Hi Guys and Gals I was posting some stuff on my 36 ford and 26 Studebaker RPU and thought some pics of my dayly driver 63 Studebaker might be of interest. found in a barn in north Canterbury in 2010 ( yes a real barn find ) where it had sat since 1980 and up for sale when the farm changed hands, the price was right and I purchased it after looking at the pics on the trademe web sight and had it shipped to Dunedin where I live, the pics had made it look better than it was but it was a good start, the paint was not good after I wiped the chicken shit off it but no rust just a few old dings and chips, it had not been running for 30 years so after replacing the rotted off single pipe with 2 inch twin pipes and 25 inch coby mufflers and replacing the fuel pump with a new one I cleaned the radiator and fixed a few other things I started it up and it ran pretty good. the car had only done 107,000 miles but the suspention rubbers and brakes needed done so I rebuilt all this with all new parts and did a lot of other stuff and had it back on the road in 2013. it is a New Zealand assembled car in right hand drive 259 V8 with 3 speed overdrive manual gearbox I have left it stock but for a 450 Holly carb and 6 inch rims I love driving it as it has free wheel and hill holder and I use it a much as I can. Check out the pics of the rebuild the paint is still stuffed and the bumpers need to be replaced but that can happen when I have the cash.
I had a 62 Lark, almost a copy of yours. Same color, 259 3 speed, but no hill holder and no free wheel. I drove the crap out of that car. Wished I still had it. Len
Always take a peek at what a fellow NZ rodder has in his garage. Sharp looking car mate. Real nice. Always liked Studebaker. Marched to the beat of their own drummer. I think they secretly had The Alexander Brothers and Gene Winfield in their styling studio.
yes they are a cool car not too big and plenty of power altho I need to do rings and bearings as when I fitted the 4 barrel carb the needle and seat got jammed with crap out of the fuel line and I flooded the engine with gas real bad and washed down the bores and scuffed up the walls/rings so the compression is not the best. but I am still driving it and it still spins the wheels with ease, I a looking at replacing the 259 with a 289 stude engine and rebuilding the 259 and fitting it in my chopped 36 ford flatback sedan (chec out my other posts for pics) in place of the worked flathead that I have in it now.
Free wheel means the engine does not hold the car back when you take your foot off the gas pedal. Like a bicycle back wheel, it free wheels. Hill holder is a device on the brake line, apply the brake when the car is going up hill and it holds like a line loc until you take off. You can stop on a hill, take your foot off the brake pedal, shift into low and take off and the car won't roll backwards. It releases automatically when you take off.
Hi 49ratfink the free wheel is great the overdrive has a cable pull to engage and then you get free wheeling, once you take off and get up to speed and ease off the gas the car will free wheel and engine will slow down to idle speed and when you want power get back on the gas and the engine will rev up to the road speed you are at and then start pushing the car again great for between lights/stops, when you are at the right speed normaly the overdrive unit will switch into overdrive (about 30 miles an hour )and it has a kickdown switch for passing ect .mine has had the kickdown removed in favor of a switch on the dash so I can select the overdrive when I want it this gives you a 6 speed gearbox but more of a 5 speed as 1st overdrive is too low to be of any use ( below 30 MPH ) 2nd overdrive is great for long hills where 2nd is a little low, I use the freewheel in 3rd around town and switch into overdrive at any thing over 80 Ks (50 MPH) the freewheel is also great for creeping past the cops as the twin 2 inch pipes and hotdog mufflers are a little loud and the studebaker engine sounds like a race engine or it could be just my lead foot. Ha Ha He He having fun with cars in my 50s is just as much fun as I had as a teen Cheers
update #*#>? small problem trashed 1st gear in the 3 speed, the right hand drive column change cars have cables from the shifter rods at the bottom of the steering column to the gearbox shift levers these can get streched and not engage the gears all the way this happened to mine and I stripped 1st gear on a power take off [lead foot] now when I select 1st it will not hold and throws it out of gear most times and whines when it stays in, I can use 2nd to take off on the flat but where I live is all hills [Dunedin home of the worlds steepest street] so looks like I will need to replace the box, my parts guy is waiting for some used gearbox's to arrive from the US and I am hoping to get one of these to fit while I find the parts to rebuild the one in the car then I will have a spear one if I need it. I will also look at fitting a floor change shifter to stop it happening again, I am also looking at a disk brake conversion for the front and I will go to hanging pedal and booster in place of the under floor master cylinder so I will lose the hill holder as it wont work with a dual master cylinder , but it will be much safer on our steep hills.
You've got a very nice looking Studebaker, but I'm curious about the brakes on your Lark. I've never seen a Bendix(?) assembled like the one pictured, with the auto adjuster cable attached to the primary (shorter lining) shoe, and through an odd looking cable guide. Are you sure the brakes have the proper parts, and are assembled correctly?
hi V8 Bob thats the way they where when I got the car and I rebuilt them that way and thats the way the workshop manual says they go, they work good but so many hills here that I get fade with hard use so I will fit a set of Turner Brakes front disks to update a little Cheers
I found a new 1st and reverse gear for sale at Queensland Studebaker in Australia these guys are great to deal with and they sent me the gear and a very good used floor change unit with every thing I need to bolt it to my box. so out came the box , then we started to disconnect the drive shaft, speedo cable, overdrive cable, overdrive wiring, clutch pivot and gearbox selector cables. the mount for the gearbox end of the shifter cables has a slide for adjusting the cables and we found that a bolt had striped so that the cable outer was moving when I changed into 1st gear and this was not letting the gear to go all the way into place and this was the reason that it was jumping out of gear and whining. I removed the box to check if this had done any damage and found the gears had no visable damage but decided to change out 1st gear just because I had the new one on hand. I have not worked on gearboxs before so it was a whole day to get it to bits and remove and replace the gear, the bearings are in good condition so I did not replace them. the box went back together and we refitted it and had a test run the box is like new and the clutch feels lighter for some reson. the shifter needs a little adjustment as it is a little tight but it is so nice having 1st again. I did not fit the floor change as I may have to sell the car as our cash flow has taken a knock as we are down to one wage as we keep up the fight with our daughters Leukemia. and the new owner can fit it if he wants. I am hoping to keep my 36 ford and am back working on it to get it on the road next year with a little luck.
the Studebaker has now gone to a new owner as the wife said I had too many toys. the fund from the sale are going towards getting my 36 ford custom on the road but I sure do miss the Studebaker.
Shame the Studebaker had to go but now you will have to concentrate on the 36. Victoria Police used the Stude Larks as patrol cars in the early 60's and they even imported some 2 door versions. The Police garage made floor shifts for the 3 speed gearboxes.
The Jalopy Journal
