The JET THRUST News

                                                 Fall 2003    Issue #20                                                                                                              

 

The JTN is intended to provide a link among owners and enthusiasts of the R1, R2, R3 and R4 powered Studebaker Larks and Hawks built for 1963 and 1964. We seek not only information about surviving cars but also parts which exist from ”parted” units. Please submit all the data of which you are aware on any of the nearly 2000 such cars built. Feel free to make copies of this notice to share with others who may be interested. Your contributions both financial and material will help to ensure its survival. 

 

This newsletter is available by subscription for $5 a year. JTN is published in March and September and the subscription always applies to the entire year. Advance payment of one or more years is welcomed. A reminder postcard is sent in January for renewal of expiring subscriptions.

 

If you are the owner of a previously unreported JT car, the owner of a removed JT engine, the locator of a parted JT car, or if you can refer the JTN to such an owner, you will be sent a one time, gratis issue for your effort. Please write, call or email. Please remit to G.J. (Ron) Ellerbe at the address below.

 

EDITOR & ROSTER KEEPER.....  G.J. (Ron) Ellerbe, P.O. Box 1783, Simi Valley, CA 93062          

Phone: (805)-522-4544       Email: ellerbe@pacbell.net

 

Paid subscribers: 185

 

Founding Editor: Don Curtis   Past Editor: George Krem 

Production Research : George Krem, Andy Petrass

Major Financial Contributor: Richard La Torre, Nelson Bove, Bart Ladd, John Metzker

 

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JT Production Lists by Serial Number

These listings tabulate all cars built by serial and engine number and a few additional details. They are useful for determining the factory original state of that JT car and/or JT engine origins. The 1964 list has more information on each car than the 1963 list.

 

JT Owners Rosters: A single package contains the following 3 rosters: 1) owners of 1963 JT cars,  2) owners of 1964 JT cars, and 3) owners of engines pulled from JT cars.

 

JT 1963 Production Listing

$10

JT 1964 Production Listing

$10

JT Owner Rosters

$10

To order any of the above, make checks payable to the editor and remit to same.

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All address corrections should be sent to the editor.

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If you have a JT car to report, please supply the editor with the year, model, body style, VIN (driver’s door post), body # (firewall), engine type, engine # (top of block on driver’s side), transmission, interior and exterior colors. If it’s a ’63, please note if it has front fender badges and 160mph speedometer. Send a photo. For a loose JT or JTS engine, send the engine # and any info on the donor car.

 


 

The Mission of the Jet Thrust News

A permanent goal of the JTN is the maintenance of the owner rosters of ‘63 and ‘64 JT cars and loose engines. These 3 rosters are published on the PC. Reports of JT cars that the JTN receives go into the rosters. That includes changes of ownership, engine transplants, survivor discoveries and news of parted and crushed vehicles. “Loose” means the engine is no longer in its original car. The roster trio is available as shown on the title page. The JTN keeps a library of photos and build sheets. Please send JTN your photos and build sheet along with that JT story. JTN is keeping a detailed ledger of sightings and reports of JT cars that have not been identified by VIN. With the aid of the readership, we do our best to track down such sightings and reports. JTN counts on its readers to report such sightings and to aid in identification.  This list has several dozen cars on it. Another part of the JTN mission is sharing of technical and historical information about Studebaker high performance from South Bend and Paxton Products during the 1963 and 1964 model years. 

 

Good cover photos are sought for those sharp JT gems out there.

 

Photocopies of back issues are available. $20 for a set of issues #1 - #19, postpaid. Contact your editor.

 

 

Roster News

 

Surviving cars found since the last issue

Owner

Car

Owner

Car

Bill Solomon

63V6525 R2 GT Hawk

Bob Petrillose

63V33196 R1 package GT Hawk

Bob Edwards

64V7410 R1 GT Hawk

Brian Gleason

64V13293 R1 Cruiser

Jim Kranak

63V14628 R1 GT Hawk

Chuck Kinney

63V13031 R2 GT Hawk

Gary Futer

63V19693 R1 GT Hawk

Leroy Andrew

63V4763 R2 Regal 2 door

(S) Richard Yeats

63V17896 R1 GT Hawk

Rex Gould

64V12308 R1 Daytona 4 door

(S) indicates source of  information rather than owner

 

                               

Cars determined to be non-surviving

63V20141 R2 convertible

 

 

Found engines

Owner

Number

Barry Hackney

JTS1477 out of 63V20141 R2 convertible

 

 

Cars sold

Owner

Car

Last owner

Murray Clark

63V19953 R1 4 door Custom

Danny Jaquiery

Paul Freitag

64V4817 R1 GT Hawk

Jim Springer

Christopher Brockwell

64V18375 R1 Package Daytona 4 door

Maurice Brockwell

Brian Scott

63V28306 R1 GT Hawk

John Poulos

Jeff Rice

63V8295 R1 GT Hawk

John Poulos

Steve Doerschlag

64V10794 R1 Commander 2 dr

Doug Sunnenberg

Robert Harvey

63V30528 R2 package GT Hawk

Victor Ratliff

John Poulos

63V6525 R2 GT hawk

Bill Solomon

Jon Finstrom

63V17809 R1 Regal Wagon

Alan Grossman

Peter Morton

64V4509 R1 GT Hawk

Henry Pannunzio, Jr.

Leon Martin

63V29522 R2 package GT Hawk

Bo Markham

Steve Doerschlag

63V4763 R2 Regal 2 door

Leroy Andrew

 

 

San Jose ’64 R2 Daytona The Turning Wheels edition of January 1990 had an ad in it for a ’64 R2 Daytona in excellent shape. JTN believes the car was 64V13341 and may be the car that Nelson Bove inspected in Sunnyvale about 15 years earlier. The phone # in the ad is no longer in use by the seller and that phone # was not in the SDC rosters of that era. The phone # was our best lead and now we have no lead. The car was Bordeaux Red with Black vinyl interior, 4 speed, and full performance package. What happened to the car? Any help in tracking the car or in determining who the seller was will be most welcome. JTN circulated an “information wanted “ flyer at the Sacramento meet about this car.

 

 

Vince Granatelli Since Denny Lockmon relocated to Arizona, he has become acquainted with Vince Granatelli, Andy’s oldest son. Vince operates a racing business in Phoenix and had been inquiring of the fate of various Studebakers. JTN had previously contacted Vince in 1999 regarding our R3 and R4 roster effort and Denny’s contact with Vince afforded a chance to continue the 1999 conversation.

 

 

Sacramento SDC International Meet  The JT turnout at this year’s SDC international meet was 7 cars. Those cars and their owners were:

 

Name

VIN

Color

Ben Starr

63V33378 R2 package GT Hawk

Super Red

John Cornfoot

63V15470 R1 GT Hawk

Champagne Gold

Dennis Wingert

63V14416 R2 Custom 2 door

Blue Mist

Paul Freitag

64V4817 R1 GT Hawk

White

Tom Crosswhite

63V30647 R2 GT Hawk

Champagne Gold

Lee Gitchel

64V5525 R2 package Daytona hardtop

White

Fred Damsen

64V17546 R1 Daytona hardtop

Bordeaux Red

 

 

Several of these have been covered by JTN. Tom Crosswhite’s Hawk is a freshly restored, outstanding example of an R2 Hawk. Thanks go to all 7 owners for bringing their cars to Sacramento. Only the first 3 cars had been seen previously by this editor. Other JT involved people at the meet included David Engle, Denny Lockmon, Dale Derbidge, John Kroulik, Tony Berbig, Bob Mikulic, Bob Kabchef, Malcolm Berry, Malcolm Stinson, Jr., Steve Doerschlag, Gary Firce, Bill Hollman , Bob Peterson, and John Metzker. Hollman of nearby Woodland, CA posted a for sale ad for his original ‘63 R2 4 speed convertible but the car was not at the meet. Tony reported seeing a Rose Mist ’63 convertible in San Francisco. The car had R2 fender badges on it and column shift A/T.  Unconfirmed reports of the post-meet sale of 63V30647 and 64V17546 were received.

 

 

Steve Doerschlag is the proud owner of a very noteworthy all Studebaker custom. The vehicle is a ’37 Coupe Express with an R2 engine under the hood. Using all Studebaker wares, the JTS style top mounted blower snugly fits under the hood. The truck is finished in a stunning silver with custom wheels and floor shift automatic transmission. The considerable foot traffic around the Coupe at the meet was a testament to Steve’s handicraft. The Coupe must be seen to be fully appreciated. 

 

 

2003 Edition of the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags (PSMCDR) As for several years running now, Studebakers were well represented at this Michigan event. With Ted Harbit at the wheel, George Krem’s R3 Challenger, Plain Brown Wrapper (PBW) , broke the 13 second barrier for the first time. In an unofficial shootout, the car ran a new best ET of 12.92 seconds in a losing effort against Rob Clary’s 427 S/C Yenko Camaro. In the official shootout, PBW was paired with an Olds W31 F-85 owned by Casey Marks. The Olds won the first round and red lighted the second. In the third round, PBW was ahead by 3 car lengths and pulling away when the blower belts let go. PBW was caught right at the line.

 

Ted’s ’63 R2 Custom, Stude Tomato, was paired with a 440 Plymouth in its shootout. Qualifying ET was 13.8 seconds. Tomato won the shootout as the 440 had launch problems.

 

Richard Poe’s ’63 R1 Custom won its shootout against a 1971 Z28 Camaro. The Camaro did not return  for the second round after losing the first. Richard’s goals were not to break anything and make a good showing for a non-supercharged Lark. The best qualifying ET was 15.404. Richard does indeed have a strong R1 and the goals were clearly met. Richard will be using new tires next year.

 

Doug Tjapkes brought the full package Powershift R2 GT, Red Tailed Hawk. Doug has fashioned a very nice logo for the Red Tailed Hawk Racing Team and had T-shirts made of the logo. The car ran great but Doug struggled with bumping the shift lever past second gear when making the first shift. Best ET was 15.24 seconds and just a hair under 93 mph. The car weighed in at 3768 lbs with driver. Doug won his shooutout against a grey ‘63 R2 Avanti. The Avanti was disqualified for running nearly a second faster than its best qualifying time.

 

Letters from readers


 


Mark Riley, Bill Solomon and 63V6525 Mark took the JTN mission to heart as he documented this genuine R2 GT Hawk in Southwestern Missouri. Mark knew for some time of a Regal Red GT in a nearby town that belonged to SDC member Bill Solomon. The car was originally HD Flightomatic and had been converted to 4 speed. The car is in fine condition and is getting a refresh of paint and carpet. A very nice R2 GT fitting this description appeared at a October 2002 Kansas City Good Guys meet. JTN is working to determine if 6525 is that car. Mark is also helping with the JT parts listing.

 

Paul Freitag and 64V4817 Paul is the current owner of this San Francisco Bay area white R1 GT Hawk, having bought it from Jim Springer in 2000. The car is a beauty but does use oil a lot of oil without smoking. The car was on the cover of May 2003 Turning Wheels.

 

Ray Lillie and 64V13636  The May 2002 edition of Turning Wheels in an article by John Cosby made mention of an R2 ’64 Daytona that was once owned by Ray’s late father. JTN followed up on that article to learn that dad’s car was a red convertible. This car is the package R2 convertible that belongs to Ohio’s Jack Eidemiller. We know that because Jack had retained papers on the car identifying the Lillie family. Ray’s dad was a long time Stude man who bought the car used in Mt. Sterling, KY in 1966 and kept it for 14 years. Ray’s uncle Dennis sold the car to an Ohio restorer. Ray did the Fordomatic replacement and rebuild of the Powershift. Any information on the Mt. Sterling dealer or other travels of the car is solicited. Ray is also a Stude man and is looking for a ’51 Starlight Commander 3 spd O/D, as that was his first car. Ray is not a fan of Studebaker automatics.

 

Tony Berbig and 63V33120 Tony reports that the restoration of this R2 package wagon is proceeding nicely. Tony, who is from Minnesota, has nearly acquired all the body parts and supplies and the engine is being prepped for reassembly. Bob Peterson from Castro Valley, CA has been a prime source of exterior parts.

 

Bob Petrillose and 63V33196 Bob‘s name appeared in the 2003 SDC roster for the first time as owner of a R1 GT Hawk.  JTN contacted Bob to learn that he has this Super Red R1 package (option 46) GT Hawk with black interior and 4 speed. It's been in the family since 1975 and is currently awaiting restoration. Bob’s dad was a Studebaker dealer from 1954 to 1961 and has all NOS sheet metal to restore car including very rare rear inner wheelhouse panels he bought in 1968. The car is in Elmira, NY.

 

Bob Edwards and 64V7410  West Virginia’s Bob Edwards has located and acquired this loaded R1 GT Hawk.. Ordered with the non-package R1 option 27, the car has 4 speed, HD suspension, TT, disc brakes, black sport roof, white exterior, black vinyl interior, 160 mph speedo, oval fender badges, tachometer, and A/C. The car is in poor condition.

 

Bob Macleod and 63V9696 Bob owns this Rose Mist R1 Daytona that was delivered new to San Luis Obispo. Bob got it from Ron Leung of Palo Alto (maybe) just before it was to be stripped as a parts car. All the glass except the right vent were broken, body panels dented with a rock or club of some sort, roof walked on, dash hammered with a rock. The speedo was on the floor in pieces, gauge cluster smashed in, somehow they only managed to break the glass in the tach. Restoration proceeds slowly, but the car does have the two most important features of a used car: running and paid for.

 

Jim Kranak and 63V14628 Jim has owned this Champagne Gold R1 GT since 1985. Equipped with 4 speed, disc brakes and Twin Traction, the West Virginia car’s tan vinyl and white insert interior has been replaced with a red interior. The original interior was saved and is intact.  The car is being “body off” restored with traction bars and rear stabilizer bar added. As of writing, the car’s front sheet metal, engine and brakes remained to be done.

 

Freddie Freeman and 63V6206 Freedie of MS has completed the restoration if this black Daytona hardtop 4speed. The restoration came out splendidly according to Freddie and the car is the toast of the town. JTN was thrilled to supply Freedie production and survival information on the marque for exhibition purposes.

 

Robert Harvey and 63V20528 JTN has rostered this 4 speed Super Red R2 package GT as a parts car belonging to Victor Ratliff. Robert Harvey now has the car and has declared it restorable but in sad shape. The original engine is in the car and runs. The original red vinyl and cloth insert interior is far gone. The odometer show 96K miles. The car apparently sat in a shed for a man years.

 

Leroy Andrew and 63V4637 Leroy discovered this Regal Red R2 Regal 2 door in Colorado. Except for the missing seats, the 4 speed car is intact. The body has suffered considerably and may need replacement.

 

Richard Yeats and 63V17896 Richard reported on this very rough Blue Mist R1 GT Hawk from eBay. The car was damaged some 20 years ago and sat outside in OK since. The car has a running, serviceable engine but the trunk and floorboards are rusted and the interior is shot. The car’s mileage was reported to be only 30K.

 

John Poulos and 63V5151 John of MD has completed the restoration of this Regal Red R2 Daytona 4 speed hardtop. The car looks very sharp and is quite a head turner.

 

Denny Lockmon’s ’64 R1 Convertible The included build sheet is a reproduction of the original for Denny’s 64V17459. Bob Shapton’s Corel Draw template was used to prepare the sheet. The car now has a black top. AM/FM radio and air conditioning have been added by Denny to make this already well equipped Daytona even more loaded. The car remains stored in Nebraska while Denny searches for a storage situation for the car in Arizona. JTN learned that Denny was the owner of 63V10942, the Stude Tomato, prior to George Krem.  

 

Richard Yeats and 63V26929 Richard sold his prize winning black ’63 289 GT Hawk so that he could concentrate on this Regal Red R2  GT Hawk. Using valuable experience gained from restoring the black GT, Richard worked throughout the summer to prepare the car for display at the Denton, TX SDC regional meet. Richard acquired a new headliner, wind lace made out of the original red vinyl form Chuck Kinney and sun visors that Frank Collins covered  with padding. All the running gear is rebuilt including the front end. The front end was aligned, headliner and a new windshield installed. The vent window rubber was replaced, drivers door adjusted with new strikes and the tach and speedometer  repaired.  The car was painted and fresh interior installed after painting. 

 

Jon Finstrom and 63V17809 Jon of Ft. Wyers, FL bought this R1 Wagonaire from Alan Grossman. Jon has plans to restore this unusual 3 speed Regal.

 

Henry Pannunzio and 64V4509 First discovered in very rough shape and reported to JTN many years ago, this R1 GT Hawk has been restored and resold to Floridian Peter Morton. To quote Henry’s ad: “Everything on this car has been rebuilt or replaced with NOS or repro parts. Engine has been rebuilt and balanced as well as the transmission. Brakes completely rebuilt including booster. The
interior was replaced with NOS material even NOS door panels were located. New Horizon Green paint. new black vinyl sport roof, factory traction bars, Twin Traction rear end, seat belts, PS, exhaust deflectors, too much to list. I have all receipts. This car is ready to be driven and shown.”

 

Leon Martin and 63V29522 This is Super Red R2 GT Hawk that Bo Markham recently acquired from Californian Larry Walter. Australian Leon Martin now owns the car and has shipped it home. Leon plans to fully restore this onetime Cincinnati car.  Another JT car goes down under. That makes 13.

 

 

Steve Doerschlag’s Newest Projects Steve has acquired two JT project cars in recent months.  63V4763 is a Regal Red Regal 2 door R2 4 speed that was found in Longmont, CO. This longtime CO car is in very poor shape. Steve has set about restoring the car and has acquired a much needed body for it. 64V10794 is a Horizon Green R1 Commander that Steve got from Ohio’s Doug Sunnenberg. The Commander was originally a CO car with 4 speed that had been converted to Automatic. Steve is restoring this car with the aid of a California donor body and conversion back to 4 speed.

 


 

Cover Photos  Denny Lockmon’s R1 package convertible, 64V17459 and Ron DeWinter’s R2 GT Hawk 64V12665 are featured. Ron’s Hawk is a former Brook Stevens car.

 

 

Survival Table  -The ’63 R1 Regal 2 door is the topic or this issues’ production and survival table.

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Parts wanted

 

Paxton supercharger cores, Lionel Stone, 4476 Matilija Ave., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 call 818-990-8916

 

Parts For Sale

 

www.studebakervendors.com is the place where customers and vendors meet. Forget the phone, the mail and SASE. All the major vendors are listed on Studebaker Vendors. Just point, click and view. Most vendors have Email, and many have on-line shopping carts. Studebaker Vendors, your one-stop shopping mall.

 

 

Editor’s. Note: Photo and word ads are free as long as the subject is Jet Thrust related. Contact the editor. The ad deadline for JTN #21 is March 1, 2004. Car for sale ads must include VIN. Engine for sale ads must include serial number.
Build sheet for 64V17459


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denny Lockmon’s 1964 R1 Daytona Convertible

 

                                                                                    Ron Dewinter’s 1964 R2 GT Hawk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

’63 Regal R1 2 door Survivor Table