I picked up my car today and also joined the club.

[50Champ]

Today was an interesting day. First, I woke up at 3 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. At 7 AM my wife dropped me off at a small airport in Louisville where I met the spine surgeon who she works for and who had agreed to fly me up to a small airport in Greenwood, Indiana-just south of Indianapolis-in his 1979 Cessna for FREE. I'm not a big fan of flying and my palms were sweating the whole time but we made it up there in 45 minutes. The guy I was buying the car from (Mark Neitzel, the son of the late former SDC member David Neitzel) met us at the airport and gave us a ride to his home in Mooresville. The car looked a lot better in person than in the pics in the Ebay auction and it ran real smooth too. I traded him a big stack of hundreds for the title and keys while the doctor looked at several other old Studes from the 1920s that he was selling from his father's estate, including a children's hearse. (It was only 5 feet long in back and in outstanding condition.) Then we took off in my new ride and I drove the doctor back to the Greenwood airport, and got on I-65 south and cruised home at 60 mph for about the next 3 hours with a couple of stops at rest areas for cold drinks. The car ran real nice in the 90 degree sun, and everything except the radio and lighter works on it, including all the gauges, lights, horn, speedo, parking brake, etc. When I got home about 1:30 I had driven it 145 miles on a little less than half a tank of gas. After a well-deserved 45 minute nap I took a few pics, so here they are...







Could this be the original spare tire?



Why is there some Spanish on it?



I guess David liked ooga horns....



Guess which one is for sale....



Is this an original build sheet?



This is where it was purchased new....



How do I know that?



and....






1950 Champion 2 Dr. Sedan

[Mark57]

Neat story - great pics, thanks for sharing! [8D] And welcome.[^]

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar Deluxe
Vancouver Island

Are you planning to attend the NW Overdrive Tour in Parksville, BC
May 23 & 24, 2009?</h5>

[lstude]

Neat car, thanks for sharing.

What is the "SOFA" on the build sheet?

It was built 58 years ago this month. It must have been at the very end of the 50 models.

I am sure Bob Palma will like to see that dealership picture!

Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/

[Gary1953]

Welcome to the club. You have agreat looking car. I would say the built sheet is a repo. The spare looks like it could be the original to me. I had a 1950 four door for over 30 years. I enjoyed mine and I know you will yours also.


Gary Sanders
Nixa, MO
President Toy Studebaker Collectors Club. Have an interest in Toy Studebakers? Contact me for details.

[2R5]

Very nice car you bought ! Welcome to the club and enjoy your Stude

HOME of THE FRIED GREEN TOMATO
"IF YOU WANT THE SMILES YOU NEED TO DO THE MILES "

1950 2R5
1960 Champ
1964 Daytona HT

[billmdonn]

Nice car. Good story. Happy ending. Who could asked for anything more.

[railway]

Now you need to drive it over to Lancaster, next month. Going to be a great time, have not been to an international meet that wasn't fun.

Ebon...
[img][/img]

[BobPalma]

Geeze, Dave; why didn't you just say it was David Neitzel's '50 Champion? I know the car well and have for many years. It is an excellent car and has been well-maintained and kept-up. You'll enjoy it immensely, as you already are. A good buy no matter what you paid for it.

Did Mark tell you the interesting story about how his father acquired the car? Maybe not, so here it is, straight from David Neitzel's vocal cords to my ears shortly after David bought it:

Seems as though David was on the near east side of Indianapolis one day and stopped in a Kroger store on East Tenth Street in an area known as Linwood Square.

Now that doesn't mean much to you, but if you'll look on the deck lid of your new Champion, you'll see a dealer tag that says Roy Gale Motors / Indianapolis on it. Roy Gale Motors was located on East Tenth Street in Indianapolis only three blocks west of that Kroger store where David Neitzel stopped.

As it turned out, your Champion's original "little old lady" owner had bought the car new at Roy Gale, still lived in the neighborhood late into the 1990s, and decided to finally sell her '50 Champion when she just got too old to drive.

So she put a 3X5 index card on the Kroger bulletin board, advertising it for sale barely three blocks from where she bought it brand new. David Neitzel happened on the index card the very day she placed it there...and the rest is history!

Now, if you are ever back up here in Indianapolis (I'm just NW of Indianapolis in Brownsburg), find the intersection of East Tenth Street and North Sherman Drive. Go to the auto repair shop in the neat-looking period building on the south side of East Tenth Street, one business east of Sherman Drive. That quaint facility, looking very much like the day that lady bought the car in 1950, was Roy Gale Motors. The building still stands in good condition, is still used as an auto repair facility, and is little changed from the days when it was Roy Gale Motors.

So now, so soon after you bought the car, you know "the rest of the story," and I'm not even Paul Harvey! (But as a teen-ager, I spent many days in 1962 oogling new Studebakers at Roy Gale Motors...and in 1963 and 1964, when it was Childers Studebaker.) BP

[50Champ]

Thanks for the info, Bob. That was a great story but I think Mark was too busy to tell many stories today. He told us about the other cars on the way to his house from the Greenwood airport, but when we got there he and his brother were both busy trying to get a couple of the other Studes started. It must have been destiny that David happened to see that ad the same day it was posted. I'll bet he got a great deal on it. If you have any other info on my new ride please let me know. Do you think that's the original spare tire in the trunk? Did they come with Firestones on them when they were new? Thanks again for the great story....

1950 Champion 2 Dr. Sedan

[BobPalma]

quote:Originally posted by lstude

Neat car, thanks for sharing.

What is the "SOFA" on the build sheet?

It was built 58 years ago this month. It must have been at the very end of the 50 models.

I am sure Bob Palma will like to see that dealership picture!

Leonard Shepherd

Leonard: SOFA was Studebaker's shorthand code name for 1950 Champion Deluxe 2-door sedan. Having code names like that saved money when sending telegrams, which were priced by word or letter.

See my "rest of the story" I was composing immediately after David posted these photos.

This Champion makes two confirmed cars in SDC from that dealership.

Member Jeff Bradel of Centreville VA owns a black 1963 R2/4-speed, full-package Daytona convertible delivered new from that dealership when it was Childers Studebaker...a car I know well because I watched Childers' Salesman Jim Franklin drag-race it at Indianapolis Raceway Park in the summer of '63![:0]

When Jeff was in Indianapolis on business several years ago, I picked him up at his downtown hotel and took him out to see the building. He couldn't believe how "original" and "1963" it looked. BP

[BobPalma]

quote:Originally posted by 50Champ

Thanks for the info, Bob. That was a great story but I think Mark was too busy to tell many stories today. He told us about the other cars on the way to his house from the Greenwood airport, but when we got there he and his brother were both busy trying to get a couple of the other Studes started. It must have been destiny that David happened to see that ad the same day it was posted. I'll bet he got a great deal on it. If you have any other info on my new ride please let me know. Do you think that's the original spare tire in the trunk? Did they come with Firestones on them when they were new? Thanks again for the great story....

1950 Champion 2 Dr. Sedan

Dave: If you knew David Neitzel, you'd know he just seemed to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time and chancing onto cars like that; he was quite a character. Honest, I have no idea what he paid for it, but he was a decent guy and I doubt he would beat her up real bad on it.

He always enjoyed that Champion and, as I said, kept it in good operating order. It shouldn't have very much wrong with it from an operational standpoint; I'm sure David drove it within the last 18 months.

I cannot confirm if that is an original spare tire. It is possible, but I'd have to examine it more carefully than can be seen in the photo. I wouldn't rule it out.

Yes, Firestones were frequently the OEM tire on Studebakers of that era.

Enjoy! BP

[StudeRich]

That is a real keeper! That's a beautiful car, and I am not a fan of bullet noses! It's a very historic car with the Dealer nameplate and documentation.

Also it is now a very well equipped car, having the O.D. and hill Holder from the factory, and the Premium 8 Tube Push Button Radio, Climatizer, Lighter and the front and rear bumper over-riders, spotlight, turn signals, wheel trim rings etc. added by the Dealer & Owner, really a good score!

And if that spare is not original, I can tell you this, it is as close as you are ever going to find, it should say 6.40X15, and almost all were Firestone gum dipped Deluxe Champions!

OH! one little thing you should learn to remember! I see the car is parked with the Parking Brake applied, IN O.D. and in NEUTRAL!

Try not to ever do that! An Overdrive car will roll when IN Overdrive and a forward gear, and if the Parking Brake is out of Adjustment, the slope too steep or it gets tapped it definitely WILL! You ALWAYS want to put it in REVERSE when parking it. Because of the Starter Safety switch under the clutch, when started it will not lurch backward unless you forget and dump the clutch. I only mention that, because people who are used to driving Automatics daily do sometimes forget!

Jeez! I am starting to sound like our Professional, Proverbial nit-picker... Mr. Battery hold down Palma! LOL! -Sorry about that! [:I]

StudeRich -Studebakers Northwest Ferndale, WA

[sals54]

Dave,
Great find on the car and congratulations. It looks like a jewel that will be good fun to drive and show off.

sals54

[showbizkid]

That is a gorgeous car! Glad to see it's going to stay in the SDC. You've got a real beauty there! (I wonder if those are original 1950 clothespins on the fuel line?)


[img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

Clark in San Diego
'63 F2/Lark Standard

http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

https://www.studebakersandiego.com

[50Champ]

quote:Originally posted by StudeRich
And if that spare is not original, I can tell you this, it is as close as you are ever going to find, it should say 6.40X15 I think unless they used 6.00's that year, and most all were Firestone gum dipped Deluxe Champions!

Yes, it's a 6.40x15, so I guess that means it's probably 58 years old. I know I can't run it with the radials that are on it now but it will look great at car shows. My Rambler is also a 3 on the tree with OD so I know about putting it in reverse when I park it, but when it's sitting on my front lawn the chances of it getting rear-ended are pretty slim. Thanks for the info...........Dave

1950 Champion 2 Dr. Sedan