Never seen this photo before - must have been the majority of Larks Studebaker had on-site for the race...
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'Neat picture; thanks! Only 26 are visible in this photo and there were 34 500 Festival Cars. Some are probably just outside the camera's lens. 
BP
Last edited by BobPalma; 02-28-2018, 03:52 AM.
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge. 
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it. -
Looks like Sunday at BP's yard full of all white ones!
BillComment
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Does anyone keep a registry of how many '62 500 Festival cars are still in existence?
Scott Griggs
Louisville, KYComment
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Originally posted by sgriggs View Post
As of a year or so ago, Scott; two are confirmed extant...including, by Serial Number, the very last one of the 34! 
Neither are / were in particularity good condition, but are indoors and complete; not junk or parts cars by any means. The last one (highest serial number) was being restored in Colorado, but I don't have an update on the progress. BP
Last edited by BobPalma; 02-28-2018, 03:52 AM. We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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Really neat to see all those alike Studebakers in one photo.Comment
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Looks like one had a black interior and the other a red interior.
Comment
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Bob, am I right that only one of the 33 had heavy duty rear springs, maybe front also? I always figured that car would have been the parade car as the models/pretty girls etc sat on the back of the rear seat and Studebaker didn't want the rear end sagging with the excess weight?Comment
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Originally posted by nels View Post Almost right, Nels.
Two cars were built May 10, 1962 to actually pace the race: 62V38990 and 62V39027. To the best of my knowledge, nobody knows which one was the actual Pace Car and which one was the backup waiting in the wings if something happened to the first one. Neither car is accounted for, so if someone finds either of those Serial-Numbered cars, chances are 50/50 that they found the actual pace car.
Both of those cars were equipped with heavy duty springs in the rear only. They also had HD shocks front and rear. Both were 289 / 4bbl / 4-speed. They also had 3.54:1 rear axles (3.31:1 would have been standard), HD radiators, and #1551386 steering gears. Both had blue interiors.
The 34 "regular" 500 Festival Cars had no special springs or shocks anywhere.
BP
We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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Bob, in Post 8, maybe that is blue, not black. I always thought the all 33 had the same color combination inside and out, but now I know that wasn't the case. Thanks for clarifying.Comment
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Are two of you just going by the boot color to indicate the interior color? I can't see the interior in the car to the rear. The production orders should solve the question of interior colors.Gary L.
Wappinger, NY
SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longerComment
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Yes Gary. I was only looking at the door panel on the one car and the boot on the other. Not definitive, I know.Comment
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Originally posted by studefan View Post Right, Jeff; the 34 (I just recounted!) Festival Cars had a variety of interior colors; Red, Taupe, Green, and Blue. See Page 8 of the January 1993 Turning Wheels.
We'd have to see pictures of the 1962 500 Festival Parade to see if all 34 259 / Flightomatic cars, plus 4 more with 289s and 4-speeds (two of which were earmarked for actual Pace Car duty), were used somewhere in the parade. The parade typically has 33 "pace cars," which are really Festival Cars, each carrying one of the 33 drivers who have qualified for, and will start, the race. BP
Last edited by BobPalma; 02-28-2018, 03:59 AM. We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.
G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.Comment
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When I was a member of the Conestoga Chapter (Denver-1980-7) one of our members bought a 62 Daytona Conv. Pace car new. He got tired of the lettering and had the car repainted Red. It was a 4-speed with red and white Interior.
A photo taken at 1982(?) Zone Meet in Golden, CO.
Photo taken at 1987 Int'l Meet Estes Park, CO of an original.Attached FilesComment
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Don't I wish!
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