Single Digit Body Numbers

[Desert Explorer]

How low is "really low"?

Curious if its in the single digits myself...

[kurtruk]

Just opened up a tool box that's been stashed in my garage for over a decade. Forgot all about this. I got it off James Bond's car:



The car was on the Central Coast of California. The body was gone back of the dash. The car/chassis had been used to power really big generator mounted over the rear axle. It was collapsing the rusty frame. Headed to the crusher, they had used a forklift fork to break the hood latch open and yank out the radiator for the copper value. The only thing I found worth saving was the starter core.

Notice further up in this thread that the '49 Champion convertible starts with "1" (no zeroes precede it), but this '47 starts with two zeroes. More questions, less answers.

[8E45E]

Notice further up in this thread that the '49 Champion convertible starts with "1" (no zeroes precede it), but this '47 starts with two zeroes. More questions, less answers.

Here is another tag preceded with a '0': https://forum.studebakerdriversclub....ry-Body-Number

Craig

[studegary]

Just opened up a tool box that's been stashed in my garage for over a decade. Forgot all about this. I got it off James Bond's car:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]83795[/ATTACH]

The car was on the Central Coast of California. The body was gone back of the dash. The car/chassis had been used to power really big generator mounted over the rear axle. It was collapsing the rusty frame. Headed to the crusher, they had used a forklift fork to break the hood latch open and yank out the radiator for the copper value. The only thing I found worth saving was the starter core.

Notice further up in this thread that the '49 Champion convertible starts with "1" (no zeroes precede it), but this '47 starts with two zeroes. More questions, less answers.

That tag is for a 1949 Champion Deluxe 2 door sedan, not a "'47".

[kurtruk]

That tag is for a 1949 Champion Deluxe 2 door sedan, not a "'47".

Gary, the first number is a "6", not an "8".

[RadioRoy]

Many years ago in the San Francisco bay area a beautiful 50 Champion starlight coupe appeared on the "for sale" circuit. It had an excellent dark green paint job and a not too bad, new grey cloth interior. But what got me was the body tag. It had the "cal" streamer on it and it was also body number 4. Yes, number 4.

Sure wish there had been someone around who knew anything about it. But the various owners that it went through in the course of several months were not interested in or knowledgeable of Studebakers, nor were they the least bit focused on anything but selling it for as much as they could get. Fortunately, at least one of the "flippers" lost money fairly big time for the day. As I recall the asking/transaction/auction prices were $2200, $2400, and $900, in that order. The last price was at Harrah's auction in the days before the whole swap meet and auction morphed into hot August nights.

The year was around 1978-1980 or so, when old car prices were rising rapidly around here. In those days, every two bit hustler was trying to make a killing in the old car market. I was glad when they got taken for a ride, but always wonder what happened to that car.

[StudeRich]

Ahh, the Days of the Cadillac Eldorado Convertible hoarders waiting to be Millionaires!

[studegary]

Gary, the first number is a "6", not an "8".

Thanks. I guess that I couldn't see it clearly enough. The left side of the number did not look straight to me.