That combo of no $ an if there is a will, there is away! made up a lot of very cool drag cars. I started drag racing in the later 1950s with anything that ran,an worked/souped it up with more dreams then $. Studebaker now are likely under rated by many,but there are things about them often not known. The Study V8 n CadyV8 had some parts an sizes that could be used on ether,Cady V8 was a very EZ thing to put into the Studys. The Study's own V8s,even though it was not big in Cu. In.,it was very hard to kill,had a steel crank 5 main that could with the right work,spin 8000+ an live,most other V8 could not live up there. Last Study I dragged with was a {F Stock} Lark Daytona GT supercharged w TT rear,1/4 time,14flat at 107MPH,that fast back in 1968 ,an yes it was Studebakers V8.
In the Early/Mid 60's that Studebaker Sedan probably came free for hauling it off if it had a bad engine in it. Free body meant that all your money went into the engine and drivetrain rather paying money for a popular and high demand body even though you could drive a 55 Chevy two door post off the car lot for around 350 quite often at that time.
This was an Australian drag car owned by Barry Sharpe circa 1966. It was powered by a Ford v8, probably a 272 y block which was the most common and cheapest v8 available at the time. The photo was taken at Castlereagh, the local dragstrip for Syd
Dana Barlow did you know Bob Dwyer of Precision Auto Machine in Ft lauderdale ? He died a while back but used to race a blown Lark in SS/IA that was a rocket. Always wondered what happened to the car
I remember that car from reading "Austalian Hot Rod Review" when I was a wee lad. Always remembered the name. When you're 10 years old, it reminds you of ****ies.
The Jalopy Journal
