What you didn’t know about the Classic Studebaker Champ.

[@pneumatic00]

How could anyone not like that truck?

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Totally agree. It’s pretty darn cool!!

[@cowork2010]

During the drivers Club is probably one of the best things to do if you are restoring a Studebaker there's some of the nicest and most knowledgeable people I've met my life highly recommended

[@JeffDeWitt]

Champs are great trucks, I've got a 60. They were the least expensive truck you could get, so a lot of them were used up early. They weren't build to cruise to the mall, they were tools for a man that had a job to do.

[@manoelluiz2697]

Studebaker is my favorite car or trck. maneco - Porto Alegre-RS - Brasil.

[@larryg.9187]

... SDC member here ... Have had a '53 Champion, a '62 Lark, a late '40's truck bed trailer, and a '65 Cruiser..

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Too cool. I’d love to see pictures. Such great looking old vehicles

[@michaelguerin56]

Solid axle equals fewer parts. Bump steer is an issue when you are travelling above 30 mph BUT 3 tonne forward control (cab forward to be precise) trucks have only moved to ifs in the last ten years or so. This vehicle was built to carry cargo, not to be a restored weekend toy. Beautiful truck. Thank you to the owner for allowing access and you for doing the video.

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Hugely thankful for the owner to let me into his shop to show me what he has and share so much info about the old Studabakers.

[@neildickson5394]

Love these very cool Champs, especially a stepside.

[@jamesoldman3021]

About Independent Front Suspension. It was not old school in the 1960"s with the exception of GM. GM introduced IFS in the 1960 model year, Ford waited to 1965 with its Twin I Beam followed by IH in 1971 and Dodge 1972. An interesting thing about GM even their heavy duty trucks got IFS in 1960 and continued through to 1963. Won't say for sure but think in 61 the solid axle was offered as an option. Studebaker had many first. Produced a car based pickup in the late 30"s which Ford didn't do until 1957 and Chev 1959. Had the first pickup with no running boards introduced in 1948?. Put a diesel in a 3/4, 1 and 1 1/2 pickups in the 60's. Since they went out of business I have heard a few times that Studebaker's biggest problem was always being 20 years ahead of time.

[@tedcorey3054]

Looks like the '74 FJ 40 I had . Bought it back in 1980 . Hard top w/ a soft top ,PTO winch and I think it got 9 MPG .It was cool though. Nice Studebaker .

[@TheCarNextDoor]

I’m in the middle of rebuilding my PTO winch. Looking forward to mounting it on the front of the 40. 😎

[@ngrantgrant2183]

Very well done.

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Thanks a lot. I appreciate the feedback. We had poor audio so I had to do a voice over. Should only get better as we make more interesting videos.

[@michaelkeller8072]

Great job

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Thanks. I’ve got lots of footage to compile of other garages and projects too. Hopefully they continue to get better.

[@topgear1352]

That’s a cool truck

[@TheCarNextDoor]

It sure is! Not many of these were made so it’s really cool to see one in this good of shape.

[@topgear1352]

@@TheCarNextDoor are they rare trucks ??

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Yes. They sure are rare. Less than 6600 of them were made in 1961. Sounds like a lot but when you consider that Ford built over 213,000 light trucks that year, you can understand how few Studebaker was producing.

[@drakbar5957]

Studebaker didn’t have the kind of money the Big Three had, so they had to be resourceful. The Lark was a rework of the 53 sedans, and the Champ was 50% Lark with a bunch of parts from their aging truck line. Champs today are bringing strong prices because they’re so unique. Plus the 289 can go forever!

[@juanziegler1471]

Got my 51 fired up 2 days before Christmas . May look into a club ,Im in Ohio.

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Too cool. Will be exiting to get in on the road!!! There seems to be lots of Studebaker clubs around. Hopefully one in Ohio.

[@normmcrae1140]

My Dad owned a 51 Bullet-Nosed Champ - said it was the best car he ever owned - right up till the day he passed away. Unfortunately, by 1960, Stude was in pretty rough shape, financially, so using off-the-shelf parts for cars was a necessity.

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Thanks for the comment and touch of personal history. That’s what I love about classic cars. And Studes in particular seem to have a need corporate story and high level of appreciation from anyone that has owned one.

[@JamesBond-pb2qy]

I found some better deals on tires than Coker 🤔

[@JamesBond-pb2qy]

For sale any part s?

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Not for sale. But he’s got lots of parts. What are you looking for?

[@JamesBond-pb2qy]

@@TheCarNextDoor interior parts. Ext mirrored

[@JamesBond-pb2qy]

@@TheCarNextDoor I have the long bed slab side (Dodge ) bed. Looking for the Long beds step side

[@JamesBond-pb2qy]

@@TheCarNextDoor any other cars for sale ? Engine s?

[@TheCarNextDoor]

@@JamesBond-pb2qy are you looking for Studebaker cars or just any classic? Where are you located?

[@oldscoolcooldiecast1879]

Would make a mean gasser lol

[@TheCarNextDoor]

Haha. Yep. Perfect front end. 😎