Avanti production schedule May 1962 original document

[Studebaker Wheel]

While looking thru some seldom accessed files I located this hand written note book page that was passed along to me by the late Otto Klausmeyer who was head of General Manufacturing at Studebaker in 1962-63. Note the meeting date of May 11, 1962. Not sure how close this schedule came to reality.

Incidentally Whitmer was V.P. and Gen Manufacturing Mgr., Hardig was V.P. of Engineering.

[BobPalma]

Dick: Would you interpret those numbers to mean production Avantis actually rolling out, rather than prototype units?

Reason I ask: Cousin George Krem and I drove over from Paris IL together (in my parent's 1957 President 2-door) to either the first Saturday of qualifications (Pole Day), or the second Saturday of qualifications.

Pole Day was Saturday, May 12 and, of course, the second Saturday of Qualifications was May 19.

We distinctly saw and drooled over, from a distance, a real Avanti prominently displayed in an off-limits area toward the south end of Pit Row. I'm fairly certain we went on Pole Day as it was a big deal. If so, the Avanti we saw would have been a pre-production protoype, according to the subject document.

Concur? BP

[8E45E]

Would you interpret those numbers to mean production Avantis actually rolling out, rather than prototype units?

And if they were the 'screwed up' bodies that were assembled without a jig and got rejected?

Craig

[Studebaker Wheel]

Yes, as you know Egbert pulled out all stops to get one of the pre-production cars there for the race. The photo above shows the car you saw and it may very well have been taken on the day you were there.

[studegary]

I think this was an early planning memo. It says 50 bodies in May. At the bottom there is a note that 18 bodies were received by June 18. I figure that this note was added later as a measure of actual to plan.
I believe that only prototype Avantis were completed prior to June.

[Studebaker Wheel]

Maybe but could be interpreted to mean that this (18) was the anticipated number by June 18. That's how I would have read it.

[Avantidon]

Dick thanks for the interesting memo and picture of the car at the Indy 500.