I have heard a lot of erroneous Studebaker lore the last few decades but............today some of us local Studebaker guys were participating at a car show when a spectator walked up and proceeded to tell us with a straight face that when Studebaker closed up in 1966 25 former employees bought up all the parts and equipment and had them shipped back to South Bend from Canada. "They have been building Studebakers made to order ever since" he related and that I could purchase one if desired. I thanked him for this enlightening information as he walked away. I asked the Chapter member seated next to me if he knew which building they could be using to perform this manufacturing since he is from South Bend and he said he did not have a clue. I sure would like to have a tour of that facility at the IM in May. No I have not been drinking today!
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Frank van Doorn
Omaha, Ne.
1962 GT Hawk 289 4 speed
1941 Champion streetrod, R-2 Powered, GM 200-4R trans.
1952 V-8 232 Commander State "Starliner" hardtop OD -
Reminds me of the fellow Joe and I talked to in Decatur, Texas on Friday. He told us about his friends Hawk station wagon drag car with a factory dual turbocharged engine that would blow the back window out at around 120 miles per hour. As soon as a customer walked up we quietly walked away.
"In the heart of Arkansas."
Searcy, Arkansas
1952 Commander 2 door. Really fine 259.
1952 2R pickup -
They didn't make many Hawk station wagons with turbochargers.RadioRoy, specializing in AM/FM conversions with auxiliary inputs for iPod/satellite/CD player. In the old car radio business since 1985.
10G-C1 - 51 Champion starlight coupe
4H-K5 - 53 Commander starliner hardtop
5H-D5 - 54 Commander Conestoga wagonComment
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When you find out, I'm ready to place my order....Lou Van Anne
62 Champ
64 R2 GT Hawk
79 Avanti IIComment
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He's definitely confusing Nate Altman & Leo Newman buying a couple of ex-Studebaker buildings, and the parts and continuing Avanti production, with cars 'made to order'.Originally posted by 41 Frank View Post
N&A did hire some former employees, but someone forgot to tell him Studebaker Corporation was no longer involved with Avanti II production, and there hasn't been a new Avanti since 2007.
CraigLast edited by 8E45E; 02-27-2017, 04:41 AM.Comment
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Sometimes it's kind pf nice to wake up on a Monday morning and find you've been living in a fantasy world.Originally posted by 8E45E View Post
Stu ChapmanComment
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I guess we can be thankful N&A had the foresight to buy and accept responsibility of all the parts stock in South Bend, some of which still exists after 50 years.Originally posted by Stu Chapman View Post
AMC fans were not so fortunate in 1987 when Chrysler destroyed theirs!!
CraigComment
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Right. There's usually a (distorted) grain of truth buried in these legends somewhere. By the time the story gets to you, it's passed through too many knuckleheads to resemble the facts any more.Originally posted by 8E45E View PostSkip LackieComment
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That was the issue I had with a museum curator/guide at the Lemay Family Museum in Marymount, Washington. He was wrong a couple of times describing certain vehicles, like claiming the AMC Gremlin was "derived from the Hornet Sportabout wagon" (not true; the Gremlin was introduced almost six months earlier.), and the 1957-'59 Skyliner was 'Ford's only retractable hardtop'. (again, not true, in Europe, Ford offered an Escort with a retractable steel roof.) I did tactfully correct him when the tour was over.
CraigComment
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One of the funniest stories I overheard was in the late 70's when I was at a threshing show. Two older guys, who should have grown up with hit and miss engines, and should have known how they operate, were watching a large stationary engine running. One guy tells the other that it has to start on gasoline, then once it gets up to speed it just keeps running on compressed air.Comment
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I suppose he meant a Lark wagon with a Paxton supercharger, but several of his other facts were off too. At one point he said the back window blew out of an Avanti. He was cordial and older than us by a bit so we could cut him some slack. He did have a very nice dual carb intake for a Commander six on his table which is why we stopped and got to talking.Originally posted by RadioRoy View Post"In the heart of Arkansas."
Searcy, Arkansas
1952 Commander 2 door. Really fine 259.
1952 2R pickupComment
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I have been asked several times if our '63 Avanti was made in Canada.Tim-'53 Starlight Commander Custom in Yuma, AZ
jimsrodshop.com/project/53-resurrectionComment
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Admittedly, that was a known problem to Studebaker: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...erti-papers-14Originally posted by 52-fan View Post
CraigLast edited by 8E45E; 01-17-2018, 05:52 AM.Comment
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I had a 6 cly. 4dr. I had the same problem, however not from tooooo much power, just that the window was not installed correctly, and the window blew out as soon as I opened the drivers window doing 50 M.P.H.Originally posted by 52-fan View PostReminds me of the fellow Joe and I talked to in Decatur, Texas on Friday. He told us about his friends Hawk station wagon drag car with a factory dual turbocharged engine that would blow the back window out at around 120 miles per hour. As soon as a customer walked up we quietly walked away.Evan Severson
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But.....1957 Chevy's were produce until 1967. It's on the Internet, so it just has to be true! http://www.snopes.com/autos/dream/57chevy.aspComment
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