The Studebaker Coupe Express was a passenger car based
pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
, produced by the
Studebaker Corporation of
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
, between 1937 and 1939. Unlike other concurrent pick-up trucks, the coupe express mated Studebaker's passenger car styling to a full size
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
bed.
The Coupe Express utilized the
Dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in ti ...
passenger car frame, running gear, and front sheet metal. A new body stamping was made to form the cab back. An all-steel pickup box was built for the pickup models. The model was sold as a cab and chassis, with rear fenders attached, so a service box could be fabricated by the end user (such as a plumber, or depot hack).
The truck was powered by the larger of Studebaker's L-head six-cylinder flathead engines and mated to a 3-speed manual transmission. Studebaker offered a
Borg-Warner
BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company maintains production facilities and technical systems at 93 sites (as of June 6, 2022) in 22 countries worldwide and has around 49,000 emplo ...
3-speed transmission with overdrive as an option. Other options included, a radio, heater, wire reinforced sliding back window and turn indicators. Two wheel options were available including a stamped steel disc wheel and a stamped steel 'artillery' spoked wheel.
Production for the 1937 model year was approximately 3,000 units.
The truck's passenger cab was restyled in 1938 to reflect the modernized passenger car sheet metal resulted a slightly longer pickup bed. Production for 1938 was approximately 1,200 units.
The 1939 model was again remodeled to reflect Studebaker's annual design updates. Production was approximately 1,000 units. The Coupe Express model was discontinued after the 1939 model year, and Studebaker did not offer a successor model for 1940.
Studebaker introduced the
M-Series pickup truck 1941, while the company used the Coupe Express name in advertising for a time, but no M-Series trucks were ever officially designated as the Coupe Express.
Coupe Express
Pickup trucks
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
1930s cars
Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States
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