The Only One of Its Kind: Bob’s 1935 Studebaker Dictator

Oct 17

4 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

A chopped four-door sedan, built in Louisiana, finished in Mississippi, and loved for twenty years

Every so often at a car show, you stop in front of something and simply stay there. Bob’s 1935 Studebaker Dictator did that to me.

It is a four-door sedan, and it has been “cut down” in the best way. The roof has been chopped, the windows are shallow, and the body looks long and sleek. The silver paint is flawless, and the polished wheels catch the light. Bob says it is a one-of-a-kind car, and standing in front of it, I’m not going to argue.

Who built it

The metalwork began with a man named Jim Clay from Louisiana, an oil-field worker with a remarkable talent. "Jim did the metalwork, the preparation, and the frame." Once he had it mostly together, Bob took it to Mike Goldman at Golden Customs in Meridian, Mississippi, where several skilled hands helped assemble, paint, and finish it.

Bob is the first to say how hard a car like this is to build: a four-door sedan with that much metalwork, the chop, the windows, and the alignment on top. “Just unbelievably fabulous,” he told us. As far as he knows, it is the only 1935 Studebaker to have had this kind and quality of work.

How Bob found it

Robert (Bob) Bryant has collected Studebakers for years. A friend spotted this one advertised and told him to take a look. It had been sold to the owner of Fountain Boats, and then it turned up at the Barrett-Jackson auction.

Bob sat across from it for two or three days, just looking. As anyone who has been to an auction knows, you always wish you could buy at a price you can’t. His wife kept nudging him: it’s the only one, so if you want it, go all in. He did, and he brought it home.

That was in 2006. He has never made a change to it, and he has never been sorry. “It was done right,” he says. People often tell him what they’d have done differently. He has never thought that about this car.

And his wife?

She did him well, he says, and she still loves it. Bob is 75, and she is 80, and she has a hard time getting in and out of those rear-hinged “suicide” doors, but that has not dampened her love for the car.

And what do you say to a man whose wife helped him go all in on his dream car?

Thank you, Bob. It is a beauty.

The Ever Popular F-100 Truck

Interview with Rick Campbell

Harry Hogg: Rick, tell us about the truck. You haven't had it long, is that right?

Rick Campbell: A couple of years. It’s got a 347 stroker, a Ford small-block, with an AOD overdrive transmission. It cruises down the highway really nicely, with no wind noise. All the door seals have been replaced recently.

Harry: What else has been done to it?

Rick: It has a Mustang II front end and Ride Tech shocks, and a Ford Explorer rear end. I forget the gear ratio, but it’s an easy one. It goes down the highway great.

Harry: Do you just keep it for showing, or do you drive it?

Rick: I putter around with it a bit. Mostly I keep it in the garage and take it to the shows. I’d say I’ve put about 600 miles on it this year.

Harry: What drew you to this one? Did you always want a truck?

Rick: I’ve had a couple of Chevys in my lifetime, and I’ve always liked them. I like Fords too. I was actually looking for a ‘55 or ‘56 Chevy when I came across this one. It seemed like a good deal, so I pulled the trigger. I love the way it looks.

Harry: Do you know how long the previous owner had it?

Rick: No idea. But he did a lot of the work, including the paint. A few things needed sorting, though. The front springs weren’t right, so you felt every bump. That was an easy fix.

Harry: You told me you’d love to build one yourself, but you don’t have the room at home.

Rick: That’s right. I’d love to build one, but I don’t have the space, and my lower back is bad, too. And honestly, you couldn’t build one for what I paid. So I bought a ready-made one.

Harry: What do you like most about it?

Rick: The fit. Everybody says it’s about the truck, but the panel fit is almost perfect. One door is slightly off-line, but you don’t find many trucks with this kind of fit.

Harry: I looked inside, and it’s beautiful. You’ve done a great job. Are you going to keep it?