Production Order Questions-

[55cmndr]

Hello everyone-
I am hoping that someone can help me with my production order and other questions.

My VIN# is 8848238
The ID# is: 16G8F2 (Commander Custom 2 door sedan)
Body# 460

According to turning wheels dated 2/94, the production numbers show only 1,413 units of the Commander Custom 2 door sedan both F-1 & F2 were built.

1,212 - South Bend
170- Los Angeles (Vernon)
28- Canada
Exports- 3
Total = 1,413

Mine was built at the Vernon assembly facility where only 170 of the F1 & F2 models were built. (85-F1 & 85- F2)
Does anyone know why only 170 were built?

All of the numbers match on my car. Is it rare that a low production 2 door sedan has survived all of these years?

I have been to a lot of Studebaker and non Studebaker events, and I get told that" I have never seen one like that before"

What does my body # (460) indicate based upon when my car was built?
Is it possible to find how many of the 170 are left?
Based on my VIN# and the 1955 model year, can it be determined in what part of the 1955 model year it was built?

Isn't August close to the end of the 1955 model year?

Here is the information off of the production order I received years ago from Newman & Altman:

Production order:

Date written - 7/22/55
Order # 8019
Factory order # X10202(This is still visible on the firewall-looks like a grease marker??)
Serial # 8848238
Body #460
Final Assembly date - 8/12/55
Destination: Marks - Portland

Description of unit and equipment:

Model - 16G8F2 Movie (what does "movie" mean?)
Paint - P2582 Saginaw Green
Trim - 1C-233 8283 (Can someone decipher this?)
Overdrive
Electric wipers
HC.CYL.HD (Does this mean a High Compression Cylinder Head?
Left control
Gear ratio - 3.73
Wet air cleaner
Black tires
AC - 2700 Directional Signal
AC - 2715 Climatizer

Thanks for any help you can provide

55CMNDR

[BobPalma]

Boy, that's a lot of questions, but here goes:

1. They would have built only 170 Commander F1s and F2s at Vernon (Los Angeles) because that's all they thought they could sell in the western market, or all that were ordered, pure and simple. The western market tended to buy higher-trim-level cars, so more "cheapies" would have been built in South Bend.

2. It is not possible to know "how many are left" because you'd have to first define what "left" means. Does that include a hopelessly-rusted hulk in the far corner of a southern Minnesota junk yard, with only a few usable parts remaining, but still identifiable as a 1955 Commander F1 or F2? Only operable cars? Only operable cars that are registered and currently licensed? There's simply no way to tell for sure.

3. Body numbers include South-Bend production cars, so your body number indicates it was the 460th F2 body assembled, of the total built. IIRC, numbers started at "1" back then.

4. Yes, it is rare that your car survived. Lower-trim-level cars were normally bought by people who used and abused them, or fleet or commercial customers. Generally, speaking, the surviving percentage of a given model goes down with the trim level, so to speak. For example, what are the chances of a 1957 Scotsman 4-door receiving garage storage and the same level of care as a 1957 President Classic sedan? Slim.

5. Yes, the August 12, 1955 build date is close to the end of production. 1956 Commander Serial Numbers started at 8849101 for the Vernon plant, having begun at 8843001 for second-series 1955 models. So you can see how your 8848238 is close to the end. I do not know the ending Serial Number for 1955 Vernon second-series Commanders, but yours was certainly built during the last full month of 1955 Vernon assembly.

6. The model "Movie" was simply a code name assigned to 1955 Commander F2s to make telegraphing cheaper. Each model had some type of name like that, commonly known as the Studebaker Telegraph Code.

7. Yes, HC stands for High Compression cylinder head(s).

8. 'Sorry, I can't be of help deciphering the trim code. 'Not sure that information still exists, but "never say never." BP

[55cmndr]

Hello-

Can someone tell me when production started and stopped for the 1st series commander custom 2 door sedans(16G8F1),as well as the 2nd series of the same model?(16G8F2) I am trying to put information together on my car for an upcoming show and was wondering what all of the changes were,including the introduction of the wraparound windshield.


Thanks in advance-

55CMNDR