Grandpa's first car (1941 Studebaker Champion)

[Prairie]

Hello SDC,
My name is Prairie and I have recently gotten a house. This is important because I finally have a place to store (use) all of the stuff my grandfather left after he died a decade ago. He was a collector at heart and enjoyed covering his basement with knick-nacks like coins, pocket knives, ukelele's and such, his largest piece was his first car that he bought from his own father in 1950.

This 1941 Studebaker was a work horse for years and after decades of abuse / storage he decided to get the bucket he was using as a seat replaced with actual seating and get the car running. This was completed and he was very happy to see it. Unfortunately he died a year later due to health complications. My grandmother has kept it in the garage for the last decade waiting for me to own a garage to take it.

I am excited to be able to restore this vehicle and I'm also grateful that grandpa kept the owners manual and shop manual. It hasn't been run in a decade and I intend to document my journey to get this in good running condition.

To start with, I need to replace all liquid in the car, replace the battery and learn how to start this thing to see where it is at. Also found out there is about 50 spider eggs under this thing, so I might need a flamethrower first ( pressure wash and leaf blower more likely).

Any suggestions or help is appreciated. Thank you.

[StudeRich]

Welcome to the SDC, and to the SDC Forum Prairie !

You will find lots of help here with your starting and improving the long stored '41 Champion's condition.
It is a very Nice looking 2 Door Sedan so possibly rust repair and Body work will not even be considered.

The FIRST thing to know about starting a long stored vehicle is: DO NOT, that is until you properly lubricate and free up moving parts like Pistons and Valves that may be stuck and cause damage.

Then of course you know that after doing that, and BEFORE driving it, Rebuild the complete Brake System.

It's good that you have the Shop Manual, but the most help will be from getting the Studebaker Chassis Parts Catalog, as it is an Outstanding, informative Publication to view pictures of all the Parts, properly identify them by Name, Part Number and view their sequence of assembly, Very helpful to know Exactly what you are dealing with.

Documents and Parts are here:
https://studebakervendors.com

[Prairie]

Thanks for the advice. The first thing I intend to do this weekend is, after cleaning it a little more, replace all fluids and do a deep look at the brake system. Definitely don't want to have it start rolling only to learn it wont stop.

I actually do have a copy of the Parts catalog. I think I might have every available manual for the car.

[Studebaker Wheel]

I have owned more than a half dozen 1941 Champions in the past 60 years and currently have two, both coupes. Have lots of original literature, parts, memorabilia etc. I authored a 4000 word article with 30+ photos covering the 1941-46 Champions that appeared in the April 2011 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine (copies likely available on Ebay). Also have started a site on Facebook on the 1941 Studebakers, all models, see: 1941 Studebaker cars all models | Facebook Not much on the '41 Champions that I don't have.

[willys54]

Great story and beautiful car. I have a '41 Champion Coupe as well as a '41 Champion 4dr Sedan parts car so I'm a '41 Champion fan as well. Previous poster 'Studebaker Wheel' aka: Richard Quinn is an invaluable resource on pre-war Stude's and has helped me out many times over the years with questions, advise and even the procurement of a scarce '41 Champion part I needed. You will find good Company here and best of luck with getting her back on the road.

[52-fan]

A 41 Champion coupe has long been one of my favorite Studebaker designs. Yours looks like a fine car and should be a nice ride with a little attention to waking it up. Welcome to the group.

[Henry]

Prairie - Getting to know Richard Quinn would be a great idea. You won't find a better brain to pick in Studebakerdom, IMHO. Mokena isn't that far from Cedar Rapids. Oh, and in '24 the International Meet will be in Dubuque.

[Mark L]

Prairie, thank you for sharing your story.

Two things to keep in mind when you remove the wheels and brake drums to check the brakes:

1) Many cars of that era, including Studebakers, originally had left hand thread lugs and lug nuts on the right side. The old saying "lefty loosey righty tighty" applies to right hand threads, NOT for left hand threads. It's the opposite for left hand threads: rightly loosey lefty tighty. When you remove and tighten the wheel lugs, make sure you turn them in the correct direction, or else you could accidentally snap the lugs off.

2) The rear drums have a tapered center bore and are pressed onto the matching tapered axle ends by the axle nut when the axle nut is tightened. It takes a special brake drum puller to remove this kind of drum. If you don't have one, most auto parts stores don't have this style of puller for sale or to rent. Search this Forum for past posts that describe the right way to remove and install the rear brake drums.

[Prairie]

This is very good knowledge to have. And also kinda hilarious thinking about.

[nvonada]

Prarie,
Great car! Our stories are similar, my 41 Champion also used to belong to my grandfather. They are even similar colors! I keep a website blog of the work I do on the car going back to dragging it home, that might be useful to you. 1941 Studebaker Champion | Living with an old Studebaker (vonadatech.com). Mine is a coupe rather than a 2-door sedan, but otherwise very similar. Best of luck with your project!
Nathan

[Prairie]

I actually did find your site before and intend to use it to help me visualize what I'm looking at, thank you.

[Prairie]

Hello again,
I would love to start on my journey to fix my Studebaker, keeping in mind all of the helpful advice, But it is, unfortunately, 100 degrees with heavy humidity for the next week. Instead I have been reading the Owners manual in preparation and to see if I can understand all of the buttons and dials. Here are a few of my favorite lines in the manual.

The first being, that to properly manual crank the engine will require I either push it or tow it to ensure the engine can crank properly. I will be doing this after I ensure the brake system works so I can have someone in the seat when I 'crank' the engine.

The last is a reminder that the vehicle does not have signal lights, so I will need to use my arms to signal. It is almost comical to me how low tech the vehicle is.

I might have to get a garage air con to effectively work on the car if this heat doesn't let up soon

[ddub]

Growing up in the 50s, push starting a car was SOP. My friends and I often had cars with week or unreliable batteries.

I think the 41 style was one of Studebakers greatest. Take good care and enjoy it.

[nvonada]

Prairie,
I would not try to push-start it for your first time out. If it were mine, I would do this:

• Pull the plugs
• Disconnect the fuel line
• Turn the engine over by hand to make sure it is free and nothing horrible is happening
• Check the oil. If it is not perfect, change it. If it is perfect, change soon anyway.
• Drain whatever is in the tank that used to be gasoline. If it is full of crap (and it probably will be), rig a temporary tank that gravity feeds into the carb
• Clean the points(drag a bit of index card or something between them)
• Hook up a battery (6v, positive is ground)
• Try and crank it over and see if you have spark at the coil and make sure the exhaust is not plugged
• Put a plug in it and see if you have spark at the plugs
• Replace the plugs
• Start it! It may run like crap, but it should at least try if it ran when parked.
• If there is no coolant don't run it too long.
• Don't trust the wiring. Disconnect the battery whenever you are not next to it.

After that it depends. It probably needs new ignition parts, may need the tank flushed and sealed, may need new hoses, freeze plugs, who knows. The service manual also has all the lubrication points on the car. There are approximately a million of them and you should visit all, often some have been neglected for decades.

If you think about it, low-tech is relative! This car has automatic choke, safety glass, 4-wheel hydraulic brakes, automatic spark advance, sealed beam headlights, maybe overdrive, and the tranny is partially synchronized. Most of those were rare even a few years before it was made.

Nathan