This nifty 1959 Studebaker Lark Deluxe 2-Door Sedan is owned by Eddie Willard of Charlottesville, Virginia. Eddie's Lark is what might properly be called a "sleeper" in that it is powered by a small block Chevy engine with Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. The small block engine is equipped with a Holley Street Warrior four-barrel carburetor and employs side exhaust with low restriction mufflers and rectangular outlets exiting forward of the rear fender wells. The front brakes have been converted to Turner discs and the Hurst Dazzler alloy wheels are equipped with Cooper Cobra radial tires. The stock radiator has been replaced with an aluminum radiator and the electrical system uses an alternator in place of the original generator. A total of 33,809 Lark 2-Door Sedans were produced for the 1959 model year of which 33,259 were 90 horsepower flat head six cylinder cars.

Eddie's Lark has a rust free body and is painted classic black which looks sharp on this car. The only trim removed from the car are the front grille emblem and the "VI" script from the rear panel. Front bucket seats from an unknown source and the stock rear seat have matching cloth upholstery. A Hurst shifter controls the transmission and the brake pedal has been converted to the suspended type. A tachometer reading to 8,000 RPM is mounted to the steering column and a vintage Pioneer KP-500 Supertuner cassette player FM receiver combo unit sits under the dash. The KP-500 was extremely popular in the 1970's and brings high prices today. A new in the box Pioneer KP-150 recently sold on eBay for $2,125 and $800 to $1,200 is typical for a used one in working order.

It is generally acknowledged that the 1959 Lark saved Studebaker, at least for a time. Designed by a team led by Duncan McRae, the Lark used the body shell introduced in 1953 with a shorter wheelbase and with the front and rear body overhang reduced. A 1958 Champion sedan measures 202 inches in length while a 1959 Lark sedan measures 175 inches in length. The new Lark was clean and attractive inside and out with single headlights, no tail fins, and interchangable front and rear bumpers. Studebaker model year production increased from 44,759 for 1958 to 126,156 for 1959. Studebaker earned a profit of $28.6 million in 1959 after five consecutive years of operating losses.

The pictures were taken in May 2021 at the 60 Years of Cars and Stars Car Show and Nostalgia Drag Races and in November 2019 at the Lost in the 60's Car Show and Nostalgia Drag Races, both held at Eastside Speedway in Waynesboro, Virginia. Eddie says that his next project on the 1959 Lark is to redo and upgrade the interior. Eddie also has a 1950 Champion Busness Coupe that he intends to build as a rod.

Thanks to Eddie for providing the information about his cool 1959 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 August 2021.

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.

This sharp 1963 Studebaker Lark Regal Four-Door Sedan was owned by James Walker of Glasgow, Virginia at the time these pictures were taken. The car was for sale so it is not clear who is the current owner. This was originally a six cylinder but it has been re-engined with a Chevy small block V8 with steel tube tight fit headers. Just don't try to change the spark plugs until those headers cool down! The engine is trimmed with Edelbrock Signature Series chrome valve covers and an Edelbrock Pro-Flo chrome air cleaner. Overall it is a very neat and tidy conversion. Here is a second view of the engine compartment. Other than alloy wheels with radial tires and dual exhaust, the car looks stock. The car retains its correct Blue Mist paint which to my eye is slightly darker than the Laguna Blue on my 1964 Wagonaire.

The 1963 Lark featured a completely restyled padded dashboard with full instrumentation and an integrated beauty vanity. The Regal trim level was sloted above the Standard trim level and below the new for 1963 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 came with bright side window trim and upgraded upolstery. A total of 40,113 Lark body four-door sedans were built for the 1963 model year. An interesting fact is the rear quarter panels on the 1963 Lark and restyled 1964 Lark types are the same even though the 1964 trim and revised tail lamps make the 1964 model look all new.

The pictures were taken in November 2019 at the Lost in the 60's Car Show and Nostalgia Drag Races at Eastside Speedway in Waynesboro, Virginia.

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.

One problem I was having with the Wagonaire was that the top of the red oil breather cap was rubbing against the black hood insulation pad blemishing the cap and leaving a red spot on the pad. I finally bit the bullet over the Winter and carefully cut an opening in the hood insulation for the cap. This can be seen in the picture above. It has fixed the problem and I no longer have to carry a second oil breather cap to use at car shows. I hope to attend a number of shows this summer now that things are opening up.

This beautifully restored French Dinky Toys 1955 Studebaker Commander Hardtop is a recent addition to my personal collection. I purchased it on eBay in April 2021 for just under $37 including tax and shipping. The restoration was done by Dave Beard of Los Osos, California. Dave restores old Dinky and also Corgi toy cars as a hobby and sells them on eBay. Some of his restorations are in the original color schemes and others such as the 1955 Commander I purchased are "Code 3" restorations done in alternate colors. Some other Studebaker toy restorations he had listed include this Dinky 1952 Land Cruiser and this Corgi 1957 Golden Hawk.

Dave completely strips the models he restores and removes the base to be painted separately. His paint jobs are outstanding with careful preparation, masking, and hand painted details. The Commander I purchased has clean axles, white replacement tires, and silver polished hubs. Dave takes great care with his packing when he ships out a model to a customer. The boxes he uses are perfect for storing these fine models. His eBay seller name is "lisasc_45" if you want to do a "by seller" search to see what he has currently listed.

This 1:43 scale GFCC 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner Hardtop is the second Studebaker model issued by this little known company. The first was a 1:43 scale 1955 Studebaker President Speedster that was featured on this page in February 2018. The 1953 Commander is available in three color combinations including red over light yellow, light green over dark green, and tan over red. I believe these are intended to represent Coral Red over Ivory Mist, Tahoe Green over Lombard Green, and Monterey Beige over Coral Red. All three are quite attractive and I opted to purchase what are sold on eBay as the yellow and green versions. Both have light brown interiors and the problem of the steering wheel being mounted to low on the earlier 1955 Speedster model has been corrected.

The 1953 Commander model comes in two types of packaging. The green version came in a picture box that opens at the ends while the yellow verson came in a hard cardboard lift-off top presentation box. Here is a picture of the presentation box with the top off and upper foam pad removed. Included inside the presentation box are three small sheets with nice line drawings of the car. Here is a picture of the side view line drawing. Other recent issues from GFCC include a 1941 Cadillac Fleetwood Series Sixty 4-Door Sedan, a 1954 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, and a 1956 Lincoln Premiere 2-Door Hardtop. All are available in multiple color combinations.

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.