Studebaker's Plant 8 parts warehouse

[Studebaker Wheel]

This is Studebaker’s parts warehouse on the city’s south side (actual address was Eckman Street). It was known as Plant 8 while Studebaker was still making cars but became universally known as SASCO later. The building contained approximately 1 million square feet of floor space and had over 7 1/2 miles of aisle ways and stocked in excess of 50,000 different parts for Studebakers, Packards and Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks. It backed up to the Chippewa Ave plant (to the south) which was also owned by Studebaker. It remained in business for approx. six years after the last car was built in Canada closing the doors on June 16, 1972. Photo #1 looks to the south and shows the main entrance which faced to the north. Photo #2 shows the building from the air looking to the south and east. Photo #3 is a wider view showing Plant 8 in the foreground and the Chippewa Ave. plant at right and beyond. Image #4 the absolute last SASCO invoice, note date. Thanks to Roscoe Stelford for this.

[r1lark]

Wow, the second and third photos really provide a good understanding of how huge Plant 8 was!

Was Plant 8 always used for parts warehousing, or did it have previous Studebaker uses?

[Blue 15G]

I have seen the June 16, 1972 shutdown date referenced elsewhere. I graduated from high school on May 31, 1972. I thought wouldn't it have been fun to start work at Studebaker Plant 8 in June, 1972, work for 2 weeks then get terminated like everyone else. Then I would get on with my life, but I could have said that I used to work for Studebaker!

[62champ]

Studebaker really wanted to make sure there was no problems replacing a vehicle frame - that is a big row stacked up on the lower right corner of the building.

[tsenecal]

Thanks for posting the pictures. It's always nice to see more of the history. What a building, even in todays standards.

[studegary]

I notice that most, but not all, of the cars parked there are Studebakers.

[DieselJim]

Bought a few parts in there. One was a dual rear antenna kit for my '54 coupe. It was under $4.00. Those were the days.

[ivorydan]

Here are the last things I got from Studebaker, in March, about 3 months earlier than the invoice shown above.
Dan