Restored classics with a successful show history often cost more than many mere mortals can afford. However, if you are willing to settle on a more humble set of wheels, there are excellent choices available. Such is the case with this 1950 Studebaker Champion. It presents superbly following a meticulous restoration, taking home some impressive silverware as a result. It needs nothing, and could be a great alternative for those seeking an interesting vehicle from a long-departed marque. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Curvette for spotting the Champion listed here on Craigslist in Goldendale, Washington. The seller set their price at $12,500, which puts it in the affordable category.
When Studebaker unveiled the Third Generation Champion for the 1947 model year, it represented Detroit’s first new post-war model. It remained on sale until 1952, but the iconic “bullet” grille that gave the car a distinctive look arrived in 1950. It was in that year that our feature car rolled off the line, and describing it as being “as pretty as a picture” would not be an overstatement. It is unclear when the seller performed their restoration, but the results justified whatever effort they expended during the build. Its Red paint is dazzling, holding a mirror-like shine. The panels are laser-straight, with the tight, consistent gap suggesting an eye for fine detail. I see nothing suggesting rust would be an issue, while the glass is crystal clear. The trim appears to be in as-new condition, and with color-matched wheels, hubcaps, trim rings, and narrow whitewalls, the Studebaker’s exterior is a “total” package.
Studebaker adopted a “one size fits all” approach to the engine powering the 1950 Champion. The 169.6ci flathead six developed a pretty healthy 85hp and 138 ft/lbs of torque. The company offered buyers an optional automatic transmission, but this car appears to feature the three-speed manual unit. The engine bay presentation is as tidy as you would rightfully expect, given the car’s recent history, and it retains original features such as its six-volt electrical system. The seller states that the buyer will be ready for Cruise Nights, seemingly confirming that this Champion is a turnkey proposition.
When we scrutinize the interior images, it is easy to see why this Champion has accumulated a healthy collection of show silverware. The presentation appears flawless, easily justifying its “Best of Show” trophies. Trimmed in contrasting Black and White vinyl, there is no wear or evidence of abuse. The bright trim doesn’t appear to be blistered or pimpled, and the paint is spotless. Life aboard this classic isn’t what many would consider luxurious, but the pushbutton radio will help relieve boredom on long journeys.
This 1950 Studebaker Champion won’t appeal to everyone, but I can’t think of a single classic that does. It presents beautifully, and I believe that its trophy-winning days are far from over. Recent sales results suggest that the seller’s price is realistic, making it an affordable alternative for those considering a first classic purchase. Even if you’re an old hand, there is something inherently charming about this Champion that makes it almost irresistible. I can picture it parked in my garage, although I am not in a position to make that happen. Perhaps you will be luckier than I. Do we have any readers who would consider tucking this Studebaker safely away in their garage?
And I’m sorry,,,I never saw a red Studebaker. Studebakers of this vintage were already at the bottom of a pile of cars in the junkyard by the time cars began to interest me( 1960)., and no real experience with any, except for a stray with a cloud of smoke behind it. Just seeing a red car looks out of place to me, save for a fire chief. I just don’t remember many red cars. Red was for sporty cars, Corvettes, convertibles, but rarely a Studebaker. I happen to honor a “best of show”, but anyone in the future will see, wow, what a cool looking car,,,oh, oh, a stick? Move along,,,:(
I agree Howard……
I agree Howard….
That green one reminds me of the movie, “Macon County Line.” The thugs were driving one like that when they were pulled over…
latest edition…
My dad bought new a 1949 Studebaker Commander in that color, so it was available. I’ll have to agree, a little unusual.
I love this muppet mobile.
A bear’s natural habitat!
I’ve commented elsewhere that bears always seem to break into Subarus whenever they break into cars. I’d long assumed it had something to do with people who live or recreate in bear country disproportionately owning Subarus, but apparently it turns out that when Studebakers got thin on the ground, bears just went to the next make on an alphabetical list.
One of my all time favorite movies, and Studebakers!!!
Styling too unique to grow old – it still has the zestiness of when it was new.
Love it!!! Flathead 6 stickshift and all!!! I’d be happy to own it!!!
It may have overdrive unbeknownst to the seller. Overdrive was practically standard equipment on Studebakers then. T handle left of steering column? Al would know.
“Show winner” I had a 67 Shelby GT350 for sale that was super nice restored, Moss Green. Fresh but never showed. A guy called me about it and asked me if I had any trophies to show for it, I said no. I got better things to do then show any of my cars. I then told him I probably could go to any local car show and pick up my prize but on the same hand, going to a mustang event and winning means a total different thing. Bottom line he bought another car that was lime green but it had trophies with it and that’s what he wanted. Hahahah good for him!! Didn’t even look at my car which was 100 percent correct. Haha
So what’s if it’s red. I like it and it stands out.
I was commenting on the restored not the color yet the dumb azz bought the worst color because there were no trophies. Hahah
Love the 1950-51 “Bullet nose” Studies. But I’d want the Commander V8.
My Mom had one and it was grey , nice car I like the red over the dull grey Mom had , she traded it for a 1953 starlite in blue with white top also a nice car both had sixes with overdrive . when the family got bigger she sold the Stude for a Ford ranch wagon v8 auto ps also a great car!!
Another gem from the Pacific Northwest. If this were closer… GLWTS.
I loved the 1950 Studebaker the moment it hit the showrooms in 1949. This outlandish refresh was just exactly what that old ’47 “first by far with a postwar car” needed! It just LOOKED like “fun!”. Too bad that they toned it down for ’51. The older folks hated it as much as they hated Johnny Ray (who came a year later) — and that only ADDed to its appeal. And didn’t Studebaker have that hill-holder feature with their standard shift? And those of us who first grooved to Johnny Ray and Bill Haley and His Saddlemen are now the “the old folks” who came before the “baby boomers”. And no one would consider Johnny Ray “wild” now. One HUGE problem with all of these Studebakers — right up to the last 1964 Hawk: BAD RUST PROBLEM AROUND THE COWL VENT!
I agree with Harrison.. I love this old Studie and I really like the red. If I had my druthers I’d have a whole warehouse full of old cars, if for nothing more than to preserve an awesome part of American history. some of us “boomers” (I was born the same years as this beauty was) also really liked some of the things our parents were into.. like Bill Haley.. but I didn’t really catch wind of him until he was with the Comets. Johnny Ray is new to me tho so now I have another music guy to check out. :-)
Hi, John Michael! So you are a “vintage 1950” Boomer: you’re only in your seventies, then! (smile) Johnny Ray’s first record (with The Four Lads) was a two-sided smash hit during the autumn of 1951, leading into 1952. The “A” side was “Cry” and the “B” side was “The Little White Cloud That Cried”. “Cry” was something of a blues shouter, and “The Little White Cloud That Cried” was rather silly, actually, when you listen to its lyrics. It clearly was intended simply to have something to put on the other side of “Cry”, with no thought of its becoming a hit in its own right. But Johnny Ray had burst on the scene as something entirely different from any previous male vocalist (word had it that he sang the way that he did because he was quite deaf). Whatever the case, he became a sensation so overtaking, that when “Cry” began to have run its course and nothing new had been released by Johnny Ray, disk jockeys simply flipped “Cry,” over and began playing the other side, and it cought-on going into 1952. He had another monster hit with “Please, Mr. Sun”, then with “Walking My Baby Back Home” before his career began to flame-out a bit and his records no longer topped the charts. After that, he had only occasional forays into the Top Ten; however, some of those remain very memorable just the same. He was beset with drug-addiction, and when word got out on that, it seriously damaged his appeal as a popular entertainer (this was the 1950s, after all). And when rock-‘n’-roll came in and “pushed the envelope” much farther than Johnny Ray had, he sort-of was left by the wayside. He still made records, but almost no-one was buying them. He burned himself out and died rather young as I recall. At the time of his death, he’d been all-but-forgotten by the populsr culture. After “Cry” became a hit, Stan Freberg lampooned it with “Try”, exaggerating Ray’s odd vocal.mannerisms.
Hi Harrison! Yep, I’m 76, but going on 20 depending on how you look at it. :-) Thanks for the bio on Johnny Ray.. I was just listening to “Cry” on YT and it’s awesome. They sure don’t make music like that anymore. It’s a shame that so many good musicians have gone down because of drink or drugs. In case you haven’t seen it btw here’s the link to his recordings: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=TdtSOxJRgF0&list=OLAK5uy_ldJkRQ_eMvImzImhSAqvStP5dHH0wQ12E
Thank you, John Michael, for both the appreciation and the link. But I bought the 78s when they came out, and I still have them here to play, many hundreds of 78s, plus the hundreds which my father had from the 1920s into the 1930s. I would be in DEEP trouble if they ever discontinued the equipment to play them!
You’re welcome Harrison.. I figured you already had his recordings, I would too. It must’ve been neat to listen to all that from your dad’s collection. My parent’s stuff on 78s was mostly big band and they didn’t play it much, but I’ve loved music since I was a kid. I had a ton of vinyl LPs that I sold after my wife died thinking I’d never listen to any of it again but now I wish I had it all back, including the audiophile stereo we had. I like everything from Scott Joplin and Django Reinhardt to newer jazz and even western music from folks like the Sons of the Pioneers etc.. which came from watching Roy Rogers and the Grand Ole Opry back in the day. :-)
I get that with the hardware.. I want to replace my old Denon stereo but components are rare. There are electronics folks out there restoring vintage equipment tho and there’s a good demand for vintage stuff, including LPs, so I think it will come along eventually. I’m thinking now I’d like to get a 78 player too. I think the sound of 78s is really cool.
John Michael, these were not my parents records; they are mine. I bought records from the late 1940s through the 1950s, until I could not stand the new music any longer. I also inherited my father’s records, mostly from the ‘teens, ‘twenties, and ‘thirties — LOTS of them! They are fun to listen to, as well. The ones prior to mid-1925 were recorded with horns and not microphones, and so have something of a “tin can” sound. I also have records going back to 1900: they are surprisingly good — you might be shocked to hear them. A good ‘table [deck] for 78s is the Audio Technica LP120, which is fashioned after the Technics 1200 which I have, only far less expensive. I use Ortofon cartidges, which sound better than anything else I have heard. The Audio Technica, like my Technics, has interchangeable headshells, so you can dedicate individual.cartridges for specific applications. I use two different ones for stereo records — the Ortofon 2M Black for serious listening when absolutely the best stereo sound is critical. It is an expensive one, and if you do not have the speakers which will bring out all that it can reveal, then you do not need it. I use the 2M Red for “everyday” stereo listening: it is very affordable and yet gets you better than 90% of what the Black will give you. Its sound is slightly warmer, with just a touch less intricate detail and inner voicing. But there is nothing even close to it at anywhere near its price. I use the 2M mono for monophonic L.P.s and 45s. It tracks better for those, than a stereo cartridge, and you pick up far less noise. Listen once to a monophonic record with that, and you will never listen to a mono record with a stereo pickup again! (TRUST me on this!). For 78s, I use an Ortofon 2M 78 mono (which of course has a 78 stylus). In my case, I also have on hand an Ortofon 2M Red stereo cartridge, bridge-wired out-of-phase for vertically cut monophonic 78s (using a 2M 78 stylus). This is required only if you have Edison Diamond Discs and Pathe and other vertically-cut discs, which most people do not, and therefore don’t have to worry about. All of these 2M Ortofons have interchangeable stylii and very similar audio signatures, so you need not adjust for equalisation when going from one to another. But tracking-pressure settings are different for each, and Ortofon cartridges are very sensitive to the correct tracking pressure (if they specify 1.9 grammes, they MEAN it, and you can definitely hear the degradation if you get it wrong!). But if you are serious about listening to 78s, then this is the sort of set-up that will give you the best from all of your records, regardless of speed or size. Anti-skating settings vary from one to another, as well. But you will get used to that. By the way, I have lots of the Sons Of The Pioneers 78s: I bought just about every one that came out, as soon as it was released. I have an especial love for their recordings. And I also have several of their RCA Victor 78 rpm albums.
Hello again, John Michael! That “thinking I’m 20” thing was something I used to get away with, too, back when I was your age. I almost hate to report this to you — but that, too, joins the ranks of unreality as you pass into your early and mid eighties: you ache in too many places and you can’t find your keys or your glasses or your ‘phone too many times to kid yourself that you,’re still a “kid”. But perhaps the hardest part comes in being the sole survivor — the only one left of the ones you once ran with — the only one who remembers what you remember. You want to share something interesting with “Frank” (not his real name); then you go to telephone him… when suddenly it comes back into your face: you attended his funeral four years ago. But still, you are grateful to still be here