The 2R series Studebakers were beautiful trucks when they made their debut in 1949, but next to the competition, particularly, GM’s all-new 1960 light haulers, they were starting to show their age.
South Bend lacked the resources to scratch engineer a truck to compete with the edgy new designs of its rivals, so it cobbled together the Champ.
If the Champ’s cab looks familiar it’s because it’s the front half of a Lark sedan body with a unique grille and bumper. The solid front axle and leaf springs, the bed and the flathead engine all carried over from the 2R, so buyers didn’t have to look long to realize they weren’t getting Jet Age technology.
For 1961 Studebaker did its best to further modernize the Champ. The most obvious change was the bed. In place of the 2R’s rounded rear fenders were new smooth bedsides that, like the Champ’s cab, also looked familiar. Without the capital needed to build its own bedsides, South Bend purchased the tooling that Dodge had used to make its “Sweptline” boxes. The new-to-Studebaker “Spaceside” box was definitely modern looking, but it was also wider than the truck’s cab and the body creases didn’t really jibe either, giving the truck a sort of homemade appearance.
Studebaker tried to make the Champ attractive to light truck buyers by selling it for a song — the most inexpensive version carried a base price of just $1,870. Still, few Champs were sold by the time South Bend halted civilian truck production on December 27, 1963. Studebaker kept revising the truck right until the end, however, and the final editions — like this clean-looking example for sale on Hemmings.com — featured revised steering geometry and shock mounts, swing pedals (rather than pedals that poked up through the floor) and a firewall mounted master cylinder.
The Champ was an also-ran in its day, but it’s survivalist back story and its oddball half car/half Dodge truck styling has made it a favorite with truck enthusiasts.
From the seller’s description:
1964 Studebaker Champ Pick-up truck with long, wide box. Studebaker 289 V8 engine (210 HP+/-), twin-traction rear, 3-speed manual w/OD, rust free Western vehicle. Restored with mostly NOS parts. Cruises on highway. Provenence, show winner.
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