1953 Studebaker Champion

In 1953, Studebaker was redesigned by Robert Bourke, from Raymond Loewy's design studio, ("the Loewy Coupe" or "Low Boy").  The 2-door coupe with a central pillar was called the Starlight while the more expensive hardtop coupe was called the Starliner.  In addition to the Loewy Coupe there was also a 2-door sedan based on a shortened 4-door sedan.  The 2-door sedan has a taller profile, and the back side windows in the 2-door sedans are noticeably bigger than the windows in the Loewy Coupe.

For consignment, a 1953 Studebaker Champion that has been massaged into a quasi resto-mod.  A chopped top, nosed and decked, frenched lighting, shaved doors and badges, vent windows trimmed, a full on custom interior and a powerful drivetrain are just a few of the spices added to the recipe for success on this consignment.

Exterior
This midnight blue metallic eye catcher started out as a humble Studebaker Champion and now has been transformed into an award winning, great running, reliable and comfy inside kewl skate.  A 3-inch chopping of the top, all steel which is rust free, some shaving of the trimmings and handles for simplification, flush mount front and rear glass, and lightly smoked windows all work together to give us a modern looking 1953 street Stude.  Wonderful flowing lines courtesy Raymond Loewy show from the side that the hood and trunk deck are virtually the same length with the now lowered roof with sloped back glass.  The bumpers have been painted to match the exterior and all trimmings have been shaved for a surgically clean look.  The back of the car has also been simplified with frenched tail lights to match the frenched headlights.  Below, in front of the rear wheels are the oval tipped side exit exhaust and highly polished Budnik Formosa 15-inch wheels are on all 4 corners and are wrapped with staggered width black wall rubber from the 29th week of 2022.  The finish is in the deep end of the pool and few small chips and scratches are the only flaw to be noted in the body.

Interior
Gray and ivory ultraleather makes up the majority of the door panels that present with some light yellowing on the upper sills and armrests.  Adding to the wow factory are mirror polished cranks and actuators and we are in resto-mod custom heaven!  Smooth sculpted late model low back buckets are using more ultraleather for the smooth bolsters and tuck and roll inserts.  Running through them is a custom fabricated ivory ultraleather wrapped center console, now fashioned with a B&M Pro-Ratchet shifter and a pair of cupholders.  Warm gray carpeting floods the floors and is very clean.  The original dash has been modified and now a wonderfully fashioned custom dash is presenting in body matching midnight blue.  It is fronted by a tilt column with a billet rally style Studebaker steering wheel.  The gauge cluster in front of the driver is now all silver faced AutoMeter ProComp Ultra light units.  An Alpine AM/FM/CD stereo has been fitted into the dash, as have rectangle and round vents for the heater & AC.  In back is a nicely rounded bench that very much matches the buckets and a well tucked custom 6-point roll cage has been installed for some extra safety.  A quick look upward gives us the view of a stitched ivory headliner, and this material carries forth into the rear side panels as well.

Drivetrain
Initially, with a raise of the hood, we feel like we may be peering into a black hole, but upon a little bit of further investigation, what to our wondering eyes does appear but a midnight blue painted 454ci V8 that sits perfectly in the smoothed and customized engine bay.  Aluminum is the material of choice for the intake manifold and a 4-barrel carburetor is perched atop.  On this mill, if it's not painted midnight blue it is either cast or polished and it all looks great, including the silver coated headers that can be seen for the exhale, and on the back a rebuilt TH400 3-speed automatic transmission.  Taking the handoff from the transmission is a Currie supplied Ford 9" axle with 2.75 gearing and TracLoc.

Undercarriage
These surfaces have been painstakingly sandblasted and then repainted in black for the frame and purplish/midnight blue flooring, rockers and body hangers.  An overall great look can be seen on the floor pans rockers and suspension parts with all being rust free.  Speaking of which, a 1970 Camaro has donated its front subframe and comes to us with power disc brakes, and on back are leaf springs and Caltracs bars and more power discs.  Polished stainless exhaust in dual form shows up and the pipes are snarling rearward from those headers under the hood.

Drive-Ability
This car lit right up with the simple turn of the key, and on the test track it did fab!  Nice acceleration, smooth automatic shifting, good handling and looking good while doing it.  All functions working as designed and quite frankly with all the upgrades and amenities I almost forgot I was driving a 70 year old car.

Overall, this builder has taken what was originally a fairly lunky clunky utilitarian car and turned it into an award winning show piece and eye catcher.  A fab color combo, and the body work done is all tasteful and just modernizes this cat.  Hold up the trophy like you are the Champion.

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.