The '61 Lark VIII arrived tonight from Ohio. I haven't had time to really go over it yet, since it's after midnight here(driver got delayed due to heavy snow and rough holiday traffic), but so far, everything looks good. The inside is immaculate and very comfortable(I had to drive it a short piece from where it could be unloaded to the garage), and it runs beautifully. It appears to have a new exhaust system and muffler. All the lights, dimmer switch, and turn signals work, and it's surprisingly easy to turn and handle for a car that I don't think has power steering. Somebody has added after-market cruise control, which I haven't had time to check out to see if it works, but the dealership had overlooked that option. The AC blows COLD air(which we don't need right now with temperatures in the twenties)and the heat blows nice and toasty. There are a few little chips in the paint, mainly along the front fenders and edge of the hood, the usual places for small rocks and other road debris to hit, so I've got to touch those up, and the plastic covers for the taillights have some cracks on the sides, and the cigarette lighter is missing, as well as the radio antenna(it has aftermarket AM-FM Cassette stereo) so those are some minor things I will have to deal with, along with having lap belts installed just for my own security, whatever it's worth. I know a guy in Graham, NC, who has a property full of literally hundreds of Studes, of various makes and models, including many Larks, so I shouldn't have any trouble finding replacement stock parts, like the lighter or taillight covers.
Now, here's the dumb question-actually two of 'em. First, the biggest one-can this car use regular unleaded gasoline? The '51 I have has to run on Premium(thank goodness it's a straight six), but I hadn't considered this one's requirements. The engine is orignal and has been rebuilt, if that helps any. The dealership left just enough gas in the tank to load and unload it, and maybe make it to a little country store about two-three miles down the road, but that store only sells regular unleaded. Also, what type oil, in terms of weight and so forth, is recommended for this car? I'm planning on making it a semi-daily driver, to take some of the pressure off my 11-year-old RAV-4, which has nearly 300K miles on it.
The second dumb question is about two features in the trunk. Along each side wall of the trunk there are these impressions, that appear to have been designed to hold a jack or something. What are those for? If they were made to hold a jack, why two of 'em? There is a jack with the car, that is bolted down with a wing-nut on top of the spare tire, but it's not the kind that would fit in those impressions.
pitbulllady
Now, here's the dumb question-actually two of 'em. First, the biggest one-can this car use regular unleaded gasoline? The '51 I have has to run on Premium(thank goodness it's a straight six), but I hadn't considered this one's requirements. The engine is orignal and has been rebuilt, if that helps any. The dealership left just enough gas in the tank to load and unload it, and maybe make it to a little country store about two-three miles down the road, but that store only sells regular unleaded. Also, what type oil, in terms of weight and so forth, is recommended for this car? I'm planning on making it a semi-daily driver, to take some of the pressure off my 11-year-old RAV-4, which has nearly 300K miles on it.
The second dumb question is about two features in the trunk. Along each side wall of the trunk there are these impressions, that appear to have been designed to hold a jack or something. What are those for? If they were made to hold a jack, why two of 'em? There is a jack with the car, that is bolted down with a wing-nut on top of the spare tire, but it's not the kind that would fit in those impressions.
pitbulllady
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