* * THIS MONTH MARKS THE 25 YEAR * *
* * ANNIVERSARY OF THIS PAGE * *

This cool 1963 Studebaker Lark Regal 2-Door Sedan Gasser is owned by Harold Poyner of San Diego, California. Harold's Lark in stock form appeared on this page in January 2003. At that time it had a six cylinder engine with manual transmission, overdrive, and drum brakes. Harold had done a restoration on the car including new paint and a complete new interior. More recently, he decided to make his Lark into a gasser. It is now powered by a modified Chevy 350 cubic inch V8 with a GM 700R4 automatic transmission and 9" Ford rear end. The front crossmember was modified to allow the Chevy engine to sit correctly. Spring supports were added to the rear frame to accommodate the Ford rear end.

The car has a straight front axle front end and power front disc brakes. The frame was modified for a new steering box and steering column. The firewall also had to be modified to accept the new steering column and the power brake master cylinder. A header kit was modified to fit the car. An aluminum radiator and electric fan provide much improved cooling. The front bench seat has been changed to bucket seats and a tachometer has been added to the dash. A B&M Quicksilver shifter sits neatly on the floor. Basically everything mechanical was replaced along with most of the wiring. It took Harold about 18 months to make the modifications to the car.

The 1963 Lark featured a completely restyled padded dashboard with full instrumentation and an integrated beauty vanity. The Regal trim level was above the Standard trim level and below the Custom trim level. Standards had rubber windshield and rear window trim. Regals had bright windshield and rear window trim but no bright trim around the side windows. Customs added bright side window trim and upgraded upolstery. A total of 17,401 Lark 2-door sedans were built for the 1963 model year.

Harold made a Gatling Gun style hood ornament complete with sight ring to replace the original hood ornament. Next up he intends to change the paint scheme to top half silver and bottom half candy apple red.

Thanks to Harold for sending the information and pictures of his cool 1963 Lark.

If you own or once owned a Studebaker or related vehicle and would like to see your car as "Stude of the Month" or in the "Cool Studes" section, or if you have other pictures or material that you would like to contribute to this page, please e-mail me here at wj2d44@gmail.com. I can accept either electronic or hard copy images. The Main Page is issued every other month so the next edition will be December 2020.

All of the previous editions of the Main Page going back to October 1995 have been reposted. In the process of reposting the pages, I have made corrections and revisions as needed, and in some cases added material that was not used when a page was first posted due to download speed and file storage limitations. A complete list of Main Pages and Studes of the Month with links to each is located here.

If you have a particular interest in Bullet Nose Studebakers, visit Bill Junge's Bullet Nose Paradise which is dedicated to the 1950 and 1951 Bullet Nose models.

Mark Carson of Coquitlam, British Columbia sent some recent pictures of his Custom 1959 Studebaker Lark 2-Door Station Wagon. Mark's wagon is now complete and on the road. Details of the building of the car appeared on this page in April 2016 and June 2017. The original intention was to built it as a panel wagon but Mark decided to keep it as a standard wagon. He had acquired a set of factory metal panels for the rear windows but they did not fit well and would have required considerable work to use. As it was, almost every body panel on the wagon needed repair or replacement.

Mark's Lark wagon retains its original 170 cubic inch flathead six which has been modified with the addition of an aluminum head and dual carburetor setup supplied by Bill Cathcart. An adapter plate was fabricated to mate a GM 700R four-speed automatic to the flathead six. A serpentine belt system incorporates the power steering pump, air conditioner compressor, and an alternator. The wagon is equipped with a GM hydroboost brake system with a combination valve utilizing Turner front disc brakes and the rear end is stock.

The 1959 Lark wagon was a popular body style even though it was only availble as a 2-door car. A total of 26,709 were produced in six and eight cylinder form. For the 1960 model year the Lark wagon was available both as a 2-door and as a 4-door with the 4-door proving to be considerably more popular in the marketplace. Due to declining sales the 2-door was dropped for the 1962 model year. From 1962 to the end of production all Studebaker station wagons had four doors.

Thanks to Mark for sending the update on his cool Studebaker Lark Station Wagon.

Dan Armstrong from Mansfield, Texas has created a number of crossword puzzles and games for car nuts. Dan has a strong interest in Studebakers, particularly the 1956 Sky Hawk, the performance equipped 1963 Lark Daytona, and the performance equipped 1963 and 1964 GT Hawks. The Studebaker crosswords are copyright by Dan Armstrong and are used with his permission. Thanks to Dan for providing the downloadable Studebaker crossword puzzles for readers of this page to enjoy.

Thanks to Peter Crisitello and Jason Vogel for sending in the International Drive Your Studebaker Day pictures.

The Johnny Lightning Brand which is now owned by Tomy of Japan has issued two new variations of the Studebaker Champ Pickup. The casting is the same as earlier Johnny Lightning Champ with additional detailing and a trailer hitch added. Both new issues are labeled as "1960 Studebaker Truck with Houseboat" but the wide bed did not appear on Champs until 1961. The narrow whitewall tires look out of place. Nevertheless, these are nice 1:64 scale models reasonably priced. Version A is Oasis Green and Version B is Jonquil Yellow. Both are correct 1960 Studebaker colors but Oasis Green was available trucks and cars while Jonquil Yellow was available only on cars. Both are limited editions of 4,552 for Version A and 4,504 for Version B.

Johnny Lighting has also reissued two versions of its 1963 Avanti casting. Both come on blister cards in the Classic Gold Series. Version A is Green Mist which is a correct 1963 Studebaker color for Larks and Hawks but not for the Avanti and Version B is Saturn Bronze Firemist which as far as I can tell is not a Studebaker factory color. The two new Avanti are limited to 2,000 pieces each. The Johnny Lightning Champ and Avanti reissues are available on eBay and from internet vendors. Expect to pay about $14.00 for the Champ with boat and trailer and about $8.00 for the Avanti both plus shipping.

The earlier issue Johnny Lighting Studebaker Champ was discussed on this page in April 2005.

This 1:43 scale Milestone Miniatures 43rd Avenue Collection 1951 Studebaker Champion De Luxe Business Coupe is a recent addition to my collection. It is a white metal model made in England. The model has clear plastic windows all around and a white interior with black steering wheel. Details such as the door handles and windshield wipers are part of the casting and painted. It is a heavy model weighing just under 12 ounces. The model number "AA1" is cast into the base along with other identifying information. Here is view underneath the model.

By 1951 Champion and Commander Business Coupes used the same bodies on the same wheelbase. The Milestone Miniatures 1951 Studebaker Business Coupe also comes as a Commander in maroon and in light green and as a Champion in black. Milestone Miniatures also issued a 1940 Champion Sedan in several variations as part of the 43rd Avenue Collection. The models are similar to Brooklin models and use similar packaging but as far as I know there is no connection with Brooklin. Milestone Miniatures ceased production in 2008.

More toy Studes can be found in the Stude Stuff area of this page and on my Studebaker Toys Home Page.

Click here for information on ordering hard to find Studebaker toys made by manufacturers such as Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Muscle Machines, Maisto, and EKO.

Jim Geary's book Studebaker Toy Treasures is the standard reference for collectors of Studebaker Toys. This wonderful book has 294 pages of color pictures and details on hundreds of Studebaker toys. Publication date is 2004 and just about every Studebaker toy and model produced up to that time is pictured and cataloged. Jim is making the book available for $25 plus $14 for shipping. Jim will sign the book if requested. It also comes with a CD of more toys than what is in the book. This is a must for the serious Studebaker toy vehicle collector. Jim can be contacted at sanjim76@live.com or send payment to Jim Geary, 181 Allendale Hills Road, Franklin, NC 28734.