For Sale: 1932 Studebaker Dictator Eight St. Regis Brougham - $10,000 - Fayetteville, AR - Project - Not Mine

[58L-Y8]

For Sale: 1932 Studebaker Dictator Eight St. Regis Brougham - $10,000 - Fayetteville, AR - Project 

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/d/fayetteville-1932-studebaker/7191468928.html

1932 Studebaker for sale. been in storage for about 35yrs.

Contact:  (479) 8-7-one-2-one-4-one

Copy and paste in your email:  1154fd62c90f34119f701fabf3135a01@sale.craigslist.org

 

I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1932 Studebaker Dictator Eight St. Regis Brougham Project. 

[edinmass]

Is that a Dictator or a President? I thought the St. Regis was a Prsident.

[Gary_Ash]

That's the small 8-cylinder engine, 221 cubic inches in 1932, so it is a Dictator with the St.Regis body.  The car needs a lot of restoration work, but looks mostly complete and straight.  I wonder what the body wood is like?  Somebody needs to save it from becoming a rat rod, but it won't be me.

[F&J]

15 minutes ago, Gary_Ash said:

it won't be me.

me neither..

 

I was thinking earlier today on the fact that this age/era group of rough project cars no longer have much hope of ever being restored stock.

 

Every time I see an early 30s unusual style car in this condition, I always used to wonder why it was never fixed up back when the average hobbyists were much younger, and when these early 30s were at their peak in hobby interest.  It's because they needed tons of work and the pieces missing are not fun to spend years to find and overpriced money to buy.

 

I see a lot of rare missing parts on this one.

 

So at that price, it will continue to degrade and return to the earth.  I finally realize that I don't want to use my last years struggling to fix another one up to help save another unique body style car. 

 

It's not just about being upside down as far as monetary value if it did get restored, it's just not fun...it's years of hard frustrating work.  If it could be bought for 2 grand, maybe somebody with required skills/time might take on the challenge. 

[Hudsy Wudsy]

Such classy bodies:

[58L-Y8]

2 hours ago, edinmass said:

Is that a Dictator or a President? I thought the St. Regis was a Prsident.

Ed, The St. Regis Brougham was available in all four 1932 Series: Six-55, Dictator Eight - 62, Commander-71 and President-91.  Which series the body is mounted on is easy to determine by the distance on the lower quarters between the door opening and the rear fender.  The Six and Dictator Eight on 117 inch wheelbase the door bottom corner is cut to fit the fender curvature.  

[edinmass]

Thanks......I didn’t know that. 👍

[58L-Y8]

2 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Thanks......I didn’t know that. 👍

You are welcome!  The Studebaker St. Regis Brougham and the Pierce-Arrow Club Brougham are of the same elegant design theme, very European in proportions and inspiration, no doubt.   Of course, they look the most elegant on long wheelbase models of each maker.   Though, I will always be puzzled why neither built a convertible victoria version, it just seems a natural and one that could have utilized many existing body components.

[BucketofBolts]

Although I have looked far and wide for the last 35 years I have yet to see a single St Regis 2-door Brougham President that has survived. I assume they have all been lost to history. 

[58L-Y8]

At least one 1932 President St. Regis Brougham has survived, it was in the S. Ray Miller Collection in Elkhart, Indiana in the 1990's.  

[Hudsy Wudsy]

I Googled Studebaker President St Regis and it came up with one:

[Matt Harwood]

9 minutes ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

I Googled Studebaker President St Regis and it came up with one:

 

I sold that car maybe 10 years ago, definitely a President (note how much longer the hood is). It's currently in the Studebaker Museum in South Bend. Spectacular restoration of a very rare car.

 

EDIT: Thought I embedded some photos, but I guess the forum doesn't parse URLs anymore. Meh.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[F&J]

5 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

 Though, I will always be puzzled why neither built a convertible victoria version, it just seems a natural and one that could have utilized many existing body components.

Nash went the opposite way.  They made the 5 pass convertible sedan only on the 6 cyl and entry level smallest 8 cyl chassis, but never made the closed version.  The open ones never sold well in the US, some ended up in South America.  I think partly the higher pricing vs a 4 door sedan, but mostly the odd proportions of the Stude and the Nash.  The door is very wide, and quite noticeably "too wide".   But a wide door is more user friendly than many "too-narrow" doors found in that era,

 

I have one on the smallest 32 Nash chassis, a 6cyl, and it's body number 38.  In 11 years of searching the web, I've finally found one more in the US, and had previously found 3 in South America. 

 

If the price on the rough St Regis above was far more realistic, it sure would not be too difficult to create a St Regis conv sedan.  Why the heck not, as nobody seemed to want it as is for decades now, and... it would be pretty darn cool,,,eh?   Maybe it would at least finally get back on the road.

 

.

[58L-Y8]

F&J:  Thanks for reminding me of the Nash convertible sedan (which really were more convertible victorias).  The wide doors were consistent with convertible victoria design practice, assisted ingress and egress from the rear seat.   Nash did get the close-coupled proportions of those cars right, a restored example would be quite a looker.  I recall coming across an unrestored '32-'33 Nash convertible sedan like this at Carlisle in the 1980's, perhaps one of the remaining examples you've located. 

 

Although the purist would blanch, this particular Studebaker St. Regis Brougham likely is destined to be just another resto-rod which is a shame.   Conversion to a convertible victoria wouldn't be the worst fate for this car, though it would be nice if it was done on a Commander chassis for a little more length.... 

[F&J]

35 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

I recall coming across an unrestored '32-'33 Nash convertible sedan like this at Carlisle in the 1980's, perhaps one of the remaining examples you've located. 

You most likely saw the one I have now, as I traced the 3 previous owners back to when it was sold at Carlisle flea market in the 80s.  I was told by the guy who bough it at Carlisle, that a very elderly flipper guy bought/brought 4 or 5 early unfinished project cars from an estate, and mine was one of those. Back then, it was all in light grey primer with yellow wheels, if that rings a bell?

[58L-Y8]

11 hours ago, F&J said:

You most likely saw the one I have now, as I traced the 3 previous owners back to when it was sold at Carlisle flea market in the 80s.  I was told by the guy who bough it at Carlisle, that a very elderly flipper guy bought/brought 4 or 5 early unfinished project cars from an estate, and mine was one of those. Back then, it was all in light grey primer with yellow wheels, if that rings a bell?

Yes, Bell rung!  Yours is the car I saw at Carlisle decades ago!  Would you please post more photos for those of us who like the rare and obscure?

[alsancle]

15 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Yes, Bell rung!  Yours is the car I saw at Carlisle decades ago!  Would you please post more photos for those of us who like the rare and obscure?

 

 

[alsancle]

Gooding sold this one at Arizona this year for a crap load of money.  The restoration was really nice.  158k, which probably means the car was free and the work discounted.

 

[F&J]

17 minutes ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Yes, Bell rung!  Yours is the car I saw at Carlisle decades ago!  Would you please post more photos for those of us who like the rare and obscure?

AJ just posted the AACA link on the car.  The first post gives the known history of how it went through several owners since being sold at that Carlisle Swap in the 80s.  Most of those decades saw the car deteriorating instead of being ''saved'.

 

Here is the only pic I can find from when I found it in 2008, and when I showed this pic to the guy who brought it back from Carlisle, he was shocked at how badly the car had rusted up since he sold it to a guy who put it in a wet garage for 20 more years.  

That is the fate of countless cars of this era, and the St Regis in this thread has suffered the same way.  We must thank the long, long ago people who first dragged them from a junkyard or field, but how many never found an owner to fix them up? 

 

The Nash is by far the the toughest project I have ever experienced, but even with my age now making it even more of an impossible mountain to climb...I can honestly say that I don't regret trying to save it.  Why? it's because I have always been hooked in early 30s cars, especially open or unual ones, and more importantly, thinking of how  fortunate the original owners were able to buy a unique new car in the worst depression years of 32-33. 

 

I simply must find the stamina to see it back on the road in it's original colors and what it looked like back then.  The one thing that pushes me is that this car is very unique in a very odd way;  It is what looks like a upscale pricey custom body, but on the cheapest, smallest Nash chassis.... and also had every option added like sidemounts, twin exposed trumpet horns, etc.   And, this during the worst 2 sales years of the Depression?   It is a car that defies logic in that respect, just like the similar custom body designed and built for a new Model A Ford by Gordon Buehrig.

 

[58L-Y8]

F&J

I applaud your effort to save this extremely rare Nash.  That was my thought when I saw it, though knowing it was beyond my capabilities to do so.  Its gratifying to know that another person recognized the custom-body design theme of these 'production' cars, however much that latter term barely applies.  Although no well-known designer like Gordon Buehrig or Ray Dietrich has been credited with Nash styling in those early 1930's years until Count de Sahknoffsky for the 1934 models, clearly a professional designer did so directly as consultant or indirectly by influence from other industry work.  

I can only imagine the difficulty restoring such a rare car but all my encouragement goes to you to continue to do so, to save at least one of these.

Steve