Member's Car of the Month -  Ernie Baily's '58 President

Jerry's 1958 Studebaker President's History

Well, I believe it was around late 1980, a few months after our Dad passed away. Jerry received a tip from a friend that lived close to our house in Canoga Park: we called him "Studebaker Jim". Jim was a Studebaker nut like Jerry. He told us about a guy I believe lived in Northridge. The city and his neighbors were forcing him to clear a backyard of cars and parts. It turned out that "Studebaker Jim" bought a 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk that was a running & driving car. There was also a '58 Studebaker President that Jerry decided to buy due to its rarity. The President wasn't running as the engine was apart. The cylinder heads and the rest of the engine was piled in the trunk. Jerry ended up only paying $350 for it. So Jerry and I decided we could put it back together and have a nice car. We then hooked up the bumper tow bar that my Dad had acquired and proceeded tow it home. When you see the car you'll notice the front bumper is bent; that's where the tow bar bent it when we were towing it. Once we got it home, Jerry and I laid out all the engine parts on the ground in front of it like a puzzle. We started cleaning everything and then decided to get a valve job done on the heads. If I remember right, the valve job cost us only $75. We bought a gasket set and then proceeded to put it together. It wasn't that pretty, but it was clean. Once we got it running it was the "sweetest" 289 I ever heard. Jerry drove it once in a while but it basically sat. Jerry always had plans for it and bought parts and literature about it. He even got the original invoice from the factory about the car. During Jerry's work career it stayed with him, however Jerry focused on his work, and the cars
(the '56 Golden Hawk, his 1st car, the '64 GT Hawk, and the '58 President) just sat at home and went with him when he bought both of his homes. As the story goes, my twin brother Eugene and I decided to work on the '56 Golden Hawk and get it working again after sitting under the carport for 35 years; that's when I decided to also work on the other cars to get them running and driving. As most of you know Jerrys health has not allowed him to work on them or drive them. However he likes to ride in them going to car shows and Cruise-Ins. My brother Eugene and I have been working on these cars and love them like they are family.