illinilefttackle 399 #1 Posted January 17, 2012 Today being MLK holiday- admission to the Museum was free. The grandsons have been after me to show them "The cars that I built". Of course , I told them, I didn't build the whole car-just an important part of it. As my luck would have it- Try as I might, I couldn't coax these old bones to get moving-too much pain from old gridiron hits and others. So they went with my adult grandson Lance and had a good time-they took a few pics that brought back memories of good times gone by. I was priviledged to work at Avanti both under Newman & Altman owership & Steve Blake. My area of expertise was to completely dress & assemble the complete engine and transmission assembly for placement in the frame. Each assembly took 6 1/2 hours to complete. When Steve Blake took over-we were making one car a day. I also got to build the engine & trans assembly for the first ever Convertible-sold to George Hamilton- the actor & shipped to California-this car was on a TV show too I believe. He wanted to increase production to 2 cars a day- he wanted to establish a network of dealerships. Up til then, you ordered, and picked up your car at the factory. I was given the task of redisigning the engine assembly bay so I could double my production. After a few days and some changes in the way I moved-I did it. I could just barely complete 2 assemblies in 8 hours. I was proud to put my stamp on each assembly of what was nearly a hand built car. The factory was featured in a " ROAD & TRACK " magazine in 1984. The magazine paid me $1 for permission to print something about me building the engines. Here the boys pictures-one of which was ANDY GRANITELLI s car that broke 29 speed records at Bonniville and was labeled "Worlds Fastest Production Car" oh yes their were some wheel horses there too Thanks for looking- wish I could have walked enough to have gone- but I have the smiles on their faces when they talk about "Grandpa's Cars"-Al 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,592 #3 Posted January 17, 2012 Sounds like they had a good time Al. Heck....I woulda had a great time! Mike......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
massey 111 #4 Posted January 17, 2012 Great story, thanks for sharing that info. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buzz 502 #5 Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks for sharing Al. It looks like you could use one of those little rascal scooters or whatever they're called. My cousin Robert had one and you'd always see him zipping around the tractor shows. Sometimes we need a little help to keep having fun........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #6 Posted January 17, 2012 Al I remember you saying you had worked on the Avanti production, but didn't realise you played that big of a part in them. Very cool stories, awesom cars too. Been a few years since I've been to the museum....it's a nice one to cruise through. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunahead72 2,346 #7 Posted January 17, 2012 Nice, Al, thanks for sharing that with us. One of my fondest memories from childhood was visiting my favorite aunt and getting to ride in her "tudebaker". This was in the late 1950's, and if I remember correctly this particular car had something like Venetian blinds in the back window. Very cool! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dobeleo 7 #8 Posted January 17, 2012 I used to work for a company in Mishawaka that originally built the overhead cranes for the new Studebaker plant in the early 50's in South bend. As often as I have been to South Bend, I cant beleive I never new about this Museum. I wont miss it on my next business trip! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
illinilefttackle 399 #9 Posted January 17, 2012 As my Grandson would say "MY BAD" I know I'm getting old now- The magazine was "Car & Driver"-not "Road & Track". It was the April 1984 issue. -Thanks-Al Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimD 3,345 #11 Posted January 17, 2012 I bet they had a great time Al. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
