The Studebaker Transtar was the model name given to most trucks in the company’s E-series, built from 1956 to 1958 and again from 1960 to 1963, although the last were sold as 1964 models. The name was used for the light and medium trucks in the first period and for the medium and heavy trucks in the second.
Studebaker Transtar at a glance
| Maker | Studebaker Corporation, South Bend |
|---|---|
| Years with the name | 1956–1958 and 1960–1963, with 1964 models |
| Base range | Studebaker E-series |
| Introduced | 1956 model year, 2E series |
| Capacities in 1956 | half-ton, three-quarter ton, one ton, two ton and two-ton heavy duty |
| Pickup bodies | the three smaller models could be ordered with factory pickups |
| Basic styling | dated back to the 1949 models |
| 1957–1958 | new fibreglass grille, 3E series |
| 1959 | name dropped for the 4E series, called Deluxe |
| 1960 onwards | name used on the one- and two-ton medium and heavy trucks |
| Production ended | December 1963, with the South Bend factory closure |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Transtar.
History of the Studebaker Transtar
The 2E and 3E years
The Transtar name was introduced for the 1956 model year, the 2E series, in half-ton, three-quarter-ton, one-ton, two-ton and two-ton heavy-duty capacities. The three smaller models were available with factory-built pickup bodies. The basic styling of these trucks dated back to the 1949 models, although they had received some changes in 1954 and 1955. The name continued on most of the 1957–58 3E series trucks, which received an aggressive new fibreglass grille that attempted — largely successfully according to the English Wikipedia article — to make the outdated cab design look fresh. A stripped-down Studebaker Scotsman without the Transtar name was added for 1958.
A year without the name
For the 1959 4E series the Transtar name was dropped for reasons that are not recorded, and the trucks were called Deluxe. In the same period Studebaker prepared a new light truck, the Champ, which used the front end and cab sheetmetal of the 1959–60 Lark cars on the existing light-duty chassis and drivetrains. The Champ was created in response to the Ford Ranchero of 1957 and the Chevrolet El Camino of 1959, which brought passenger-car styling to light pickups.
Medium and heavy trucks
For 1960 the Transtar name returned, now on Studebaker’s medium- and heavy-duty one- and two-ton trucks, and it stayed there through the 1964 models. Studebaker suspended production of all its truck models when it closed its United States factory in December 1963; the light Champ and the medium Transtar therefore ended together, after a run in which the Transtar had carried the company’s commercial range through the difficult years of the late 1950s.
Design and features
- E-series basis: the Transtar was a name applied to most trucks of Studebaker’s E-series.
- 1949 styling: the cab and body dated back to 1949, with changes in 1954 and 1955.
- Fibreglass grille: the 1957–58 trucks got a bold new grille to modernise the old cab.
- Wide range: from half-ton pickups to two-ton heavy-duty trucks.
- Medium-duty revival: from 1960 the name was used on one- and two-ton trucks only.
Studebaker Transtar versions
- 2E Transtar (1956): half-ton to two-ton heavy duty, pickups on the three smaller models.
- 3E Transtar (1957–1958): new fibreglass grille; Scotsman added as a stripped model in 1958.
- 4E Deluxe (1959): the year the Transtar name was not used.
- 1960–1963 Transtar: medium- and heavy-duty one- and two-ton trucks.
- 1964 models: the last trucks, sold after the December 1963 factory closure.
The Transtar’s light-truck stablemate was the Champ, and its chassis line went back to the M-series and the US6. More trucks and cars are in the Studebaker collection.
Video: 1957 Studebaker Transtar stepside pickup
Video by specialcarsberlin on YouTube.
Sources
- Studebaker Transtar, English Wikipedia: model years, series, grille, Champ context, end of production
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