1951 Studebaker Commander State Convertible

Studebaker entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles, and began producing gasoline-powered vehicles in 1904. They began using the Commander name in 1927, it was applied to various cars in the company's product line-up from year to year. Say the name 'Studebaker,' and there is a good chance that the image that springs to mind is the 1950-1951 models, a.k.a the 'bullet nose' Studebaker.

This example is a 1951 Studebaker Commander convertible in Commander Red. 1951 models differ from their 1950 predecessors with some styling refinements in the front end with flush, rather than recessed, grille work.

This example was built on November 9. 1950, at Studebaker's South Bend, Indiana facility. It spent most of its life in Tucson, Arizona, where an amateur restoration was performed on it before it was sold to a new owner in California. The car was shown and received many awards at local car meets in the Los Angeles area. In 2003, it was housed in a storage garage that caught fire, scorching the paint and damaging the top and interior.

The current owner acquired the car about ten years ago and had it shipped to Indiana, where he decided to commission a full professional restoration because the car 'looked very sad' but was not permanently damaged.' The restoration was completed by Westmoreland Auto Restoration in Blairsville, Pennsylvania.