For the past several months I've been trying to sell my 63S-Y6 with little success. To be fair, I've only advertised in my chapter newsletter and via e-mail to several others, but that's due in large part to (a) this isn't the best time of year to sell any kind of hobby car (b) nobody seems to want an OHV6 sedan with AT, no matter how nice. At the moment I'm planning on taking it to York and see if I can get a decent offer in the car corral.
Anyhow, one thing I've been wanting to do for some time is to drive in a vintage TSD rally style event like the New England 1000 or Carolina Trophy. I've done TSDs before in my daily drivers, but I thought doing one in a Stude would be a great way to promote the marque. The cost of entry is a separate matter; I'd probably seek some sponsorships and call myself the "Studebaker Factory Team" or some such. Ditto finding a suitable co-driver/navvie.
Thinking out loud now: would the 63S-Y6 in stock trim be sufficient to compete in such an event? If not, and if I wanted to do it in a Stude, should I consider using a V8 powered Lark? What about swapping a V8 into my car? I've noticed more people are doing that, even though I've always been told it's verboten since the frames of 6-cylinder cars are made of lighter gauge steel. The answer to these questions may have an effect on whether I become more or less aggressive in my efforts to sell the car.
In either case, what have people been doing to make their "modern" Studes (Lark/Hawk/Avanti) handle better? Just from observation, the majority of Stude performance enthusiasts are mostly interested in going fast in a straight line (e.g. Bonneville, PSMCD) and the success of Ted Harbit et al. at the PSMCD has caused a little bit of a rush on two-door Larks and Lark-types to produce Brown Wrapper/Tomato clones. I'm aware that Larks did run on tracks in the past in the US and, particularly, in Australia (Bathurst). I'm also aware that a '64 Daytona appeared at Goodwood in the UK in the recent past. In any case I haven't seen or heard much of anything about Lark suspension setups, wheel/tire combos, etc.
Any thoughts? TIA.
Anyhow, one thing I've been wanting to do for some time is to drive in a vintage TSD rally style event like the New England 1000 or Carolina Trophy. I've done TSDs before in my daily drivers, but I thought doing one in a Stude would be a great way to promote the marque. The cost of entry is a separate matter; I'd probably seek some sponsorships and call myself the "Studebaker Factory Team" or some such. Ditto finding a suitable co-driver/navvie.
Thinking out loud now: would the 63S-Y6 in stock trim be sufficient to compete in such an event? If not, and if I wanted to do it in a Stude, should I consider using a V8 powered Lark? What about swapping a V8 into my car? I've noticed more people are doing that, even though I've always been told it's verboten since the frames of 6-cylinder cars are made of lighter gauge steel. The answer to these questions may have an effect on whether I become more or less aggressive in my efforts to sell the car.
In either case, what have people been doing to make their "modern" Studes (Lark/Hawk/Avanti) handle better? Just from observation, the majority of Stude performance enthusiasts are mostly interested in going fast in a straight line (e.g. Bonneville, PSMCD) and the success of Ted Harbit et al. at the PSMCD has caused a little bit of a rush on two-door Larks and Lark-types to produce Brown Wrapper/Tomato clones. I'm aware that Larks did run on tracks in the past in the US and, particularly, in Australia (Bathurst). I'm also aware that a '64 Daytona appeared at Goodwood in the UK in the recent past. In any case I haven't seen or heard much of anything about Lark suspension setups, wheel/tire combos, etc.
Any thoughts? TIA.
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