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| The Studebaker Skytop Registry Other Vehicles with Folding Fabric Sunroofs |
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Other Studebakers with Sunroofs Over
the years, there have been other Studebakers (i.e., models other than
the 1961 through 1963 Larks) fitted with sunroofs, either by the South
Bend factory, foreign assemblers, or individuals. Of course, as Ed
Reynolds has related, there was a 1960 Lark with a Golde sunroof built
in Engineering which served as the Skytop prototype. There have been a
few other Studebakers with sunroofs (both fabric folding and metal)
over the years, and these are offered here as interesting cousins to
the Skytop cars. '64 Daytona Hardtop with a Golde Sunroof, owned by
Desiree Koller of Austria. Desiree is currently having some work done
on her Daytona to prepare it for registration with the government. Your Webmaster may be somewhat prejudiced (being a big fan of the '64 Lark styling), but believes that the Skytop option fits in as well or better with the '64 redesign than with the '61 - '63 styling. Look at the pictures below and see if you agree or not. Back to Desiree's car..........this car was assembled in South Bend on December 11, 1963 and the destination on the Production Order is listed as Basle Switzerland. Serial number is 64V 18486 with engine number VN304. It was a well optioned car, with some of the equipment being overdrive transmission, disc brakes, split front seats (but not reclining), HD springs, HD shocks, HD clutch, HD engine, six-blade fan, HD model 44 rear axle with 3.73:1 ratio, parking brake warning light, wheel discs, Hill Holder, and Firestone 500 whitewall tires. Other interesting items on the Production Order are 12 METRIC SPEEDOMETER; 362 OMIT HOOD ORNAMENT; and 206 FRT DIR SIG WHITE BULB. The car was originally painted P6416 Moonlight Silver. And no, there is no indication on the Production Order that the car was fitted with the Skytop assembly at the factory. Most likely it was fitted in Europe at a later date, possibly by the importing dealer. Desiree's car is a glimpse of what could have been, if Studebaker had been in better health in early-to-mid 1963 when the 1964 models were being finalized. If anyone knows more about the early history of this car, please contact the Webmaster at webmaster@studebakerskytop.com
'58 Golden Hawk with a Webasto Sunroof, built by the Belgium Studebaker assembler. The last two pictures can be double-clicked to open up larger images:
1953 Starliner
with a Skytop, customized in early 1964 by Studebaker Stylist
Paul McKeehan. Later model components were used liberally, including
the Skytop assembly, '64 Hawk gauges and AM/FM radio, overhead Avanti
rocker switches, a black prototype Avanti steering wheel with a Hawk
horn button, '64 Hawk front and rear seats, a '64 Lark foot-operated
emergency brake pedal assembly, electric window lifts from '55-'58
Studebakers, a '64 Lark firewall-mounted master cylinder, 289
engine/Powershift transmission combo, rear traction/stabilizer bar
setup, and '57/'58 springs front and rear. Two pictures of the
completed car are shown below, with the second picture taken in front
of southern California's The Art Center School of Design
of which Paul was an alumnus. Information and the first two pictures
are used with permission from Turning Wheels, the Studebaker Drivers
Club's monthly publication; the article appeared in the December 2003
issue and was written by, and pictures provided by, Paul McKeehan. The last two pictures are of the same car as it appeared in an eBay ad in early 2006. The many other pictures in the eBay ad left no doubt that this was Paul McKeehan's car, and it looked pretty solid and complete, and with minimal changes. The current owner of this car is Ken Dollar of Englewood FL. Ken has the car for sale, or would be interested in trading for a '53/'54 Studebaker coupe (C-body). If you are interested in talking to Ken about purchasing this car, email us at webmaster@studebakerskytop.com and we will provide Ken's contact info. All four pictures can be double-clicked to open larger images:
1956 Golden Hawk
with a Golde sunroof, owned by Dwayne Jacobson of Junction City WI.
Dwayne says that the car was previously owned by an individual in the
US Air Force, and the Golde sunroof was installed while the car was in
Germany. At the time that Dwayne sent the pictures, the car was for
sale. Click the pictures to open up larger versions:   Others: According to Richard Quinn, there was also a prewar Studebaker built with a metal sunroof. Hopefully we can obtain details from Richard and provide this information in the near future. |
Fabric folding-type Sunroofs on other US manufacturers'
vehicles: Other Chevrolet: 1972 and 1973 Chevrolet Nova had an optional fabric folding sunroof called the “Skyroof”, or officially the “ Nova History, scroll down
to 1972 & 1973: http://www.novaresource.org/history.htm Finally, some 1972 Nova Skyroof (or Sky Roof?) factory items:1972 Nova factory photo, Skyroof detail: http://www.novaresource.org/history/sunroof01.jpg Another 1972 Nova factory photo, Skyroof detail: http://www.novaresource.org/history/sunroof02.jpg 1972 Nova factory photo, full car view: http://www.novaresource.org/history/72sunroof.jpg 1973 Nova with Skyroof: http://www.novaresource.org/history/73sunroof.jpg
Pontiac: From various sources, it appears that the Skyroof was optional on the Pontiac Ventura II in 1971 & 1972, and possibly in 1973. If you have information that clarifies the years, please let us know. Following are pictures of a 1971 Pontiac Ventura II Spring (the white with black stripe car) and 1972 Pontiac Ventura II models with Skyroofs:
Buick: For 1972, the Buick Skylark
had an available “Sun Coupe” option, picture here: http://www.hubcapcafe.com/i/2001/all_gm/buic7201.JPG; and a 1972 Sun Coupe picture from a Buick brochure here, with
the top open: http://buicks.net/images/72skylark.jpg Also below are some pictures of 1972 Skylark Sun Coupes:
American Motors: In 1971 and 1972, AMC used
fabric folding sunroof on their small models (Gremlin, Hornet, and Sportabout).
A color AMC ad showing sunroofs on these three models is below:
Another similar ad with text from the www.javelinamx.com site: http://www.javelinamx.com/JavHome/articles/71sunrof.jpg A 1972 Gremlin factory photo showing a sunroof is here, along with a similar Gremlin X from a 1972 AMC ad (thumbnail linked to a larger picture)::
Chrysler: |
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Sunroofs on foreign manufacturers' vehicles: A Jaguar sliding roof link is at: http://www.jcna.com/library/tech/tech0027.html, which mentions the Golde sunroof, plus a similar unit by the name of Webasto. Close-up pictures of Webasto fabric folding sunroofs can be found on the 56-59 Karmann Ghia Registry at: http://karmannghias.org/Webasto.htm The basic construction is quite similar to the Golde fabric folding sunroofs. The Webasto name is still used for sunroofs, here: http://www.webastoshowroom.com/index.html.
In addition to the Beetle,
the Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter
('Bus', or 'Microbus/) was also available
with fabric folding sunroofs, starting in 1951 and continuing through
1967 when
the second generation Transporter was introduced. Some histories
indicate that a
Transporter with a sunroof was called a Samba. And, finally a couple of
good picture of Transporters with sunroofs (and a bonus Beetle):   Also, the Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia used Golde metal sliding sunroofs. Examples can be seen at the '56-'59 Karmann Ghia Registry at: http://karmannghias.org/Golde.htm Borgwards also had fabric folding
sunroofs, as seen below, courtesy of Lars Källbom’s Borgward site. According to Lars,
"Borgward used both Golde and Webasto as supplier for the sunroof. I have
in my possession a Golde roof from the scrapped red Isabella TS. I think that
Golde was the prime supplier and it also was dependent on if it was canvas top
or steel sunroofs for Isabella sedans or the coupe."
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Questions or comments? Please contact us at webmaster@studebakerskytop.com