can easily be. I have all the receipts/bills for everything that was done to the car in restoring it, plus photos of the car before it was repainted, etc. (the owner in Louisiana had it as a two-tone, with a dark blue top and fin-inserts, which was not original, according to the Studebaker National Museum records, which show that it was delivered in El Paso painted solid Waterfall Blue). The car itself is located in Tucson, at N. Country Club, but I now live in Bisbee, AZ, where the 1958 Packard Hawk and 2003 Hummer H-2 also reside. If you have any questions about the car, please call me at (520)-366-6672, or email me at dennismcmillan@aol.com. On Jul-02-12 at 08:56:43 PDT, seller added the following information: The car is located at 3032 N. Country Club in Tucson. Contact Dennis McMillan at (520)-366-6672 to arrange to see it/drive it in person, or just drop by the address to examine the car.