A Red Hot 1953 Studebaker Street Rod

The 1953 Studebaker Champion featured in this article is one great looking Street Rod. The car is painted in GTO Red.

1953 Studebaker Champion Street Rod

Brief History of the Studebaker Champion

The Studebaker Champion had a relatively long history. It was considered Studebaker's economy model. The model first came on the market in 1938. It was produced into the 1942 model year but it's production, like every other American civilian automobile, was halted in February 1942 due to the U.S. entering World War Two. The next Studebaker Champion to see was the 1946 model. That car was essentially a 1942 model with some minor changes.

Credit for the new post war model Studebaker Champion goes to the legendary Virgil Exner and the Raymond Lowry Studios. Virgil Exner was a very well known automobile designer who worked for several companies, most notably for Chrysler and Studebaker. Raymond Lowry Studios performed many types of design wwork including stations and train cars for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The 1953 Studebaker design was futuristic, and gave a heads up to the rest of the American car industry that it was time to catch up. Studebaker advertised their 53 Commander as "The new American car with the European look". Also, "Continental charm of Europe's most distinguished cars".


The year 1953 was the beginning of the fourth generation Studebaker Champions. The 1953 models were introduced with an entirely different design. The two-door coupe was named the “Starlight.” while the more expensive hardtop coupe was named the “Starliner.” The Studebaker Champion was produced from the 1938 model year through 1958. It's replacement in 1959 was the Studebaker Lark which assumed the role as Studebaker’s economy offering. One thing for sure is that the Studebaker Lark would never be mistaken for the aerodynamic 53 Commander.

Small block Chevy 350 engine

Our 1953 Studebaker Champion Street Rod Specifications

This particular street rod is equipped with a small block Chevy 350 cubic inch  ZZ4 engine. This was the original high-performance 350 Chevy crate engine. The ZZ4 350 comes with a forged steel crankshaft, hypereutectic pistons, hydraulic roller camshaft and lifters, and aluminum cylinder heads. The ZZ4's Corvette inspired high-performance heads feature high velocity intake runners and D-shaped exhaust ports to allow efficient and unobstructed flow through the engine. All of this adds up to a very impressive 355 HP. 

As a side note, the standard engine for the 1953 Studebaker Commander was a 169 cubic inch inline six that was rated at 85 HP. 

In addition to this, our featured 1953 Studebaker Champion has a 750 Holly carburetor and a Turbo Hydra-Matic 700R-4 transmission. This transmission was designed to be used behind small block Chevy V-8's.

The car has front disc brakes and 9 inch large rear drum brakes. Add to this Sanders headers and a 2 1/2 inch Flow Master mufflers. 

See our additional muscle car articles on the links below...

The 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S 

The 1967 Chevy Nova II SS 

A Beauty of a 1967 Chevy Camaro SS 

Studebaker Street Rods

Performance car enthusiasts know that there is not a shortage of Studebaker Street Rods and these include pickups. In regards to the 1953 Studebaker Champion, the radical restyling of this car and the aerodynamic improvement was not lost on performance enthusiasts. It is for these reasons that the 53 Studebaker Commander is a popular Street Rod. We've even come across a great looking 53 Commander with a Chrysler Hemi engine delivering a whopping 725 horsepower and a claimed top speed of 200 MPH. 

A few good resources for hot rods and street rods include...Hot Rods of the 1950's by Andy Southard and Hot Rodder: From Lakes to Street by Albert Drake
(Article and photos copyright 2015 Auto Museum Online)

1958 MGA Le Mans

The car featured in this article is a 1958 MGA Le Mans. The MGA dates back to 1951. The MGA was a replacement for the MG TF 1500 Midget and there was significant restyling. The MGA is a sports car built by the MG-division of the British Motor Corporation from 1955-1962.

Customized 58 MGA Le Mans

A Car Needing a Redesign 

MG's Syd Enever, head designer at MG, did a redesign by penning an aerodynamic body on  the MG TF for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The MG TF body harked back to the era of the early 1930's.

After the 1951 Le Mans the redesign project however was put on hold until 1955. British Motor Corporation was in a quandary over the fact that the Austin-Healey 100 ( from BMC) came out as a modern looking sports car. Management didn't feel the need to produce two new sports cars so they continued to build the MG TD. The decision proved wrong in as much as the TD sales figures declined significantly forcing management to reverse it's decision. The problem however was that the new design as not totally complete and in the meantime an updated substitute of the MG TF was introduced until the new MGA design was complete.

MGA Racing

In 1955 MG put together three prototype aluminum bodies to run in that year's Le Mans. The cars were modified as such for racing such as having the bumpers removed to take off weight. The results were not too shabby with two of the racers coming in at fifth and sixth place in their respective classes. Later that year two of the MGA racers were on the show circuit. Le Mans that year not only served to introduce the MGA but also marked the point where MG returned to racing.

1958 MGA Le Mans dashboard

Over the years their have been large modifications to MGA racers.

One had a center placed steering wheel. Other modifications included Chevy V-6 engines, a 2 liter Ferrari engine, a widened body and frame to accommodate a V-8 engine, and an open wheel one seater,  In 1966 a dragster MGA was built by adding a big block Chevy engine with a GMC blower. More recently a MGA dragster was built with a 406cubic inch small block Chevy.

The 1958 MGA

In 1958 MGA's 1500 were offered to buyers in both a roadster and coupe version. These automobiles had a lot of differences with the earlier models. For one, the coupe version actually had glass windows you could roll up or down. For another, the roadster version came with a removable hard top. The first hardtops were aluminum followed up later with fiberglass. Today, you can run into both original fiberglass hardtops in addition to aftermarket units.

The engine for both of these cars was a 1498 cc inline four cylinder putting out 72 horsepower.

Beginning in 1959 the MGA's sported a larger 1660 engine. Exact displacement was 1588 cc. Also on the scene came the MGA Twin-Cam 1588cc four cylinder engine.

This customized MGA Le Mans racer shown here has a four speed manual transmission.

You may also enjoy the articles on our AutoMuseumOnline site from the links below...

A True Muscle Car / The 1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk

The 1968 Oldsmobile 442 Muscle Car  

A Good Looking 1969 Chevrolet Camaro

Buying an MGA and Car Clubs

Rear view of the 58 MGA customized Le Mans

Two good rules to adhere to if you're looking to purchase an MGA. Don't buy the car simply off of photos. Make every effort to inspect the vehicle yourself or hire a mechanic to do it.

The second rule would be that if you can, join an MG car club. Like with any active automobile club, you'll be able to get some good tips from it's members including things to watch out for.

You'll find MGA clubs all around the country. A partial list includes...




Mid Atlantic MGA

Chicago Area MGA Club

North American MGA Car Club

MGA Owners Club of Northern California

Southern California MG Club

Value of MGA's and MGA Racers

As mentioned above, racing modifications to MGA racers, dragsters, road rally vehicles, etc can and do vary widely. Because of this asking prices for MGA racers also vary widely. In addition, there are a good many MGA replicas on the market. It also must be noted that it's believed that only five original 1955 MGA Le mans cars are still in existence.

As of this writing there is a 1960 MGA 1500 Le Mans replica with an asking price of $15,500.  A 1957 MGA Roadster asking $11,000.   An original 1959 MGA Roadster with 139,000 miles asking $14,000.

Reference and an excellent book about the MGA is...The MGA by author John Price Williams.Another very interesting book is about the crash as Le Mans in 1955 which negatively affected auto racing, at least for several years. It's a good story of how the automakers who depended on racing dealt with the tragedy. The book is titled...Le mans 55 : The Crash That Changed the Face of Auto Racing by author Christopher Hilton.

(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)