Post by Mike B on Jan 17, 2009 17:46:51 GMT -4
1950 Studebaker remains a champion in man’s heart
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
January 17, 2009 Story tools:
With some help from his father, Bob Hechlinski was able to buy his first car.
For $50, or thereabouts.
It was 1957, and he was a 16-year-old high school senior living in South Bend, home of the Studebaker automobile.
His classmates were a year older, and it seemed they all had cars of their own.
Turns out Hechlinski’s dad had a traveling salesman friend who was ready to trade in a well-used 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe. Six cylinders, 85 horsepower and a three-speed standard transmission with overdrive.
The car also featured a hill-holder, a 1936 Studebaker invention that holds the brake until the clutch is at the friction point, making it easier for a car to ascend hills from a stop.
Hechlinski had saved $50 from his two jobs: as a caddy at the local golf club in the summer and setting pins at a nearby bowling alley during the winter.
He put his cash in his pocket, and the two set off for the east side of town. He recalled the car as being pretty average, gray and with 50,000 miles on the odometer. In those days, a car’s engine was ready for a major overhaul at that point.
But Hechlinski was excited about the prospect of driving the Studebaker away, actually owning a car of his own.
After a while, it was time to talk money.
“Dad asked the owner the price, and he shot right back with $75,” Hechlinski said. “Dad looked him square in the eye, smiled and asked him to come with him to the front of the house and there they talked for about five minutes. When they came back to the car, Dad told me to give the man the 50 bucks.”
He was never certain just what had transpired during the haggling process. But Hechlinski said he is pretty sure his father talked the man down to $55, slipped him $5 and said something like, “Don’t tell the kid,” he said.
The 16-year-old drove the car home.
And as often happens, the Studebaker fell by the wayside over time.
Fifty years later, Hechlinski still had not shaken his love for the car, and the memory of his father making sure he bought it on his own.
“His beautiful memory and that of the ’50 Champ lives brightly,” he said. “With that emotion lingering in me, I simply had to have one last shot at owning one.”
Studebakers were dramatically redesigned for 1950, with rounded front fenders and a centered bullet-shaped nose with a round chrome center piece that looked as if it belonged on an airplane.
In his book “Studebaker: The Complete History,” writer Patrick Foster says the car’s futuristic look, which some found bizarre, was either loved or hated by car enthusiasts.
Bob Hechlinski’s 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe sits parked in front of Tippecanoe Place, a South Bend mansion built by Clement Studebaker. Clement was one of the three Studebaker brothers who in 1852 founded Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing. Courtesy photo
Flipping through a Hemmings Motor News in October 2007, Hechlinski spotted a 4-door Champ like the one from his youth. The only difference: it was turquoise, not gray.
The car was in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada — 650 miles away. Owner Bob Sussex invited Hechlinski to drive up and take a look.
Sussex was completing the restoration of a 1954 Studebaker Coupe and was going to need some garage space for it.
“He had to give up the ’50 as soon as possible,” Hechlinski said. So he bargained for the car over the phone, and then he and his wife Nancy took off for Canada, “certified check in hand.”
They drove the car home, the back seat laden with more than 30 shiny trophies the Studebaker had won in car shows.
On the trip back to Monroe County, other drivers on the road would pull up alongside the car and yell out compliments or flash a thumbs-up sign.
Others just smiled as the old car with suicide doors cruised down the road. “Most of the women waving at us had blue hair,” Hechlinski said.
He was surprised to find when he returned that during straight highway driving, the 50-year-old Studebaker averaged 26 miles per gallon.
Hechlinski got more than a car out of the deal. He and Sussex have become good friends — sharing a love for not only vintage Studebakers, but also for fly fishing, canoeing and shooting sports.
“We always refer to the ’50 Champ as our car,“ he said.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.
By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
January 17, 2009 Story tools:
With some help from his father, Bob Hechlinski was able to buy his first car.
For $50, or thereabouts.
It was 1957, and he was a 16-year-old high school senior living in South Bend, home of the Studebaker automobile.
His classmates were a year older, and it seemed they all had cars of their own.
Turns out Hechlinski’s dad had a traveling salesman friend who was ready to trade in a well-used 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe. Six cylinders, 85 horsepower and a three-speed standard transmission with overdrive.
The car also featured a hill-holder, a 1936 Studebaker invention that holds the brake until the clutch is at the friction point, making it easier for a car to ascend hills from a stop.
Hechlinski had saved $50 from his two jobs: as a caddy at the local golf club in the summer and setting pins at a nearby bowling alley during the winter.
He put his cash in his pocket, and the two set off for the east side of town. He recalled the car as being pretty average, gray and with 50,000 miles on the odometer. In those days, a car’s engine was ready for a major overhaul at that point.
But Hechlinski was excited about the prospect of driving the Studebaker away, actually owning a car of his own.
After a while, it was time to talk money.
“Dad asked the owner the price, and he shot right back with $75,” Hechlinski said. “Dad looked him square in the eye, smiled and asked him to come with him to the front of the house and there they talked for about five minutes. When they came back to the car, Dad told me to give the man the 50 bucks.”
He was never certain just what had transpired during the haggling process. But Hechlinski said he is pretty sure his father talked the man down to $55, slipped him $5 and said something like, “Don’t tell the kid,” he said.
The 16-year-old drove the car home.
And as often happens, the Studebaker fell by the wayside over time.
Fifty years later, Hechlinski still had not shaken his love for the car, and the memory of his father making sure he bought it on his own.
“His beautiful memory and that of the ’50 Champ lives brightly,” he said. “With that emotion lingering in me, I simply had to have one last shot at owning one.”
Studebakers were dramatically redesigned for 1950, with rounded front fenders and a centered bullet-shaped nose with a round chrome center piece that looked as if it belonged on an airplane.
In his book “Studebaker: The Complete History,” writer Patrick Foster says the car’s futuristic look, which some found bizarre, was either loved or hated by car enthusiasts.
Bob Hechlinski’s 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe sits parked in front of Tippecanoe Place, a South Bend mansion built by Clement Studebaker. Clement was one of the three Studebaker brothers who in 1852 founded Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing. Courtesy photo
Flipping through a Hemmings Motor News in October 2007, Hechlinski spotted a 4-door Champ like the one from his youth. The only difference: it was turquoise, not gray.
The car was in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada — 650 miles away. Owner Bob Sussex invited Hechlinski to drive up and take a look.
Sussex was completing the restoration of a 1954 Studebaker Coupe and was going to need some garage space for it.
“He had to give up the ’50 as soon as possible,” Hechlinski said. So he bargained for the car over the phone, and then he and his wife Nancy took off for Canada, “certified check in hand.”
They drove the car home, the back seat laden with more than 30 shiny trophies the Studebaker had won in car shows.
On the trip back to Monroe County, other drivers on the road would pull up alongside the car and yell out compliments or flash a thumbs-up sign.
Others just smiled as the old car with suicide doors cruised down the road. “Most of the women waving at us had blue hair,” Hechlinski said.
He was surprised to find when he returned that during straight highway driving, the 50-year-old Studebaker averaged 26 miles per gallon.
Hechlinski got more than a car out of the deal. He and Sussex have become good friends — sharing a love for not only vintage Studebakers, but also for fly fishing, canoeing and shooting sports.
“We always refer to the ’50 Champ as our car,“ he said.
Got a story to tell about a car or truck? Call 812-331-4362, send an e-mail to lane@heraldt.com or a letter to My Favorite Ride, P.O. Box 909, Bloomington, IN 47402.