1962 Champ - 7E7-122

[Buzzard]

Patrick,
What a cool story (and truck!). Thankfully you are the correct person to continue it's preservation and legacy well into the future.
You should be very proud.
Bill

[62champ]

So from what I have able to understand, 1962 (7E) was the first year for Studebaker where the Champ pickup came with a single color interior for both the seat covers and door panels, regardless of the outside paint color. In '60 and '61, there were choices.

That being said, it was a one year only offering - 1963 (8E) had a different color and vinyl than '62.

This is what an original '62 Champ interior would look like when new:



My Champ spent 33 years, literally, down on the farm. The only soft bits left when my Uncle bought the truck were the padded dash (always covered in some kind of mail/paper/other items) and the headliner. The seat had been recovered (a number of times) and the door panels were pretty bad. My Uncle could have gone back with an original color and theme, but decided to do something to match the color a little better.

Good friend of his had been in the upholstery business for years, so Mr. Eisfeld made him seat cover and door panels - using the chrome pieces off another Studebaker door panel.



And by 2013, almost 20 years later, they were starting to show their age.



Knowing I would have a next to impossible time finding both NOS door panels and seat covers, I decided to go a little different route and started looking for NOS deluxe '62 Y4 door panels and seat covers. They would have the same design as the truck soft parts, but would be a little different, which would be ok.

Door panel:



Seat skins loose and unattached:



In the fall of 2013, a sneaky friend surprised me with a local upholstery shop that installed them on my old seat:





With the seat out, also used an old floor mat to cut and fit the small pieces of rubber floor mat that run along the step panel.





This is how the interior ended up turning out. Also took the opportunity to put in lap belts.

[jackb]

Notice the wood blocks....

[62champ]

The other trucks I have seen to this level of tear down always had a single piece on each side - not sure if my Uncle made these four pieces because the originals were too far gone.

[jackb]

My 62' had a long piece on both sides. I cut both diagonally, lengthwise, to tilt forward and get the back of the seat off the rear panel on mixed terrain.

[62champ]

Great idea - these seats do have quite a rack to the rear - tilt forward would not hurt anything. The other Champ pickup I had was equipped with the long pieces as well. My suspicion is this truck originally had them, but when it was restored, there was so little left that new pieces were made.

[62champ]

For as long as I can remember, the heater valve on the truck has not "worked" - ie., it would not move. However, that does not mean coolant did not go through the heater core. Driving the truck one day and sitting in the passenger seat, my Uncle commented about how hot his feet were getting - some hot air was blowing out of the heater plenum. Coolant was getting around the plunger in the valve and circulating through the heater. Easiest way to fix was to put a manual twist on/off valve inline on one of the heater hoses - worked.

Finally decided last Fall to go ahead and pull off the old valve and send it off to be fixed.



Off it went to Superior, Wisconsin, to be rebuilt by Joe Hudacek - heatervalves.net.

This is what the return product looked like:

[StudeRich]

WOW! he didn't just repair it, he Re-manufactured it! Those are brand New Inlet & Outlet Tubes in it.
I am sure that cost more than a NOS replacement and would be about 60 Years fresher.

I never liked those '58 to '60 Car and Champ Truck Heater Valves because the leverage is all wrong for the Cable to easily pull them and all I have had never worked or the Graphite packing leaked like an old fashioned Plumbing Valve or faucet and got replaced with "Forever" Brass Ball Valves for much easier, smoother action.

[62champ]

Did some electrical refurbishment on the truck. As far as I know, the generator had never been out of the truck since the motor was put in during 1973. Took it and the regulator to a local small town where a guy has been doing this type of work since 1968.



Added some new brushes, turned the armature, and replaced a bearing - he said it was not bad, but since it was all coming apart, best to do it now.



Truck is not a show truck, so it was not coming out to be redone to Pebble Beach quality . . .

[62champ]

Have not had time to put on the new heater control valve, but found a better looking housing in the family parts stash . . .

[62champ]

Temporarily loosing some storage at home, so the truck is staying at the place where it was when restored by my uncle almost 30 years ago.

[StudeRich]

Sorry to hear you lost good dry, Concrete floor, enclosed storage for that sweet Champ.
Hopefully temporary.

[62champ]

It lived in that building from 1993 to 2007, so it is "going back home" for the truck.

[62champ]

The emergency brake cable broke - right next to the ball in the pull handle - back in the spring. Finally, with the help of my buddy Rob and the clevis on the end of the cable, everything is back together and braking like it should.

This is how the end of the cable looked before - hay bailing wire wrapped around the nut on the end of the cable.



Good, used clevis from my buddy Rob is the piece I had missing.



All in and working well - makes everything else look pretty dirty and old.