murph the surf Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 One of the principal reasons for Studebaker's decision to go from the round headlight system to the rectangular system was........... ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfg Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Pretty much "for the sake of change" for the 1964 models.....A 'different' look for '64? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 That was a reason,but not the principal reason in Studebaker management's mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studegary Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 They were more consistent with the body lines of the front of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Quite possibly so,but that wasn't Studebaker's motivation for the change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 I had read somewhere once that it was eventually going to be modification for allowing additional cooling air that was never followed through on. The rectangular shape was first seen on a plastic model of the Avanti as a custom touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 (edited) Never heard that before,Gunslinger,but that wasn't the principal reason management wanted to go rectangular. Edited February 11, 2018 by murph the surf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfg Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Studebaker management may have become aware of the custom Avanti scale model done by Gene Winfield for AMT that featured 'square lights, 'which went over pretty well with modelers........thereby giving them the idea to go with 'square lights' for 1964! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 That could very well be where they got the idea,but there was definitely a motivation for Studebaker management to make the change.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StudeNorm Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 The big three were constantly making "model year changes" to show they were developing their cars for the next model year so S-P management felt the need to make a visual statement for the next model year Avanti, even though they tried to say the car is in constant development so model year running changes weren't going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted February 16, 2018 Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 To make it look more 'European' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 8 hours ago, StudeNorm said: The big three were constantly making "model year changes" to show they were developing their cars for the next model year so S-P management felt the need to make a visual statement for the next model year Avanti, even though they tried to say the car is in constant development so model year running changes weren't going to happen. That's a plausible reason,but not the principal reason for the change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 1 hour ago, r1lark said: To make it look more 'European' ? That could have been a reason,but not the principal reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 How about for show cars? To see if it would be accepted to the public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph the surf Posted February 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 9 hours ago, Stacey said: How about for show cars? To see if it would be accepted to the public? That may have been a possibility,but it was not Studebaker's reason for going rectangular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 Was it something mechanical? Difficulty adjusting the round headlights (maybe the commonly used 'aiming' devices wouldn't work well with the original configuration)? Or weaknesses in the round headlight rims or covers? Really really reaching on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfg Posted February 17, 2018 Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 I suppose it was less expensive to manufacture glass headlamp covers that fit both sides instead of the "63" left & right arrangement...although new separate (L&R) headlamp inner chromed bezels were needed for the "64" headlamp setup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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