The American Truck Historical Society's 2021 National Convention and Truck Show was held June 3 through 5 at the Rockingham County Fair Grounds near Harrisonburg, Virginia. The show is billed as the world's largest historical truck show. While the show is open to trucks of all sizes and classes, larger trucks seem to predominate. There were a surprising number of Studebaker trucks at the show and on the field. It was reported that a total of 680 trucks of all types were registered for the 2021 show.

The next 2022 ATHS National Convention and truck Show will be held in Springfield, Illinois June 9 through 11. Information can be found on the ATHS web site.

Studebaker starting using the Transtar name in 1956. The name was used on most trucks in the Studebaker E-Series but not all. Exceptions include the 1958 and 1959 Scotsman Pickups and the 1960 to 1964 Champ Pickups. For some unknown reason, the Transtar name was not used in 1959. The 1956 models featured a revised hood with a supplemental grill. For 1957 the Transtar line received a new fiberglass grille with three vertical dividers that continued to the end of production. The Transtar was basically a C-Cab truck which first appeared in 1948 as a 1949 model.

This 1963 Studebaker Champ 8E Pickup with a full-width eight foot bed is owned by John P. Good Jr. of Winchester, Virginia. John's truck is a Deluxe Cab model with bright windshield trim, chrome trimmed window vents, a chrome grill, chrome headlamp rims, and bright fender trim. Deluxe Champs came with chrome hub cabs but this particular truck has 1962 Lark type full wheel covers. Deluxe Champs also featured a safety padded dash, armrests for both doors, a passenger side sun visor in addition to one for the driver, and a two-piece sliding rear window. White painted bumpers were standard with chrome plated bumpers optional. This truck appears to have been recently repainted a non-stock but quite attractive shade of blue. The tailgate lettering has been beautifully done.

The Champ was introduced in 1960 in an effort to provide a more contempory appearing light-duty truck. The chassis and drivetrain selections were basically unchanged fromn the 1959 E-Series but the cab section was all new being derived from the compact Lark. The nose panel, front fenders, hood, and doors were the same as used on the Lark. The main cab section was was basically a Lark four-door body cut just behind the front doors. A heavier grille with horizontal openings was used in place of the Lark grille. The dashboard and instruments were the same as in the Lark which also gave a more modern appearence. A full-width cargo box produced using former Dodge tooling was available starting in 1961. Trucks rated at one-ton and above continued to use the older style cab.

The window placard on this 1964 Studebaker Champ 3/4 Ton Pickup with an eight foot bed indicates that it is owned by John Good. This Champ is a Model 8E12 powered by a 289 cubic inch V8 with a 4-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust rated at 225 horsepower. It is equipped with a four-speed manual floor shift transmission and eight lug wheels. The original 4:10 rear has been changed to 3:56 and power front disc brakes have been added to improve stopping power. John's truck is painted Omaha Orange except for the cab roof which is painted white and has five amber running lights. The truck has door mounted extended view side view mirrors and a frame mounted hitch for towing. It also has a very nice custom bed cover and rear step bumper.

This was one of several Studebaker Champs on the display field.

This custom 1962 Studebaker Champ 7E Pickup is owned by Rick Aguilar of Hansford, West Virginia. Rick has owned the truck for about two years. It was orginally a six cylinder with three-speed manual shift on the column. The previous owner swaped the six for a Studebaker 259 cubic inch V8 and four-speed floor shift truck transmission. Ricks Champ has Corvette wheels, Edmunds twin carburetor manifold, column mounted tachometer, front bumper over-rider bar, and headlamp visors. The reupolstered 1961 Hawk style bucket seats blend nicely with a rear center armrest assembly as used on 1957 Hawks serving as the center console. Here is a shot showing the seats and armrest. The V8 emblems on the fenders and dash are also Studebaker items.

Rick's Champ is painted satin black with white outlining on the tailgate lettering. The front bumper and factory optional rear bumper have been beautifully rechromed by Paul's Chrome Plating of Evans City, Pennsylvania. Shops that do rechroming have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Paul's is one of the best remaining shops having been in business since 1977. The Corvette wheels have late 1930's style Studebaker hubcaps as used on the Coupe Express Pickup and other models. Rick is currently running modern blackwall Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country Tour radial tires. The Champ is equipped with a truck Climatizer heater and defroster and factory manual tune AM radio and both are in working order. This is Rick's first Studebaker which he purchased after seeing it in an ad publication.

The Edmunds twin carburetor manifold on Rick's Champ is a fairly rare item. As the story goes, Eddie Edmunds started out making speed equipment for Model A Fords. After World War II he opened a factory in Los Angeles, California with a Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan. Eventually, he made a variety of manifolds, heads, and other speed equipment for numerous makes of Amercan cars. Part of Edmunds lore is that Eddie's wife hand lettered the Edmunds name in the casting bucks used to make the molds. A common Edmunds product was an intake manifold for twin two-barrel carburetors. These were produced for straight six and eight cylinder engines and for various V8 engines. After hitting hard times he was bought out by Fenton in the late 1950's.

Thanks to Rick Aguilar for providing additional information about his Champ.