How many on the road?

[Tbatson]

I just finished my 56 Studebaker Champion 4dr sd. after 2 years of work and am now finally enjoying having it back on the road after a 24 year rest in my barn. I recently saw a similar 56 on e-bay. The seller said that he had his appraised in 2002 and at that time there were only 36 registered in the US. How can I find out if I happen to have a rare survivor?
Thanks, Tom

[DEEPNHOCK]

You can buy a copy of the build sheet for your actual car from the Studebaker National Museum.
That will tell you exactly how your car was equipped.
There are several people here on the forum that can look up the actual production figures for your year and model.
Your model is a lower trim level model that was produced in fairly large quantities...as Stude's go.
Having an unmolested original vehicle definitely brings the interest level up for Stude types, but that rarely equates to monetary value, especially on sedans.
Hope the info helps, and I look forward to the replies.
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by Tbatson

I just finished my 56 Studebaker Champion 4dr sd. after 2 years of work and am now finally enjoying having it back on the road after a 24 year rest in my barn. I recently saw a similar 56 on e-bay. The seller said that he had his appraised in 2002 and at that time there were only 36 registered in the US. How can I find out if I happen to have a rare survivor?
Thanks, Tom

[JDP]

I would not pay much attention to some of the claims made on ebay.It is possibe only a few dozen 4 door Champion are registered, but perhaps a few 1000 56 sedans of all models survive in any shape.
As Jeff said, rarity often does not equate to value.i.e. there may be many more 56 Hawks registered then sedans, but they still are more collectable.

Studebaker On The Net http://stude.com
Studebaker News Group

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.autos.studebaker

64 Daytona HT
64 Daytona Convert.
64 R2 4 speed Challenger
63 R2 4 speed GT Hawk
63 R1 GT Hawk
63 Avanti R1/AC
63 Avanti R2/4 speed
62 Daytona HT
62 Lark 2 door
60 Hawk

[Tbatson]

Thanks, Jeff. I know it's not worth that much. I guess what I was wondering is that because this car was basically the bottom of the line model it probably didn't see restoration interest as say the Hawk or President.

[mbstude]

We have a nice 56 Champ two door we drive quite often.

Matthew Burnette, the 16 year old Stude nut.
South Georgia Chapter Newsletter Editor
63 Daytona HT (project)
51 2R16 dump truck (yes, I won the raffle)
52 Commander Starliner (basket case)(will trade for another Stude <g&gt
MANY more Studes in the family and a few parts cars.
Click my name and check out "Links".

[Roscomacaw]

I believe there's more 1956 Champions listed in the SDC roster than 36![^]

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[studegary]

There were 44,697 Studebaker four door sedans built for the 1956 model year. I don't have the breakout here, but I would guess that more than half of those were Champion models. Fred K. Fox's Turning Wheels feature article covering these should give you all the facts and figures that you want. If you don't have that issue, see if it is available from this site.

Estimates can be made, but no one knows "how many on the road." You can come up with a minimum number by counting those listed in the SDC Roster. Many SDC people do not, or are unable to, list all of their cars. Many Studebakers are owned by people that do not belong to SDC, as hard as that is to imagine <G>. Many states do not release current registration information. Many cars are driven on dealer's or transporter's plates and do not show up in registration numbers.

Gary L.
1954 Commander Starliner (restomod)
1959 DeLuxe pickup (restomod)

[DEEPNHOCK]

Thanks Gary. I knew someone would have the numbers....
See Tom.. This is an amazing resource, isn't it?[]
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by studegary

There were 44,697 Studebaker four door sedans built for the 1956 model year. I don't have the breakout here, but I would guess that more than half of those were Champion models. Fred K. Fox's Turning Wheels feature article covering these should give you all the facts and figures that you want. If you don't have that issue, see if it is available from this site.

Estimates can be made, but no one knows "how many on the road." You can come up with a minimum number by counting those listed in the SDC Roster. Many SDC people do not, or are unable to, list all of their cars. Many Studebakers are owned by people that do not belong to SDC, as hard as that is to imagine <G>. Many states do not release current registration information. Many cars are driven on dealer's or transporter's plates and do not show up in registration numbers.

Gary L.
1954 Commander Starliner (restomod)
1959 DeLuxe pickup (restomod)

[imported_n/a]

Yeah, those figures about how many are left are most likely inaccurate. The figures were probably estimated based upon the number of titled or registered vehicles in a state that allows access to their database, and then guesstimated (as far as nationally) by the people who vend these "facts" for a fee.