Vehicle Description
Wow! You may never ever see another one of these, even less in this
condition... An Original, long time family owned prized Champ Pick
Up that runs and looks great! A Valuable Addition to Young and
Established Collections Worldwide.The Studebaker Champ was a
light-duty pickup truck produced by the Studebaker Corporation from
1960-1964. Designed at a time when Studebaker's truck line had not
seen major upgrading in over 10 years, the company, which had
endured years of declining sales, was forced to use a number of
existing components. The chassis of the Champ was basically the
same as what had been used for Studebaker's � and �-ton E-series
trucks since 1949, but the cab section was very different in an
attempt to compete with the Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino.
The Champ had two available cargo boxes. The narrow cargo box was
the same as found on the previous 2R-series trucks. The wide cargo
box, introduced for the 1961 model year, was from the Dodge
C-Series after a deal between Studebaker and Dodge. Both cargo
boxes were available in short and long versions. An entirely new
cab was out of the question because of cost considerations, but the
new Lark compact car's body proved to be just the right size and
shape to suit the purpose. The engineering staff took a four-door
sedan, cut it in half behind the front doors and modified the front
half slightly to fit the truck chassis. The only new sheetmetal
stamping that was required was the back wall of the new cab. Minor
modifications for mounting of the cab to the 1949-vintage truck
frame were also made. The Lark's front end sheetmetal was retained
as well, but funds were allocated to give the Champ a new
horizontal-bar grille that delivered a "tougher" look.The Champ is
seldom given credit for introducing a feature that is nearly
universal among today's pickup trucks: the sliding rear window,
which was available from the start, proved to be quite popular
among Champ buyers. It was truly one of Studebaker's better ideas,
and caught on later among the major truck makers. With a cab based
on a sedan body, the Champ was among the first pickups to offer
true "car-like" comfort, with a wide, comfortable bench seat and a
handsomely-styled interior. Other manufacturers took until the late
1960s and early 1970s to follow the Champ's lead. Finally, the last
Champs of 1963-64 were among the first American trucks - if not the
first - to offer service bodies constructed of fiberglass. Today,
such bodies made of fiberglass and composites are still gaining
acceptance, with the steel service body remaining the norm. While
it didn't prove to be the savior of the Studebaker truck line, the
Champ also pointed the way to a smaller yet still rugged pickup,
something Dodge later claimed as a "first" with their mid-sized
Dakota, which was introduced as a 1987 model, nearly 27 years after
the Champ. Today, the Champs that still exist are highly prized for
their interesting combination of passenger-car comfort and style
and their rugged mechanical durability (the sixes' head problems
notwithstanding). About the only major failing of the Champ is
shared with many Studebaker models: rust. Champs tend to rust most
severely in the cab floor and front fenders. If left unchecked, it
can be extensive and very costly to repair, if it is repairable at
all. Our Truck is amazingly Solid and Original, giving You the Edge
Up on Valuation and Collectibility. Automatic Transmission, Am/Fm
Radio, Additional Keys, All-Season Tires, Full-Size Spare Tire,
Spare Tire
