 1949
Studebaker - Continued
by: James May
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Studebaker
trucks were dependable and reliable. With the purchase of pierce-Arrow in
1928 there were S.P.A. Trucks (Studebaker & Pierce-Arrow) beginning in
1930. In 1932 Pierce-Arrow was sold off, ending that venture.
Another historical first, the stylish Express Coupe was offered in
1937.
Using
sheetmetal from the Dictator passenger car, the lovely truck was a head
turner. Two decades
later Ford would dust off Studebaker's concept for its Ranchero.
The rugged M series trucks came on stream in 1941 and some 200,000
specially designed Studebaker 6x4 and 6x6 vehicles served in World War
Two.
The
1949 Studebaker truck line was all new to look at. Although Raymond Loewy
was the corporate design head, in-house stylist Bob Bourke was responsible
for the smooth, rounded lines and the massive flat-faced grille of the 2R
series. Chief truck engineer
Russell MacKenzie was responsible for the specifications. The powerplant
was still the reliable side-valve six-cylinder engine.
The
trucks were available in numerous configurations.
Pickups could be half-ton, three-quarter ton, and one-ton, with
eight-foot beds for the big boys. There were grain stock rack, closed van,
three-cubic yard dump trucks, 12-foot platform, refrigeration van, tanker
and bottler bodies. Trucks were built in their own plant on Chippewa
Avenue in South Bend, Indiana. The factory was war surplus and sold to
Studebaker for $3.6 million in 1948. CTS
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