Mom & Dad's 50th
Anniversary Present
1950 Studebaker Roadster
Joe and
Barbara Arme
Phoenix, AZ
The photos of this 1950 Studebaker Roadster were sent to me by Tony Arme, along with a great story about the build. The car was put together for his parents, who had a 51 Studebaker Convertible when they were married. They drove it from Iowa to California on their honeymoon, and they told stories to their family about that special Studebaker for many years.
As their 50th Anniversary approached, Tony saw a Studebaker Coupe for sale in Washington and thought "what a great gift!" He bought it and also purchased a 1985 Chevrolet S-10 chassis that already had a 350 Chevrolet engine and TH350 transmission conversion. The S-10 chassis had power steering and power disc brakes but the frame had to be shortened 7 inches, and they had to weld in a new floor and mounts to get the body to sit right. A convertible windshield frame was added and chopped 2 inches. All side windows, vents, and locks have been shaved. Modern gauges and a billet steering wheel are cool additions and those wide white walls and spinner hub caps look right at home on this car. To finish the car off, they added a personalized license plate (WED50YR) that says it all.
Tony and his family, including brothers, sister, nieces, nephews and close friends, all joined in to make this project happen. It was given to Joe & Barbara on Oct 2, 2004 and they had no idea it was coming! It was very emotional as all their children and grandchildren, who helped build it, were there when they opened the garage door and saw it for the first time.
Thanks to Tony for sharing this great story and photos of a wonderful 50th Anniversary present.
