Look What I Just Bought

[pitbulllady]

Ever since I found one of these falling apart in a field not far from where I live(it's picture is in my DA gallery, along with Wilt's now-famous quote about everything wanting to belong to someone-I hate seeing old cars just abandoned and rusting apart), I've wanted one. We finally settled my late grandmother's estate and sold the house, which gave me a little bit of spending money, and a couple of days ago I came across this baby for sale down in Florida, over the 'net. It's a '51 Studebaker Champion sedan, in case y'all aren't familiar with this particular automobile, and it still belongs to the ORIGINAL owner, who bought it in 1950 from a Studebaker dealer up North, and has kept it in great condition ever since(he's a mechanic himself). He's now found that he's just getting too old to drive and keep the car up, sadly, so he had his daughter put it up for sale. It's got the original "flathead" six-cylinder engine(how does 40 miles per gallon sound?), that has been rebuilt and runs great. The interior has been totally restored, the electrical system re-wired, new brakes installed, and a new paint job done. The car was originally black, but the black color proved too heat-absorbant for the Florida climate, so he re-painted it "Old Ivory". It does need some of the chrome refurbished, and two of the guages have to be hooked up, and it needs new rims or wheel covers, and the passenger side front window got cracked and has to be replaced, but other than that, it's in great shape and according to the owner, is a very reliable driving vehicle. I'm not sure if I'm gonna leave it this color(which doesn't do much for me, honestly), or repaint it something with a bit more pizzazz, or if I'm gonna add an after-market "vintage" air conditioner system and modern stereo. If I do that, I can't show it as a restored/original vehicle, but will have to show it as a customized classic. I've also got to get seat belts put in it, since those were NOT standard on 1951 vehicles! The original owner still has all the original owner's manuals and paperwork that came with the car from the Studebaker factory in South Bend, Indianna!

Right now I'm sorta dickering with some transport companies for the best shipping rates, since I won't have time to go down to Florida until mid-April, and even then, I'd have to ship either this or my current car back, since there's no one to go with me, and I can't drive two cars, obvously. At least this is one old Stude that won't have to worry about belonging to someone!

pitbulllady