This sharp R1 powered 1955 President Speedster belongs to Jerry Kurtz of Dover, Pennsylvania. He has owned the car for about 15 years. Jerry says that when he bought the car it was in very poor condition. He decided to build a R1 engine and a three-speed Flightomatc automatic transmission with first gear start for the car. He changed the rear end to 3.08:1 which works well with a first gear start as opposed to a second gear start as is standard for V8 cars equipped with a Flightomatic transmission. The lower axle ratio also reduces rpm at highway speed and improves fuel mileage. As of this writing, the car has gone just over 100,000 miles.

Although the body looked straight, quite a bit on Bondo was found during restoration. The body issues were remediated and the car was repainted. The three-tone paint is top color Shasta White, middle color Pimlico Gray Metallic, and bottom color Coraltone. These are correct colors for a 1955 Speedster. Other than the R1 emblem on the side, Jerry's Speedster appears stock. The really cool exhaust tips on Jerry's car are Studebaker AC 2701 "Strat-O-Lined" Exhaust Deflectors. The car also has a 1955 Pennsylvania license plate and a reproduction Studebaker 100,000 Mile Club license plate topper on the front.

Studebaker had a 100,000 Mile Club for owners of its cars in the 1920's which was used in the company's print advertising. Original Studebaker 100,000 Club license plate toppers are very rare but reproductions were made a number of years ago. Studebaker of California Catalogs from the 1990's show the reproductions for $6 each and my understanding is that other vendors sold them as well. Unfortunately, the reproductions sold out some time back and are hard to find at this point.

The Speedster was a 1955 only model and only 2,215 were produced. Speedsters were priced $800 higher than a standard President Hardtop. As such, they were loaded with standard equipment including power steering, power brakes, four-barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, leather interior, push-button radio, unique dashboard with round Stewart-Warner gauges including a tachometer and clock, tinted glass, backup lights, triple horns, tubeless whitewall tires, fog-light bumperettes, and bolt on wire wheel covers as on Jerry's car.. Transmissions could be either automatic or manual with overdrive.

Jerry Kurtz is perhaps best known for his 1939 K15M COE Coca Cola Delivery Truck. A picture of that truck taken at the 2004 International Meet by Preston Young appeared on this page in September 2004. Jerry also owns a 1937 Coupe Express Pickup and a 1937 State President Coupe. He is active in the Antique Studebaker Club and is well-known as a rebuilder of prewar Studebaker transmissions.

The pictures of Jerry's Speedster were taken at the October 2018 Mifflin County Studebaker Swap Meet in Reedsville, Pennsylvania. Thanks to Jerry for providing information regarding his R1 powered 1955 Speedster.

If you own or once owned a Studebaker or related vehicle and would like to see your car as "Stude of the Month" or in the "Cool Studes" section, or if you have other pictures or material that you would like to contribute to this page, please e-mail me here at wj2d44@gmail.com. I can accept either electronic or hard copy images. The Main Page is issued every other month so the next edition will be June 2019.

All of the previous editions of the Main Page going back to October 1995 have been reposted. In the process of reposting the pages, I have made corrections and revisions as needed, and in some cases added material that was not used when a page was first posted due to download speed and file storage limitations. A complete list of Main Pages and Studes of the Month with links to each is located here.

If you have a particular interest in Bullet Nose Studebakers, visit Bill Junge's Bullet Nose Paradise which is dedicated to the 1950 and 1951 Bullet Nose models.

This year's event will be held on October 25 and 26, 2019. Now that the Studebaker York Swap meet is no more, the event at Reedsville is my best chance to find parts without making an overnight trip.

Dan Armstrong from Mansfield, Texas has created a number of crossword puzzles and games for car nuts. Dan has a strong interest in Studebakers, particularly the 1956 Sky Hawk, the performance equipped 1963 Lark Daytona, and the performance equipped 1963 and 1964 GT Hawks. The Studebaker crosswords are copyright by Dan Armstrong and are used with his permission. Thanks to Dan for providing the link and the downloadable Studebaker crossword puzzles for readers of this page to enjoy.

Thanks to Jim for sending the pictures and information regarding these neat additions to his Studebaker toy and model collection.

This 1:18 scale Anson Classic 1957 Golden Hawk was part of a group of Studebaker Golden Hawk models in various scales that I recently purchased on eBay. All of the models had been in a display case and thus were in like new condition but they came without boxes or packaging so the winning bid was well below their original cost. I bought the group for two 1:43 scale Golden Hawks to add to a diorama I am working on so the 1:18 scale Anson model was a bonus.

Here are pictures of the engine and interior and here is a picture of the underside of the model. The hood and doors open as shown but the trunk does not open. Also, this model has exterior rear view mirrors but lacks a radio antenna which is an intersting oversight since there is a radio in the dash. Overall, the Anson model is nice but not as detailed as some 1:18 scale Golden Hawk models that have been issued by other makers such as Yat Ming and Motor City Classics.

The Anson 1:18 scale Golden Hawk has been issued in a number of colors including gold, white, red, black, and metallic grey. There is also a red version with a white roof. It comes mounted on a plastic display stand inside a window box with the hood and doors strapped closed as seen in this red example from my personal collection. The white version of this model also from my personal collection was the Stude Toy of the Month on this page in May 2000.

This model appears regularly on eBay with the gold and version seeming to be the most common. Prices vary widely but new boxed examples in gold or white can be had for around $30 to $40 with shipping. The red version with either a black or a white fender flash and the red version with a white roof seem to be less common and thus are usually more expensive.

More toy Studes can be found in the Stude Stuff area of this page and on my Studebaker Toys Home Page.

Click here for information on ordering hard to find Studebaker toys made by manufacturers such as Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Muscle Machines, Maisto, and EKO.

Jim Geary's book Studebaker Toy Treasures is the standard reference for collectors of Studebaker Toys. This wonderful book has 294 pages of color pictures and details on hundreds of Studebaker toys. Publication date is 2004 and just about every Studebaker toy and model produced up to that time is pictured and cataloged. Jim is making the book available for $25 plus $14 for shipping. Jim will sign the book if requested. It also comes with a CD of more toys than what is in the book. This is a must for the serious Studebaker toy vehicle collector. Jim can be contacted at sanjim76@live.com or send payment to Jim Geary, 181 Allendale Hills Road, Franklin, NC 28734.