Lost: Gary Elmore’s ’53 Stude

So Gary Elmore Jr. is looking for his dad’s old Studebaker. Gary Elmore Sr. started construction on the car in 1960. He was a metal man for the airline industry and as you might imagine, that skill set came in pretty handy when he decided to build his vision of what a ’53 Stude should be. He started on the ass end by grafting on a pair of ’59 Studebaker Golden Hawk fins and ’58 Desoto taillights. He then added complimentary grills both front and rear, shaded headlights, and scoops wherever the eye call for them.

Once done, he painted the car in a “Candy Apple Tangerine” color using his buddy’s garage as a spray booth. He then named the car “The Exotica” and parked it at the National Roadster Show in Oakland. There, it garnered enough attention to get a feature in the August, 1961 edition of Car Craft Magazine. Afterwards, the car was shown a few times before it was sold off.

Now, Gary’s son wants to get the car back into the family. If you or anyone you might know, knows the whereabouts of the Stude, give us a hollar or shoot a reply to this thread. Any lead would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Just noticed that Kustomrama has a color shot of the car. Check it out.