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The Studebaker Story
Classic Car Enthusiast,
Welcome to the ClassicCar.com e-mail newsletter. This month’s newsletter is dedicated to Henry Ford who was arguably the most influential person in the classic car industry! He is known as the “Father of the Model T”, and of course the man that brought the automobile to the masses, by making them affordable to just about anyone. To celebrate Henry Ford we also feature two very fine books on about him in our ClassicCar.com bookstore. Somehow Henry Ford knew just what Americans were hankering for.
This month we also highlight three exciting new features now on Classiccar.com:
1) Ask the Experts Page where you can get answers to your car toughest questions.
2) ClassicCar.com Weekly Quiz to test your car knowledge. 3) Online Auto Auctions to help save you serious money.
Our Tech Tip for the month will teach you all about paint touch ups and our This Day in History article tells the Studebaker Story. Last, but not least we feature another great buy from our classified ad section.
So kick back, relax, and enjoy your issue!
In this issue:
1) New Feature: Ask The Experts Page
2) New Feature: Classic Car Quiz
3) This Day in History: The Studebaker Story
4) New Feature: Online Auto Auctions
5) The Henry Ford Story
6) From Classiccar.com Bookstore: How Henry Built a Legend
Henry and Clement Studebaker founded H. & C. Studebaker, a blacksmith and wagon building business, in South Bend, Indiana. The brothers made their fortune manufacturing during the Civil War, as The Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company became the world’s largest manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages. With the advent of the automobile, Studebaker converted its business to car manufacturing, becoming one of the larger independent automobile manufacturers.
During World War II, Studebaker manufactured airplanes for the war effort and emphasized its patriotic role by releasing cars called “The President,” “The Champion,” and “The Commander.” Like many of the independents, Studebaker fared well during the war by producing affordable family cars. As its advertisement claimed, “Studebaker is building an unlimited quantity of airplane engines, military trucks and other material for national defense and a limited number of passenger cars which are the finest Studebaker has ever produced.
However, after the war the Big Three, bolstered by their new government-subsidized production facilities, were too much for many of the independents. Studebaker was no exception. Post World War II competition drove Studebaker to its limits, and the company was absorbed by the Packard Corporation in 1954.
You can be the fortunate one who takes advantage of these great buys - all which will go far below market value. We are so confident in our service that we will give you a 100% money back guarantee. All we ask is that you at least try our service for 60 days. And after the 60 day trial period you are not fully satisfied, you can cancel your membership, risk free.
Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903, proclaiming, “I will build a car for the great multitude.” In October 1908, he did so, offering the Model T for $950. In the Model T’s nineteen years of production, its price dipped as low as $280. Nearly 15,500,000 were sold in the United States alone. The Model T heralds the beginning of the Motor Age; the car evolved from luxury item for the well-to-do to essential transportation for the ordinary man.
Ford revolutionized manufacturing. By 1914, his Highland Park, Michigan plant, using innovative production techniques, could turn out a complete chassis every 93 minutes. This was a stunning improvement over the earlier production time of 728 minutes. Using a constantly-moving assembly line, subdivision of labor, and careful coordination of operations, Ford realized huge gains in productivity.
In 1914, Ford began paying his employees five dollars a day, nearly doubling the wages offered by other manufacturers. He cut the workday from nine to eight hours in order to convert the factory to a three-shift workday.
Ford’s mass-production techniques would eventually allow for the manufacture of a Model T every 24 seconds. His innovations made him an international celebrity.
Ford’s affordable Model T irrevocably altered American society. As more Americans owned cars, urbanization patterns changed. The United States saw the growth of suburbia, the creation of a national highway system, and a population entranced with the possibility of going anywhere anytime. Ford witnessed many of these changes during his lifetime, all the while personally longing for the agrarian lifestyle of his youth. In the years prior to his death on April 7, 1947, Ford sponsored the restoration of an idyllic rural town called Greenfield Village.
In just ten years, they had refined the process enough so that they could build one million cars in a year and the price had come down to about $350. Filled with detailed black-and-white drawings, helpful text and captions, and fascinating quotes from Ford employees, this elegant book gives young readers a
look at a mechanical genius in action.
To fix a scratch, first determine your car’s paint code, usually located on a badge under the hood, in a door jamb, inside the trunk or in some other hidden location. Find your car’s code badge by checking a service manual or calling your local dealer.
At the auto parts store, match your paint code with the code in the paint-matching application guide. For small repairs, purchase a bottle of matching paint that has a brush built into the cap. If the scratch goes down to bare metal, primer and/or metal prep maybe needed to treat the effected area before painting.
Wash the repair area with mild soap and water, rinse thoroughly and then dry with a lint free cloth. Remove wax, grease and oil with a wax remover, acetone or lacquer thinner. If rust is present, scrape away as much as possible with a single razor-blade, then treat with a rust remover followed by a rust converter.
For bare metal that’s rust free, apply metal conditioner according to container directions. Follow by brushing on two or three coats of primer, allowing five minutes between coats. Let the primer dry for thirty minutes before applying color coats.
After thoroughly mixing the color touch-up paint, apply two or three coats in one direction, allowing sufficient drying time between coats. If the original paint has a clear coat, apply two very thin coats of clear to achieve proper color match.
Let the repair dry for at least a week, then use fine polishing compound on a very wet rag to smooth out the repair. Be careful not to rub through the color. Follow up by waxing and polishing.
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