PintoLark?

[DEEPNHOCK]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/1786055751.html

Except for jamming a Pinto engine in there, and painting it flat black...
It hasn't been molested?

[Ron Dame]

Many moons ago (25 years?) there was a '59 Lark in Cumming, had a stuck flathead, and was $500. It had little rust and a decent interior. It was black...dull black. I passed. It was a 4 door with a stuck 6...could it be the same car?

[studegary]

A "58 Studybaker"? Wrong on both counts.

[jclary]

I know some of you may be Pinto fans. However, from my pinto experience, I think I would rather have a "stuck flat head Studebaker six" than a Lark "stuck with a pinto engine."

[Nelsen Motorsports]

I would rip out the Pinto unit and find a way to attach a Stude 6 to that 5 speed.

[laughinlark]

What a potential sleeper. There is more room for a big turbo with a pinto engine. There is a 2.3 turbo pinto at my home strip running 9.80's in the quarter. No the time isn't a typo.


Gordon

[JeffDeWitt]

That's better than an Avanti with a K Car drivetrain!

And Gord is right, while I'd never do that to a Lark if I was offered one already set up that way, it worked and the price was right it would be something to think about. I don't know for sure but I bet the Pinto motor has more power than a Champion 6.

Keep in mind Ford put what amounted to turbo'd Pinto motors in T Birds (and did put them in Mustangs) so there is real potential in a Lark.

All that being said $1100 seems a bit steep for that car.

[studeclunker]

Aren't the Pinto engines four-cylinders? I don't suppose that a Pinto engine would be any worse than any other engine in a Studebaker. It would be very interesting to see just how the car performs. However, wasn't the Pinto a floor-shift car?

[okc63avanti]

Now a Lark with a 4 cylinder turbo diesel .... that would be more like it !!!

[studegary]

That's better than an Avanti with a K Car drivetrain!

And Gord is right, while I'd never do that to a Lark if I was offered one already set up that way, it worked and the price was right it would be something to think about. I don't know for sure but I bet the Pinto motor has more power than a Champion 6.

Keep in mind Ford put what amounted to turbo'd Pinto motors in T Birds (and did put them in Mustangs) so there is real potential in a Lark.

I do not remember four cylinder engines in any Thunderbird. Please refresh my memory. I do remember those engines in Mustangs.

[fatboylust]

For studegary : http://www.adclassix.com/a4/87fordthunderbirdturbo.html

[8E45E]

I do not remember four cylinder engines in any Thunderbird. Please refresh my memory. I do remember those engines in Mustangs.

I do. I worked with someone who owned a 1988 Turbo Coupe, which I believe was the last year for them. They were introduced in mid-1983.

Craig

[jclary]

I never knew about a 4 cylinder Thunderbird, but after a little searching I found this... In February of 1983, Ford sweetened the pot when it unveiled the Thunderbird Turbo coupe. The release of the turbo coupe turned a lot of heads. The car was available only with a 2.3 liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. At the same time the turbo coupe was introduced, Ford also added the 5.0 liter V8 model.

I still don't think I would want a 4 cyl Thunderbird...turbo or otherwise.

[Nelsen Motorsports]

Now a Lark with a 4 cylinder turbo diesel .... that would be more like it !!!

Ohh Ya!!! That would be fun. Or a Duramax Diesel for 1,000 ft lbs. of torque!!!

[studegary]

Thanks all! I guess that I had a hard day. I even knew someone that owned one of those TurboCoupe Thunderbirds. I didn't say that the post was incorrect, just that I didn't remember them, which, at the time, was the case.