Studebaker Trucks buyer's guide

Overview

Studebaker's M-series trucks (1941–48, the M5 half-ton at the range's heart) were the company's wartime-bred light trucks: the M5 pickup shared its bones with the famous US6 military 6x6 programme's engineering culture, sold to farmers and tradesmen in the post-war boom with the Champion's economical flathead six. The M-series (M5, M15, M15A, M16 and larger) was replaced by the 2R series in 1949 and then the Transtar — but it is the M5 (1945–48 civilian production) that classics buyers meet: a handsome, simple pre-war-pattern pickup with a devoted following and a famously economical engine. Values are modest, parts are club-supported, and originality (the bed, the trim, the correct six) is the differentiator in a market of old farm trucks.

Generations and year breaks

1941–1942 — the pre-war M-series

• The M5's launch form: the rounded pre-war styling, the Champion 169 flathead six, and the coupe-pickup (the Coupe Express lineage ended just before) replaced by the conventional pickup bed.
• Civilian production stopped for the war; the military US6 (a larger truck, built in vast numbers) is the family's fame.

1945–1948 — the post-war M5

• Production resumed with the same design (Studebaker sold the unchanged truck while rivals restyled); the M15 (¾-ton) and M15A/M16 heavier versions shared the line.
• The 1949 2R series replaced the M trucks with modern styling — the M5's pre-war look became, in retrospect, its charm.

Engines and options that matter

• Champion 169 (later 170) flathead six — the M5's only engine: economical and durable, with the overdrive gearbox as the touring option.
• There are no performance options; the specification conversation is the bed (pickup versus the rare stake/flatbed factory bodies), the overdrive, and the Deluxe cab trim.
• A V8 in an M5 is always a later transplant (Studebaker's own V8 arrived in the 2R era) — priced as a modification.

What to check before buying

• Rust: cab corners, the floor, the bed's steel floor and its subframe timbers, the running boards and the front wings' seams — the M trucks worked for a living and the beds show it.
• Frame and springs: farm-duty cracks at the spring hangers and the steering box mount are the structural checks.
• Engine identity: the engine number (front-left pad on the six) confirms the flathead; wartime and post-war blocks interchange, so numbers matter to originality claims.
• Numbers: the serial plate (driver's door jamb) decodes year and model (M5 versus M15 matters to specification).
• Parts: the Studebaker club/truck-chapter network is the supply line; M-series sheet metal is scarce (the cab is shared across the M range, a mercy), mechanicals are the supported part.