proving grounds

[hotrodstude]

watch it,i'm thinking again(i think it's against my dr. orders)but here it goes.what ever happened to the studebaker proving grounds west of south bend? did they turn it into a subdivision? how about the trees that spelled out studebaker? how big was the oval at the grounds? has anybody do a history on it?any pictures or video of the ground?

2006,f-150,2x4,v-6,5-speed manual,8ft bed, will post stude info when i get it on the road.

[candbstudebakers]

It's still there, drove our Avanti around it in 07, I will let someone that knows more about it speak...Bob

Bob Peterson / C & B Studebakers

Castro Valley, CA

[mbstude]

As Bob states, it is still there and the test track still gets plenty of use. Bosch Automotive now owns the track. The "STUDEBAKER" trees are still standing, and recently the trees were trimmed and cleaned up a bit. They were starting to look shabby from the air.

The trees, Studebaker Clubhouse, and I think most of the Proving Ground (aside from the track) are now part of what is known as Bendix Woods County Park.

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[studeclunker]

There have been several articles on the Proving Grounds in Turning wheels.

By the by, you can look at the trees from above by utilizing either Google Earth or Mapquest. Just look up Bendix Woods County Park in South Bend Indiana.


Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
Ron Smith
Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?

[4961Studebaker]

Sure hope to drive on the track in 2012 [8D]

ChopStu

[41 Frank]

I believe the oval track is 3 miles in length.

[GTtim]

Go to google maps, type in Bendix Woods County Park, click on satellite, zoom in to view. Pretty amazing, after all these years it's still there.

Tim K.
'64 R2 GT Hawk

[mbstude]

And if you know right where to look, you can see a pile of rusty, prototype Studebakers in the track infeild.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Lot's of neat info about the proving grounds is located right here...
Do a search using 'proving grounds' and set it as 'header only' and select 'all forums'..
(here's a list of what came up)

proving grounds hotrodstude 7 167 08/01/2009 06:53:12 AM
by: mbstude

Terra Cotta Post Top from Proving Grounds BubbaBear 22 500 09/09/2008 06:42:16 AM
by: lstude

Studebaker tree sign on old proving grounds Daan 22 536 03/09/2008 7:57:22 PM
by: BobPalma

Pine trees at the south bend proving grounds Kenny 4 238 03/07/2008 2:22:12 PM
by: StudHawk60

What I missed at the Proving Grounds 8E45E 22 581 07/18/2007 12:35:50 PM
by: A1956GoldenHawk

Proving grounds battleborn 10 687 07/01/2007 6:31:56 PM
by: 8E45E

Proving Grounds bondobilly 35 859 05/14/2007 10:07:19 AM
by: StudeDave57

[2R5]

Hotrodstude , here's a pic I took this spring as we were going around on the track at the proving grounds ....what a blast !



[IMG]
Home of the Fried Green Tomato
"IF YOU WANT THE SMILES YOU NEED TO DO THE MILES "

1960 Champ
1964 Daytona HT

[hotrodstude]

thanks everybody the track looks to be in good shape. i was expecting everything to be overgrown or a subdiv.with 500.000 dollar homes.

2006,f-150,2x4,v-6,5-speed manual,8ft bed, will post stude info when i get it on the road.

[Guest]

Well, well, for those 289 Fxxxd engine drivers we can say STUDEBAKER IS "ALIVE & WELL" JUST LOOK AT ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL TREES IN THE SATELLITE VIEW!

Louis
64 289 Cruiser
62 H'top "Blacklightning"
vette powered

[Jeff_H]

As it was mentioned, the Proving Grounds is still in active use. When I was there in '07 the oval track appeared to have recently been repaved. OEMs can rent test time there. A few years ago, a project I have been involved with saw some test time on the track. My employer supplies a circuit board (that I worked on the design for) that goes into a larger assembly that is part of a truck drivetrain. It was mentioned during a meeting one time that test trucks running those prototypes were running on the track in South Bend.

This article mentions the Proving Grounds current facilities:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FZX/is_9_71/ai_n15653871/

Unfortunately, seems that the downturn has resulted in layoffs there this spring:

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/45088732.html

Jeff in ND

'53 Champion Hardtop

[studeclunker]

quote:thanks everybody the track looks to be in good shape. i was expecting everything to be overgrown or a subdiv.with 500.000 dollar homes.

Hmmm... I don't think you'll find many 500k homes in the vicinity of South Bend. There are a few... my research of the area didn't turn up much of a demand for that kind of thing. That's why I like it there!


Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
Ron Smith
Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?

[studegary]

quote:Originally posted by studeclunker

[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3]

quote:thanks everybody the track looks to be in good shape. i was expecting everything to be overgrown or a subdiv.with 500.000 dollar homes.

Hmmm... I don't think you'll find many 500k homes in the vicinity of South Bend. There are a few... my research of the area didn't turn up much of a demand for that kind of thing. Ron Smith

I was thinking the same thing. Around here, most new homes and many condos are over $500K. I just can't imagine that to be the case in the South Bend area.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer