When most people think about customizing a Studebaker pickup, the '60-62 Champs are not the first ones that come to mind-rightly so, if you've ever seen a stock Champ pickup.
When Studebaker designed the Champ in the late-'50s, they were having financial difficulties and were spending most of their development money on the Lark, their best-selling line. They had to use as much of their existing tooling as possible on their new truck. The cab was essentially a Lark, which quite frankly, made a better-looking truck than a car.
My real styling issue was with the '59 Dodge pickup bed that Studebaker used for the straight-side version. Not only did it not match the Champ styling-wise, it was about 4 inches wider than the cab and had sharp edges at the top that magnified the mismatch.
I thought it would look better with a narrowed bed made from lengthened Lark rear quarter-panels. I started sketching the idea and one thing led to another. I chopped the top about 2 inches, traded the stock bulky Champ bumper for a smoothed Lark piece, recessed the headlights, and added an extra bit of Lark side trim turned upside down on the bed. I finished the top of the bed with a pleated tonneau cover and added reversed and widened Kelsey Hayes wires from a '59 T-bird wrapped in wide whites.
These were midsize trucks by today's standards and thus lighter and more nimble than a Chevy or Ford of the day, so I think a 335hp Avanti R3 304ci V-8 backed by a BorgWarner Super T-10 four-speed is the drivetrain of choice. With all that power on tap this little truck would not only be stylish but quick too-and have no trouble pulling the injected Stude-powered cracker box setting behind it.