Many say the 1932 President is the most elegant Studebaker of the prewar years, and it’s difficult to disagree. It’s certainly worthy of a closer look.
It was in 1927 that Studebaker launched its unique model-naming convention with a leadership theme: the Chancellor at the bottom of the product line, then Dictator, followed by the Commander, and at the top of the ladder, the President (formerly the deluxe Big Six). The Chancellor name was dropped at the end of the first year, but the remaining three continued on, becoming a Studebaker signature. The President really came into its own in 1928, when an advanced straight-eight engine was introduced to replace the six. Studebaker’s intent, the company declared, was to produce the finest eight-cylinder automobiles on the market.
Limousine (left) and Coupe interiors.
The President’s inline eight was the work of Delmar G. “Barney” Roos, a veteran of Pierce-Arrow, Locomobile, and Marmon when he joined Studebaker in 1926 as chief engineer. At 312.5 cubic inches, the new L-head eight was 13 percent smaller in displacement than the 354 CID Big Six it replaced, but it was much smoother, and it produced 25 percent more power: 100 hp at 2,600 rpm. Displacement was soon bumped to 337 CID as Roos continued the steady development. By 1932, the President eight boasted nine main bearings and a counterweighted crankshaft, a sophisticated acoustic muffler system on both intake and exhaust, and 122 hp at 3,200 rpm. (At the time, the Cadillac V8 was rated at 115 hp.)
Coupe
Other Roos developments included ball-bearing shackles for the parallel leaf springs front and rear, and a kick shackle (called a Road Shock Eliminator by Studebaker) on the left front spring to reduce road shimmy, the great challenge of beam-axle front suspensions. For ’32, a modern single-plate dry clutch replaced the old dual-plate setup, while the three-speed manual gearbox featured a free-wheeling unit working on all three gears, selectable by the driver via a lever under the dash. All Presidents for ’32 featured Bendix Startix, a gadget that automatically restarted the engine in case of stalling.
St. Regis Brougham
Unlike the previous year, the President was consolidated into a single series for 1932, the Model 91 on a 135-in wheelbase (10 inches longer than the Commander). Eight distinct body styles were offered, including a Roadster with roll-up windows, a convertible sedan, two and four-passenger coupes, five and seven-passenger sedans, and a limousine with divider glass. The most noteworthy, and the most sought-after today, was the St. Regis Brougham, not a coachbuilt style as it might appear, but designed in-house by Studebaker chief body engineer James R. Hughes. A sporty close-coupled sedan, the St. Regis featured two remarkably long doors to allow access for the rear-seat passengers.
With its imposing size, elegant styling, and a Studebaker trademark, oval headlamps (“Ovaloid” in South Bend vernacular), the 1932 President stood out from the crowd, as it still does today. The brochure proclaimed the ’32 President “the greatest Studebaker of all time,” and classic-era enthusiasts are known to cite it as the greatest Studebaker of the prewar era. However, the automaker was already in serious economic trouble by then, and it was sent into receivership in March of 1933. The President continued in the Studebaker lineup, but in somewhat more modest form.
Sedan with actress Una Merkel
Wonderful story as usual. What on earth is a kick shackle? My google machine doesn’t know.
Good question, could not find it in any of the awrsome Floyd Clymer vintage and antique auto references either. Did find a mention in a new car press release published in the New York Times of the era:
“…conventional leaf springs now have front springs shackled at the front with a special “shock eliminator” built into the left-front shackle.”
Learn something new every day…
A kick shackle is a special kind of spring mount for the front eye of the leaf spring designed to allow precisely limited fore/aft travel using springs or rubber.
Kick shackles might be worth a small feature here, or maybe as part of a broader article about the various fixes for beam axle front suspension before they gave up and adopted IFS. For example, the Hudson fix was to use loose shackles on both ends of the leaf springs and then locate the beam axle longitudinally with radius rods. This allowed lower front spring rates to reduce the horrible pitch motion.
The 1932 President roadster is one of the most beautiful cars of all time, in my opinion.
Agreed. I really should have included a roadster in the photos.
Never realized that Studebaker had made full-on luxury cars. This President looks like a worthy competitor to Packard and Cadillac.
It’s a great pity those wonderful oval headlamps didn’t continue as a Studebaker a styling cue. And based on a very recent post on the Hupmobile forum, I think they may have had kick shackles at about that time, too.