Bullet Nose

[Poot]

[Chris Pile]

To start with the 1950 Champions had inline 6 engines - Champion engines, to be exact. I believe the Commanders and Land Cruisers had larger inline 6 engines.

In 1951, the Commanders and Land Cruisers were furnished with V8 engines. The Land Cruisers had a 3 inch longer wheelbase, if I remember correctly.

And unless the 50 and 51's you look at are complete junk, expect to pay at least 4k for a restorable car.

Now, the real experts will be along soon with better info. Welcome to the forum!

[Bullet]

One additional piece of information that I would add before the experts, is that the front suspension on the 50 is unique to 50. the 51 suspension lasted through to the end - 66.

Mark

[clonelark]

Try this page for information,http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1950-1951-studebaker3.htm

[61LaRk4dr]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Good to hear you want to get a stude, and especially a bullet nose. As a few have already said: The Champion had a smaller six cylinder and the Commander and Land Cruiser had a V-8 introduced in 1951. The Land Cruiser for both 1950 and in 1951 had longer wheel bases and were considered the top of the line 4-door sedan. I will have to let the experts chime in on the 1950 models, but I believe a larger six cylinder went into at least the Land Cruiser....maybe the Commander??? While the Champion still had a smaller six cylinder. Many will tell you (and I learned the hard way) very few parts are interchangeable between 1950 and 1951. You will need to be cautious of this. Plus there seems to be some people who will prefer one of the "looks" over the other so do you research.

I am juggling around the idea of selling my 1951 Land Cruiser which is in very nice restorable condition (it does run) and interior is all original spotless. But, I would be looking at least $5500 for it....and I am still thinking about selling or not. The boss in the family would like to believe that I have no time to dedicate to restoring this vehicle.....I would like say otherwise.

Best of luck, and I am sure many more knowledgeable guys will chime in shortly.

[StudeRich]

The Commander 245 C.I.D. "Big Six" IS what makes the '50 Commanders and Land Cruisers "Commanders".
These Engines are as Tough and bulletproof as they get, and have very decent Torque.

But that is just the Start, the Larger and heavier Car requires Larger brakes, rear axle, different Suspension and has Longer front Fenders with much Larger Headlight Rims and Parking Lights.

You can relate a Champion to a Chev. Ford or Plymouth, whereas a Commander is in the Buick, Olds, Mercury, Desoto Price and Luxury level Class.

[Corvanti]

i have a '51 Champion Business Coupe. as said above, parts for a '51 are easier to find since a lot of them continued to the end of production of Studebaker.

i think that given your price point, a '51 would be the way to go!

[6hk71400]

1950 Champions used a 4 bolt wheel pattern that year and back but 51's used the same wheel. The late Earle Haley had mentioned that the suspension on the 1950 Champion was not as heavy duty as the "upper models" and could be fragile in one of his co-operator columns in Turning Wheels, the Clubs monthly magazine.

As with use over the years, and this is not confined to Studebaker, any car can develop stress cracks and need to be replaced. There are vendors in the club that have brand new 15 inch wheels that will fit the 51 but not the 50.

Not an expert, just have a bunch of trivial knowledge floating around.

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[Studebaker Ron]

I have a 1950 Champion under construction so I lean to the 50 but both are very nice cars. The 51 has a one piece windscreen and the 50 was produced in both 1 and 2 piece windscreens. I have one with a split window and like the look. In addition the 50 has a more drastic looking front end and the 51 was refined a little more. You cannot go wrong with a 50 or 51 as both look good just up to you my friend.

Ron