Hello all. I wasn't sure what to put this under, so I put it under technical. I sold my 41 Ford and am looking for another car. I came across this Lark that looks like a decent price, but I am not sure. It has the 259 V8. Does anyone have any experience with the Studebakers? I was reading that the engine was an excellent design and was built to last. What about the automatic transmission. Are there any problems I should be aware of? Anybody have any idea of what this car is really worth? I am in southern California and I have noticed that cars tend to go for more here. Are there any other issues that I should be looking for, like rust? Any help is appreciated. I am not in a hurry to get a car, so I am okay with walking away from this one if it is not a good deal. This is the car in question:
Perfect timing for this thread. There is a 61 similar to this near me for sale right now and I was also wondering just what it might be worth. Main differences on this one is that it is a 6 cylinder and standard w/OD. But, otherwise appears to be in comparable condition. The one near me is for sale for $4,250...and I was also wondering if that was reasonable.
It is being sold for $5,500. I looked at NADA Guides and Hagerty and according to them, it seems reasonable.
Normally four door cars sell for a little less than two door cars. I've been driving and hot rodding Studebakers since about 1991. No choice to, just happened..! Yea, somewhat, the Stude engine has some strong points, but NOT as many think. It's a big heavy block / heads with tiny cubic inches. If you plan on driving the car as a daily driver, and doing many freeway miles, you might think about putting hard exhaust seats in the heads. But...if it will just be a show car, or around town, with an occasional long trip, you should be fine with the stock heads. The trans. is a knock off of a Ford trans. It's fine as long as it works, but it seems that only a few people want to rebuild them. I know one guy in Orange County that's good with them. Has a LOT of parts. There is a couple of people that make trans. adapters to install GM transmissions to the Stude engine. Using them myself. The car can be driven just like any other car, no problem. One thing, like many engines, the Stude engine like a bit more initial ignition timing than the book says. Unfortunately, there is JUST a pointer and two marks on the damper ring. Ya either have to mark the damper in degrees (not really that hard to do), or just wing-it, timing wise. Be sure to ask when the last time the valves were adjusted. They ARE mechanical. Good luck and have fun with it if you buy it. Mike
Thanks Mike. I did just buy it. It was actually pretty nice. Drove good and braked well. Timing and idle do need adjustment. It seemed like it had a really low idle. I'll be able to check it out better when I get it home.
Join the Studebaker Driver's club. Nice monthly newsletter that points you to the businesses and people that can help keep you rolling.
Back in the '60's, I had a '62 Lark with a 259 & it was a good and enjoyable car, but it was a convertible with three on the tree. The 4 doors & the automatic might be a bit of a wet blanket with the one you're interested in. That being said, 4 doors & automatics these days don't have the same stodgy people mover connotation they did back then.
The Stude 259 engine is one of, if not THE most rugged engines ever built. I am still to this day running a 259 in my truck that I pulled from a ragged 110,000 mile 62 Lark in a Florida driveway back in 1974. Still original bore. In the past 4 1/2 decades, I have worn out 4 speedometers, so I have NO IDEA how many times "the odometer turned over" since then. 3 JC Whitney "ring and bearing" overhaul kits and several decades later it still runs strong, even tho it lightly fouls number two spark plug lately Our favorite drag car we used to take all around midwest dragstrips for quite a few years in the 80s and 90s used a 259 to take scalps and shock people everywhere we went. The 259 was one of the best engines ever built. I just wish that Studebaker kept up with the displacement increases that the BrandXs used to try to keep up with Studebakers. Stude for some reason just stopped trying to stay ahead displacement-wise. We had tons of fun taking scalps with our 259 People chuckled at first, but then after a few races, we had small crowds around us in the pits. WHY BE ORDINARY ?
I paid $1600 for my original paint 59 lark. It was an all original half disassembled So Cal car. Took it home swapped in a 327 chevy ,4 spd and a 9 inch with home made Cal trac type traction bars. I love this car! It gets tons of attention everywhere I take it , most people don't know what the hell it is. Lately I swapped in a 406 small block and put 3.50s in the 9 inch. Dollars per smile's it's a blast!
I finally got it home. Cleaned it of all the POs stuff. It looks good. It was an older restoration back around 2010. I actually found an article on a site called My POS. The engine and tranny were rebuilt at that time, newer interior, decent paint job. I am very excited about this one. For now I am just going to enjoy cruising it around. Not looking to do any major stuff to it.
If it's been rebuilt at one time then hopefully most of the casting material is out of the block. When you do a cooling service you need to remove the block drains to get it all out or junk will collect in the rear cylinder area. The distributor is a Delco brand (which is great), vacuum advance and uses a GM cap, rotor and points. The trans is a Borg Warner 3 spd (Stude flight o matic), Ford has their Ford o matic and Cruise o matic and Mercury Merc o matic. Reverse being at the bottom of the selector and you start off in second gear. Lots of NOS parts still around for a good price at Studebaker International. It uses a Stromberg WW carb (a little hard to find)......the only thing I can think of is to check the control arm bushings. Also your Lark has a 1959 Grille. Join the Studebaker Driving club
Here's some links. My Girls: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/another-one-yea-i-know-60-studebaker-lark-wagon.991847/ Studebaker drivers club: https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/
It was funny. I was doing some research on these just so I know what to look for. I found some interior pics and a blog on a restoration. I was looking at the pictures and the car looked very similar to the one I was looking at buying. Then I saw the license plate and that confirmed it. Here's the blog: http://www.my-pos.org/1960-studebaker-lark/ So at least I know some of what was done to it. I tried emailing the guy, but haven't heard back.
Note that many items can still be bought as NOS, and there are also many parts that have been reproduced. A couple of the top places to look for parts. There are a few more that can be found in the "vendors site". 1. Studebaker International (NOS parts) 2. Studebaker Vendor's web site 3. Fairborns Studebaker (Stock and high performance parts) Mike
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but if I remember right from my '60 Lark Vert, with a 259 V-8 & auto trans, it started off in second gear, so when the trans needed rebuilding a valve body from a trans used behind a 6 cylinder was used, (as the 6's needed to start in first)to get it start off in 1st gear...made it a lot more fun to drive.
Brake drums for some 60s era Stude models can be pretty hard to find these days. They do make disc brake conversion kits.
I could be wrong, but I believe only the Taxis and Police cars have the correct valve bodies today for first gear starts. And you are about as likely to find one of those as finding an R-4 Studebaker for sale. It's all in the way that you drive the car. 1. Put the trans. into "low". 2. Accelerate to your desired rpm...shift into "drive", hold for about a second and a half, then shift BACK into "low" and hold it... 3. Accelerate to your desired rpm, then...shift back...into drive and leave it there for normal driving. Done it countless times in my 59 Lark, 2dr. wagon (over a bout a 8 year period), mostly while getting on the freeway. No damage to the transmission. Got this tip from an LONG time Stude owner. The trans. linkage does need to be adjusted correctly. Mike
Yea, I should have been more clear. "Low", IS first gear. Doing the "quick shift" into drive, then back to "low", put the trans. into second. Then the..."second shift" into "drive", puts the trans. into third gear. Mike
That is interesting. I wondered why you said to put it back into low then back into drive. I will try that tonight.
I'll just reiterate what other posters have suggested..........Join the Studebaker Drivers Club (http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/index.asp ) and spend a little time acquainting yourself with the resources that are available. I check out the "Tech Forum" almost daily (the amount of knowledge available in the tech forum is astounding), it's fairly easy to search for solutions to problems and if you don't find it just ask. There is a vendor section (my experience with the vendors have been positive) to help find those parts that Rock Auto doesn't seem to have The information is all free but I enjoy the monthly magazine and for first time subscribers the cost at $29 isn't all that much, and it is a very nicely done periodical.
We had a similar 59 Lark Wagon when I was a kid. Blue/blue with 259/AT. Had a thick quilted pad that covered the cargo area and at 5-7 years old was a great place to bounce around. Who needed seat belts back then? Lot of trips to the drive-in, best seat in the house and could lay down and go to sleep. Recall a number of trips to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Canada seeing the sights through all that glass. Folks were young and broke so we seldom stayed in motels. Just found a rest area or lakeside park. Folks slept in the back and I crashed in the front seat. Can still remember the ticking of the clock in the dash that made a ka-chunk evert time the minute hand moved. We were in the UP in 1962 when the Cuban missile crisis was going on and I recall seeing B52's taking off as we watched from the viewing area at Kinchloe AFB near Sault St. Marie. In hindsight that probably wasn't the best place to be during that time in history. Was replaced by a 58 T-bird I thought was waaaayyy cooler than the wagon but I still missed the comfort of that big back "seat."
That's why went with the 8" in my girls wagon. BTW, great looking Lark.....it's always nice to see another one around. The Studebaker show in La Palma parking in Anaheim hopefully will be on next year. Small swapmeet, lots of cars.
You have what looks to be a really nice car. If you are interested in disc brakes check out Turner Brake. Jim Turner has a lot of experience in this area. His disc brake kits are great. Here's his number:317-294-1492. I think there are adapters to be able to put a more modern transmission. I cannot help with that. As has been said check the Studebaker Drivers Club via their forum and website. Have fun with the Stude.
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