Bullet-Nose Barn Find: 1951 Studebaker Champion
Studebaker’s first new cars after World War II came out in 1947 and received a makeover again in 1950-51. Due to their styling, those latter cars would become known as the “bullet-nose” editions. That makes them some of the most desirable post-war cars among Studebaker collectors some 55 years after the company folded. We don’t know a lot about the seller’s ’51 Champion, but it looks like it’s been inside a barn for quite some time. It’s hard to tell when the car was last registered as the sticker on the historic Maryland plates isn’t visible. This Champion, located in Poolesville, Maryland, is available here on eBay where the Buy It Now price is $6,500.
Studebaker sold three models of cars during the bullet-nose era: the top line Land Cruiser, the mid-range Commander, and the entry-level Champion. The latter two cars rose on the same wheelbase, while the Land Cruiser had four more inches between wheels. The Champion could be had in several trim levels, and we can’t be sure which one represents the seller’s car. This could either be a Custom, Deluxe, or a Regal, but the lack of exterior brightwork suggests the Custom of which 10,689 2-door, 5-passenger sedans were built in 1951.
These Studebakers are recognized for more than just their snout. 2-door/5-occupant sedans had a big wraparound greenhouse rear window. The Champion used a 169 cubic inch flathead, inline-six that produced 85 hp, flanked by a 3-on-the-tree manual transmission. This is likely what’s under the hood of the seller’s car, but we’re told the motor may be locked up. The body on this car has a bit of surface rust, particularly on chromed pieces like the bumpers. There may be a rust hole or two, such as a small area right below the passenger side headlight. No interior photos are offered to critique its condition.
1951 was a down year in production for Studebaker, off some 22% compared to 1950. The company built 268,000 cars of which 144,000 are said to have been Champions. Even with collector interest in the bullet-nose Studebakers, resale values aren’t crazy high. A superior ’51 Champion won’t likely break $20,000, so the acquisition of the seller’s car would equal a third of what the car could be worth when restored.
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Comments
First by far with a post war car.
Probably got better mileage driving in reverse
love these (all 3 models).
Altho a sacrilidge some updates would acrue @ my house. Frnt bumper gone, discs (also up frnt) and a modern 4 speed auto (OD). Y ruin it? I like ’em so much it’d be my daily. That grill, hdlghts, the split rear window & l o n g bustle!
Out fit it w/all that ‘mouse fur’ inside. A gleaming engine bay?
https://www.google.com/search?q=1951+Studebaker+Champion+interior&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=SRS7-n7QuCo1FM%252CP_v395nzvHjshM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTIC4HRw7Nm9EhcBKTht2f5HwzrDg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhyeaV6PbwAhWEEVkFHd4FAvgQ9QF6BAgSEAE&biw=1140&bih=670#imgrc=SRS7-n7QuCo1FM
My cousin had a coupe just like that when I was a boy I thought it was so cool.
My father bought a ’50 new. He complained that 2nd was too low, making acceleration to 55 mph, very slow since you had to upshift to 3rd too soon at a time when the neighbor’s Ford V8 would do 55 in 2nd with not problem. Now, with no tach, and nothing in the book, how he knew, just “by ear”, the way he played the piano, that reaching the “red line” was the problem, I don’t know, but, he was an engineer so maybe he did. Guys in my high school talked about “valve float” at too high an RPM so maybe that was the signal. Does anyone know how they knew how fast it was OK to rev an engine back then? The VW’s in the 60’s had little marks on the speedometer to tell you how fast, and therefore the highest RPM, you could do in each gear, one dot, two dots, three, and four which was the top speed the car could go in theory.
Once you get familiar with your car your ears and your right foot will tell you when it’s time to shift.
I have a great friend who is possibly the worst driver I have ever known. He’d be driving along, talking, redlining it and I would be yelling SHIFT, DAMMIT SHIFT!!!!! Some just never get it.
As a long time Maryland resident, and having a restoration shop in the region, I’m 99% sure I looked at this car about 35 to 40 years ago. It’s a base Custom version with a non-Studebaker under dash heater, and no overdrive.
This car has only 2 things going for it; Bullet nose and Starlight coupe. But it’s very overpriced, as non-mechanical parts are expensive and hard to find. This is due to the factory in South Bend scrapping the older stuff. I remember on one of my visits [around 1976] to the SASCO parts company’s warehouse, 8 stories high, I was on one of the top floors where they had busted out a hole in the outer wall, and were tossing brand new 1947 to 1952 body parts out and into open railroad hopper cars below. Doors, fenders, hoods, all were sent for scrap. And of course after landing at the bottom, each body part was no longer even worth trying to sell off in the secondary market.
I own a 51 Champion Business Coupe. Parts are easy to find for that car. Studebaker International and many parts suppliers exist. That car is easier to restore than some Big 3 models.
MMM small block or other mild replacement and leave the outside as is. Classic styling. Go head and make him an offer! Good luck and happy motoring.
Cheers
GPC
I always liked the 1’s that had the ‘bullet’ nose on the frt & rear, couldn’t tell if they were coming or going. Freak me out on the road! What year were those?
I had a chance to see one just a couple of weeks ago at a car show. The owner had widened the rear fenders and I assumed tubbed it to fit the meats they had on the rear. It looked to have a Cadillac engine in it with some form of automatic. It had just enough customization to personalize it but not over the top. It was so ugly it was cute.
My first car was a 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe. I moved up from a 1957 Cushman Road King. My dad came home one day and said son I got you a car, he paid $50.00 for it. This was in 1958. It had the usual six cylinder engine with overdrive. Burned oil, but my friends and I had a blast with it. Traded up a year later to a 1958 Rambler.
I remember the days of $50 cars. Hard to believe but up into the late 1970S you could find all kinds of old heaps for beer money. When I was in high school I looked at a one owner 53 Olds 88 hardtop for $20. It had originally been red with a white top but was then painted an avocado green. The owner told me how he took it down to Tijuana to get the red and white, tuck and roll upholstery done. He said it ran but I didn’t drive it because it had a flat left front tire. He said he would change it and I should come back. I passed by that car everyday going to and from school but the tire never got changed and then school was out for the summer and I got busy with other stuff and sort of forgot about it. The car sat in the same spot for a few more years and then one day it was gone. Not long after that I passed on a fairly decent 58 Impala for $125 because the radiator was rusty inside. Pretty stupid of me. That car would have worked out fine.
This Studebaker in this condition would have been in the $50-$100 dollar range back then.
The fathers of my two best childhood friends both dealt in $50-100 cars. This was in the 1965-1975 time frame.
One was a schoolteacher. He had a five mile commute, so the car just needed to function. He might get months, occasionally a year or two out of a car.
The other was an oil field worker. So the car was abused, daily. If he got months (plural) out of a car, that was good. Several were 50’s Chevys, maybe because they were common. He later got an oil field job which included a company truck. I remember the truck: a 1973 F-250 4WD, decked out with oversize tires, headache rack, steel bumpers, winch. What an upgrade.
And they burned oil because they did not have an oil filter as standard equipment, leading to a very short engine life by the standards of the day for cars with oil filters. My father’s ’50 was toast at 40,000 miles while my uncles ’49 Chevy and my aunt’s 51 Chevy went well over 100,000 miles with the engine still just fine, rust killed both of them.
Flatheads don’t have oil filters & run forever, suppose 2 change oil more often, like every 3000 miles. Just because the LASY TOAD owner didn’t do proper maintinance on it. What’s ur point!
Inflation! In 1945, when my father got out of the Army, and I was 4 my father bought a black ’38 Studebaker Commander, straight 8, I seem to think, for $49. It was a big car. The parking brake did not work, it sat in our uphill driveway for a couple of weeks until he could get the parts and fix that. One rear fender had peeling paint, it was pink underneath, I was sure the whole car had been pink, but it was just undercoat, he told me. The back seat area was really big, something happened to the engine and he rebuilt it what ever it was, it took weeks, in our next house which had a flat driveway. He did not trust it for long distances. You could see the road through the holes that the brake and clutch pedals went through. But it was a car, and, in 1947, not everyone had one. He worked for GE in Lynn, MA and had to go to Schenectady NY which was headquarters in those days, but had a “company car” for that which was a new Chevy 4 door sedan, the body basically the same as the late ’30’s, with 3 side windows, not counting the vent panes. It did not sell him on Chevy’s, and he bought the ’50 Studebaker new. The battery was under the front seat, passenger side, jump starts were not unusual, clutch spring broke on one trip, he tied a rope to the clutch pedal and pulled it up, got it into third and tied it to something so he would not have to hold it and shifted without the clutch and we got home, maybe 10 miles.
Had the same clutch spring problem. The pedal went to the floor and did not return. Started the car on the starter in 2nd gear and drove three miles home. Shifted gears when the valves floated, did burn a lot of oil.
These cars are very sturdy. I have owned a 51 Champion business coupe for nearly 20 years. My daily driver in summer. If you change the oil regularly they provide good, reliable fun transportation.
R U Steve from the Sacramento area? Carpenter? How u been doing? U got some nice rides