Survivor Sedan: 1950 Studebaker Champion

Disclosure: This site may receive compensation from some link clicks and purchases.

Wearing an almost-perfect patina (I know that’s an oxymoron to some folks), this 1950 Studebaker Champion sedan has had that perfect patina protected by a layer of clear coat, according to the seller. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in the great city of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and they’re asking $8,750 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Zappenduster for the tip!

We don’t see patina being clear-coated too often, but it should help to protect some of that bare surface rust, I mean, patina, from getting any worse. If the buyer wants to paint this car, it doesn’t make it any harder to prep it for new paint. Dipping back into Bartlesville, OK for a second, it’s a Mecca for architects and architecture nerds like me, with Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper, the Price Tower, and many homes designed by my favorite architect, Bruce Goff. It’s worth a visit.

Studebaker made the third-generation Champion from 1947 through 1952 in a two-door convertible, a two-door coupe, a two-door sedan, and a four-door sedan as seen here – but with a twist: the four-door sedans had opposing/suicide doors for an interesting touch. This car appears to be in really nice condition. The seller doesn’t mention rust and I don’t see any in the photos, although we don’t see the underside and I’m sure it has the usual surface rust. “Hey, what does the inside of the trunk look like, SG?” It looks fantastic, thanks for asking.

The interior also looks good, although the soft parts could use some help. We don’t see the front bench seat as it’s covered by a blanket cover, and the seller mentions that it needs to be recovered. The back seat looks good and would look even better with a good cleaning, as is usually the case. The door panels are stained but the headliner looks like new. Check out the photos, this looks like a really nice example.

The engine, well, since it’s a craigslist ad and it’s 2024, the seller didn’t bother to pop the hood to show us the engine. I don’t think that will ever change. This one should have Studebaker’s 170-cu.in. L-head inline-six with around 85 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque. It sends power through a column-shifted manual with overdrive to the rear wheels, and this one starts and runs well, and has new tires, brakes, shocks, and brakes. Hagerty is at $12,400 for a #3 good-condition example and $5,500 for a #4 fair-condition car, so this one may be right on the money. Any thoughts on this Studebaker?

Auctions Ending Soon

Comments

  1. John EderMember

    Our next door neighbors at Kirkland A.F.B. had one of these when I was 4. With its distinctive nose, it was the perfect complement to my 1950s Murray jet fighter pedal car, which had a similar bulging nose. Beyond the grille, I was most fascinated by the reverse opening rear doors- I had never seen that before. We played in that car for hours, probably pretending that it was a jet aircraft like the ones that we saw all around us or a spaceship. Although I have never owned one, it has remained one of my favorite automobile designs through the years.

    Like 14
  2. Tom Noller

    Studebaker made sturdy, dependable cars from the time they transitioned from horse-drawn wagons in the early years of the 20th century.
    My Uncle had a ’50 Land Cruiser (similar to this only longer in length) and when we went to visit them at the time I was about 3 and flipped out when I saw his car. Now 72 and still a car nut, with three Studes in my garage!

    Like 13
  3. joe

    Dad bought one in 58
    Nice, I hoped to keep it as my first car. No such luck.

    Like 4
  4. ccrvtt

    Whenever I see one of this vintage I always think of the very best line from The Muppet Movie – (from Fozzie) “A bear in his natural habitat, a Studebaker.”

    Like 11
    • JDC

      No fair. You beat me to it. Guess I’m gone with the Schwinn!

      Like 7
    • Howie RubinMember

      The Studebaker Museum is currently having the Muppets movie Studebaker out for restoration in, I believe, California. I toured the Museum a couple years back. A lot of fine Studebakers dating from the 1850s carriages and wagons up to the last 66 Stude.

      Like 3
  5. Tony Caruso

    That Studebaker brings back many memories. When I turned 14 I took over all the in town and long distance driving for my family. I had that exact car in black. It was a totally reliable car with a flat head six. I drove it for many years. When I turned 16 I was able to get my licence. In more recent years I saw a Hollywood movie ‘Too Much Sun’ that featured that car in a pale yellow 2 door convertible. That would be my dream car to own now that I am myself antique.

    Like 5
  6. RNR

    Nice car – I especially like the sourcing of a color matching blanket (can I still say “Indian Blanket”?) for the front seat.

    Scotty, did you see that the owners of the Price Tower are suing the FLW Conservancy before the tower’s auction?

    Like 2
    • Harrison Reed

      I enjoy seeing this. Never owned a Studebaker — but the 1950 was certainly “unique” (’51 was more of the same, only watered-down a bit, but with significant improvements over the ’50). This 1947 body, radically new in ’47, was getting a bit “clunky” by 1950. The 1952 was oddly something of a “throwback” to the theme of ’47-’49 — but the 1953 was a timeless classic of brauty!

      Like 2
  7. charlieMember

    My father bought one new in 1950, trading in our ’37 Commander, straight 8, becasue the dealer had been great at keeping the ’37 on the road. They had “hill holder” so if on a steep grade at a traffic light you stayed still and the car in front of you rolled back into you – never happened to us. Oil filter was an extra cost option, as was overdrive, ours had neither and engine was toast at 40.000 miles. Fit and finish was much better than Chevy or Ford. The Zimmerman, formerly Automobile Driving Museam, in Elsecundo CA is folding, and has a ’48 convertible in great shape, not clear what is going to happen to the collection, but lots of good, everday, cars and a dozen really rare ones.

    Like 2
    • Jack Quantrill

      PAL’s mom got stuck at a traffic light on a hill. She stalled the manual shift car, and it rolled back and hit the car behind her. She panicked, opened the door and ran off. Her 14 yr old son slid over and took control. We all laughed. Minimal damage. She could have used that “ hill holder”.

      Like 3
  8. Sw smith

    Now that, is patine. Not rust being sold as patina..

    Like 1
  9. Michael Berkemeier

    Movin’ Right Along! Just watch out for the fork in the road.

    Like 4
  10. Poppy

    These sold so well when new, I read recently that 8% of ALL Studebaker cars EVER built were bullet-nose models.

    Like 1
  11. Richard B Kirschenbaum

    Ah the Price Tower the architectural equivalent of a concept car. Breathtaking beautiful and so full of impractically that only Wright could have sold it to a client that came to him wanting a 3-story building of about 25,000 sq. ft. It’s currently for sale having bankrupted its last owner but still possessing that Wow factor that only Wright could deliver, I doubt that anybody connected with it ever regretted that it was commissioned and actually built. Currently there is a splendid book out about it called Prairie Skyscraper,

    Like 1
  12. Don

    A nice original car. What a great car.

    Like 1
  13. jetfire88

    This one sure brings back memories.

    Grew up in, and got my license with, a ’51 Land Cruiser (V8/Auto) in ’61. This car is apparently a 6, no V8 emblem on decklid. No floor hump, so I could sleep on the rear floor on our annual trips from Wisconsin to Michigan.

    Dad traded it in for a unsold leftover new ’57 Chev 210 2dr hardtop in late ’57.

    I’ve kept my eyes open for an decent example of either one for many years, nuttin’ yet worth owning.

    Guess I’ll keep playing with my hot-rod station wagons.

    Like 1
  14. Phil Maniatty

    My uncle had a ’50 Champion in dark blue. The old dark blue finishes would get that oil in a puddle of water purplish look if they weren’t kept waxed. I don’t think his was ever waxed and it always looked lousy. He traded it on a ’58 VW. He was a guy who could have afforded a new Caddy every year, but had a real aversion to spending money!

    Like 2
  15. Harrison Reed

    I enjoy seeing this. Never owned a Studebaker — but the 1950 was certainly “unique” (’51 was more of the same, only watered-down a bit, but with significant improvements over the ’50). This 1947 body, radically new in ’47, was getting a bit “clunky” by 1950. The 1952 was oddly something of a “throwback” to the theme of ’47-’49 — but the 1953 was a timeless classic of brauty!

    Like 0
  16. Steve Mehl

    I wonder if those car guys, who really like patina on cars, also tell themselves,
    “I think I would really dig it if my girlfriend had acne”.
    Rust is a blemish by any other name rust is a blemish.
    I see this car as being a 3.5 and thus, is overpriced.

    Like 1
    • John EderMember

      I think that, given the age of some of these vehicles, it’s more like looking at the woman that you’ve been with for decades and saying that, even with some wrinkles and gray hair, you’re still as beautiful as when I met you.

      Like 4
  17. Harrison Reed

    To Steve Mehl: “Patina” is not a mark of “beauty”, but rather, one of originality. This car is 74+ years old, and it has had a life. Precious few “survivors” this old remain in “showroom” condition, after all. Just setting somewhere, things AGE. And some collectors prefer to find a car in original state of survival, rather than restored to near-perfection. As to your point on price: if a proper restoration is desired, then this example is over-priced. But if you prefer to drive it the way the elements have allowed it to survive, then maybe this price might be reasonable to you. It all depends upon how badly you want the car, and what your plans are for it. I don’t like “resto-rods”, personally — unless they are built upon a surviving body and frame that was pretty hopeless of a restoration or being driven as a “survivor”. If you have a good running original with a still-respectable interior and good mechanical operation, then don’t modify it! But if you want to drive a car with a significant “patina”, there certainly is a place for that! And value is in the eye of the beholder.

    Like 2
  18. Harrison Reed

    To John Eder: you said it better than I did — and in far fewer words! You see the 101-year-old husband looking upon his 98-year-old wife of 77 years with adoring eyes that see only beauty, and you understand. If you are 25, she’s not romantically attractive to you — but she isn’t meant for your notice in that way. But to her 101-year-old husband, she is everything his life has shared in for more than three quarters of a century — and a 21-year-old bathing beauty cannot touch that!

    Like 4
  19. Tom Lange

    One of the cars I truly regret selling was a 1950 Champion Starlight Coupe, bought from the son of the original owner. O/D, hill-holder, 45,000 miles, and all original turquoise paint. It had a cracked head, and I found a guy in the midwest who sold Weasel parts (an amphibious Army vehicle with a Stude drivetrain) – he sold me 2 NOS Army surplus heads in cosmoline and canvas for $25 each!
    Always started, never failed in any way. Sold it to Dr. Don Dickinson, who had taken his wife on their honeymoon in an identical car! I delivered it from LA to Tucson, and took the train back. What fun!

    Like 2
  20. guggie13

    My parents had one of these in 2 door , traded it in on a 1953 Starlite , both good little cars! Had the 53 till 58 and the family got too big so it was traded for a 1958 Ford ranchwagon !!!!!!

    Like 1

Leave A Comment

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Barn Finds