1949 Starlight Coupe - the only one here?

[BigB]

Hi, my name is Bjoern and I'm a new member of the "Studebaker Drivers Club". I'm from Germany and I own a 1949 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe (only 5.917 built). I would love to know two things:

1. Is there another model like mine in this fabulous club?

2. On my computer I virtually lowered the suspension of my Stude (in reality it could be done by an air ride system). What do you think of it?

Best regards,

Bjoern



1949 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe

[BRUCESTUDE]

AS A FAN OF THE '47-'52 BODY STYLES, SLAMMING IT LOOKS EXCELLENT! JUST WATCH THOSE SPEED BUMPS.....
THERE ARE ACTUALLY A LOT OF THESE STILL AROUND HERE IN THE STATES, THE STARLIGHTS ARE VERY POPULAR.

[Roscomacaw]

Hi Bjoern,

There's lots of '49 Starlights still around. Some of them are right pretty. But to be specific, I doubt there's one "JUST LIKE" yours.
She looks pretty cool, sittin' low like that. As Bruce said, watch out for speed bumps, curbs and railroad tracks![}] But still - it's sharp-lookin' on the ground like that.
I've always like the blinds in the back windows. Really a classic touch! Have you thought about some fender skirts on that beauty?[?][:0]

Miscreant at large.

[studegary]

Welcome to SDC with a nice car. My records show 24,736 Starlight coupes for 1949 (both Champion and Commander). I just remembered that Fred K. Fox did a feature article on 1947-52 "Starlight" coupes in the February 2005 issue of Turning Wheels. Hopefully you have this issue. If you joined too late for it, you can get a copy from SDC's back issue service. Fred shows (for 1949), 5917 Champion DeLuxe plus 8982 Champion Regal DeLuxe. Is your car a C3 or C5 (found on body plate on engine side of cowl)? Was your car built for export, or was it imported later? There were only 63 '49 Starlight Champion deLuxe built for export (316 Regal DeLuxe). There are many early postwar Starlight coupes in SDC. It is one of the more popular models, both in stock and modified form.

[studegary]

By the way, those neat venetian blinds were a Studebaker accessory (AC-1532, $20).

[Sonny]

quote:Originally posted by BigB

Hi, my name is Bjoern and I'm a new member of the "Studebaker Drivers Club". I'm from Germany and I own a 1949 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe (only 5.917 built). I would love to know two things:

1. Is there another model like mine in this fabulous club?

2. On my computer I virtually lowered the suspension of my Stude (in reality it could be done by an air ride system). What do you think of it?

Best regards,

Bjoern

1949 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe

I think it looks WILD Bjoern! VERY cool!

Sonny

http://RacingStudebakers.com

[raprice]

May I offer my compliments on such a fine looking Stude. Other than the suspension change, is the car otherwise stock? Looks like a Champion.
Beautiful paint job.
Rog

[Bandit]

Fantastic looking; Wie Schoen !!

Although I am probably biased, I have a postwar '51 Champion myself .. [8D]

[BigB]

@MR. BIGGS: I already thought about some fender skirts for my Stude, but I'm not sure yet where to find them! Do you have any ideas?

@STUDEGARY: I think I'll order the specific issue of february you mean, sounds interesting. The body plate says: 8G C5 3299, Gary. The car wasn't built for export, I bought it in North California. So it's not one of the 63 or 316 built for export. Can we as SDC-Members get a list of the SDC-Members cars?

@SONNY: Thanks a lot, Sonny!

@STUDEROGER: Hi Rog! The car is totally stock, including the suspension. I did that on the computer just to think about, whether I should change the suspension to air-ride or not. That's right: It's a Champion Regal Deluxe Starlight Coupe. The paint job, when you see it in reality, is - let's say - "okay". The is some rust on the lower end of both doors and a little on the trunk lid.

@BANDIT: I love the 1950/51 Stude with their bullett nose!!! Reallly cool cars!!! Before this one I also thought of buying this cool model year! Your Stude is a "Heisses Gefaehrt!" (which means something like "cool car" in german!

Best regards,

Bjoern

1949 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe

[Roscomacaw]

Look at your Turning Wheels Classified ads. Wisconsin Studebaker offers fender skirts for your car.

You can buy the latest SDC roster on a CD and find 49 Champion Starlight owners via it.

Miscreant at large.

[studegary]

Being a 1949 Champion Regal DeLuxe Starlight (8G C5), your car is the 3299th body of that model, out of a total of 8982. The 5499 number that you quote is for the Champion DeLuxe Starlight (7G C3), not the Regal DeLuxe that you have. You can get a copy of the build sheet for your particular car from the Studebaker National Museum. Your February issue of Turning Wheels may still be coming to you in the mail if you recently joined SDC. If not, you can order it as a back issue.

[Bandit]

Wunderbar BigB !!

Yes I know a little German, I once dated a girl from Cuxhaven,(norden von Bremen). You have a great car and a beautiful country, where are you from ? I particularly enjoyed Heidelberg and the Bonn/Koeln area.

Here are a few pix of my '51. It's not nearly as nice as your car, mine is a plain Jane, but she's completely stock. It's a mint green colour, with my crappy camera it looks almost white in a couple of the pictures.

[raprice]

Bandit,
Your car looks to be a Custom '51 business coupe. From here it looks great.
Do you have the April, 2001 "Turning Wheels" magazine? There's a good article on all the '51s.
Rog

[Sonny]

That is one gorgeous bulletnose Bandit! Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Sonny

http://RacingStudebakers.com

[Roscomacaw]

Hey! I've got one of those! [:0] Wish mine looked like that. It's all in pieces now tho.

Pretty car. Looks like a shapely, green after-dinner mint! [^]

Miscreant at large.