Production Orders!

[mfg]

I was just thinking how fortunate Studebaker Avanti owners are to have access to original factory production orders for their cars…..

I am not sure what’s available for Ford and General Motors vehicle collectors as far as factory build information goes, although I do know that Mopar lovers always check behind their rear seats for what’s known as the ‘broadcast sheet’, with similar information to Studebaker production orders…..

I happen to own a late production Stude Speedster, which was built with a standard transmission, painted in a single color (black), and had the hood center spear and front fender top ornaments deleted at the factory……

I’m sure that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to convince modern day Studebaker show judges that my car is ‘legitimate’ without that factory production order!!

[Gunslinger]

Studebaker owners are very fortunate, indeed, to be able to have access to such records.  From experience I know how Mopar and other Brand X owners get so extreme for originality.  I owned a '69 Corvette L71...427 435 hp convertible and was fortunate to have its original sales invoice, window sticker, copies of all prior titles, complete service history of the car and the broadcast sheet from on the gas tank.  That was an uncommon thing to own a car that was maintained as it was plus all its records.  No knows whether Chevrolet has records for them anymore...they disappeared long ago...either lost or destroyed.  

It's well recognized within the Corvette world that if those records were suddenly found and people had access to them there would be many unhappy current owners as they would find out their "all original" and "correct" Corvette left the factory in a completely different configuration.  It's already generally acknowledged that there are more "original" big block Corvettes extant than ever left the factory during the big block years.  Having the original records found would be a disaster for the Corvette hobby.

Pontiac owners generally do well as the factory records for them are pretty complete and available.  

[Nelson]

That is pretty cool to have that work done at the factory and then being painted black. Did you ever get the history on the car?

[1963r2]

Ford Australia provides that service for Australian made Fords. It even tells you how many other vehicles were made with the same specification ie 1 of 20 etc etc.

Pb

[Footer]

Wish I could find them for RQB 4771. Bob Johnstone’s registry shows it with the now missing moon roof, luggage rack, wire wheels, and supercharger. Nostalgic does not have them. The previous owner, Mike Valenti, has passed.   Mike

[mfg]

36 minutes ago, Footer said:

Wish I could find them for RQB 4771. Bob Johnstone’s registry shows it with the now missing moon roof, luggage rack, wire wheels, and supercharger. Nostalgic does not have them. The previous owner, Mike Valenti, has passed.   Mike

So, your Avanti is one of the twenty five or so that were built with a Paxton supercharger?…..Also, you feel a prior owner replaced the moonroof with a solid roof?….Interesting!

[mfg]

12 hours ago, Nelson said:

That is pretty cool to have that work done at the factory and then being painted black. Did you ever get the history on the car?

Yes Nels, A physician who lived in Newburyport, Mass ordered the car in late ‘55… The  purchase order notes ‘special order’, monochromatic velvet black, overdrive, power steering, and delete hood and fender top ornaments.

Also, there’s a Speedster streamer attached at the body tag so, I guess, folks on production line would understand what was going on.

The car was driven to 130K, then in 1965 its 259 engine spun a bearing and the car was put into storage for years.

I purchased it in 1990, and gave it a fairly nice restoration, including complete rebuild of the original engine, repaint, new leather interior, etc.

Back in 1990 I really wasn’t looking to purchase a Speedster, as I had owned one previously, and had moved on to Avantis, however, I felt this one was an oddity I couldn’t pass up.

PS…. At local Stude meets I made up a little sign I place in front of this Stude… l refer to it as…’THE DOCTOR’S CAR’!

 

 

Edited March 22 by mfg
Added text

[Footer]

I have no idea the origin of the supercharger, or what happened to it. Bob Johnstone’s registry said it had a second “gunsight” on the hood, maybe for clearance?  It no longer has the white and red interior. Someone did a lot of work on the car over the years. A production order might shed some light.  Mike

[Nelson]

23 hours ago, mfg said:

Yes Nels, A physician who lived in Newburyport, Mass ordered the car in late ‘55… The  purchase order notes ‘special order’, monochromatic velvet black, overdrive, power steering, and delete hood and fender top ornaments.

Also, there’s a Speedster streamer attached at the body tag so, I guess, folks on production line would understand what was going on.

The car was driven to 130K, then in 1965 its 259 engine spun a bearing and the car was put into storage for years.

I purchased it in 1990, and gave it a fairly nice restoration, including complete rebuild of the original engine, repaint, new leather interior, etc.

Back in 1990 I really wasn’t looking to purchase a Speedster, as I had owned one previously, and had moved on to Avantis, however, I felt this one was an oddity I couldn’t pass up.

PS…. At local Stude meets I made up a little sign I place in front of this Stude… l refer to it as…’THE DOCTOR’S CAR’!

 

 

As I said, pretty cool. The doctor had good taste.

[Mark L]

I believe Ford has outsourced all their production records from 1967 through 2020 to Marti Auto Works.

[mfg]

On 3/23/2025 at 10:16 AM, Footer said:

I have no idea the origin of the supercharger, or what happened to it. Bob Johnstone’s registry said it had a second “gunsight” on the hood, maybe for clearance?  It no longer has the white and red interior. Someone did a lot of work on the car over the years. A production order might shed some light.  Mike

Years ago there was a  white, mid seventies Avanti ll, once owned by Dr. Joyce Brothers, in my neck of the woods… It had the same red/white interior as in your photo… I remember it was quite breathtaking!!

[Footer]

Part of the mystery. No more red in the interior (except for the red carpet in the trunk), no moon roof, no wire wheels, no luggage rack, no supercharger, and the Nardi steering wheel was gone. Mike Valenti, a former owner, posted on this site years ago, but nothing that speaks to the history of the car.  Mike

[mfg]

2 minutes ago, Footer said:

Part of the mystery. No more red in the interior (except for the red carpet in the trunk), no moon roof, no wire wheels, no luggage rack, no supercharger, and the Nardi steering wheel was gone. Mike Valenti, a former owner, posted on this site years ago, but nothing that speaks to the history of the car.  Mike

Kind of hard to believe it’s the same Avanti?

[Footer]

I would be skeptical too if it didn’t still have red carpet in the trunk. 

[mfg]

2 hours ago, Footer said:

I would be skeptical too if it didn’t still have red carpet in the trunk. 

Is there any supercharger bracketry still on the engine?

[Footer]

No brackets and no sign of a moon roof or luggage rack. Whoever did the work did a nice job. Wish I could trace its history. Mike