Other: Restoring a '61 Lark Wagon from CA for the Northeast

[ajalstude]

Hi everybody! I'm pretty new to the hobby (sort of - we had a garage full of Larks when I was a kid). My aunt gave me her old '61 Lark VIII 4-door Wagon, which I will begin restoring in the LA area this fall/winter. The car is going to be a piece of work, having received little attention in about 20 years and not having been started in about 10. It's fortunately a very complete car with little rust or major damage.

I plan on having most of the car disassembled for the restoration process and am likely looking forward to an entire mechanical rebuild - engine, transmission, electrical system, possibly the cooling system, and possibly the suspension, brakes and steering. The question is, how stock should I keep it? It's a matter of personal preference of course, and I would like to keep this car as stock as possible in terms of appearance since it is very intact. However, the possibility of alterations to the front and rear ends, disk brakes, and perhaps some moderate tweaking to the engine and related components (a 4 BBl carb and duel exhausts, and some modifications to prevent the vapor-lock and overheating that use to affect this car in the past) are being considered. These sorts of things might come in handy since I intend to restore it as a daily driver, and will drive the thing from Los Angeles to Boston, where I now live.

Since I am bringing this CA car to the land of sleet, snow, and salt on the roads, what preventative measures should I take? I'm getting a good portion of the body disassembled for painting and such - are there undercoatings that I can have applied that will prevent the onset of rust? What might be of use to aid the car for cold weather operation?

How should I prepare for the drive across the country - what's a good list of parts and tools to carry with me?

Thanks for the help - I'll likely be posting more questions in the coming months as we come across the occasional surprise or mystery in the restoration process.

Albert

[studegary]

Welcome to te SDC Forum!

That is a nice car!
I would get everything operating properly before considering modifications. Stopping is more important than going. IMO, when working properly, the V8 brakes for 1961 are more than adequate for a Lark.
Really, the best cure for Winter degradation is to drive something else in the Winter. I live in NY and have owned more than 50 Studebakers, so I have a little experience with this. You can do things to lessen the onset of rust, but they will only delay the inevitable. I see fairly late model (less than ten years old) cars here that have rust through.

[StudeRich]

Glad to have you with us Albert, welcome to the SDC and to the SDC Forum!

You have a great Car there, it appears to be the top of the Line, "Regal" Lark VIII judging by the Stainless Steel Tailgate Window Frame, these have very nice Interiors if any can be saved.

I do not understand your situation very well, in as much as you are in Mass. and the car is in So. Cal but you might be a little previous on your request for items for a "Travel Kit". That will depend on which Parts you replace with new OEM or Modified or Not, on the rebuild.

You are talking total disassembly and restoration that will usually take YEARS to complete.
Do you plan to go to LA and supervise or DO the work?

The best you could do to preserve the Metal that is not exposed to sunlight as the bottom and inside of the floors would be the POR15 Rust Conversion process coatings and then the Rubberized Bed Liner Products available from many MFG's. today that were not available in the 1960's.

As to the "MODS" to do to this Car are concerned, that is directly determined by your Usage plans for the Car, who will ride in it or drive it etc. How many miles per year?

You can use the PM (Private Message) button at the top or better yet click on my or any Forum Members "Handle" to PM them for a question. If you ask for my phone number I will gladly make recommendations or answer questions, as I have and do own many '60 Studes. Also I lived most of my life in the South Bay Area (SW LA) and know people there that could help.

All of the Mechanical OEM type replacement parts are available for this Car.

[doug]

What L.A. area will the car be in?

[Studerick64]

Welcome to the Forums Albert, 1961 wagons are interesting cars. I have been working on one for the last 3 years so if you have any questions let me know.

[SScopelli]

Welcome Albert...

And by full restoration, do you mean like this? ==>http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...lity-Build-off

There are things I did to preserve the inner metal of this car even though it will be away from salty roads.

If you modify anything on your car, be prepared to modify the modification. There is Not much in the way of just plug and play for transmissions, engine or brake upgrades..

[ajalstude]

Update on Restoring the 61 Lark Wagon

Many thanks to all of the input! It's not going to be a frame-off restoration from what I can tell at the moment. Since I'm trying to restore it as a good-looking driver on a budget, I'll probably hold off on complete disassembly. Neat looking car SScopelli! What precautions did you take for the salty roads? StudeRICH recommended POR15 Rust Conversion process coatings or the Rubberized Bed Liner Products that are now available from many manufacturers. The mechanic is pulling the motor and transmission in about a month, and will be working on the mechanical components over the next few months. While the engine is out, I'll be taking it over for painting - I'll see if I can have the underside treated in said manner. If there are any tips into the hows and whats in regards to this, let me know - the California shops likely don't have to prepare a care for salty roads (no worries folks - I'm garaging her from November -March/Abril, but just in case!)

I'm currently looking for paint formulas, and found this site: http://www.raylinrestoration.com/TechIndex.htm

The have Ermine White for the exterior, and Blaze for the interior. I'm imagining that Velvet Black was used for the black components inside. Are there any formulas for this, or a good equivalent that I can buy canned?

Since the engine is being rebuilt stock, I need to find paint for the block and its components. I read from the Turning Wheels issue back in '94 that it was a silver block, orange/red covers, and black electrical components. Curiously enough, there was what looked like blue paint on the block - a mistake? I believe it's the same engine that the car came with. Does anybody have detailed images of a painted 259 from 1961 that I can study and show to the mechanic? Also, where can I find suitable paint for the engine? I tried looking at Chuck Collins site, but only found paints for 50s cars and before.

Thank you again everybody!

[garyash]

If you are getting the car rebuilt and repainted, the best advice we can give you is: don't drive it on the roads in Massachusetts between the first snowfall (November?) until the last + three good rainstorms (April?). The salt goes down heavy and there is nothing that can protect a car, especially an old one, from salt damage. Wait until it is completely washed away before going out in the spring. In the event of the occasional "January thaw", you might get a clear, dry day after a couple of rains to drive the car in winter. But, have your body shop person scrape and sandblast the underside and paint with Rustoleum (primer plus finish coat) or POR-15 to help.

We'll look forward to you joining the Ocean Bay Chapter of SDC when you get here and participating in local events. See http://www.oceanbaychapter.com.

For your cross-country drive, get the car serviced, bring points and condenser, a coil, a spare fuel pump, generator and starter brushes, a case of oil, a gallon of 50-50% diluted antifreeze, and a good set of tools (socket set, box/open end wrenches, screw drivers, BFH, duct tape, fuses, baling wire, etc.). There is an SDC-published guide to shops that service Studebakers across the country that might be helpful. A copy of the SDC roster could also be useful to call up a local person for guidance to help. If you don't try to push the car too hard, e.g. driving 75 mph, you should be able to cross the country in a week without difficulty. In the winter, stay south on the LA/Dallas/Atlanta/Charlotte/DC/Boston route, staying out of high elevations and snow.

Once you get to Massachusetts, Dave Thibeault (Maynard, MA) or Dennis Dupont (Derry, NH) can provide parts, and Bob Munter's WCD Garage in Northborough, MA can provide full service.

[jackb]

My echo to what Gary Ash stated above...... If you want to see a car very much like yours, which received a restoration much like your plan ... I will have my '62 wagon @ Octoberfest car show on 10/26 in Brookline. I can give you lots of pointers on where to get all you might need. Look for you there....

[ajalstude]

Thank you Garyash and JackB! I think I recently saw a '62 Wagon for sale out here in Massachusetts - is that the same one? The car will hopefully be ready by late Spring for an early summer drive, but that is somewhat in the air since surprises may be found during the restoration. I'll try to make it out to Brookline that day, and I'll definitely sign up for involvement with the Ocean Bay Chapter.

[StudeRich]

When you find a wrong color Engine as your blue one, it is because the Engine was rebuilt, overhauled etc. and the Machine Shop or owner chose or did the wrong color paint.

This is a '61 Hawk, but the Engines are all the same, it has the large Factory Oil Bath Air Cleaner used in some dustier States making it a bit hard to see the Intake area.

You can click this Twice to enlarge it.

[jackb]

.....and if the engine was painted and rebuilt , you might be a few $$$ ahead ......yes to the car being on eBay last week......look for you @ my car...

[SScopelli]

...Neat looking car SScopelli! What precautions did you take for the salty roads? StudeRICH recommended POR15 Rust Conversion process coatings or the Rubberized Bed Liner Products that are now available from many manufacturers.

Thank you again everybody!

Jay,

Here is a link to my photobucket account. I've broken it down into sections.. Lots of detailed photos..

http://s1286.photobucket.com/user/R2Whistler/library/R1%20Lark

I used POR15 in all the cracks and crevases.. I used a bed liner gun and a long wand used for undercoating to spray in the rockers...



The bottom was epoxy primered and then sprayed with tinted bed liner..


Trunk bottom half was also bed liner..


Since engine went into a 61, it is silver..


I used the Eastwood Silver Engine Paint in the Can, and sprayed from my gun. All I can say is good things abut it as it still has only slightly tones on the exhaust port on the head and have gone through on harsh engine cleaning with no softening..

A bit extreme, since this car will never see Salt Roads while in my sister's possession..