Our Australian readers can head out 12 hours from Melbourne to New South Wales to see a 1963 Champion Pick-Up and a 1961 Hawk. Never mind the 12-hour trip to Maitland, the drive from South Bend, Indiana was a killer. ;-)
Concert Productions International created a "Remembering the 1950s" blog that features a ton of great old car ads, including many Studebaker ads like the one below.
See many 1950s Studebaker car ads here.
Below is an interesting article from Old Cars Weekly about the inadvisability and dangers of using radial tires on old wheels .
US News and World Report is comparing a possible GM-Chrysler merger to the Studebaker-Packard merger of the '50s.
"While several industry analysts have panned the idea of a merger, not everyone sees only downsides. Detroit News Columnist Ray Windecker writes that while the merger may seem to be "two drunks leaning on each other . . . what is missed is what happens when the less inebriated drunk picks the pocket of his partner."
"He compares the merger to the Studebaker/Packard merger of the 1950s. "Studebaker had a larger number of dealers," he writes, "an interesting but overpriced collection of smaller and sporty cars and a decent line of light and medium trucks. Packard only had moderately updated luxury cars, but it did have cash." In this case, "GM has the dealer and product advantages, while Chrysler (through its majority owner Cerberus) has spare cash."
Read the full article on US News and World Report.
"A black Studebaker Commander bearing Ohio license plates rolled to a stop on Jackson Street. With Dillinger were Harry Pierpont, 31, and Charles "Fat Charley" Makley, 44, Indiana State Prison escapees who had killed Sheriff Jess Sarber while freeing Dillinger from the Allen County, Ohio, jail in Lima 11 days earlier. The fourth gang member was prison parolee Harry Copeland, 37, who helped Dillinger rob two Indiana banks and one in Bluffton, Ohio, during the summer."
Read the full article here.
This Studebaker Commander is for sale on eBay, and while I would never buy a car sight unseen, this vehicle looks amazing.
A fun listen from June 29, 2002:
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Studebaker collector John Poulos about the 38th annual Studebaker Drivers Club International Meet. Over 1,000 Studebakers showed up for the event in South Bend, Indiana, where Studebakers were made until 1963.
Click here to listen to this story from 2002.
"Doc," our 1950 9G Studebaker Champion, is at Gonzalez Upholstery for his headliner, door panels, and other interior installation work.
Below is a picture of the interior sun visors. The material is too warn for repair, but the cardboard backing and the framing will take to new covers just fine. Also shown is the backseat in its current condition. The original material was tan mohair.
Yesterday, we began the restoration of our Studebaker Champion's interior in earnest. We scraped, wire brushed, and applied Rustoleum to areas that had trace amounts of surface-level rust, and areas where we expect moisture to occur/settle.
Below are a few pictures on the floorboards and ceiling. Next steps, rubber, jute padding and carpet.
True to their word, the wrecker mailed me the radio for our 1950 Studebaker Champion. I wrote about the Studebaker Philco Model S-5123 here.
Below is a picture of the worn radio pre-restoration.
A few giving Studebaker loyalists have helped me source the questionable parts on my Champion.
In May, we solved the engine block/head question here.
Today, we solved the question of the diamonds on our '50 Champion's fender side air vents. The triple diamonds on our Stude's fender side air vents come from a '47 - '49 Commander or Land Cruiser. They were apparently factory Regal trim. So, either the previous owner of our Stude added the diamonds to the vents, or he swapped out the air vents somewhere along the way.
See the previous post on this topic here.
See the thread on the SDC Forum.
Amazon.com features a good selection of books about Studebaker cars and trucks. I love to flip through the glossy photographs in books, as well as page through the articles and images in the SDC's Turning Wheels.
Below is a nice '50 Stude Champion for sale in Iola, Wisconsin, that could prove to be a great driver in short order.
See more about the 1950 Studebaker Champion below.
Or, see a list of Studebakers for sale on CarsOnline.com.
Hemmings.com has a dated yet relevant article that notes more than one dozen Studebaker parts suppliers.
A few great finds:
Wiring harnesses:
YnZ's Yesterdays Parts
333 Stuart Avenue, Unit A
Redlands, California 92374
909-798-1498
Bumper restoration:
The Bumper Boyz
2435 E. 54th Street
Los Angeles, California 90058
800-815-9009
New glass:
Classic Flat Glass
The Glass Man
4512 Missouri Flat Rd
Placerville, CA 95667
530-626-6923
530-642-1634
See the Hemmings article about Studebaker parts suppliers here.
I had the share this stunning 1951 Studebaker Champion photograph by "bridgepix" that I found on Flickr.
I'll be driving my 1950 Studebaker Champion in Sacramento, California, on Drive Your Studebaker Day 2009.
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