23/09/2025
1937 Studebaker J-5 Coupe-Express Custom
Two decades before Ford's Ranchero and Chevrolet's El Camino popularized the car-based pickup concept, Studebaker pioneered this innovative approach with striking late‑Art Deco styling. The 1937 model featured a Raymond Loewy-influenced facelift with a pointed grille, front‑hinged “alligator” hood, and extended hood louvers.
Based on the Dictator passenger car chassis and sharing its front sheetmetal, the design offered three-passenger seating with car-like comfort while maintaining half-ton hauling capacity. Unlike many trucks of the era that still used wooden beds, the Coupe-Express featured 16‑gauge double-wall steel construction. The characteristic side-mount spare tire kept the bed area completely open.
Power came from a 218 cubic inch L-head inline-six producing 86 horsepower, paired with a three-speed synchromesh manual transmission and a 4.55:1 rear axle. Originally priced at $695, production ran from January to July 1937 with exactly 3,125 built. Total production through 1939 reached just over 5,000 units, making surviving examples exceptionally rare today.
