Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Something odd about the truck's "stance".

uplanderguy · October 2016

Other than the tires being bigger than original, that's a pretty nice truck. Studebaker never put chrome bumpers on a Champ, even with the Deluxe cab. On a short bed, I like the old double-walled bed, like this. On a long-bed, I like the wide bed.

That grille with "Studebaker" stamped at the bottom was apparently going to be used in production but never was. The only NOS grilles that were available after production ended were these, but there's evidence no Champ was ever assembled with that grille. Someone opined, probably correctly, that with the factory "Conestoga Camper", there was no "Studebaker" written on the truck at all so this was probably somebody's idea to get around that.

uplanderguy · October 2016

The advertising touted "America's Lowest-Priced Pickup" and that it could carry more than other 1/2 tons as its GVW (is that the measurement?) was the same but the truck itself weighed less. It really does have a mid-size feel to it. A couple exclusive things at the time was the sliding rear window on Deluxe cabs and the availability of a five-speed trans. But even the basic truck came with a full-width rear window (not just the small center window like others), and the interior was actually upholstered on doors and had a headliner. I do remember a friend's Dad's '66 Chevy C-10 and other than the seats and rubber floor covering, the entire interior was bare metal.

Best sales year was '62 with 7,325 units, so they are quite rare.

ab348 · October 2016

I thought that front clip suited the Champ pickup a lot better than it did the Lark sedan. It looked more "trucky", even though it resulted in the front bumper sitting lower on the truck chassis than it did on the sedan. I wonder if they ever considered modifying the bumper brackets for the truck to move the bumper up higher.

uplanderguy · October 2016

I doubt they ever considered that, ab--I met the body engineer of the Champ (who had worked at Stude since '42). His name was Otis Romine and he was a big guy with a big personality--sort-of reminded me of Willard Scott. He said "Studebaker gave me $25 and told me to come up with a new truck cab". Of course he was exaggerating, but I think he did a good job. I remember reading that he said, "The entire truck body department at the time consisted of me and a fellow named Al Weatherman", LOL.

The Champ grille was much bolder than a Lark grille. I like the big horizontal bars. This is arguable, but when my Dad first saw the '94 Dodge truck front end, he said, "Reminds me of a Studebaker". I think he meant the general concept of a large, bold grille at the front end.

If I had my dream collection of four or five Studes, a late Champ with V8, whitewalls, and the long bed would be in it.

Mine would look something like this:

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss155/BobPalma/mred2_zps35363445.jpg

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

The Answer to the Studebaker question that nobody asked?

http://www.studemino.com/home.asp

uplanderguy · October 2016

I've seen a couple of those over the years...the one I seem to remember the most was painted a dark plum color (like '67 GM's). They do nothing for me.

fintail · October 2016

Aah boomer types with too much extra money. Reminds me of these special things that seemed to hit a zenith around the turn of the century:

There are many goofy Corvette ones out there too, like this:

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Corvette doesn't look too bad actually.

uplanderguy · October 2016

To me, you can't improve on an original '62 Corvette. But I know I'm outnumbered there!

fintail · October 2016

I don't think rodding or resto-modding a 62 Vette improves it either.

This just doesn't work for me. It's like a 70s neoclassic in my eyes:

Nope

And with all that you still get the Wal Mart discount bin interior material quality that defined so many turn of the century "old GM" products.

fintail · October 2016

Caught a dry break and took the old car out for a spin today. Drove as well as usual, still amazes me, gotta love fuel injection. I got to honk a few times at idiots, which is always fun, as the horn is very loud, especially compared to the emasculated horns on some late model cars.

Gratuitous shot from a different angle:

I also figured out the mystery hose, which is related to a broken fitting on the washer bag assembly. I suspect it is an easy junkyard part - either that or unobtanium.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Well I didn't say I liked it MORE than a '62 Vette--just that it's not a barbaric abomination like many of these retro cars are.

stever · October 2016

Project car:

1973 TRIUMPH SPITFIRE - $1500

ab348 · October 2016

^^^ That was probably a "project car" the day it left the showroom.

explorerx4 · October 2016

I counter that with a Messerschmitt

qbrozen · October 2016

Proof that the use of the word "survivor" has gotten out of hand

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

ab348 said:
^^^ That was probably a "project car" the day it left the showroom.

Just go buy a really nice one for $5K instead of trying to polish a turd.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

explorerx4 said:
I counter that with a Messerschmitt

What's the German word for "Death Trap"?

stickguy · October 2016

that Spitfire, in addition to being generally ratty (no shortage of those), has to be the worst color combo I have ever seen on one of these.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

I have a good nose for British cars. This one is a piece of crap.

stever · October 2016

Okay, okay, then I'll offer this one up for the discerning crowd here.

1963 corvair convertable. Only $4k. A bit suspicious though, odd tag on the back and the contact number is in AZ.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Price is about right for a FrankenVair. I guess if it runs okay and doesn't leak massive amounts of oil and the oil smoke doesn't kill your passengers through the heater ducts and the car doesn't flip over in a high speed freeway exit turn, and if it's not throwing fan belts---it'll be fine.

gsemike · October 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:
Price is about right for a FrankenVair. I guess if it runs okay and doesn't leak massive amounts of oil and the oil smoke doesn't kill your passengers through the heater ducts and the car doesn't flip over in a high speed freeway exit turn, and if it's not throwing fan belts---it'll be fine.

Besides that, how did you like the play Mrs Lincoln?

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

I suppose I could have been more positive.

I've heard of a few Subaru engine conversions, but not with the bar-of-soap body style.

gsemike · October 2016

A few Long Island Classics

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5842433767.html BMW Bavaria rust here and there but I guess a driver

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5837066861.html Far from perfect

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5836219491.html Wonder what the story is with the roof. Looks like no frame in there at all

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5824724611.html Still running on that awful diesel but looks clean

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5845400287.html These were a big deal around here once

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5838729706.html I love these but much bodywork needed

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5844612732.html The original SUV. Believe these still have their fans

fintail · October 2016

I dare anyone to drive that Caddy fast on a rough road.

The wheelarches on the BMW are amusing, but looks OK otherwise.

The Olds has headlight visors, funny.

texases · October 2016

That Bavaria - with that much rust showing, I don't want to see what's underneath! Much prefer to get the later 528i, better in every way.

That Lincoln is the LSC, they should put that in the ad, bet some folks would be interested.

sda · October 2016

I wonder if the Olds is still on its original engine. I like the blue exterior but was never a fan of the light gray-blue interior. It tended to look faded and blah. The '78 was the first year of the Olds diesel and was 120hp. 1980 it decreased to 105hp. Dad's '79 Eldo diesel was 120hp and ran pretty strong (at the time) for a diesel.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Lots of beaters there. You could open up a Ferrous Oxide Mine if you bought all of 'em.

ab348 · October 2016

I suspect the reason the Olds Delta 88 diesel was always garage-kept was that they could never get it out of the garage.

It reminds me of my old 350 gas '78 Delta. I like the blue interior myself, and they had a green that year which was also nice. Mine was red inside, and I mean RED. Very bright red. Got tired of that in a hurry. The red had some parts that faded badly also, while others kept their searing look.

I suspect the fuel system on the '70 Firebird might not pass inspection.

Too bad it is so rough, would be a nice car if better kept up.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

That whole list would have been nice cars if they were better kept. But they weren't, so they aren't. I'd say most of 'em are parts cars at this point. The Wagoneer might make a nice winter beater but that's a nasty bump at the left rear. The Diesel Olds should be ready for LeMons.

explorerx4 · October 2016

The last picture in the group for the Oldsmobile, is that the Bill of Rights?

ab348 · October 2016

Nice penmanship by the salesperson, for sure.

That car is pretty loaded according to the sticker. If it was a gas 350 or 403 instead of the diesel it might be worth a few thou. Aside from the headlamp visors, the other very odd thing is the red trunk carpet. That was all black from the factory. Not sure what's going on there.

sda · October 2016

I was looking for axle ratios that were offered on '78 Olds 98s and came across this crisp picture of a '69 98, the same color combo and wheel covers as the '69 that my parents had. Also a picture of a me around 11 years old helping or at least supervising dad wax the car.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/1969_Oldsmobile_Ninety-Eight-1.jpg/420px-1969_Oldsmobile_Ninety-Eight-1.jpg

Our '78 98 had the 403. It was a great engine but was not thrifty on fuel. It had good power, but I think was hobbled somewhat by a very tall (economy) 2.43? rear axle ratio. It was still running well without any major repairs when they got rid of it in '90 with 180k+.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

ab348 said:
Nice penmanship by the salesperson, for sure.

That car is pretty loaded according to the sticker. If it was a gas 350 or 403 instead of the diesel it might be worth a few thou. Aside from the headlamp visors, the other very odd thing is the red trunk carpet. That was all black from the factory. Not sure what's going on there.

So there was no price in the ad? I wonder what......

uplanderguy · October 2016

I could enjoy owning that brown '69 Ninety-Eight coupe. I see your parents' car had the center pillar.

I liked a very similar color called 'Golden Brown' on '72 Chevys.

ab348 · October 2016

sda said:

Our '78 98 had the 403. It was a great engine but was not thrifty on fuel. It had good power, but I think was hobbled somewhat by a very tall (economy) 2.43? rear axle ratio. It was still running well without any major repairs when they got rid of it in '90 with 180k+.

My '79 Park Avenue had the 403 and it indeed had a 2.43 rear axle. It was really sluggish from a standing start. I would suggest that was a mistake by GM but one probably necessary for acceptable fuel consumption.

toomanyfumes · October 2016

My Grandfather had a '69 Ninety Eight four door just like that. I believe it was the same color. He had a '73 after that, in dark brown. I drove that quite a bit in the early eighties, he wasn't driving much by then. When I first drove it I expected it to be pretty quick with the 455 V-8, but all that weight really slowed it down.

fintail · November 2016

And now for something completely different

berri · November 2016

So that's what Santa rides in

Mr_Shiftright · November 2016

Finally a good use for them!

sda · November 2016

toomanyfumes said:
My Grandfather had a '69 Ninety Eight four door just like that. I believe it was the same color. He had a '73 after that, in dark brown. I drove that quite a bit in the early eighties, he wasn't driving much by then. When I first drove it I expected it to be pretty quick with the 455 V-8, but all that weight really slowed it down.

The '73 had a few strikes against it which contributed to its reduced performance. Emission controls were increased reducing horsepower and economy. The new 5mph bumpers added hundreds of pounds to the car. It was a bleak period for autos. The '73-74s were probably the worst of the lot. Improvements in performance started to happen when the catalytic converter and later fuel injection became common.

uplanderguy · November 2016

I agree with your last sentence for sure. Funny, my Dad bought a new '74 Impala Sport Coupe in late August '74 when '75's had already started trickling into our dealer. He didn't like the idea of "Unleaded Fuel Only", LOL.

ab348 · November 2016

uplanderguy said:
I agree with your last sentence for sure. Funny, my Dad bought a new '74 Impala Sport Coupe in late August '74 when '75's had already started trickling into our dealer. He didn't like the idea of "Unleaded Fuel Only", LOL.

If our '74 Impala Sport Coupe was any indication, the '75s ran a whole lot better thanks to the catalyst in the exhaust system and HEI under the hood. Our '74 ran very poorly.

berri · November 2016

Mid 70's were a bit of a gamble for most cars. Big time gov regs combined with maybe a somewhat inept Detroit duopoly. Today with have an inept political duopoly combined with a pretty good auto industry. How the times have changed

uplanderguy · November 2016

I remember our '74 ran fine, but I can remember only once, on a trip, did it ever hit 15 mpg.

Conversely, our '73 Nova six would stall a couple times every morning before we'd get out of the driveway.

gsemike · November 2016

fintail said:
And now for something completely different

Don't kill me but if it's put together decently, I think that it pretty cool. It's a good silhouette for that type of treatment and I've never seen it done. BBC dollar doesn't go too far, so why not for that money

fintail · November 2016

No harm done. Most SLCs are rotting away, as they are expensive to get right, and burn gas like an old American land yacht. This one looks pretty cool in its own way - if one hangs out at the dragstrip, it'll be unique.

gsemike said:

Don't kill me but if it's put together decently, I think that it pretty cool. It's a good silhouette for that type of treatment and I've never seen it done. BBC dollar doesn't go too far, so why not for that money

Mr_Shiftright · November 2016

That's one lucky SLC. Most end up as lawn art.

Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles