1949 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe Sedan
The first things that enters your mind are the old bromides that supposedly describe the experience: "blast from the past," "time warp," "turning back the clock". And yet the car is the strongest statement of all. This is a Studebaker, and not just any Studebaker. It's a Champion which is a little brother to the larger Commander. It's light weight and has plenty of features that were innovative and standard for the day.
For consignment, a 1949 version of the Champion Regal Deluxe sedan. This restored in 2017 4 door sedan has a 6 cylinder and a 3-speed manual transmission. It has no real rust, a very nice interior and some options that were added on for the initial purchase to include climatized heating, overdrive transmission, a hill holder clutch and turn signals. Nifty.
Exterior
Pontoon styling with its fenders and sleek rear trunk deck which are the first features you'll notice on this car. You'll also see a wrap-around rear greenhouse glass split rear window. Nicely preserved chrome throughout, shaped B pillar door latches, a nice bulbous hood, egg crate grille, futuristic hood ornament and a slight coattail for the trunk lid is in its design. The paint is Concord Blue and has an overall patina and dulled surface with no rust being noted on this steel. Nice chrome trim for the rockers is noted and even a chrome stone guard trimming on the edge of the provided protruding rear fender lead. A cloisonn© badge adorns the center of the hood and on either side are the Studebaker and Champion badges in grandmother's handwriting. Black wall tires and simple dog dish chromed wheel coverings on all 4 corners and we are all buttoned top and ready to cruise the highways and save some precious fuel with this lightweight sedan. Lovely.
Interior
Swinging the door reveals some of the innovative special use of neat fabrics and materials Studebaker was known for. This does not disappoint as we lead off with the door panels in brown alligator textured uppers and a chrome delineation between what is a light frame square textured cream broadcloth lower. It's subtle but effective and these also includes a small armrest and chromed actuators and cranks. Slipping inside I perch myself on more of the cream broadcloth with that subtle check pattern for the inserts and smooth bolsters. Here the delineation is made with blue piping and blue added on seat belts. A ribbed chromed lower tub trimming is on the bottom finishing off nicely this front bench. A swing of the suicide rear doors that share the B pillar with the front doors and another cream checked broadcloth covered bench awaits my rear's arrival with plenty of room. This rear bench has nice long armrests on the doors and these are covered in the alligator dark brown. Deep pile brown carpeting floods the floors front and rear, and a mohair headliner and pillar liner floats above having no stains or rips. Upfront, the chrome encased dash has plenty of knobs and pulls in a horizontal ribbed trimming on the dash lower. Above is another chromed panel with a trio of backlit black face gauges. In the center is a factory radio and just below this hanging off the bottom of the dash is the "climatizer" heating control. The dash top and front of the passenger are full metal jacket steel painted brown and its peppered with more chrome trimming for extra visual eye candy. A brown bakelite steering wheel with a chromed central horn ring and a rocket nose center in clear plastic with the Studebaker lazy S embedded into it. I'm very impressed that the Studebaker designers did not let me down in this interior. Smashing.
Drivetrain
A flip of the hood and we see an unrestored engine bay in the body matching blue. Within its simple confines sits a 169.6ci L-head 6 cylinder mill. It has a 3-speed manual transmission with overdrive and hill hold on back and a 1-barrel oil bath air cleaner covered carburetor feeding it fossils and air. Way back the final drive is weighing in at 4.10.
Undercarriage
Underneath we see some patina undercoating in black and mostly simple structural steel floor pans and framing. The insides of the rockers is not rusted, and slight oil blowback is noted in the rear axle and lower oil pan oil the engine. Independent coil springs are in front and on back the standard leaf springs. Drum brakes are installed all around. A stock exhaust is noted with no rust.
Drive-Ability
I love these classic Studes, and this one was a quick starter, smooth idler and good overall runner. It shifted easily and the overdrive allows you to easily cruise at highway speeds. The radio was not working but all else was doing so swimmingly.
A nice example from 1949 with slight patina for the dull exterior, nice chrome and a like new interior, all gussied up and restored. A fine runner and some modern conveniences are installed. This car is a keeper!
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.
