1960 Studebaker Pickup in Sun Valley, Idaho

Wherever I go on my travels, I’m always on the lookout for great remnants from our roadside past to paint – be they great old signs, businesses that have survived or been revitalized, and of course the wonder of old cars and trucks! A few years back, while visiting Richard’s family in Sun Valley, Idaho, I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Key and his 1960 Studebaker. Now that’s when cars and trucks had real personalities! I was smitten by the worn-out blue, the friendly nose and grill work – and considering the climate and road conditions in the mountains, its excellent condition.

So where would be the best place to take a few snapshots for a painting? He recommended an old road that’s only passable in the summertime as a quiet spot with a great view of Mt. Baldy in the background. We headed out on a sunny, brisk Idaho day and the rest is history. I painted this in oils and it’s been part of the collection at Stephano’s Fine Art Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas for the last few years.

I wrote down a few important details about Chris’ prize: this was a very special four-wheel drive, line-built vehicle. They only made 66 of these small half-ton trucks in 1960 and Chris owns #33. He said they were sold to the Navy on a military contract.

I went online to see what I could dig up about the history of this model and had to search long and hard to find much of anything. Now I’m beginning to think that what Chris has here is truly legendary! These few paragraphs are all I could find of note and this is definitely the same model (from Wikipedia):

Transtar was the model name given to the line of trucks produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, from 1956-1958 and 1960-1963. The Transtar name was first introduced for the 1956 (2E series) model year in 1/2-ton, 3/4-ton, 1-ton, 2-ton, and 2-ton heavy-duty capacities. The three smaller models were available with factory-built pick-up bodies. The basic styling of these trucks dated back to the 1949 models, though they had received some styling and engineering changes in 1954 and 55. The Transtar name continued to be used on most of the 1957-58 3E series trucks, though a stripped-down Studebaker Scotsman model without the Transtar name was introduced in the 1958 model year. The 57-58 Transtars received an aggressive new fiberglass grille that attempted (largely successfully) to make Studebaker’s outdated cab design look fresh and new. For now-unknown reasons, the Transtar name was dropped for the 1959 4E series Studebaker trucks and changed to Deluxe.

For 1960, Studebaker introduced a new line of 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton trucks under the name Studebaker Champ. The Champs used front-end and cab sheet metal from the 1959-60 Lark passenger cars, mated to their existing light-duty truck chassis and drive trains. The Champs were created in response to the Ford Ranchero (introduced in 1957) and Chevrolet El Camino (introduced in 1959), which used passenger car styling and features in a light-duty pickup truck. The Transtar name reappeared on Studebaker’s medium and heavy-duty trucks (1- and 2-ton) for 1960, and continued to be used on these trucks up through its 1964 models. Studebaker suspended production of all of its truck models when it closed its United States factory in December 1963.

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Route 66, the end of the road

We had to make the final pilgrimage to the “actual” end of Route 66 – although we weren’t able to traverse the entire California section, we were visiting old friends in LA and knew that our trip would not be complete unless we saw the actual sign (or signs) at the “end of the road”. How many travelers have braved the dusty miles to finally see the glorious Pacific Ocean? We wanted to be a part of that group! So the morning we were heading all the way back to the desert, we drove down the beeline and hunted for the official plaque marking the end of the road. And there it was!

God Bless America!

We traveled a bit further, as it was a beautiful Saturday in Santa Monica and there were oh so many amazing things going on at the beach and the Santa Monica Pier beckoned. I thought I had heard there was a sign at the end of the pier, so we had to venture down there and see what adventures awaited! But amazingly – we came to another sign just ahead – Richard snapped my picture – to commemorate this magical moment!

Welcome to the circus that’s LA! Huge activities going on on the beach – some sort of tournaments between teams in the sand, Cirque de Solelei had its huge tents set up on the beach – performances nightly (wish we could have gone!), street performers abounded as we worked our way through the crowds teaming onto the pier on this balmy southern California day. And there it was – another road sign on the final push to the sea!

When we got to the end of the pier – amidst the various musical acts, belly dancers, and street musicians – vendors selling every kind of food imaginable – behold! the last chance to purchase all the Route 66 goodies you’ve missed if the stores were closed (which many of them were in Arizona in January!) Hooray! Talk about positioning! This store is called The Last Stop Shop, and is owned by Route 66 enthusiast, Mannie Mendelson. (from their promo: “The store provides a unique Route 66 experience as well as a fantastic collection of souvenirs to commemorate your journey along all 2480 miles of it.”) Thank you to Mannie and I can’t imagine how much rent he pays to be the last shop on the pier and the route, but it was well worth it! I got some great cards there including this one – which sums up the whole experience for me.

Dear Route 66 – you ain’t seen the end of me! I have now committed myself to driving every inch of your pavement in my lifetime! And sharing what I find with others. What a blessed commitment! Yahoo and Happy Trails!

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