Shaun Salehyan December 30, 2022 All Feature Vehicles
Cars have always been a big part of my life. Growing up, my father was a used car dealer who always brought home something cool. Some new, some older, some in between…but my favorites were always the classics.
He drove around a ‘32 Ford Sedan for a while — as well as a ‘48 Jaguar Mark VI. The feeling of driving down the road in a classic car is something you’ll never forget as a child. Sticking your head out the window, seeing other people watching, the occasional honk and wave from other drivers. It’s a sensation that you couldn’t get in a modern car.
In my early 20s (now 34), my friend Cathy took me to my first car show here in San Diego, CA. It happened to be the Good Guys Car show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I instantly fell in love with the sights, the sounds, the smell and the feeling of being around so many classic cars. In fact, I recall getting vertigo halfway through the first event hall. It was a classic case of sensory overload.
Fast forward a couple years later, I purchased my first classic car. It was a 1959 Studebaker Silver Hawk that I somehow negotiated from $7,000 down to $2,500. I rented a small garage and worked every day restoring that car. I learned a lot by asking my dad, talking with different people, and researching on the Internet. I finished that car in 6 months and went on to win multiple first-place awards at local shows.
The car was painted a bright cherry red and I called her Rosie. I was so proud of my accomplishments with that car. I sold it a couple of years later and started restoring and flipping 60s and 70s muscle-era cars, like Camaros and GTOs. It became a little side hustle of mine to find something decent, repaint and lightly restore it, drive it for a few months then flip it for a profit. Looking back, I was blessed to be able to combine my passion with a way to make a profit.
It wasn’t until sometime in 2011 that I came across a picture of a 1937 Studebaker Coupe Express truck in the Studebaker Turning Wheels Magazine. The second I saw it I knew I had to own one. Oddly enough — when I had my first Studebaker — an old man in the driver’s club had once told me, “welcome to the Studebaker curse.” I started looking up pictures of the Coupe Express truck on the Internet and I quickly found myself falling in love with this truck more every time I saw a picture of one, almost like the curse the old man warned about.
…an old man in the driver’s club had once told me, “welcome to the Studebaker curse.”
There were none of these trucks for sale online, and I found a couple of owners who were not ready to part with their “babies”. As far as my research, there were probably less than 100 complete Coupe Express’ still in existence (of the 3,000 produced).
One afternoon I got a call from a buddy, Keith Wahl, who said he found a Coupe Express advertised for sale, but there was a catch; it was listed in a back edition of Turning Wheels Magazine from 1996 —more than 15 years before! With a bit of hesitation, I called the number from the ad to see if I could track down who he sold it to. An old man answered the phone and to my surprise, he had never sold the truck in all those years. I asked if it was for sale and he said: “Everything is for sale”.
I jumped on the next flight to Iowa, and the rest was history. We came to an agreement on the price and a couple of weeks later the transport company delivered the truck. I immediately began disassembling and indexing all the parts.
For the motor and transmission, I purchased a 1964 Studebaker GT Hawk from a local seller. It had a factory supercharged 289 R2 motor that Dave Chapelle in El Cajon, CA transplanted on top of a Mustang II front clip (with the original Borg Warner T10 four-speed). Dave also did the rear chassis fabrication with a custom four-link setup connected to a Ford 9” rear end — with air bags on all four corners.
From there, the sandblasted body and frame were sent to Nick Battaglia from Loose Cannon Customs in Santee, CA. Nick and his crew performed some heavy-duty metal repair and custom fabrication including hidden hinges, a custom rear roll pan, enlarged rear window, smooth running boards, and a custom dashboard setup.
After fabrication and body work, Loose Cannon’s lead painter Scott Laukner began laying out the attention-grabbing Desert Sage Metallic paint job using Glasurit products by BASF. The final clear coat was sanded down to a fine 5,000 grit surface before being expertly cut and polished to a mirror-like finish.
After the body was assembled, the truck was brought back to my home garage where I completed the air suspension installation, wiring, engine tuning, gauge panel installation, and custom wood bed. The bed was made out of walnut planks with an epoxy resin coating and final automotive clear.
The truck then was placed in the hands of renowned auto upholsterer Rex Copeman, who immediately went to work slamming out a 100% custom interior featuring a napa leather interior, custom door panels, a handmade bench seat, carpeting, and headliner.
This past April of 2019 was the first show I displayed the truck at. Coincidentally, it was the same Good Guys show in Del Mar that was the first car show I ever attended. I took home the Builder’s Choice Award which was the Top 10 amongst the entire show. Another strange coincidence was that on my Facebook feed, a picture popped up in my history from the day I purchased the truck. It happened to be 7 years ago TO THE DATE of winning the award at Good Guys…go figure.
A couple of weeks later the truck was awarded 1st place at the La Jolla Concourse D’Elegance and also at the Coronado Main St. car show. Each and every event I attend, and the reaction I get from people, it validates all the hard work and effort that I and the other builders put into this truck. It is truly something that I am proud of and love showing off.
Looking back, there were a lot of long nights, busted knuckles, and moments where I almost said “to hell with it”, and threw in the towel. But, my advice to anyone else working on a project would be to keep going and enjoy the process of working on it. Although seeing the truck done is a joy, there was a bit of sadness that there wasn’t anything else left to work on.
If I could go back, would I do it all again? At the time, I would have told you heck no. But I do miss the moments, the memories, and all the moments with friends that I shared throughout the journey.
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