Production Orders... Museum Only?

[riversidevw]

I realize that for pre-1960 models, the Studebaker National Museum transcribes the information onto a new standard form. That's a great service, fairly labor-intensive, and I'm not disparaging it. I've gathered from earlier postings that they simply don't have the equipment to generate copies from their film reader. But it's not quite the same as viewing a copy of the original. Is the museum pretty much the only game in town in this regard?

Several years ago, I enjoyed receiving a copy of the original PO for the '63 Avanti, along with the inspection sheets. The extensive notes on the inspection forms indicated just how much of a work in progress that car was when it rolled off the line!

[rockne10]

The Production Orders are copied from the original factory records, which are all in the possession of the Archives at the Museum.

[StudeRich]

The Production Orders are copied from the original factory records, which are all in the possession of the Archives at the Museum.

The difference on Avantis, is that there is another set of PO's, Inspection Sheets, maybe even Shippers? at Nostalgic Avanti!

Not that I know of, that are for non-personal use of their owners for Studebakers in General.

[riversidevw]

Getting a direct copy of the original was just a wistful thought.

Microfilm must be a really archaic technology by now. I was thinking of the read-and-copy devices at the public library forty years ago. If my wife wished a copy of the local newspaper article about the housewarming party for our house (from 1893), a couple of quarters changed hands and a somewhat legible copy came out. Again, I'm not criticizing the efforts of the museum. A new transcribed form is way better than no copy at all. I assume that added notations and corrections on production orders are fairly uncommon, anyway.

I'm reminded of Frank A.'s 56J Only project and all the material he has compiled and shared over nearly thirty years, starting with the 56J specific online parts catalog, authenticity guides, relevant service bulletins, etc. He has also transcribed the production order of every 56J produced, typically sends new arrivals to the register a digital copy of the PO for their car. He makes the entire set of production orders (and much more) available at token cost. Really a remarkable contribution.

Gil

[Bill Pressler]

You're right, Gil--either pre-'59 or '60 are on microfilm and transcribed onto a blank form. I much-prefer the photocopies made from the originals that you get with later cars.

I think some amazing stuff is offered by the SNM on '60 or '61 and later vehicles (I simply can't remember which):

1) Drive-Away Shippers, which provide most of the information on the production order, but also include shipping weight, name of dealer, and street address of dealer. Also, these point out that sometimes where a car was eventually shipped is different than what is on the production order;

2) Retail Sale Cards--a computer punch card with name and address of the original owner (records are spotty for '63 model year I was told);

3) Retail Sale Cards filed by month, then dealer number, starting in Sept. '63--these were filled out by the dealer and also show name of vehicle's original owner and his address, but also include his occupation, what he traded in if anything, and the name of the salesman.

The SNM also has dealer information by city, and by name--two types of cards, which include the dates of operation and dealer principals.

We're lucky to have stuff like this available to us.

[rockne10]

Back in 2004 I ordered the PO for my '53 and received both a repro copy AND a photocopy of the original. I'm sure there are reasons why this is no longer offered. And you could probably still get a copy of the original from the archives...for a price.

[Bill Pressler]

I wonder why they bothered with the reprinted copy. I know that Newman and Altman used to reprint all of theirs--and I've seen mistakes on them.