I owned this 1949 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe from 2004 to 2010. Other than being equipped with an overdrive transmission, it came from the factory with no options to speak of. It did not have a radio, heater, or turn signals. It did have a Fram canister style partial flow oil filter. A Ford underdash heater had been installed by a previous owner at some point. The car was originally black, but it had been repainted in a what appears to be Maui Blue, a color that looks good on the car but was not available in 1949. The original rubber rear fender gravel shields had been removed and the holes filled prior to it being painted. The seats had been recovered but the door panels and headliner were original and in excellent shape.

During my period of ownership I made several upgrades and changes to the car including removing the Ford heater and adding stainless steel gravel shields to the rear fenders. The tire well was repaired and the trunk area was stripped and repainted with gray spatter paint. A new rubber trunk mat was installed to finish out the trunk area. I also added period accessory hard plastic armrest guards and a stanless steel gas door guard. New clips were installed to properly secure the rocker panel moldings and the headlamp rims were replaced. This car was featured as Stude of the Month in January 2005 so it is only the third car to appear twice. The pictures above were taken in 2010 shortly before I sold the car to its next owner.

Studebaker completely redesigned its cars for 1947 and continued that design with only minor changes through 1949. Although Raymond Loewy Associates was largely responsible for design of the 1947 models, the Starlight Coupe was the work of Vigil Exner who was a Studebaker employee at the time. The main design feature of the Starlight was a large wraparound rear window which gave it a unique look. It proved to be a popular model with 15,745 Champion Starlight Coupes produced for the 1949 model year. The 1949 Champion six was rated at 80 horsepower and was only available with a manual transmission. Overdrive was optional but an automatic did not appear until 1950 along with the iconic bullet nose.

If you own or once owned a Studebaker or related vehicle and would like to see your car as "Stude of the Month" or in the "Cool Studes" section, or if you have other pictures or material that you would like to contribute to this page, please e-mail me here at wj2d44@gmail.com. I can accept either electronic or hard copy images. The Main Page is issued every other month so the next edition will be October 2020.

All of the previous editions of the Main Page going back to October 1995 have been reposted. In the process of reposting the pages, I have made corrections and revisions as needed, and in some cases added material that was not used when a page was first posted due to download speed and file storage limitations. A complete list of Main Pages and Studes of the Month with links to each is located here.

If you have a particular interest in Bullet Nose Studebakers, visit Bill Junge's Bullet Nose Paradise which is dedicated to the 1950 and 1951 Bullet Nose models.

Bill Junge sent these pictures of a 1949 Studebaker 2R Pickup Street Rod that were taken by Randy Connell at the July 2020 Goodguys Salt Lake City Nationals. The event was held July 17 through 19 at the Utah State Fairpark. The Goodguys Rod and Custom Association has issued Health and Safety Guidelines for events held during this period of Coronavirus. The organizers indicated that wearing face coverings was mandatory for all attendees, exhibitors, and staff during the event. News reports indicate that the event drew about 700 cars as oppsed to the thousand or more cars that would be expected in a normal year. Still, the event was considered to be a success given the circumstances.

The Studebaker 2R truck was designed by Robert Bourke of Raymond Loewy Associates. It was a considerable departure from the M Series truck and was the first American pickup without exposed running boards. The 2R was in production for five years from 1948 to 1953. Over 260,000 2R Series trucks were produced making it Studebaker's most successful truck model. The basic cab design, referred to as the C Cab, remained in production through 1964. These easy to work on trucks are popular both for restoration and as street rod projects. Classic Enterprises has a comprehensive line of body repair parts and panels for these trucks.

Thanks to Randy for taking and to Bill for sending the pictures of this cool Studebaker Pickup.

Dan Armstrong from Mansfield, Texas has created a number of crossword puzzles and games for car nuts. Dan has a strong interest in Studebakers, particularly the 1956 Sky Hawk, the performance equipped 1963 Lark Daytona, and the performance equipped 1963 and 1964 GT Hawks. The Studebaker crosswords are copyright by Dan Armstrong and are used with his permission. Thanks to Dan for providing the downloadable Studebaker crossword puzzles for readers of this page to enjoy.

This somewhat modified 1962 Hawk Coupe with West Virginia Plates was one of several cars on the grounds that were for sale. Modifications include American Racing Hurricane turbine style wide alloy wheels with radial tires and a 1962 GT Hawk aluminum insert on the trunk lid. The asking price was $10,900. The contrasting color stripe below the rear fin is unique to the 1961 model. Only 3,929 Hawks were produced for the 1961 model year so this is a relatively rare car. This was the final year of production for the finned Hawk.

The pictures were taken at the October 2019 Mifflin County Studebaker Swap Meet in Reedsville, Pennsylvania. Attendence at the meet appeared to be down this year at least on Friday but I was able to purchase some items at great prices. I also took a number of pictures of Studes at the meet which I will use in future editions of this page as space allows. Current information is that the meet will be held once again in 2020 on October 20 and 21 at the Mifflin County Youth Park.

Chester and Nancy Bradfield of Bridgewater, Virginia are well known as avid Studebaker fans and collectors. A number of their cars have been featured as Stude of the Month over the years. These include a 1953 Commander Starliner in October 2019, a 1934 Dictator Land Cruiser in June 2019, a 1937 Coupe Express Street Rod in February 2010, a 1964 GT Hawk in February 2009, a 1934 President Sedan in September 2004, a 1938 Coupe Express Pickup in December 2003, and a 1951 Commander Convertible in September 1997. Other Studebakers owned by the Bradfields have appeared in event coverage and features on this page.

The Bradfields opened their super purpose built storage and maintenance building as the after meal activity for the June 2019 Meeting of the Greater Virginia Chapter of SDC. Following a meal at Francesco's Italian Restaurant in Bridgewater, about two dozen club members made the short drive to the Bradfields. In addition to many beautiful cars and trucks, Chester and Nancy have amassed an extensive collection of adsvertising signs, toy cars, and other automotive memorabilia. Most but not all of their collection is Studebaker related.

One of the interesting vehicles seen that day was a 1961 Champ Pickup with a slide-in camper owned by the Studebaker National Foundation that is headed for the Mid-America Museum of Aviation and Transportation in Sioux City, Iowa. The truck is a long bed model with the optional full-width cargo box that first appeared in 1961. It is equipped with heavy duty components including a 289 cubic inch V8 and five-speed floor shift transmission. The raised front fender trim visible in the picture is unique to the 1961 model.

Thanks to Chester and Nancy for opening their great building to the Greater Virginia SDC Chapter.

This 1:25 scale 1962 Studebaker Lark Convertible is a 1990's reissue of the original Jo-Han 1962 dealer promotional model. It differs from the original in that is uses a type of plastic that is not prone to warping. Jo-han promotionals through 1964 almost always show some warping. The 1990's Jo-Han reissues sometimes appeared in different colors than the original issues as with this yellow Lark. The original promo in my collection has a friction motor for the rear wheels while the reproduction does not have a friction motor. Here is view underneath the original and reproduction models.

The Jo-Han 1962 Lark was available as a convertible and a hardtop in promotional and kit form. The original kit versions from 1962 were molded in blue. There was a simple "Snap-Kit" that required no model cement and a more complex "Customizing Kit" that contained numerous extra parts and could be built several ways. I have seen promo versions in brown, white, red, blue, black, and yellow. The brown versions are all original promos and the black and yellow versions are all reissues. Interestingly, the Jo-han 1962 Lark is the lower trim Regal with rather than the higher trim Daytona model.

Jo-Han was a manufacturer of plastic scale promotional model cars and kits based in Detroit, Michigan. The company was started in 1947 a year before its biggest competitor American Model Toys (AMT) was formed. Most of Jo-Han's models were 1:25 scale American cars and trucks. During the 1950's and 1960's U.S. automakers commissioned promotional models from suppliers that included Jo-Han and AMT. These models were displayed in showrooms and were sometimes given away to customers who were seen as strong prospects. They were also sold in dealer parts departments.

Both original and reissue examples of the JoHan 1962 Studebaker Lark promo regularly appear on eBay. The kit versions also appear with some regularity in both built and unbuilt form. Prices generally range from about $30 to over $100 depending upon version and condition. I purchased the yellow example in the pictures on eBay about a year ago. It appeared to be in like new condition so I bid and won it at the starting bid price which was a nice surprise.

More toy Studes can be found in the Stude Stuff area of this page and on my Studebaker Toys Home Page.

Click here for information on ordering hard to find Studebaker toys made by manufacturers such as Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Muscle Machines, Maisto, and EKO.

Jim Geary's book Studebaker Toy Treasures is the standard reference for collectors of Studebaker Toys. This wonderful book has 294 pages of color pictures and details on hundreds of Studebaker toys. Publication date is 2004 and just about every Studebaker toy and model produced up to that time is pictured and cataloged. Jim is making the book available for $25 plus $14 for shipping. Jim will sign the book if requested. It also comes with a CD of more toys than what is in the book. This is a must for the serious Studebaker toy vehicle collector. Jim can be contacted at sanjim76@live.com or send payment to Jim Geary, 181 Allendale Hills Road, Franklin, NC 28734.