63 Champ Questions

[63Champ]

I have a 63 Champ that I feel might need a new home and I have a couple of questions. First off, it is a 63 Champ that has been in my family since it was new. It has the 259 with a T10 4 speed and is pretty solid except for the floor pans. I put all new brakes on it and then discovered the pans were completly rotten.

I have tried to replace them myself but things just are not lining up and I dont have the time or room for this project anymore. The truck was shipped from CA to NC with the pans shot and I feel like the cab is not straight anymore from being bounced around for 3000 miles...(the doors do shut fine and gaps are good though)

The bench seat is in good shape but the rest of the interior will need to be gone through. As for glass, the passenger window will need to be replaced.

The motor runs great and only has 72000 miles on it.

It has American racing wheels but the tires will need to be replaced...

Any ball park idea what a truck in this condition would be worth or is it worth sending out to a shop and having the pans replaced?

Thanks in advance!!

[Bo Markham]

Is the truck a short box, or long? How'd it come to have a T-10 installed? If the doors shut fine and line up, then what is there that gives you the impression the cab is not straight? Usually, if the cab has sagged at the body mount and is out of square the doors do not fit or close correctly and in some instance wind shields have been known to crack.

If the floor pans the only significant problem the little truck has, it would certainly be worth it to have the floors professionally installed. Also, if there are any problems with the cab they would be able to determine that as well and correct it.

As for it's worth, really what someone would be willing to pay you for it. Since it's been in the family since new, priceless. In general, in the condition you've described, it's a project worth perhaps between $1,000.00 and $2,000.00. Then you have to consider what's involved in transportation to any potential new home. Unfortunately, these little trucks don't have the big following that some of the others have and up against the big three offerings all ways get short shaft.

[swvalcon]

If the doors all line up and when you stand back and look at he truck if the cab looks straight and level I would say the cab has not moved. Most of the floor pans that you buy dont fit very good. I've had better luck making my own. Is this a fender side box or the ugly dodge box?

[63Champ]

I am assuming it had a three on the tree as the shifter base is still there (my dad put in the T10). I bought the pans from a site recommended on here and they are a qualilty product but the problem is that if I line up the seam on the firewall with the new pan, there is a huge gap where the pan comes down to the rocker panel.

I have done floor pans before(65 mustang) but never where the body mount went through the pan. It is the long box with what I would call fleet side (not step side).

I am also trying to do this with the body still on the frame and only going back to where the seat mounts are.

I will see if I can upload some pictures so you guys can see what I am dealing with. If I can do it myself I would probably keep the truck as they really are cool vehicles.

Thanks.

[Alan]

You will find that those pans are made to have the old ones removed completely, especially the front 3/4. If the floors are rotten the rockers will have to be replaced too. This is mine and I had to do it on a rotisserie, not a fun job.

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[studeclunker]

I know what you mean about the body shifting. When you drive the truck the whole thing will move around. Doors still close, everything works as it should, but the body is sagging forward.
The body for this truck is actually the forward half of a four-door sedan. If you open the hood and look towards the bottom of the firewall you will see two body mounts that just kind of hang there. They normally attach to the sedan frame, however the truck frame doesn't match up, so they are about four inches short of it. I found that forcing a wooden block between each of those and securing it to the body mount helped considerably with the body flexing. It also lifts the body back into the proper position. Bad floors are a common problem with Studebakers that have been left out in the weather a lot.

The '63 model year saw a lot of improvements to the Champ. You have a really nice truck. Best of everything with it!

[Ron Dame]

I know what you mean about the body shifting. When you drive the truck the whole thing will move around. Doors still close, everything works as it should, but the body is sagging forward.
The body for this truck is actually the forward half of a four-door sedan. If you open the hood and look towards the bottom of the firewall you will see two body mounts that just kind of hang there. They normally attach to the sedan frame, however the truck frame doesn't match up, so they are about four inches short of it. I found that forcing a wooden block between each of those and securing it to the body mount helped considerably with the body flexing. It also lifts the body back into the proper position. Bad floors are a common problem with Studebakers that have been left out in the weather a lot.

The '63 model year saw a lot of improvements to the Champ. You have a really nice truck. Best of everything with it!

Unfortunately, for the 8E's (1963 and 1964) the changes in the steering gear forced Studebaker to cut the remnants of the sedan mounts away on the drivers side and on mine anyway, on the passenger side as well. Hack might be a better word than cut.

[Alan]

It looks like a Ox-Acetaling torch cut.

[studeclunker]

?That's unfortunate. I hadn't heard this about the '63-4 Champs. Well, then the only solution is to lift the body somehow so that those panels will line up. With the body sagging forwards, they won't match up. Perhaps jacking the body up a bit (though evenly, on a level surface) may put the orientation of the floor such that the panels will fit somewhat better?

[jackb]

To answer your question, I'll echo Bo's remarks on value.

[shayne354]

If you do decide to sell plz let me know. I've got a 64 I'm starting to restore and would be interested in a second