ENJOY ECONOMICAL MOTORING IN STUDEBAKER’S 1962 LARK

In the early 1960s, if you were car-shopping on a budget but didn’t fancy a Falcon, vie for a Valiant, or crave a Chevy II or Corvair, you had options from independent marques like AMC’s Rambler American and the Studebaker Lark. The low-priced cars from South Bend appealed to a different type of consumer who was drawn to their inherent quality, practicality, and durability. The Lark’s appeal was still evident in this sedan that we found in the car corral of the 2024 Rhinebeck Car Show in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Studebaker had revised its popular Lark the year this car was built, with the 188-inch-long, six-passenger four-door wearing tasteful styling updates from noted industrial designer Brooks Stevens. This model’s bold new grille paid tribute to that of Mercedes-Benz, the German automaker that was then marketed in America through Studebaker-Packard’s Mercedes-Benz Sales Inc. subsidiary, and the Lark’s round taillamps and proud nameplate lettering were tastefully simple. 

The example we found at Rhinebeck gave off the vibe of an honest, largely un-messed-with car. Save for minor touch-ups, its black body paint was said to have been factory-applied, and we didn’t spot evidence of telltale overspray. Much of the chrome trim appeared weathered with minor tarnishing or pitting, and the plain white steel wheels, adorned with attractive center caps, showed their years with minor paint chips and wheel-weight damage. 

Opening a door confirmed this sedan’s appealing simplicity, as its interior contained plain cloth-and-vinyl-trimmed bench seats, a simple two-dial dashboard with the optional “All Transistor” pushbutton AM radio, and precious little else. The comfortable-looking seats may have been retrimmed in the factory pattern using lighter-color vinyl and cloth at some point in the car’s life, judging by the gray door panels, matching dash, and silver-gray front lap belts. The Lark’s original sun-damaged dash top was of no concern since a replacement dash top was resting in the rear seat, ready to be fitted.

Lifting the hood revealed a remarkably tidy engine bay with Studebaker’s standard “Skybolt” inline-six; the oil filler cap was still wrapped in its original paper sticker with the printing, “Note: Break-in oil contains STP.” The overhead-valve, 169.6-cu.in. engine imbibed regular gas from an 18-gallon tank through a one-barrel Carter AS carburetor, making 112 hp and 154 lb-ft of torque. The transmission was a column-shifted three-speed manual, and the rear axle housed this automaker’s desirable Twin Traction limited-slip differential. This example had driven an indicated 59,289 miles, a figure corroborated by a yellowed Sunoco Service sticker on the driver’s door that noted 48,456 miles on 4/15/91.

Classic.com shows numerous second-generation Larks have sold publicly over the last five years, but only four of them were four-door sedans, each with the optional V-8 engine, so it’s difficult to place an average sale price for a six-cylinder version like this; we’ve included the jdpower.com (née NADA) value range for the 1962 Lark Deluxe four-door in the chart.

We spoke with the seller after this event; he told us he hadn’t learned much about the Lark’s history when he bought the car in 2023, and while his intent was to tidy it up and pass it on to a new owner, he ended up bringing it home. He’s grown fond of the Studebaker and has now registered the car and is driving it himself! 

1962 Studebaker Lark

Asking price:               $8,900

Seller description:      “59k miles. 6 cyl., 3 spd manual. ‘TT’ differential- Dana. New Tires. Original paint.”

Known issues:             None

Why buy?                    This appeared to be an attractive survivor with low mileage and many factory-applied finishes. With a Twin-Traction differential putting the inline-six/three-speed manual driveline’s output to the rear wheels, it should be a fun and frugal drive. 

Price new:                    $2,175 ($22,620 in 2024 dollars)

Value now:                   $4,800-$22,000

The post Enjoy Economical Motoring In Studebaker’s 1962 Lark appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.

2024-09-11T14:21:12Z dg43tfdfdgfd