Wheels / Tires: Wheel color for a 1961 Lark VIII

[ajalstude]

What colors were the wheels painted on 1961 Larks? I've read that it was a silver-gray, but my wheels appear to be a very light beige color. From what I can tell, they haven't been repainted - then again, although they are stock wheels, they may not be from the car as delivered from the factory. My Car still wears its original Ermine White with Blaze Red as an interior color.

[BobPalma]

Yes, a one-year-only silver color for all 1961 Lark and Hawk wheels, regardless of exterior color.

1960 wheels were body color and 1962 began the universal creamy white used 'til the end. BP

[ajalstude]

Do we have a formula or a readily available paint color that matches the silver? Was it high on the metallic, or pretty similar to the engine paint that they used? Also, since my wheels are a creamy white, is it possible that they began using this color for late production 1961s? (although my wagon was actually produced in December of 1960, so that might not even be the case for mine - I'm beginning to suspect the wheels were switched on my car at some point). Thanks Bob for your help!

[BobPalma]

It was pretty similar to the 1961 engine paint, if not the same formula outright; 'fairly bright as silvers go. You can "get away" with most any medium-duty silver if you paint all four wheels and thee engine with the same rattle-cans; nobody's going to know the difference.

If your car has cream wheels and was built in December 1960, they have been painted or changed along the way. BP

[studegary]

Do we have a formula or a readily available paint color that matches the silver? Was it high on the metallic, or pretty similar to the engine paint that they used? Also, since my wheels are a creamy white, is it possible that they began using this color for late production 1961s? (although my wagon was actually produced in December of 1960, so that might not even be the case for mine - I'm beginning to suspect the wheels were switched on my car at some point). Thanks Bob for your help!

1961 Lark wheels should be argent and not metallic. Just use a common enamel in argent or silver.

[BobPalma]

1961 Lark wheels should be argent and not metallic. Just use a common enamel in argent or silver.

Gary, I beg to differ. I'm certain the 1961 wheel color was a metallic paint, not a flat, non-metallic. How much metallic and in what formula I don't profess to know, but I'll wager a good deal that it was metallic.

Fred Fox's comprehensive report of the 1961 Hawk in the June 1989 Turning Wheels only says the wheels were, "a silver-gray color," with no formula or further description. In his October 1982 Turning Wheels report of 1961 Larks, wheel color is not mentioned at all, so no help there. BP

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

My Mother bought a new '61 Hawk. The wheel paint was what I would call "aluminum" and seemed to be just like the paint in the side grilles. Very metallic aluminum pigment - in fact it didn't seem to have much of a surface "skin." If you tried to use car polish on it wouldn't shine up - in fact it would would darken and discolor slightly. I was 16 years old and a Studebaker lover, so I was all over the fine details of the new Hawk.

[StudeRich]

It appears your wheels are already correct, I wonder if there is any unfaded Aluminum Silver Paint inside or under the bead?

No one is going to quibble about the shade of Silver as long as it is not Gray, any Aluminum Silver rattle can or otherwise will look fine if sand blasted and primed first.