My dad found a '61 Lark for sale the other day. It looks like a factory hot-rod to me, it's a 2dr sedan with a V8 (has a VIII badge on the fender - what cubic inch would it be, a 259?) and a 3-spd column shift, and a "TT" badge on the rear, which we guess is a Twin Traction badge. It's ugly as can be, green with minor rust, interior is pretty wasted. The gas tank has some problems, for some reason it's on the back seat, owner swears it runs good off a gas can. He likes weird cars and I think he will get this one. I know pictures are worth a million words, but can anyone tell me if this is rare, or even worth bothering with? It looks like this, except it's a green sedan. Thanks!
Old Larks are cool - buy it...get on a Stude owners forum...find out about replacement or similar fuel tanks. Install a nice saginaw 4spd (cheaper than a T10 or Muncie), dual exhaust....you're good to go. Green ain't exactly my favorite, but what the heck - if the price on the car is right - you can do anything you like. "The true test of a man's honor is what he would risk to keep it" dj
Neat cars. Seen em with eight carb Chrysler Hemi's, as as sleeper with an SBC that ran 10's and some hard runners with a blown stock block. Spotted a pretty fair two door wagon just yesterday. I think your dad will like with either a good running stock engine or an engine swap that utilizes easy to get parts.
I've always like the Larks ,nice little car ,, But I DO know what you are saying about the green color , for some reason people liked the ugliest colors greens back in the day, or maybe they though that it looked more high class , I don't know really but to me it was God awful
I guess I am like your dad, or maybe older, but I love 61 Larks, and I never thought they were ugly, just not beautiful. My Mother bought a 61 Lark new, with a 259 automatic. I was disappointed, but when I drove it, I had lots of fun with that car. Here is a 61 Lark 2dr. that was at The Osceola Drags in 2007 at the Studeabaker International Meet. Of course, it had a SBC. I ran my Mother's Lark at the dragway It wasn't very fast, but I beat all the cars in my class except one. You can determine which engine it has by the engine number. Here is a picture where you can find the engine number. If it starts with a "V", it is a 259, and if it starts with a "P", it is a 289.
I saw one of these years ago with the TT emblems and what appeared to be an aluminum intake on the V8? Did they come from factory equipped this way? We went back later and the car was gone. Sure do regret not jumping on that when we first saw it...
No Studebakers had aluminum intakes from the factory. I have a friend who races a 61 Lark with a modified Studebaker engine. He runs in the 12s.
Sounds like a cool project to me. A few years later, as the whole deal was unravelling for Studebaker, they went to, ahem, Chevrolet engines. So running what you have could be great, or swapping in a brand-X motor wouldn't be too much of a stretch if the parts availability thing gets you down. These cars were pretty light. A strong motor, not-too-shiny paint, and quiet exhaust would make quite a sleeper.
The Studey motors have some potential , especially the 289 . Packard/Studebakers also came with Paxton superchargers as an option and those are still around . There are speed parts available for them and as I recall the 331 Cadillac uses the same intake so you can dig stuff up without too much difficulty .
I don't have any pictures I can find at the moment, but I have seen a guy who is doing a mildly chopped and lowered 2-door Lark and it is pretty damn nice looking. Just a couple of subtle moves like that and all of a sudden it went from a bit gamely to real nice. Imagine the red one chopped about 2" maybe. Photochop anyone? That red one is pretty darn nice looking too by the way. Put a supercharged Stude 289 under the hood and that could be one really nice project. I'll see if I can track down any photos of that and post. Green? Who cares? Repaint it.
The engine in that car would be a 259. The TT denotes the Twin Traction rear axle. "Twin Traction" was simply Stude's name for thier limited slip differential. The rear axle is actually a Dana 40 series, same as you would find in an old Jeep, and the lsd was made by Eaton. The only gear ratio available with the TT axle was 3.08. Here is my '60 Lark VIII
If it has single headlights, it's a 59 or 60. If it has paired headlights, it's '61 and up. I prefer the earlier style, but that's just me. I don't believe there were any "factory hot rod" Larks, but it would be easy enough, then or now, to upgrade it with factory Avanti goodies. There was a kit that I bought a few years ago that allowed you to use the Studebaker VIII and bolt a Chevy transmission onto, which was great. Although you don't see them around so much on the coasts, I doubt one would call the Lark "rare". Buy it if you love it, but it won't turn you a profit. I, for one, did love my 1960 Lark VIII, a decent runner I paid $800 for in 2000. Then I got more poor and had to sell it halfway through a frame-off. Jesse.
The Deluxe 61 Larks had single headlights, but the Regals had duals. By 63-64 Studebaker had factory hot rods.
Ok, got photos of the chopped Lark, courtesy of mbstude. http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23682
These cars are not that rare, but always were a little hotter than people gave credit for. Basically the same car with some factory options has been beating Yenko Camaros at the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags under the watchful eyes of Ted Harbit and George Krem. The frames were pretty stout, you could order a supercharger from the factory, and disc brakes were an option. You can drive to South Bend Indiana TODAY and buy original parts which have never traveled beyound the walls of the factory! I'd say that the Studebaker drivers club is one of the friendliest, most organized one make clubs I have run across, and Stude parts rarely fall into the hands of the crusher. Last winter, I helped a fellow member save 13 of them. Parts are interchangeable to a great extent, especially on the post-49 cars. The engines are indestructable if you follow certain rules.
The red hardtop you have pictured is a '59 or '60. The '61 would have the chrome laid out a little differently and the roof line is also just a little different. As several folks have already indicated, the car probably has a 259 in it. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Although the 289 version gets a lot of press, there are many fairly hot 259 Studebakers running around. Do not be afraid of parts availabiltiy -- they are out there. The two door post has real potential as a hot little number. It is light weight and with the right set up can be very quick, even with the Stude motor. A SBC can be installed fairly easily, but why? Studebaker used a version of the T-10 four speed and you can find those around. If a GM automatic is more to your liking there are adaptors bolt those up to the Stude V-8. You can go to the Studebaker Drivers Club forum for lots of help: http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/ The Studebaker Racing Forum: http://racingstudebakers.com/stl-web/bulletin/bb/index.php Either of these places can provide you with lots of insight when it comes to your Lark. I think you'll find the folks in both places willing and able to help you out. Good luck with the Stude and keep us posted on your progress.
I just bought a rust free 61 Lark 4 door. Real nice shape and needs a motor rebuild. I have found a few people that will rebuild them for a reasonable price and there is some performance stuff out there. Figure for a mostly stock rebuild 259 with some speed stuff will yield about 220 hp. Good Luck and join the SDC.
Tell me, how have the Studes fared against those "Yenko Camaros at the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags" since, oh, I don't know, about 2002? [If you're not sure, check the "My Classic Car" video archive! ]
http://stude.com/Ted/drag.htm Also, look for Plain Brown Wrapper and Stude Tomato on Youtube. You can see what they can do.
If they are still just stock cars, what does 2002 have to do with anything? Unless the definition of Chevy stock changed somehow in 2002.
I think you guys are missing my point...I'm familiar with Krem's R3, but I'm also "familiar" with a certain Yenko Camaro...did you guys happen to catch this episode of "My Classic Car"? If not, it might just be worth the $2.99 to download...
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