The seller says that this 1959 Studebaker 4E3D-12 Scotsman NAPCO 4×4 pickup was found on a ranch in the high, dry desert climate of Colorado and it looks like a very cool beast of a truck. They have it listed here on eBay in Tulsa, Oklahoma where the current bid price is a whopping $15,755, and the reserve isn’t met yet.
The 4E3 has a 112-inch wheelbase and thus a shorter bed – there was also a 122-inch wheelbase truck. The NAPCO trucks had a “D” in the ID number and they all had a 4-speed manual transmission. These trucks are extremely rare, according to the seller, and also according to Hemmings which I tend to believe more than a lot of sources. 155 were produced in total for 1959 NAPCO 4×4 pickups. Hemmings mentions a production number of 26 with the longer 122-inch wheelbase and V8 engine and 357 total NAPCO 4×4 trucks total for Studebaker in all years and models. The seller breaks this truck down further by saying that they built nine (9) 1/2-ton versions and only one (1) in this color of Tahiti Coral.
Or, what’s left of the Tahiti Coral paint. They say that this “Truck probably shouldn’t be restored, it’s ORIGINAL and it’s Only Original Once!”, but then they mention that it has been painted at some point, the engine has been gone through, and they list over a dozen things that have been changed. Ok, a lot of those are tune-up items and wear items like hoses, brakes, etc., but using the word “original” could probably be a six-month, 24/7 series of articles here on Barn Finds. Almost like Irv’s 3,000,000-mile Volvo, just about everything on this truck sounds like it has been rebuilt, replaced, or repainted but it hasn’t been “restored”. Again, none of that matters, this is one highly-desirable truck and it’s all about maintenance.
Restored or not, this has to be one of the top-ten coolest and most-desirable trucks that I have seen roll through the cyber doors here at One Barn Finds Tower. The body of the truck appears to have been painted a darker color, maybe due to taking some ribbing from neighboring ranches for having a pink truck, I mean, a Tahiti Coral truck. I could care less if it’s paisley, I love this thing. The interior looks pink in the photo above, but it looks like a golden tan color here. It must be a trick of the light. They talk about the front-end differential as possibly not being original, but nobody really knows, I think? It’s a little confusing but they say that everything has been verified by the National Studebaker Museum.
The engine should be Studebaker’s 245 cubic-inch inline-six which would have had 118 hp and 204 lb-ft of torque. This one is reported to start right up with no smoke and it runs well. I know that there are a few of you who either own or have owned Studebaker pickups, how about a NAPCO 4×4 version?
Sorry, but given the bids so far, and that it hasn’t reached the reserve, I think the seller has some pie-in-the-sky ideas of what this is worth, as is. As mentioned, it’s been rebuilt, parts replaced, gone through, etc. so using the term ‘original’ doesn’t really apply here. Yes, it’s scarce given the reported numbers built, but by no means is this truck a ‘holy grail’ of 4x4s. But as soon as I say that, someone will pay the man his price which proves me wrong.
I’m with you, sir. I would love to have this truck but, wow.
Although, I just ran to get a “free” (with coffee purchase) donut for National Donut Day (yes, there is such a thing) and there was a new Rivian EV pickup in the parking lot, easily a six-figure vehicle. Lots of people have lots of money to spend on their rides right now, as a lot of other people are struggling to buy $5.00-a-gallon gas and $4-a-dozen eggs. This pink (Tahiti Coral) Stude 4×4 will probably sell for a nice chunk of change to someone who won’t blink at the price.
Great looking mean truck, around town probably fine, doubt it could keep up on the highway.
Studey trucks were quite dated looking compared to the competition, but they have a certain charm to them.
That truck has great appearance. I wonder how painful it is to drive just to the general store and gas pump?
I knew a guy who was from Chile and worked at the Chilean Embassy in Washington, DC, not far from my old car shop in Silver Spring, MD. In the mid 1980s he and I started bringing in various old cars from Chile, as he could obtain the special export papers allowing the vehicles to be shipped out, and I would arrange everything from this end, and repair, then sell, the vehicles. We would bring up cars like a 1938 Ford Deluxe 4-door convertible with RHD, and a 1934 Buick 7-passenger phaeton.
I remember well 2 unusual trucks he had photos of, both were 1959 E series Studebaker trucks with NAPCO 4X4 conversions. I should also mention that while these were built at the Studebaker plant in South Bend, they were exported and sold new thru a Studebaker-Packard franchise in Chile that only sold Packard cars, so they actually bore Packard badging and matching paperwork.
As a collector of all things Packard, I wanted to bring both of these to North America, keep one and sell the other. However because they were so tall, they had to be shipped in the 20′ high hold of the ship, along with all the other big equipment and trucks. This tripled the cost of shipping to well over $8,000, more than they were realistically worth in the USA. Shipping from Chile meant going all the way up the west coast of South America, thru the Panama Canal, and then thru the Caribbean to Baltimore. We always bought the rarer open cars, as the shipping costs were so high.
Years later, while looking thru stacks of factory photos in Howard Applegate’s vast collection, I found an original S-P black & white photo [above] of what may well be one of these special Packard trucks. Don’t know how many were produced, but it looks like at least 2 made it out of the country!
No high-cube containers out of Valparaiso in those days?
Todd,
Yes, all of the cars we shipped were in containers. I don’t remember the details as I was never to set foot in Chile, but my Chilean partner could only get shipping rates for Ro-Ro service for these trucks. All shipping rates included processing fees and export taxes. I suspect it had to do with surcharges and taxes against vehicles like a running 4X4 truck, something in short supply down there.
Even in the 1980s it was difficult to get vehicles of any type approved for export, That’s why in Chile there were so many pre-war vehicles to choose from, because in order to import the vehicle into the USA, one had to have the export papers from the country in question. This meant you couldn’t simply drive the vehicle into Argentina and ship from there.
I had a client who was trying to export a Tatra T-87 from Czechoslovakia, but the government was not willing to allow the car to leave the country unless an expensive financial bond was posted in cash, guaranteeing the car’s return!
On the 4×4 trucks the transfer case required the fuel tank to be moved to the rear where the spare tire was normally housed. The hole for the fuel fill behind the driver’s door was plugged with a rubber grommet. This necessitated the spare tire being mounted outside the bed, this truck lacks the cut out fender to do that.
I sold a ‘62 7E13D 1 ton recently and did not get close to what this one is selling for.
ZA is Custer county, west of Pueblo. As a former resident of Eagle county, I can attest of the friendly to sheet metal climate. Virtually no salt used and even though I drove my vehicles all winter they were rust free, until I moved to Vermont and I lost them all in under 5 years.
This one sold in 2017 for $17500 and then again in 2020 for $20k.
https://bringatrailer.com/2017/05/05/one-of-nine-1959-studebaker-4e-napco-4×4/
STUDEBAKER BUILT……that’s correct as far as I know – NAPCO was not involved.
Private Listing = Shill Bidders
Auction update: this one ended at $15,988.88 and no sale.
Oh my!!!! WHAT A TRUCK!
This truck being Original (and it looks like it may very well be), PROBABLY IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF EARLY 4X4 TRUCKS!!!!!!!
Who wouldn’t want one!
They are only original once, I hate restored trucks