Champs are all over the place, price-wise. I can handle the wide bed when it's the long one, but even I have a problem with the wide bed that's a short bed, LOL.
The Champ was introduced in '60 with the old, double-sided Stude pickup bed with external fenders. For '61 they added the wide bed, which had been used by Dodge in '59 and '60. Studebaker added a new front panel and a tailgate with "Studebaker" stamped in it, and part of the deal was that Studebaker would provide all Dodge replacement beds of that style from that point on. I'd met the chief engineer of the Champ and he kidded that they "gave me $25 and told me to come up with a new bed", LOL.
I actually think the styling of the Dodge bed matched the styling of the Champ cab, better than the Dodge cab. Width is another story, though.
The Champ was America's lowest-priced pickup, was more upholstered inside than other trucks of the time, offered a full-width rear window as standard equipment, and introduced the options of sliding rear window and 5-speed trans to the U.S. pickup market. It was advertised as being able to haul more than other pickups too, but that's because it was rated the same but the truck itself weighed less.
I like the styling and the massive grille. I grew up on Chevys, but I think their concurrent pickups are nothing in the looks department, and other than the unibody Ford pickups, don't think theirs are anything great to look at either.
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Only 2,509 '64 Champs of all styles and lengths were built. Last one was built on 12/27/63.
'64 Champs were considered the "8E" series, same as '63, so I believe there really weren't any differences from '63 to '64. The '60's were 5E, '61 6E, and '62, 7E.
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An Akron friend has a bone-stock red '64 Champ, long, wide bed, with a cap on it. Very nice truck.
It was built with the factory "Conestoga Camper" but that was sold separately from the truck by the original owner, who owned Mack's Auto Sales, Stude dealer in Akron. He bought the truck new as a leftover in South Bend after production there ended.
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You have to be careful of when a dealer says "driver quality"--that could be a code word for "rat". In any event, I see that someone painted OVER the rust and dents on that Champ pickup bed---never a good sign. Also trim is scratched up, door jambs sloppy.
I dunno...this truck is all wrong, yet it's a vintage pickup, so inherently interesting merely for being so basically functional.
The orange one. Look at the photo of the bed floor. That should tell you the quality of the restoration. To be fair, getting a clean straight bed is the hardest part of restoring an old pickup. Reminds me of when people would drive their cars south of the border for a budget restoration.
I was at a swap meet at the old Newman and Altman parts place in South Bend, probably twenty years ago, and there was a NOS long-bed left side panel for a Champ, waiting to be picked up. Someone who worked there told me it was the last one they had.
The parts have moved twice since then, but I think I've seen some Champ bed parts in stock at the latest place; not sure if short or long.
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A couple of Champ weak areas are the cab rear corners, and also on stick shifts, Champs went to swing pedals in '63 and I've heard several times that the clutch linkage wasn't that great--as the trucks got old, sometimes the clutch pedal just goes to the floor because of a part that breaks.
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RE: '78 Accord -- I dunno, says it's burning oil and smoking....could be a valve guide though.
57 Chevy Post --- the hood is silly and the car sits funny.
79 Lincoln Mark V -- price is fair enough
56 Buick---whatever happened to "truth in advertising"? Well, no big deal, price is too high but not by that much. Seller could have told us which trim line this is, but I know, typing is hard....
57 GMC --I'm not seein' $27,000 in those photos. I'm seein' $19.5K
76 MGB -- bad year, rust--take it to the vet for a peaceful ending.
47 Lincoln Continental --nobody wants these anymore. Price is fair enough but it's a long row to hoe back to glory.
66 Chevelle -- apparently, details on this car are a closely guarded secret. No idea what it's worth but workmanship does not look all that promising so far. Looks like something someone may have given up on.
If the Accord was really mint without the engine issue, it might be a nice rig - those were good cars in places without rust, I still see a first gen one here and there.
Those early Accord's were decent cars for the time except for rusted fenders. Other than rust, owners seemed to like them and the Civic as well for that matter. IIRC Honda had put an extended warranty on them in response, but didn't own one and don't recall the details.
66 Chevelle -- apparently, details on this car are a closely guarded secret. No idea what it's worth but workmanship does not look all that promising so far. Looks like something someone may have given up on.
Those words 'big block Chevy' carry a lot of weight here, much more so than large displacement engines from Chevy's GM stablements. I wonder if the premium that a 454 warrants here doesn't apply around the whole country?
I agree about the workmanship. My thinking is could you do some small job and a basic paint job in a medium color and have a big block driver? Some pieces are there already
Depends on which 454 and how it's built. There are some 454 boat anchors out there, too, so some information on where he sourced the engine would have been helpful.
Depends on which 454 and how it's built. There are some 454 boat anchors out there, too, so some information on where he sourced the engine would have been helpful.
YES!
And this happens regardless of engine, I find. For example, the most popular swaps are chevy 350 and ford 5.0 (I think), and people will advertise that, but not where the heck it came from or what has been done to it. It could be a lousy 140hp 5.0 from an early Fox body Mustang or a 175hp Chevy 350 from a K5 Blazer.
That 454 could be a 230hp version from a late '80s pickup.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Just watched wheeler dealers episode where they did a 73 Camaro 350. Which being a dog was the biggest problem with the car. A slow slug with IIRC 145 HP.
How could you verify that the motor is a "4 bolt main"? Drop the pan in his driveway? At best, if there's no engine suffix code stamped on the block, you can take off a valve cover and at least see what heads are on there. If they are funky bad-breathers, then you know something's up.
I saw the Wheeler Dealers Trading Up ep last night where Mike bought a '72 Corvette with a 350 and complained that it was down on power. Took it to a shop with a dyno, found it was putting out 145 HP at the rear wheels. The shop changed it to an electronic ignition to get rid of the points and hey presto, 195 HP at the wheels. That sounded fishy to me.
Having said that, I loved the car. Original paint, nice condition, War Bonnet Yellow. He paid $17K, sold it for $22.5K.
I had a Ford 302 V8 on a 99 Explorer and it never did run all that well. Ford's reps answer to all the pinging issues - use premium even though the owners manual recommended regular. And you know what, the premium fuel didn't make much difference either. At least it only leaked fluids on the garage floor and didn't have gasket replacement problems like the 3.8 V6 I owned on a different Ford.
I saw the Wheeler Dealers Trading Up ep last night where Mike bought a '72 Corvette with a 350 and complained that it was down on power. Took it to a shop with a dyno, found it was putting out 145 HP at the rear wheels. The shop changed it to an electronic ignition to get rid of the points and hey presto, 195 HP at the wheels. That sounded fishy to me.
Having said that, I loved the car. Original paint, nice condition, War Bonnet Yellow. He paid $17K, sold it for $22.5K.
There is no way replacing a points ignition system with electronic ignition is going to add 50 H.P.
We used to do the conversion in the "old days" and nobody could tell any difference in performance!
Someone put a bit of work into that, have to give credit for thinking it out.
Regarding electronic ignition, my fintail is converted - I don't know if there's a performance gain, but it sure is easier to live with. The best small investment I've made.
Comments
The Champ was introduced in '60 with the old, double-sided Stude pickup bed with external fenders. For '61 they added the wide bed, which had been used by Dodge in '59 and '60. Studebaker added a new front panel and a tailgate with "Studebaker" stamped in it, and part of the deal was that Studebaker would provide all Dodge replacement beds of that style from that point on. I'd met the chief engineer of the Champ and he kidded that they "gave me $25 and told me to come up with a new bed", LOL.
I actually think the styling of the Dodge bed matched the styling of the Champ cab, better than the Dodge cab. Width is another story, though.
The Champ was America's lowest-priced pickup, was more upholstered inside than other trucks of the time, offered a full-width rear window as standard equipment, and introduced the options of sliding rear window and 5-speed trans to the U.S. pickup market. It was advertised as being able to haul more than other pickups too, but that's because it was rated the same but the truck itself weighed less.
I like the styling and the massive grille. I grew up on Chevys, but I think their concurrent pickups are nothing in the looks department, and other than the unibody Ford pickups, don't think theirs are anything great to look at either.
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'64 Champs were considered the "8E" series, same as '63, so I believe there really weren't any differences from '63 to '64. The '60's were 5E, '61 6E, and '62, 7E.
http://s571.photobucket.com/user/BobPalma/media/mred2_zps35363445.jpg.html
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"Omaha Orange" is actually what Studebaker called it, so I'm impressed that's in the ad.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/studebaker/champ/1913978.html
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
An Akron friend has a bone-stock red '64 Champ, long, wide bed, with a cap on it. Very nice truck.
It was built with the factory "Conestoga Camper" but that was sold separately from the truck by the original owner, who owned Mack's Auto Sales, Stude dealer in Akron. He bought the truck new as a leftover in South Bend after production there ended.
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I dunno...this truck is all wrong, yet it's a vintage pickup, so inherently interesting merely for being so basically functional.
I'd guess around $7K-$8K at public auction.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
The parts have moved twice since then, but I think I've seen some Champ bed parts in stock at the latest place; not sure if short or long.
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5966671339.html Pretty neat little time capsule for not much $$$. About the same size as a Fit
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5954829186.html 57 BelAir post. That hood has to go
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5986262071.html Very clean looking Mark V
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5953130116.html 56 Buick 4 door
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5958139017.html 55 GMC. They used massive nameplates even back then
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5975784652.html MGB. Rust issues make me assume it is a parts car
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5973012613.html World's largest coupe
http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5980015661.html Chevelle SS clone. Wonder how close it is to being ready for paint
I would prefer a '55 Chevy pickup to the GMC version shown, which always looked kind of grouchy to me The Chevys were just pretty up front.
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57 Chevy Post --- the hood is silly and the car sits funny.
79 Lincoln Mark V -- price is fair enough
56 Buick---whatever happened to "truth in advertising"? Well, no big deal, price is too high but not by that much. Seller could have told us which trim line this is, but I know, typing is hard....
57 GMC --I'm not seein' $27,000 in those photos. I'm seein' $19.5K
76 MGB -- bad year, rust--take it to the vet for a peaceful ending.
47 Lincoln Continental --nobody wants these anymore. Price is fair enough but it's a long row to hoe back to glory.
66 Chevelle -- apparently, details on this car are a closely guarded secret. No idea what it's worth but workmanship does not look all that promising so far. Looks like something someone may have given up on.
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Those words 'big block Chevy' carry a lot of weight here, much more so than large displacement engines from Chevy's GM stablements. I wonder if the premium that a 454 warrants here doesn't apply around the whole country?
I agree about the workmanship. My thinking is could you do some small job and a basic paint job in a medium color and have a big block driver? Some pieces are there already
And this happens regardless of engine, I find. For example, the most popular swaps are chevy 350 and ford 5.0 (I think), and people will advertise that, but not where the heck it came from or what has been done to it. It could be a lousy 140hp 5.0 from an early Fox body Mustang or a 175hp Chevy 350 from a K5 Blazer.
That 454 could be a 230hp version from a late '80s pickup.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
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Having said that, I loved the car. Original paint, nice condition, War Bonnet Yellow. He paid $17K, sold it for $22.5K.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
We used to do the conversion in the "old days" and nobody could tell any difference in performance!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
This shouldn't take much to cherry out!
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/5988564167.html
Anyone?
Regarding electronic ignition, my fintail is converted - I don't know if there's a performance gain, but it sure is easier to live with. The best small investment I've made.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
If you spent $18k on a used engine and some sheet metal panels, you are hopeless: http://ebay.to/2l7SxP7
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
http://ebay.to/2ksF4l4
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
'66 Nova---I'm wary of "bitsa"cars----bits of this and bits of that. They never quite go together like an all-original car.
Rust, dents and a mighty 318 V-8:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/5989391831.html
Misplaced decimal point?:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/5960525261.html
Good for making Chinese fenceposts?
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/5989488287.html
Another misplaced decimal:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/5968983670.html
Or maybe an AMC?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
and for some odd reason I like the 63 Rambler, but how the heck does that twin stick work?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.