Please help ID Model Yaer - Studebaker Commander 8 Convertible Sedan

[Guest wasif]

Hi All.

I need some help in correctly identifying this Studebaker car. What we know is that its a Commander 8 Convertible Sedan and what we want to find out is the exact model year and what it was referred to by the makers.

This car is in India and was originally ordered by one of the royal houses of India.

Any help will be much appreciated ! Dont have the chassis / engine numbers but will try to get thme shortly, we feel its a 32 model ??

Pictures attached.

Edited June 30, 2012 by wasif
typo (see edit history)

[StillOutThere]

Assuming I'm looking at about a 135" wheelbase, this is a 1933 Model 92 President Speedway State Convertible sedan. Outstanding find; hope you can bring it home.

[dictator27]

Hood (bonnet) is too short for a President. As Wasif says, it is a Commander. Body type is convertible sedan.

A rare find. Excellent!

Terry

[alsancle]

Totally cool for sure. Next to impossible to get a car out of India I believe.

[studerex]

It is a 1933 Commander. Five gauge dash is Commander. 6 for President.

[Guest wasif]

Assuming I'm looking at about a 135" wheelbase, this is a 1933 Model 92 President Speedway State Convertible sedan. Outstanding find; hope you can bring it home.

It must be a Commander as there is a plate on teh left of teh dash that says "The Commander"

Hood (bonnet) is too short for a President. As Wasif says, it is a Commander. Body type is convertible sedan.

A rare find. Excellent!

Terry

Thanks, it a pretty rare car in India not sure about other countries and its in great shape, almost everything is still on it and it drives. Just needs a cosmetic restoration.

Totally cool for sure. Next to impossible to get a car out of India I believe.

Yes as of the seventies export of a classic car / bike is not permited. We had a whole load of really exotic automobiles in India that were taken out. There are some really nice cars that are still here though !

It is a 1933 Commander. Five gauge dash is Commander. 6 for President.

Thanks, so its a 33 Commander Convertible Sedan then ? What was the model number for thsi and ahy idea how many were made ?

Can anyone share more info and pictures of similar cars if possible ?

[studeq]

The ’33 Commander was a model 73 and this would be confirmed by the body tag on the firewall (note the first two numbers on your car). There are no production figures by body style but there were a total of 3781 Commanders of all body styles assembled in that model year. The serial number range would be 8040001 to 8043781 (this number would be on an aluminum plate attached to the frame under the left front fender). The engine number range was C16101 to C19950. Being the depths of the Great Depression it was a very poor year for auto sales throughout the world. Also the convertible sedan was the most expensive body type available and the least in demand in the U.S. Consequently few were made and very few survive. I am not aware of the existence of any other model 73 convertible sedans in the world and fairly certain that there are none in the U.S. I am guessing yours may be a "one of a kind" survivor. Send serial body and engine number when you can.

Studebaker made four models in 1933, from top down: The Speedway President 8 model 92 (135” wheelbase, 336 c.i. engine), The President 8 model 82 (125” wheelbase 250 c.i. engine) , The Commander 8 model 73 (117” wheelbase, 236 c.i. engine), and the Studebaker 6 model 56 (117” wheelbase, 230 c.i. engine). The ’33 Commander model 73 was identical with the 1932 Dictator 8 except for the front sheet metal.

[dictator27]

Is that not the car that Ghandi's assassin used the day of the murder? If it isn't, there are two green 33 convertible sedans in India.

Terry

[studerex]

The car that Ghandi's assassin drove was a 6 cylinder model 56. It is still in India. The body is the same. You can find it by google images.

[studeq]

This is the car that purportedly belonged to the assassin of Ghandi. Yes, it is a model 56 Studebaker Six. It was on the same wheelbase as the Commander and the two cars would be indistinguishable from each other from the outside.

[Guest stude8]

THis car was featured on Team BHP listings in India last year, it is a 6 cyl car. 1933 Model 56. Stude8

Edited July 2, 2012 by stude8 (see edit history)

[Guest stude8]

Another view of the 1933 Studebaker Commander Cvt Sedan in India from last years posts.

Stude8

[Guest stude8]

Two other views of the 1933 Studebaker Commander Cvt Sedan from Team-BHP listings. Stude8

[studeq]

THis car was featured on Team BHP listings in India last year, it is a 6 cyl car. 1933 Model 56.[ATTACH=CONFIG]143875[/ATTACH] Stude8

John;

We are talking about two different cars. The one in this photo is the Commander.

[Guest stude8]

Well I thought they could have hacked the dual side mount spare tire holes in the front fenders when it was repainted but if the wheel base measurement gets made in inches then we will know just what it really is also engine number and whether 6 or 8 cyl and the guessing game is over. BUT this means the two rarest 1933 Studebakers in the world are resting in a Hyderbad alley?

It wasn't confirmed that the first listing images are as the car stands at present, un-repainted? I thought the story was the semi-restored car with the "Killer" plate on it was the BHP car after a repaint?

Stude8

[Guest wasif]

I am a member of T BHP and let me clarify.

The car I posted about is the 33 Commander 8 Convertible Sedan which was also posted on T BHP for sale section. Its from the Jaipur Royal Family and is now owned by the owners of a large newspaper group in Mumbai where the restoration is about to start. The owner also has a very nice Mercedes nurburg tourer that was also recently restored and presented at the last Cartier event in Delhi

The Comander 6 with the "killer" plate is a restored car and belongs to someone else in either Delhi or Calcutta. These are two seperate cars, one is a Straight 8 ( the one posted by me ) and the other (killer) is a straight 6.

There are some detail differences between these two 6 and 8 cylinder cars chief among them being the parking lights on the front mudguards and the chromed door hinges on the killer car

Also I am originally from Hyderabad and there is no 33 Study in that city. I used to have a 26 Studebaker Big Six Phaeton back in the early nineties which was in a real bad shape. Car was cosmetically restored but the mechanicals could nver be sorted out fully due to internal corrosion in the cylinder block !

[studeq]

Just as I thought, two different cars. The other (restored) car is NOT a Commander (because there was never a Commander Six built in 1933). If you will read my original posts you will see that it is a STUDEBAKER SIX model 56. As for the lights on the front fenders (mudguards) those shown on the restored car (i.e the Studebaker Six) are definitely NOT original, and neither is the radiator mascot. As for the door hinges most I have seen have been chrome plated like those shown in the original factory photo that I posted earlier. I have lots of original literature, photos etc. If you will re-read my posts from above it should answer most of the questions you have posed.

[Guest wasif]

Sorry yes I did read your post carefully but made amistake by typing Commander six instead of Studebaker 6. You have been extremely helpfull.

What are the visual and other differences between a 32 / 33 / 34 Commander 8 ?

I am told there is a similar 33 Commander 8 Convertible Sedan in either Australia or NZ

[Guest wasif]

Just got the chassis number , its 8040937 ! Waiting for the engine and body numbers to be sent thru.

Attached are pictures of the dash plate and the engine compartment.

Please let me know if there is anything missing or non original to be seen

[Guest stude8]

From the serial number you have shown the car is definitely a 1933 Studebaker Commander 8 Model 73. The Commander series serial numbers ran from 8,040,001 to 8,043,781 in United States production and engine numbers were from C-16,101 to 20,000. There was also Canadian production with serial numbers from 8,950,801 to 8,951,000.

I have the 1933 Studebaker advertising brochure scanned and will attach some pages that show details about that year cars. Stude8

[Guest stude8]

Additional 1933 Sudebaker brochure pages.

Stude8

[studeq]

The bodies on the 1932 Convertible sedans were identical to the '33. The difference was in the hood, front fenders (mud guards), grille and grille shell. The two 1932 photos posted here show the difference when compared to the '33. The 1934 cars were totally different and no body components will interchange with the '33. Everything looks pretty good on your '33. I noted in a photo posted on another site a few years ago that the rear bumper was upside down. The engine should be painted green and that paint is available.

There is a '33 President model 82 (not Speedway) convertible sedan in Australia (serial 7040172). The previous owner, Ross Johnson of Warners Bay NSW, passed away years ago and I am not sure of its current owner or if it may still be in the Johnson family.

Re your cars serial number it looks like 8040987 but am not certain of the 2nd to last digit, is it an 8?

[Guest stude8]

More additional pages from 1933 Studebaker brochure.

Stude8

[Guest wasif]

Thank you stude8 for the great info and all the help in positively identifying this car !

Will post teh other numbers once I get them.

[Guest wasif]

The Study has been finally restored and was displayed over the weekend at the Third Cartier Travel with Style Concours in Mumbai India where it won the best reatored car award

Here are a few pictures, a superb achievment by young Allen !

[Guest stude8]

The Study has been finally restored and was displayed over the weekend at the Third Cartier Travel with Style Concours in Mumbai India where it won the best reatored car award

Here are a few pictures, a superb achievment by young Allen !

Wasif

Thank you for posting the photos of the beautiful restoration of the 1933 Studebaker Convertible sedan, a job well done on a rare model car.

Stude8

[Guest wasif]

The restoration has been executed stunningly, probably the best restoration on any car in India ever.

The restorer couldnt get his hands on many of the original trim parts that were missing so he went ahead and created them from scratch.....so from this to this

.