This sharp 1959 Lark VI Station Wagon is owned by Pat Kirby of Kitchener, Ontario. Pat has owned this car twice. He purchased it about 32 years ago and sold it about 25 years ago. It was subsequently resold and moved from the Ottawa area to Nova Scotia. When Pat owned it the first time the car had a Chevy drivetrain. After Pat sold the car it was restored and repainted in the original Tahiti Coral. The Chevy drivetrain was replaced with a Studebaker flathead six that was rebuilt with Bill Cathcart performance parts including a dual carb manifold and finned aluminum head. The mechanical work was done by a shop in Nova Scotia.

Pat's car is one of 829 Lark Wagons built at the Canadian assembly plant in Hamilton, Ontario for the 1959 model year. It is equipped with overdrive, a Climatizer, an AM radio, front bumper guards, and an exterior rear view mirror. It is a Deluxe trim model with Regal trim chrome headlight bezels and grille moulding. The aftermarket front fog lamps were added by the previous owner in Nova Scotia. Pat repurchased the car in July 2022 and drove it 1,267 miles from Nova Scotia to his home in Ontario without incident. After getting the car home, Pat cleaned the car up and changed the hub caps to the attractive 1964 type.

The 1959 Lark was considerably shorter than its predecessors. Both front and rear overhang were significantly reduced while the interiors remained essentially the same. The Lark was a great sales success and generated $387 million sales and $28 million profit its first year. All 1959 Lark station wagons were two-door. Total production was 26,709 of which 18,912 were six cylinder and 7,797 were V8. This was the highest Studebaker station wagon production for any model year. A four-door station wagon was added in 1960 and it quickly outsold the two-door version. Although popular, Tahiti Coral was a 1959 only color.

Pat posted the pictures above to the Studebaker Station Wagon Owners and Fans group on Facebook that I administer. The group covers all years of Studebaker station wagons both stock and modified. It is a public group so you don't need to have a Facebook account to visit the group or to view its contents. The posts include numerous pictures and other materials related to Studebaker station wagons.

Thanks to Pat for sharing the pictures and for providing information on his 1959 Lark Station Wagon.

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 February 2023.

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 beautiful 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk Hardtop was spotted by Bill Junge at the October 2022 Run to the Sun car show in Lake Havasu, Arizona. It is a nicely optioned car with automatic transmission, air conditioning, push-button radio, and a tachometer and clock in the dash. The latter two items were both optional for 1962. It has some custom touches including upgraded seat upholstery, wire wheels, and round dual exhaust tips. The original vinyl seat uphlstery on 1962 Hawks was not very durable and tended to split. Unfortunately, Bill was not able to identiufy the owner of this outstanding example of a first year GT Hawk.

Thanks to Bill Junge for sending the pictures of this beautiful 1962 GT Hawk.

This 1955 Commander Conestoga Station wagon is owned by Tim DePrey of Yakima, Washington. Tim bought his Conestoga in 1984 and drove it for a number of years but until recently it had not moved since being parked in 1998. Tim decided to revive the car and got it cleaned up and running in time for 2022 International Drive Your Studebaker Day. He took the car and his Mom to a morning cars and coffee event and then drove around to visit family. The old Commander put on about 20 miles on its first day out.

The pictures were originally posted to the Studebaker Station Wagon Owners and Fans Group on Facebook. Thanks to Tim for sharing the pictures and information on his 1955 Conestoga Station Wagon.

If you have some pictures from the 2022 International Drive Your Studebaker Day that you would like to see on this page, please send them to the Pagemaster at the e-mail address on the bottom of the page.

Here is my 1963 GT Hawk out for trip to the Southern States gas station for a tank of no ethanol gas and Sta-Bil before going into hibernation for the winter. I plan on making some interior improvements over the winter including the sun visors, steering wheel, and glove compartment door and adjacent dash overlays as all are showing their age. I'm not sure if I will have the existing pieces redone, look for new parts, or a combination of the two. I expect that the Hawk and my other two Studes will be back out around mid-March 2023.

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.

M2 Machines continues to issue more versions of the Studebaker C Cab Pickup Truck. The first two above are recent issues from the lower priced Auto-Drivers Series. Both are 1954 3R models with white grilles. These are packed on a blister card and are attached to a black plastic stand. The two Coca-Cola 2R trucks are somewhat more expensive and come with a display case packed inside a stand-up clear plastic blister pack. The white 1950 Drag Truck with the bottle in the bed and bear on the card is a 2022 holiday issue. The red 1949 Covered Back Truck is from a couple of years ago. All four of those shown are limited to 9,600 pieces.

M2 Machines has issued numerous versions of its Studebaker C Cab truck. These include tow trucks, plows, drag trucks, stake bed, flat bed, and with a utilty box. They range from 1949 2R models to 1954 3R models with appropriate changes to the grille and trim. Most versions are only available for a few months as M2 Machines is constantly updating its offerings. In addition there have been a number of special issues for O'Reilly Auto Parts and Hobby Exclusives only available through the M2 Machines Hobby Dealer Network.

Several versions of the M2 Machines C Cab have been featured as Stude Toy of the Month on this page. These include a 1954 3R Tow Truck in April 2011, a 1951 2R Utility Box Truck in December 2012, a 1951 2R Stake Bed in April 2013, a 1954 3R Pickup in December 2013, and a 1949 2R U.S. Army Tow Truck in December 2017.

The Hot Pursuit Series 1953 Commander Starlight Coupe in Indiana State Police Safety Education markings was featured on this page in December 2020. Two additional La Carrera Panamerica Racers, a 1953 Champion Starliner Hardtop from the 2017 Race and a 1954 Champion Starlight Coupe from the 2008 Race, were discussed on this page in February 2021.

This Rainbow Rubber 1935 Studebaker Stake Bed Truck is from my personal collection. It was purchased on eBay several years ago and is in fairly nice condition compared to other examples I have seen. It retains most of its dark green paint, the white rubber wheels are intact but somewhat out of round, and the axles are clean and bright. Underneath it is stamped "MFG'D BY RAINBOW RUBBER CO. BUTLER, PA." and "RUBRTOY." It measures about 5" long.

According to Jim Geary's book Studebaker Toy Treasures, the 1935 Studebaker Truck was available in green, red, yellow, and blue. The green version appears to be the most common followed by the red version. Based on recent eBay listings, current prices seem to run between $35 and $75 depending upon color and condition.

The Rainbow Rubber Company produced toy vehicles for a short time in the mid-1930's. These included a 1935 Oldsmobile sedan in two sizes, a 1935 Oldsmobile Coupe, and an open wheel race car. Due to the short period of production, all are considered to be somewhat rare.

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.