Studebaker and Nash Cars in India

[IndrojitSircar]

Well an update on the Golden Hawk.With all the help from Wasif i have mnanaged to get all the required parts from the US.I have got all the aluminium rocker mouldings(the lower ribbed trims),the door trims,all three front grills,New set of piston rings,Water pump pully,Wheel cover,Whell well trims,parking light lenses and the rear windshield upper trim.Now we have cleaned up the car to see the amount of corrosion taken place in the last few years.The steering column and the front left side dish and drum be put on and the car would be moved to the work area to start all the work.In the mean while the engine would be dismanteled and the block would be re sleaved.The parts have arrieved in calcutta and are in the customs currently and would get them by next week or so.Wasif hbas played a major role in helpoing me get these parts from america.Now the only things that i need to get for this car are the studebaker badges apart from that we have all the parts now.We plan to start work with full force on this car by mid-end october.

[amit V8]

@ indrojit, there is a similar one which comes to the Statesman rally. have a look at the regn. no. its WBE and is green too.

[wasif]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Well an update on the Golden Hawk.With all the help from Wasif i have mnanaged to get all the required parts from the US.I have got all the aluminium rocker mouldings(the lower ribbed trims),the door trims,all three front grills,New set of piston rings,Water pump pully,Wheel cover,Whell well trims,parking light lenses and the rear windshield upper trim.Now we have cleaned up the car to see the amount of corrosion taken place in the last few years.The steering column and the front left side dish and drum be put on and the car would be moved to the work area to start all the work.In the mean while the engine would be dismanteled and the block would be re sleaved.The parts have arrieved in calcutta and are in the customs currently and would get them by next week or so.Wasif hbas played a major role in helpoing me get these parts from america.Now the only things that i need to get for this car are the studebaker badges apart from that we have all the parts now.We plan to start work with full force on this car by mid-end october.

Thanks Indrojit. Its and honor and a pleasure to be able to help you restore such an amazing car. Don't hesitate to ask for any further assistance.

BTW ther was an identical President in Hyderabad too but in gray and cream colours with a WBE reg any idea whose it was prior to its arrival in Hyd. It may have been 4429

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by amit V8

@ indrojit, there is a similar one which comes to the Statesman rally. have a look at the regn. no. its WBE and is green too.

My car was black and gold.I have seen this car many times.This car reg number is WBE 3775 and my earlier one was WBE 4429 and is currently in indore and my present one is WBE 3328 under restoration which there is a posibility of entering in the rally in 2010 or 2011..My gold and black was not that a good runner and so is this green one.But the current one i have is a damn good runner and has done very little milage.

[amit V8]

great, would love to see your car in the rally. best of luck with the resto.

[IndrojitSircar]

@Wasif


Well no need to apolagise to it its perfectly alright.The help you provided was just great and i appriciate it alot.The studes were very common in calcutta as in the 50's they were assembled there by hindustan motors so many cars you would find with the WBE series reg number.The president which i had is now silver/grey in colour with a black roof which was done originally done by us it is possible that you saw the same car.We had sold the car to an australia gentlemen who wanted to take it back to australia but couldn't because of the export laws and then it was in mumbai for many years after which earlier this ytear the car was seen with Mr.Ranjit Mallik and when myt dad asked him about the car he said that he had solde it to someone in indore.So its news to me if it is in hydrabad.

Originally Posted by amit V8

great, would love to see your car in the rally. best of luck with the resto.

Thankx amit.This year you would see the citroen for the first time which is being painted blue and purple,the green beetle which came this year also,the white MG which won the prize for the statesman troffy in the classic car category,The rear engines mercedes and some more cars which wouyld be a surprise.

[AHK500]

Hi!

Does anybody know if the car still exists? I have heard aboutt his car from a school friend who llived in Poona and it is lovely to see that it still existed a few years ago.

[john a milne]

Originally Posted by AHK500

Hi!

Does anybody know if the car still exists? I have heard aboutt his car from a school friend who llived in Poona and it is lovely to see that it still existed a few years ago.

Glad you joined up!

Welcome and I am sure you will spend a lot of time with us.
Are you going to post some of your cars?

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by AHK500

Hi!

Does anybody know if the car still exists? I have heard aboutt his car from a school friend who llived in Poona and it is lovely to see that it still existed a few years ago.

Hi what is the car you are reffering to?

[harit]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Hi what is the car you are reffering to?

Must be the Golden Hawk from Pune. AHK500, please clarify. Are the cars mentioned in your profile all in India?

Cheers harit

[V-16]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

These are some pics of my father's earlier strudebaker president.

Small world out there. This is my Ex car.
Indorjit, we have a common link somewhere. I was one of the owners of the car in Bombay.

We had sold the car to an australia gentlemen who wanted to take it back to australia but couldn't because of the export laws and then it was in mumbai for many years.....

I used to see this car parked on the footpath outside my friend's building at Malabar Hill for a long period. It was cleaned and wiped regularly and hardly moved. On enquiring i ws told it belonged to a foreigner and was not for sale.

Then one day it disappeared. I was told it has gone to the Garage. Within a few days, another friend of mine called me to ask if i was interested in a Black and Gold Studebaker President with West Bengal plates. I went and picked the car up within half an hour. It ran perfectly but missed a beat. I noticed that there was constant oil on the plugs. Decided to get the majestic car a rewamp.

My car was black and gold.....
......WBE 4429.......My gold and black was not that a good runner and so is this green one.rated

The V8 engine was not too good as Indrojit mentioned but the car was otherwise mechanically sound. Overhauled the engine with brand new new pistons and rings which i found locally and it was purring away. The engine was soundless and packed a punch. A pleasure to drive especially looking at the eyeball speedo.

The car remained with me for a few years till i had to take a decision and sell it to another friend for want of another classic. The car languished with the owner for a while till it deteriorated to a very great extent. It again changed hands and i was told that it was sold off somewhere to another collector...probably Indore.

Its great to hear that it was finally resurrected.

Indrojit thanks for posting the pics of the car. This is one of my cars whose pics i dont have. Can i please request you to also post/email me more pics of the car when it was Black and Gold? It will be a huge favour. Thanks!!

Nostalgia Nostalgia!!!

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

These are some pics of my father's earlier strudebaker president.

Hi All, In this car posted by Indrojitsircar do we see Venetian blinds on the rear windscreen? It does add a 'period' look to a car and I have seen it in many classics. Any idea whether this can be replicated in this day and age? any sources in Bombay?

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by V-16

Small world out there. This is my Ex car.
Indorjit, we have a common link somewhere. I was one of the owners of the car in Bombay.



I used to see this car parked on the footpath outside my friend's building at Malabar Hill for a long period. It was cleaned and wiped regularly and hardly moved. On enquiring i ws told it belonged to a foreigner and was not for sale.

Then one day it disappeared. I was told it has gone to the Garage. Within a few days, another friend of mine called me to ask if i was interested in a Black and Gold Studebaker President with West Bengal plates. I went and picked the car up within half an hour. It ran perfectly but missed a beat. I noticed that there was constant oil on the plugs. Decided to get the majestic car a rewamp.




The V8 engine was not too good as Indrojit mentioned but the car was otherwise mechanically sound. Overhauled the engine with brand new new pistons and rings which i found locally and it was purring away. The engine was soundless and packed a punch. A pleasure to drive especially looking at the eyeball speedo.

The car remained with me for a few years till i had to take a decision and sell it to another friend for want of another classic. The car languished with the owner for a while till it deteriorated to a very great extent. It again changed hands and i was told that it was sold off somewhere to another collector...probably Indore.

Its great to hear that it was finally resurrected.

Indrojit thanks for posting the pics of the car. This is one of my cars whose pics i dont have. Can i please request you to also post/email me more pics of the car when it was Black and Gold? It will be a huge favour. Thanks!!

Nostalgia Nostalgia!!!

Gogi ji

Nice to hear that even you were once an owner of this car.I have a pci of the car taken sometime earlier this year from another thread of t-bhp and i will post it here.Do you recall the rear seat arm rest and the black roof of this car?I have very fond memories of sitting on that arm rest and goping in this car.I simply loved this car but duie to un avoidable circumstances we had to part ewith her.I have some more pics of when we bought her and after restoration.
My father is a complete studebaker lover and my grand father owned commander which my father used to drive from when he was 13 years old.Since then the tradition of a strudebaker has been going on.After that commander we got WBE 4429 and then as i mentioned we had to part with her.Now my father has picked up another presifdent WBE 3328 which is a awesome runner and will be restored next after the golden hawk and the mercedes are done.
When i saw this car here on T-BHP i remembered the number and that time mr ranjit mallik was told to be the owner and He was down in calcutta for seing the work done on his jaguar mark VII.So i asked my father to ask him and he said that he had bought this car painted it silver and taken in all the way upto kasuani.
-if i may ask how much did u get her or and how much did u get to part with her?

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by AHK500

Hi!

Does anybody know if the car still exists? I have heard aboutt his car from a school friend who llived in Poona and it is lovely to see that it still existed a few years ago.

Originally Posted by harit

Must be the Golden Hawk from Pune. AHK500, please clarify. Are the cars mentioned in your profile all in India?

Cheers harit

If you are reffering to the Pune golden hawk then it still does exist and is for sale for an exorbident price.You could see the pics of this car on the first page of this thread.

Originally Posted by Caddy

Hi All, In this car posted by Indrojitsircar do we see Venetian blinds on the rear windscreen? It does add a 'period' look to a car and I have seen it in many classics. Any idea whether this can be replicated in this day and age? any sources in Bombay?

Hi caddy

The blinds which you are reffering to were as you said after market period accesories.I would say that it would be difficult to find these in india but not difficult to find them abroad there you would get them second hand.Don't know about bombay,people from there might be able to help you out.

[AHK500]

Hi Harit!

Sadly none of my cars are in India as the import duties would bankrupt me several times over! But I would love to have a car in India and the Golden Hawk would be a great start.

To think that the car was so close to me all the years I was in school in Poona & to come across it now is, I hope, destiny!

Any help you can render in contacting the owner would be much appreciated!

Myn Father also had a 1951 Champion, a blue 4 door sedan that we sold in 1967. It was registered in Bombay as BML 8117. Anybody know what became of that car?

I am not too technically savvy with this aspect of computers but when I get time, I will upload a few photos.

Thanks!