Pop Quiz: Why couldn't this be "the" Pace Car?

[BobPalma]

Gordon's Post #7 in this topic suggests a Pop Quiz:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?60787-63-Convertable-craigslist

We've established that the subject Craigslist offering is really a 1962 Lark Daytona convertible with cosmetic modifications.

As far as is known, neither of the 1962 Lark Daytona convertibles built to pace the 1962 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, have been accounted for. Both the real Pace Car and clone back-up Pace Car are still MIA.

So here's the Pop Quiz question:

Assuming the Craigslist car retains its original drive train, why could it NOT be the actual car that paced the 1962 Indianapolis 500, or the clone back-up car?

The first person to post the correct answer (in this case, the correct answer does NOT involve the transmission even though the cited transmission is a 3-speed and the actual Pace Car(s) had 4-speeds) wins their choice of:

1. Two NOS Studebaker Red Ball stationery letterhead envelopes

OR

2. A copy of the 1962 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car mailer I recently had reprinted.

(Previous Pop Quiz winners: please recuse yourself to give others a chance. Thanks.) BP

[DieselJim]

Pace car had a 4 speed trans.

[M15 Trucker]

Pace car was white, looks like original color on this car was dark blue.

[8E45E]

Assuming the Craigslist car retains its original drive train, why could it NOT be the actual car that paced the 1962 Indianapolis 500, or the clone back-up car?

No battery hold-down?

Well, that aside, it appears to be an earlier engine with the partial-flow oil filter.

Craig

[dpson]

2 bbl carb, the pace car had a 4 bbl?

[61Lark]

Was the pace car a late 62 with the full flow engine?

Nick

[Son O Lark]

Wrong serial numbers?

[candbstudebakers]

Pace car was white with a white top, with the race being in May the engine could have been still the early oil style engine .

[BobPalma]

Pace car had a 4 speed trans.

True, Jim, but I excluded the transmission issue. BP

[BobPalma]

Pace car was white, looks like original color on this car was dark blue.

True, but we really can't determine the subject car's original color, and Studebaker didn't have a dark blue in 1962. BP

[BobPalma]

No battery hold-down?

Well, that aside, it appears to be an earlier engine with the partial-flow oil filter.

Craig

BINGO, Craig: The subject car has a partial-flow oil filter. That alone means it could not have been the actual Pace Car or Backup Pace Car.

To wit: Check Page 8 of the January 1993 Turning Wheels. Therein, you see that the Shipping Date for the two actual Pace Cars (one of them paced the race and one was the backup; we don't know which was which) was May 17, 1962. By May 17, and especially since these were likely carefully-built engines, they certainly would have been full-flow.

The Parts Book confirms this. It states that the last partial-flow 1962 289 engine was P90915. The engines in the two Pace cars are recorded in that Turning Wheels article as P91653 and P91654, verifying they are full-flow engines. (Even if you didn't have access to the Parts Book and 1993-era Turning Wheels, you could still safely conclude with no documentation that two 1962 Larks built in May 1962 with 289 engines would be full-flow.)

So, "all the above" rules out the subject Craigslist car being the actual Pace Car or backup, because it has a partial-flow filter, and the Quiz stated the assumption that it has its original drive train.

Craig wins, being the first to point that out. (Now, Craig; have you won a Pop Quiz before? If not, specify your prize and it will be forthcoming. If you have won before, would you defer to Nick in Post #6, who also got it right? Thanks.) BP

[BobPalma]

2 bbl carb, the pace car had a 4 bbl?

Dan: Your monitor must be better than mine; I can't see the carburetor on my screen! BP

[dpson]

Bob,

You're right the carb is hard to see, but I believe it's the air cleaner style that gives it away.

[laughinlark]

I'm to late for the pop quiz. One of these days the Pace Cars will surface. Heck, they're probably both together in a barn.


Gordon S