A short time ago a friend was telling me about a recent adventure and mentioned that it was an item scratched from his bucket list. I guess the movie of the same name several years ago had left a lasting impression.
Restore my 63 Superlark; I bought this car in March 1967. At the time I thought it would be neat to make it look like new. As a teenager interested in drag racing the car had a hard life at my hands. Its long periods of storage have saved it. This restoration endeavor is under way and I hope it will be realized soon.
63 Superlark Gasser; The restoration of my Superlark will make use of a rust free body tub from Texas. My original tub is too good to throw away so I want to build a period correct gasser out of it. I still have the internal rotating assembly of R3 (B-110). That will power it. This too may see the light of day.
66 Studebaker Superlark; If Studebaker had intended to stay in the auto business they could have easily continued Superlark production. All the pieces were there. Avanti was in business in 66. Starting with a base Commander 2dr sedan, an R1 equivalent would have had all the super package items. For power it would have the base Avanti II 300HP 327 and either a Powershift or a 4speed. The rear end would be the HD flanged axle Dana 44 intended for the R3 cars. It would have the 64 type oval Avanti Powered fender emblem. The R2 substitute would be the optional Avanti II 350HP 327 Corvette engine. I would like to build one of these and make it look factory built.
55 R1 style 259 Starlight Commander Coupe; I built one like this when I was a senior in high school. It was my beater commuter car. It was the fastest 259 I ever had. Working 3rd shift a few months out of high school I fell asleep on the way home in the morning and totaled the car on a fire hydrant. I have always wanted to build another one like it. The replacement would have a 5speed, nicer tires and wheels, and a 12 volt system but not much else different.
Studebaker Champ SUV;
E/CPS Bonneville Avanti;
51 or 52 Commander Convertible;
At the 1983 South Bend International meet a guy was cruising around with a yellow 41 Champion coupe with a 6-71 blown smallblock Chevy in it. I fell in love with the street rod with the gasser vibe. I would not mind doing something similar.
61-65 Ford F-250 4X4;
Hemi powered Plymouth;
68 Roadrunner; When Chrysler released the 68 Roadrunner I thought it was the perfect car. It was cheap, did not have any power robbing options, and was made for just going fast. It also was a very good looking car with a unique rear window. It would have to be a base 383 4speed car for me. I had a 68 GTX at one time that served well. That too I regret selling.
57 Pontiac or 57 Chevy; In 1967 after buying my Lark, I bought a 57 Pontiac 2dr hardtop lead sled custom. It was rough and the passenger door was damaged but it was cheap and I needed wheels for chasing parts while I worked on the Lark. The cars redeeming quality was it had a tri-power 421 in it. After getting the Lark road worthy, I put the 421 in a 57 Chevy 2dr. Given the opportunity I would do it again. Lot of fond memories of that car.
55 Chevy panel truck;
55 Chevy Gasser; My good friend and mentor Mike Marinoff turned his brand new 55 Bel Air hardtop into a gasser. It was raced from 56 through 61. I would like to build a tribute car to him.
Jim Pepper.
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