Apophenia's Offerings

[GTX_Admin]

 

[apophenia]

... I quite like the throttle response that I've experienced with a couple of relatively tame EVs. I hope the future holds vehicles with lower weight, more range, and faster charging (or refueling) than what current (B)EVs offer.

Yes, EV acceleration is impressive. On lower weight EVs, I wonder if current tariff wars might prove to be a blessing in disguise (albeit a very good disguise!).

European exports to North America are influenced by the scale of US vehicles (for consumers, a kind of defence-by-size-growth). If the US market diminishes in importance for European car makers, might the scale (and weight) of their offerings also end up being reduced?

On range and charging times, I'm a fan of swapable battery packs ... although I realise that I'm part of a tiny minority in that opinion 

[apophenia]

Another 'supercar' ... but this time 'period' and much sillier!

When I was a kid, I liked the idea of kit cars. While I knew that I'd never own a 'supercar', a kit seemed almost within grasp. So, this time, a  DeTomaso Pantera body reproportioned to suit the VW 'pan' and flat-4.

Because? well ... why not?   

[apophenia]

The  Porsche 914 was intended to replace both the VW Karmann Ghia and the entry-level Porsche 912. So, I started playing around with some Karmann Ghia features applied to a 914 (as well as tweaking the nose and adding a period spoiler). Then, once I was finished, I stumbled across a similar Photoshop job by somebody on Grassroots Motorsports!

The angle of his KG roof may a bit off but I thought it was a cool coincidence :)

-- https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/914-slantnose/92651/page2/

[Frank3k]

Another 'supercar' ... but this time 'period' and much sillier!

When I was a kid, I liked the idea of kit cars. While I knew that I'd never own a 'supercar', a kit seemed almost within grasp. So, this time, a  DeTomaso Pantera body reproportioned to suit the VW 'pan' and flat-4.

Because? well ... why not?   

Looks late 70's early 80s! Expensive muscle cars like this remind me of a guy who lived in our old building, in a crappy studio apartment on the ground floor. He had a Lamborghini in the garage and he would drive it around the block once a week (we could hear it...). He didn't have a daily driver, unless he parked it on the street, so he probably walked or took the bus to work. He definitely wasn't rich - just some guy who put all his money in a car. Food and rent were secondary.

[apophenia]

Looks late 70's early 80s! ...

Frank: The Pantera dates back to 1971. It replaced the similarly-styled '67-to-'71 Mangustas - which were the De Tomasos that first caught my teen-aged attention.

Both cars had a central 'backbone' chassis. That was how the seats could be that low ... so, not sure how realistic my VW pan might be 

... Expensive muscle cars like this remind me of a guy who lived in our old building, in a crappy studio apartment on the ground floor. He had a Lamborghini in the garage and he would drive it around the block once a week (we could hear it...). He didn't have a daily driver, unless he parked it on the street, so he probably walked or took the bus to work. He definitely wasn't rich - just some guy who put all his money in a car. Food and rent were secondary.

Love your Lambo story. It reminds me of a guy who proudly lived in a fairly tony part of Vancouver and owned a Mercedes. He lived in the non-running car which, in turn, was parked in somebody's back alley garage. But, hey, at least he had a Kerrisdale address and a 'cedes-Benz'!

[apophenia]

I'll come back to cars but I've been watching Buzzbomb's OTB build of the Border Apocalypse tank kit with interest.
-- https://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=11443.msg229874#msg229874

Buzzbomb also linked back to Frank3k's 2023 Apocalypse build which had me wondering what this (single-barrelled) vehicle would look like with a more conventional pair of tracks?

[Frank3k]

If an M103 and a T-72 tank love each other very much...

[apophenia]

I have an unreasonable soft spot for certain Studebakers - especially the so-called 'Loewy Coupes'. I first became aware of this Bob Bourke design during high school when a neighbour put a '53 Starlight up on blocks in his driveway. Parts being ultra-rare for such cars in Canada may explain why it sat immobile for years. But that just meant that I walked past this piece of automotive culpture twice a day. Bliss!

The weak spot for all of those 'low boys' was their the 'Flex Frame'. Modern-day solution? Replace all of the rusted out underpinnings with a Model S 'skateboard' (the wheelbases are virtually identical)! [1]

Double benefit: The refurbed Studebaker upper bodyworks get a second chance at life while the Tesla owner avoids any further embarrassment and/or Elon taint :)

________________________

[1] My partner enthuses over the idea of using BEV 'skateboards' as the basis for customer-chosen body designs. So, I owe her credit for this concept. BTW: Were I to do this image again, I'd have the body lowered less (it looks a little too 'hot rod' this way).

[finsrin]

Regarding Studebakers, I have two in 1/1.
1962 Lark done years back.
1961 Lark in work converting (kitbashing) into a Fordabaker.

see attached

[Acree]

I concur about the Studebakers!  But I always thought the grill of the Hawk line seemed anachronistic and was its stylistic weak point.  I always wanted a 58 Hawk with a 54 Commander nose!

[apophenia]

Thanks folks.

Bill: I remember your beuatiful '62 Lark and the cop car origin story to go with it. And very cool to see your '61 Lark frame-off resto in all its custom glory! Is the new engine a 289? That displacement might throw off a few rivet-counters 

I concur about the Studebakers!  But I always thought the grill of the Hawk line seemed anachronistic and was its stylistic weak point.  I always wanted a 58 Hawk with a 54 Commander nose!

Agreed! I've seen photos of a 'de-finned' Golden Hawk with a '53 or '54 front clip. I couldn't really tell if it kept the Hawk trunk lid ... but it did look great in that pared-down, stripped-of-chrome, hot-roddy sort of way 

I also came across an actual custom pickup/ute conversion of a '55 Champion (top) and thought: 'That is just wrong!'.

Why keep back seats in a ute, I ask myself? And what's with the side 'grill' and filgree crap? With no answers forthcoming from the universe, I was forced to pixelate my own, stylistically pared-down alternative (bottom).

[Acree]

I DEFINITELY like your ute better than that red abomination!  I'm a sucker for those Kelsey-Hayes mag wheels, too!

[finsrin]

Thanks folks.

Bill: I remember your beuatiful '62 Lark and the cop car origin story to go with it. And very cool to see your '61 Lark frame-off resto in all its custom glory! Is the new engine a 289? That displacement might throw off a few rivet-counters 

I concur about the Studebakers!  But I always thought the grill of the Hawk line seemed anachronistic and was its stylistic weak point.  I always wanted a 58 Hawk with a 54 Commander nose!

Agreed! I've seen photos of a 'de-finned' Golden Hawk with a '53 or '54 front clip. I couldn't really tell if it kept the Hawk trunk lid ... but it did look great in that pared-down, stripped-of-chrome, hot-roddy sort of way 

I also came across an actual custom pickup/ute conversion of a '55 Champion (top) and thought: 'That is just wrong!'.

Why keep back seats in a ute, I ask myself? And what's with the side 'grill' and filgree crap? With no answers forthcoming from the universe, I was forced to pixelate my own, stylistically pared-down alternative (bottom).

61 Lark engine is 468 cubes.

[Litvyak]

Your black "El Studino" is brilliant! I've always loved that style of body, whether El Camino or Rancher or what have you.

[Acree]

Studebaker's pickups of that era had a rounded upper rear roof line.  I wonder how your El Studino (love the name Litvyak!) would look with a rounded, rather than square roof-back. 

Here's a poor attempt to show what I mean:

[apophenia]

Very nice! And much more period appropriate than my attempt 

In the back of my mind was a cap/topper for the bed. However, a little research reveals that these useful add-ons didn't appear until 1965 (and not in numbers until after 1973). Anyway, FWIW, attached is my image of the 'El Studino' - cheers Litvyak! - with a roof cap (which I based on an image of a custom '53 fitted with a '58 Scotsman parts).

[Acree]

Very nice!  I must say that at first glance it appears to be a "normal" station wagon.  Also, I miss the K-H mags!

[apophenia]

One of the things that Studebaker's changing teams of designers was amazingly good at was modernising with minimal actual changes to the underpinnings - Bill's Larks are a perfect example of that. And that makes me wonder what else Studebake might have done with the older 'C' body ('low boy') frame.

The appearance of the 1954 Ford Thunderbird probably came as a complete shock to South Bend. Studebaker's first response was the 1955 President Speedster but a 2-seater was planned as a direct competitor to the Thunderbird (and Chevy Corvette). [1] That got me thinking about what such a vehicle would look like if Studebaker dropped that wholly original 2-seater design and followed its more usual 'recycling' techniques.

The result is attached. I thought the '55 Commander body was the place to start. The 'catfish mouth' grille seemed the closest production 'face' to the concept 2-seater. However, I stripped that grill of chrome finish [2] and lost its 'floating' V8 emblem for a cleaner look. Of course, the biggest mods were shortening the hind quarters and turning the coupé into a convertible. Obviously, that also means shortening the frame ... so a good opportunity to stiffen things by adding 'X' bracing (as seen in the photos of Bill's 1/1 Lark resto build).

Would such a move have helped Studebaker? Probably not. After all, Ford dropped its 2-seat T'bird after 1957 in favour a much larded-up 4-seater. Sporty car designs are more fun but sometimes the consumer (or car exec?) just can't be saved from him/herself.

_______________________________

[1] I had thought that the image I collected had come from the 56PackardMan blog but, now, I can't trace my way back to its origin.
[update] Found it ... but on the Hemmings site! (Seems like the 2-seater was a Loewy Studio design but the article doesn't give details.)
-- https://www.hemmings.com/stories/one-of-the-best-decisions-studebaker-ever-made-loewy-designs-focus-of-studebaker-museum-talk/

[2] BTW, designer Bob Bourke hated the chrome-ladened '55 remake ordered by Studebaker management!
-- https://56packardman.blog/2017/10/10/gear-head-tuesday-55-studebaker-speedster-prelude-to-the-hawk/

[apophenia]

And yet another Studebaker ... this time moving up a decade for a Canadian-made Cruiser converted into a pickup. I kept the standard 2-door panels and added the 4-door's rear vent window (just to distinguish the roofline from thos of the competitors).

Despite Lityvak's amusing 'Studerino' branding, those RW 1960s car-to-pickup Spanish names make no sense for a Canadian car. Besides, once translated, Ford 'Ranch life' and Chevy 'the Road' are pretty lame names for vehicles anyway. Here's what popped out of the name research rabbit hole ...

- The first commercial use of the word 'pickup' was by Studebaker back in 1913;
- Studebaker's car-to-pickup 1937 Coupe Express predated the Ranchero and El Camino by 2.5 decades; and
- The Scotsman name was first applied to non-frills pickups (but then got re-used for station wagons).

In the end, I followed GM Canada's fake Acadian names like Beaumont, Laurentian, and Grand Parisienne. What I arrived at for Studebaker of Canada's pickup was Commander Château. Love it? Hate it? Any better ideas?

____________________________________

BTW, awkward and ugly names were something of a tradition at Studebaker. That 1937 Coupe Express light pickup was based upon the chassis and front body panels of the 5A Dictator chassis. Sure, why not? ("Please sir, I'd like my new Studebaker Dictator finished in Mussolini Maroon with the Führer Fawn leather interior." Yikes!)

[Acree]

 

[Litvyak]

If you're bored... might you possibly feel like making such a ute based on a Rover P6? The P6 variants made in Lumby were wildly popular in AltBC, you see - saloon, ute, and wagon...

[raafif]

If you're bored... might you possibly feel like making such a ute based on a Rover P6? The P6 variants made in Lumby were wildly popular in AltBC, you see - saloon, ute, and wagon...

Why not.

[Litvyak]

If you're bored... might you possibly feel like making such a ute based on a Rover P6? The P6 variants made in Lumby were wildly popular in AltBC, you see - saloon, ute, and wagon...

Why not.

I rather like the roofline of this one:

[apophenia]

If you're bored... might you possibly feel like making such a ute based on a Rover P6? ...

Not bored ... but always up for a challenge   

I based the ute on a 4-door P6 3000 image that I found on line (I just liked the colour). However, I wonder if the 2-litre mightn't be a more common choice for this 'Rovchero'?

BTW: Have you ever seen the RW Rover P6 BS mid-engined test mule?
-- https://www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-and-prototypes/rover-p6-bs/