It could have been worse.....

I have lurked on this forum several times.
Since I first joined I found my wagon project.

Last saturday we finally got my wagon painted. We painted the hood, bumpers and grille parts separately.
Sunday morning, I went to the shop and unmasked everything, loaded the bumpers and grill parts into the wagon, and decided to take it home. I left my hood there because it wouldn't fit in the car and I couldn't bolt it on by myself.
Sunday evening I received a phone call from my boss only to discover the shop was on fire.
Yep, The people that were renting the front of the building had a thrift store. It caught on fire.
The overhead door with the ball of fire erupting from it, in the lower right of the picture is the door to the shop.........
Bye bye hood! Everything inside was a total loss.
16 customer cars, one was an $89,000 30's ford sedan hotrod that was in the transmission shop that was also in the building.

Long story short, anyone know where there is a 1956 stude wagon hood? Or what else will fit it?

I am thankful that I got the car out a day earlier than I had planned!

 

Welcome to the forum if we didn't welcome you. Wow! Yes it could have been worse for you but so sorry for the 16 others and the thrift shop owners.
That's terrible.
I'm sure you will find a 1956 Studebaker hood soon. Good luck.

 

That's a bummer for sure. At least you have the rest of the wagon......

We'll do our best to find you a hood. We do have some Stude owners and former owners here.

Welcome!

Marshall

P.S.: Give us some more info in the hood. Is it specific to the wagon, or will it fit other body types as well?

 

Wow! Sorry to hear but luckily no one was hurt and you got your wagon out. You hate to hear of the loss to people's property but in the end that's all it is, property that can be replaced. Good luck with everything.

 

Not sure on that yet, but I think some other model car hoods will work.
Possibly anything with a front end that looks like this;

 

welcome and sorry to hear about your misfortune

 

AC0J,
Sorry to hear of the fire, but you're right; it could have been much worse!

I found this information regarding 56 hood interchanges: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/archive/index.php?t-55232.html

Sounds like there is also a very important modification that needs to be done if you have a "first design" hood latch.

Apparently, the first design latch has a propensity to let go of the hood when you're driving.

 

I had that happen with a 1949 Oldsmobile, a 1949 Ford, and my 1955 Chevy wagon. The first two came up over the roof and things got dark. Lucky with the wagon it just bounced up and down as I stopped. That one was my fault. I had a bug screen to keep the new grille clean and the screen pressed the hood release.

 

At least the car was out; a friend of my former boss lost his '66 numbers-matching all original Malibu body and frame in a fire that burned so hot it totally leveled the building, which was cinderblock when all the supports warped from the heat. the heat destroyed the body, doors, hood, fenders and trunk lid, and the frame was destroyed when the roof collapsed in. Everything else he had stored at home, but sold it all with the loss of the body and frame.

 

Your car looks great...sorry to hear about the fire and your lose. Good luck during to find another hood.

 

Man, that has either a really long front end, or a really short cargo area. And I'm not a fan of the color, but did you remove the trim specifically to give it that clean look? Or will some trim go on once the hood's replaced and painted? And will you be frenching the headlights?

 

LOL! The color is sort of a love it or hate it color But the light color helps in hiding my poor bodywork skills! I love it.
I bought the car with NO trim. The door handles and locks had been removed and welded. I had to go with electric door poppers. Every trim mounting hole along the body lines looked like they had been beat in with a 3 pound ball peen hammer then filled with cheap bondo. The body lines were severely distorted (they still are a little) Instead of trying to locate the entire trim set, I went with what I had. NOTHING!
The headlight trim is bonded to the body, so to change a headlight I have to do it from the back side. The tail light bezels are molded in too.
Yes the cargo area is small. That is why I didnt load the hood in the car when I picked the car up. The opening is too small to get the hood in there at any angle. That is why it was still there when the placed burned down. I couldnt mount it on the car by myself, so I left the hood for another day.

 

My brother in law painted a mid 50's Wagoneer a similar color many years ago. It actually looked not bad, sure did stand out in any crowd.

From the sound of it you have taken someone's unfinished project and resurrected it into a decent wagon to play with. Good for you! It is always tough to take on something someone else started and not done the way you would do it, then finish it and enjoy it. Takes a lot of patience and commitment to do that.

 

It was a project started years ago and abandoned.
I broke my cardinal rule, NEVER buy a car in primer!
I looked at it several times before I decided to take it on. The plus side was there was ZERO rust on the car, but it looked like it was a demo derby car that was pounded out and bondo'd up. I ground out a 5 gallon bucket of bondo (at least thats what I could sweep up) there is probably another quart or so hiding in tight spots i my garage that didnt get picked up by the broom.
It took about three quarts of filler to smooth it out for paint. It could have been blocked 1 or 2 more times too perfection, but if it was too nice, I would not want to drive it.

ETA; After some research, the hood I need will have to be 56 studebaker only. 55 and 57 are not the same. several models of cars and wagons from 56 will work, if anyone knows where one is!

 

Bummer about losing the hood, but as others have mentioned at least you got the rest of the car out before the fire.

The color choice is certainly unique, but so is the car. It's yours and you will enjoy the heck out of it I am certain. I'm glad you took this project on in the first place. Another vintage wagon saved from the crusher.

Good luck with the hood search.