A fellow mechanic friend has access to a Studebaker goldmine!!! ALL the parts (fenders, rotors,trim pieces, rebuild kits) were put in a storage barns when the dealership closed in 1967!! this is all NOS! My mechanic buddy has ability to purchase ENTIRE package, it is an all or nothing purchase. This stuff has been untouched for more than 30+ years! Should he buy it?? He wants to know where he can get rid of it? Are there computer sites or dealers, or coillectors that might be interested in this historic landmine? ANY- suggestions are welcomed!!!
bill cathcart in connecticut would be able to advise you on that. he used to be in the Stude NOS business before the supply dwindled. he has a website, so a quick google will find him. dan
I have found over the years that you will sell about half of what you buy. When I buy large amounts of used parts, I wind you throwing about 1/3 of it away as I unload the truck.
I thought Stude went out in 64, except for Avanti parts, I think they held out longer. Either way, cool score. But it is a limited market. Any R3 Blowers or stuff? Jay
Stude stopped American production and using their own engines in 64. 65 and 66 a company north of the border kept them alive using Chevy straight sixes and SBCs. I think Avanti hobbled on for a bit after that, before the many resurrection attempts. dan
I believe that you can still buy original Studebaker parts in South Bend where the factory used to be and I don't think they're all that expensive.My friend Spike owns several Studebakers and he said that he had purchased parts there fairly recently.I'll ask him tomorrow.
There are a small handful of NOS vendors scattered around the U.S. The one in Southbend I believe is SASCO. You should check out the site listed below for a list of Stude vendors, who might be interested in the parts. Otherwise, if you take on parting this collection out yourself, it'll probably take a little while... But probably the best place to list the collection would be at the Studebaker Driver's Club website/magazine. Good luck!! If you have a list of the parts, or can assemble one, let me know! Stude Vendors Directory
Its easier to become enthusiastic about a new score like that than it is to sell it and come out on it....be cautious and not impulsive. It probably is not as valuable as it seems. I heard from a guy who bought trailer loads of JC WHITNEY suff that he was into it about a dollar an item.In the cae of studebaker- that was near the very end so they may be obscure slow seller suff that was left over as a result of the lack of need of said parts. BID LOW,then negotiate to rediculously low.
[ QUOTE ] Make sure its CHEAP! Stude parts (except for very few) Don't sell well.............OLDBEET [/ QUOTE ] Its just that Stude guys are the cheapest bunch of guys in this hobby, they just refuse to be gouged.
before a semi truck crashed into the building and the whole thing burt down, I had a similar opportunity. You could probably sell it all on ebay and get a lot more for it, or you could sell it to Studebaker West, SASCO (Newman-Altman) or some of the other larger Studebaker venders. You'd make less, but it would all be taken care of...
Unless there are chrome trim parts, body parts, and the like, it sounds like tough sell stuff - old engine bearings and carb kits you're going to be lucky to get a buck each on. Wheel bearings might be good sellers though. I sell a lot of this old crap at car shows over the summer, and one guy goes show to show selling stuff out of his semi-trailers of crap for a buck an item. I got Pontiac headers off this guy for $2, I usually go buy a box at the end of the show for resale. He likes to throw the stuff into the dump after a show, though, so the $10 box gets smaller and smaller each time. Stude guys are cheap - not as cheap as Kaiser guys, but pretty close. Start at like a dollar a part, deduct your time and expenses to come in and truck it all away, and load it into storage someplace while you sort it out. Go through it some if you can, if there's anything good like body panels or supercharger parts you may be able to offer more money. Just be honest with the seller - Studebaker went out of business for a reason, and the guys who buy these parts now are cheap, so the stuff's worth closer to it's weight in turd than in gold.
[ QUOTE ] Stude stopped American production and using their own engines in 64. 65 and 66 a company north of the border kept them alive using Chevy straight sixes and SBCs. I think Avanti hobbled on for a bit after that, before the many resurrection attempts. dan [/ QUOTE ] Studebaker production in South Bend ended 12/31/63, continued in Hamilton Ontario, Canada with a much more limited lineup from there. 1965 models began using the Canadian-produced Chevy motors (194 CI 6/230 optional, or 283 CI V8). 1966 production only reached about 2000 cars, ending March 1966. My source, Krause's Standard Catalog of Independents, was a bargain buy at Rhinebeck - probably because it is badly in need of revision. The Henry J car is completely overlooked, here in the Studebaker section I have to go back to the beginning of the postwar section to find anything about post-1964 Avanti sales, and there's a lot of other errors or omissions. Anyhow, it says two South Bend businessmen revived the Avanti after Studebaker quit in the US, as the Avanti motor corporation. Says it was sold a few times before they gave up - I remember seeing them have an Avanti convertible as a prize on Wheel Of Fortune when I was maybe 12, so they lasted into the 80's somehow. Studebaker was making more off their other holdings - among them STP, Richard Petty's long-time sponsor - and the car line couldn't make enough profit to be worthwhile. (make your own related joke about what STP stands for).
Stude guys are cheap - not as cheap as Kaiser guys, Would never have guessed any group would be cheaper than stude guys, but then have never had the pleasure of being stuck with any Kaiser parts. bit of trivia the old Kaiser assembly building in NE Portland on Killingsworth St.,still stands and is in daily use to this day.
nick 3 years ago I bought a "collection" of nos studebaker parts, the deal was that for 300 bucks I could take everything I could fit in pickup. I GRABBED EVERYTHING that had chrome and or a part number on it.. in all I came out with 22 nos or good used grilles, lots of other chrome trim pieces and parts and a host of stainless trim.. ONE NOS hood ornament sold on the bay for 650.00 (however it did turn out to be for a rare 57 stude president speedster.) and as someone suggested I was forced to sell every engine gasket to somone for a mere 13.00. if your looking at hard parts like suspension etc. it's gonna be hard to roll the stuff.. but any chrome pieces are like GOLD.. (especially since MOST of the grilles etc were plated pot metal . good luck.. sawzall
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