First year of last Stude car chassis

[StudeRich]

/Cut/I wonder if there are any suspension design documents in the archives at the SNM...

There probable ARE, if you have the Time, Money and know where to look.

[sgriggs]

The answer to your question, as RadioRoy posted, is 1951. I thought that it should also be mentioned that it was the 1985 Avanti models that last used this chassis/front suspension.

EDIT: 1987-2007 Avantis used GM and then Ford chassis components.

Thanks. I recently bought an original SAE paper on the Studebaker Avanti written by Hardig and deBlumenthal on eBay. I was surprised at how much technical information was in there regarding the stiffness of the body and the body and frame combination. I started wondering if Studebaker had published an SAE paper on their new chassis when it debuted in 1951. I was hoping they had, and that it included toe, caster, and camber curves, which are how engineers analyze suspension geometries. Unfortunately, I didn't find any SAE paper on the 1951 Studebaker chassis. There is a paper on the (then new) OHV V8, which I think I have somewhere filed away.

I wonder if there are any suspension design documents in the archives at the SNM...

[studegary]

I have a question for those with a better memory than me. What was the first model year of the front suspension architecture used in the Avanti? Did that basic suspension debut in 1951?

The answer to your question, as RadioRoy posted, is 1951. I thought that it should also be mentioned that it was the 1985 Avanti models that last used this chassis/front suspension.

EDIT: 1987-2007 Avantis used GM and then Ford chassis components.

[RadioRoy]

The 50 Commander was a similar design to all of the 51 and later suspension.

The actual answer to your question is 1951. There were subtle changes over the years, like rubber A arm bushings in 1953 and new king pins in 1962, but the basic front suspension dates from 1951.

[sgriggs]

I have a question for those with a better memory than me. What was the first model year of the front suspension architecture used in the Avanti? Did that basic suspension debut in 1951?