Lark tangles with Olds, turns turtle

[Studebaker Wheel]

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee285/studeq/newsgroup/larkwreckupsidedown.jpg?t=1332450821

Appears to be a fleet vehicle maybe from a utility company? In any event I think it could be driven away. That Olds ('53 I think) in restored condition would be worth a few bucks today!

[Chris_Dresbach]

Oh, that looks like it would have hurt.

[Roscomacaw]

I don't know, Dick. Look how askew that right front wheel of the Lark is. Looks like that's where it and the Olds kissed.

[jclary]

Imagine that! People are standing around talking to each other and not cell phones stuck to their ears.

[BobPalma]

Yep, a '53 Oldsmobile, Dick; they lost the lower pontoon in front of the rear wheel in '54.

The Lark has to be a commercial vehicle (unmarked taxi? Utility company, as you say?) in that it is a long-wheelbase 1959 or 1960; probably 1959 with the Studebaker script on the front fender. You can see the rear door vent window on the right side of the car, verifying long wheel base. BP

[laughinlark]

Sure like seeing the commercial vehicles. Just not in this position! Looks like the Lark handled the flop fairly well.

Gordon S

[62champ]

The Lark has to be a commercial vehicle (unmarked taxi? Utility company, as you say?) in that it is a long-wheelbase 1959 or 1960; probably 1959 with the Studebaker script on the front fender. You can see the rear door vent window on the right side of the car, verifying long wheel base. BP

This might be one of those "Well what did the factory put on this vehicle and why" kind of things. While the Studebaker nameplate on the fender says 1959, the rounded tail light lenses and hubcaps say 1960...

Don't thing there would be much driving away though - from the looks of the rear of the tranny angle, either all the motor mounts were busted and the engine took a tumble or the impact was hard enough the poor motor was trying to crawl out from under the hood before it flipped over!

[Peanut]

Check out the angle of the transmission tailshaft. Looks like the front motor mounts were no match for gravity!

[JRoberts]

It looks like the frame is bent pretty good about at the rear of the right front fender. The left front wheel is several inches forward of where it should be while it seems like the right front wheel is located just the opposite.

[Bob Andrews]

Still looks like it fared better than this poor old thing sitting in one of my storage buses...

[kmac530]

That'll buff out....didn't even bust a window.

[8E45E]

It would be interesting to know it if got repaired, or replaced with another Y1. In any case, a Y1 is a rare body style regardless of the year it was made.

Craig

[jclary]

Well...I made a rather flippant remark when I first posted on this thread and was waiting for someone else to comment on what I think is a pretty serious observation. Looking at the front wheel positions...I would like to see a picture from the other side. I am thinking that the car was T-boned and we are not seeing the real damage. If this was the case, I hope there was no serious injury, but, back in the day, fatalities were not uncommon from rather slow speed side collisions.

This could have resulted in an instant "parts car." One common practice of the period was for used car dealers to buy these fleet cars at auction, rip off those black wall tires and dog dish hub caps, and dress them up with white walls, full wheel covers, and resell them (after doctoring the odometer).

I think the box of those hub caps given to me by an antique dealer came from fleet car take-offs. He said he was not able to sell them and was tired of tripping over the box.

[Welcome]

Well...I made a rather flippant remark when I first posted on this thread and was waiting for someone else to comment on what I think is a pretty serious observation.<<<

[jbrotten]

Another thing to consider. People didn't generally wear seat belts back then, in fact, that Lark doesn't appear to even be equipped with them. So that had to have been quite the ride for the driver!