Inventory of leftovers at Hamilton in '66

[Scott]

I'm just curious, but was there ever an accounting of what manufacturing materiel was left in Hamilton (or elsewhere) when the plant shut down in 1966? I would think there had to be. How many body shells were left over? How many gallons of paint? How many tires? How many seats and radios and wheels and so on? Was the factory at Hamilton only supplied with the essentials (just in time delivery) or was there a stockpile that had to be moved after the shutdown?

[stude dude]

As far as general parts were concerned, most of it either went back to South Bend or to the Canadian parts depot. The stock from that depot later made its way to Eugene Snyder in Wisconsin who eventually sold it off to a group of SDC members in 1989 that included my father.

Chris.

[Chris_Dresbach]

I'm sure Stu Chapman can provide better details, but (at SI) we still have lots of late model parts in boxes marked "Studebaker of Canada Limited". The majority of parts in those boxes are GM/McKinnon engine components, for example we have a ton of Canadian air filters. If I had to make an educated guess I'd say they probably had a lot of sheet metal parts in stock (fenders, doors, hoods, etc.) because they planned on making more cars until the stamping die for the deck lids broke, and the reason I say that is because, again, we have tons of that stuff still in the inventory. I've always wondered if some or all of that stuff came back to South Bend from Canada. I know that stuff was shipped out from Plant 8 to Hamilton by train frequently. Past that, I have no idea.

[jimmijim8]

Got any intake manifolds 283. cheers jimmijim

[Stu Chapman]

I'm sure Stu Chapman can provide better details, but (at SI) we still have lots of late model parts in boxes marked "Studebaker of Canada Limited". The majority of parts in those boxes are GM/McKinnon engine components, for example we have a ton of Canadian air filters. If I had to make an educated guess I'd say they probably had a lot of sheet metal parts in stock (fenders, doors, hoods, etc.) because they planned on making more cars until the stamping die for the deck lids broke, and the reason I say that is because, again, we have tons of that stuff still in the inventory. I've always wondered if some or all of that stuff came back to South Bend from Canada. I know that stuff was shipped out from Plant 8 to Hamilton by train frequently. Past that, I have no idea.

First of all, our primary objective was to liquidate all the Studebaker properties in Canada, which was completed by mid-1967. My company, Chapman Morris Advertising Limited, formed in 1966, handled the advertising contract for these sales. Ed Dunbar, Corporate Controller, who was based in South Bend, was responsible for all this, and actually continued with Studebaker right through to 1972. All parts were centralized in our Montreal parts depot which was finally closed in 1972. The balance went to South Bend and disposed of from there, much going to Standard Surplus.

Chris....Ed Dunbar is still living and resides in South Bend. If you feel inclined to talk to him for further research, PM me and I will gladly put you in touch with him. Ed joined Studebaker from Curtiss Wright in December 1963 and was brought over for the express purpose of handling "divestments". Surprise, surprise.

Stu Chapman

[64V-K7]

...... until the stamping die for the deck lids broke.......

Is this speculation or the actual facts? Reason I ask, is because there have been numerous discussions regarding the trigger for the Hamilton shutdown and the deck lid was mentioned. This was only because the deck lid was probably the most expensive thing to produce and once the existing supply was exhausted, no more production money going to be invested...

eh?

[Chris_Dresbach]

Is this speculation or the actual facts? Reason I ask, is because there have been numerous discussions regarding the trigger for the Hamilton shutdown and the deck lid was mentioned. This was only because the deck lid was probably the most expensive thing to produce and once the existing supply was exhausted, no more production money going to be invested...

eh?

I have always understood this to be fact, and being around the parts as long as I have I think there is evidence that supports that. We don't have any NOS '64-'66 deck lids and according to more than one source, those haven't been available since the days of Plant 8 and I guess most of the ones they had got shipped to Canada for production.

[thunderations]

From what I have read, Studebaker was buying used deck lids and refurbishing them to build cars.

Is this speculation or the actual facts? Reason I ask, is because there have been numerous discussions regarding the trigger for the Hamilton shutdown and the deck lid was mentioned. This was only because the deck lid was probably the most expensive thing to produce and once the existing supply was exhausted, no more production money going to be invested...

eh?

[Scott]

It seems like a huge expense to have had everything shipped to Montreal and then South Bend.

[2R5]

A local scrap yard dealer ( Waxman Scrap ) was in the Hamilton plant the day after it closed according to members of our chapter who worked there.

[1962larksedan]

The deck/trunk lid thing is quite plausible as the 'tipping point' to shut down production since in all fairness; the sheetmetal parts of a car most likely to be damaged in a crash are the front bumper, hood and fenders and as of just recently, all of that was quite available NOS for said 1964-66 Studebakers.

[Allen B]

Not related to parts, but this link relates to scrap materials from the building. ' Sounds pretty neat to me!
http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-...AdIdZ498712581 My wife's uncle worked at that plant until it closed. His son found this link.

Allen B.

Note: I'm brand-new to this forum and I selected my user-name before finding out there is already an Allen Barth on the forum. I can't find where I can edit my user-name but I'm happy to do so if this is going to cause some confusion. ' Just can't figure out how to do it.

[Warren Webb]

Welcome to the forum Allen! It's always nice to have newcomers here. As far as the deck lid story goes, my 66 Daytona was built on Feb. 18th. It's deck lid doesn't fit the opening well. It seems to be longer on the right side so that at the tail lamp, it sticks out slightly. I have a digital tram gauge & have measured the opening & it's square so the problem lies in the lid itself. When I painted the car back in 89 it was taken down to the factory primer & shows no evidence of prior repairs. The 66 Cruiser of mine fits perfectly both with the original deck lid & the one I replaced it with. (lock cylinder area was destroyed) It was built in 12/65

[Scott]

Not related to parts, but this link relates to scrap materials from the building. ' Sounds pretty neat to me!
http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-...AdIdZ498712581 My wife's uncle worked at that plant until it closed. His son found this link.

Allen B.

Note: I'm brand-new to this forum and I selected my user-name before finding out there is already an Allen Barth on the forum. I can't find where I can edit my user-name but I'm happy to do so if this is going to cause some confusion. ' Just can't figure out how to do it.

Interesting use of materials. That first table looks mighty sturdy - and heavy.

[Warren Webb]

The picture used in the Patterson ad looks to be the Los Angeles plant rather than Hamilton.