1963 R2 Lark "The Whistler"

[BobPalma]

Hi All. Mike has been posting photos, now it's my turn! Hope you enjoy.

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Attachment #2 say's "Serviced by Floyd Mendenhall"

Attachment #5 says "Don't be caught dead sitting on your seat belt"

John, welcome to the forum...and the ownership of such a rare car! It is so good to have confirmation of its survival, regardless of condition. Cool beans!

Since we have photos and correspondence from "back in the day," this would make a wonderful, documented story for Turning Wheels.

What are your plans for the car? If you'll give me your mailing address, I'll make nice color copies of the 1963 correspondence I have and send them to you. BP

[8E45E]

[/I][/COLOR]I can't remember right now how we concluded that was the probable serial number, but we did. So if anyone locates 63V15969, it is undoubtedly a Very Special Car in The Studebaker World. Since it was delivered in a dry climate, let's hope it is lurking in a small, remote junk yard somewhere in the high southwest hills. BP

Yep, John struck GOLD in them thar HILLS!!

Craig

[Roscomacaw]

What a GREAT story! John, I hope the whistler's last chapter is yet to be written.

[63r2hawk]

Just read your post..........Thanks for sharing.....one very interesting and very Cool story!!!!!! Loved all the pic that everyone contributed........!!!! By the way, Bob, I was 1 1/2 when you wrote the letter to Ray Tanner Motors!!!

[qsanford]

Is there a Ray Tanner Jeep today? <G>

[8E45E]

Is there a Ray Tanner Jeep today? <G>

Nope! http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&bav...&ved=0CLgBEMgT ...at least in the Phoenix area.

Craig

[asesolen]

A little Tanner history at this link...

http://tanner-motors.com/history/

[8E45E]

Thanks for the update, and nice to see at least one of the family members is still involved with cars.

Craig

[studejohn]

Well thanks all who in joyed my find As far as finding Gold in there those hills it maybe.But more like fools Gold. But I sure like the way it shines.Bob thanks fore all that great info on the car and when you wrote that letter to Ray Tanner I was only about 2 months old. Guys like you make this club great. I have some photos to post of the car in its hay day .That Bill Eastburn gave me. And others of the cars present state.

[63avanti.]

wow! this was a great read. Its cool to see that the car is still out there. Any plans to bring the car back to life or maybe add to the national museum as is?

[studejohn]

Well I have a lot of the hard to find parts to put it back together. But time and money is the problem.Or something like that.As far as the Museum goes I don't think they have the time for it and would put into storage or most likely put in there Auction.

[SScopelli]

Hey StudeJoh.

Is Tanner or family able to let you know what block/head combo they had in that car? He said R2, but that is a great interpolation from what I've found and read.

Did Bob ever take him up on getting Tanner's recipe for making a fast Stude?

Great to know there is a Phoenix legend as well!

[BobPalma]

Hey StudeJoh.

Is Tanner or family able to let you know what block/head combo they had in that car? He said R2, but that is a great interpolation from what I've found and read.

Did Bob ever take him up on getting Tanner's recipe for making a fast Stude?

Great to know there is a Phoenix legend as well!

No, Sebastian; I never did. Note that our correspondence was in December 1963. Within the month, Studebaker production in South Bend went belly-up and the R-engine program was down the drain. Note the ominous date on my letter to Tanner: December 9, 1963!

As a soon-to-be 18-year-old about to enter college, my Studebaker interest fell off dramatically , although cousin George Krem and I stayed with it to get his new 1964 Challenger located and bought in the summer of 1964, and the R3 engine put in it later. BP

[SScopelli]

I went to see the "Whistler" for myself today. Wow, what a piece of Stude History!

It is ruff. It looks to have been a Racer that was passed around a bit to a few owners.
The modification made to it for racing were ruff by today's standards. Welded on brackets then cut off, a few "on the field body modifications" made with a sledge hammer and rattle can paint here and there to cover the scars.

But I'd still take her home in a heart beat!

Barn finds seem to be about finding that proverbial lost car in the Barn. While the "Whistler" was found out side and not in a barn, the barn find in this story was finding some performance car parts.

John had indicated that in his journeys he came upon this box with a cam in it. He found this way before he came across the car.

Here was the shipping label on the Box. It took me a moment to remember what C.O.D meant.

Closer inspection it shows it was a special order for "Floyd Mendenhall c/o Ray Tanner Motors"

Inside the box was a fresh ground "Hard Face" Studebaker performance cam. It was complete with a box of thin wall lifters. The last picture below is the stamp on the end of the cam


On another parts find he came across a box with a disassembled SN-60 supercharger.. The lip on the intake was stamped, well you can look at the picture for yourself..


OK, so a bit off topic here , but It will relate in the end.. Hollywood likes these movies where a guy gets killed and his ghost comes back to avenge his death. Clues pop up here and there and in the end they guy gets his justice..

Could it be that the "Whistler" has some unfinished business in the relevancy of racing history?
It survived all these years with its racing badges covered up or faded away, being passed about used and abused and yet did not end up crushed in a junk yard.
Then by happenstance, its pieces scattered about the states coming together and then finally finding the car.
As John noted, he has a few of the hard to find parts and it is only a matter of time until another piece of the "Whistler" is found.
The ghost of the "Whistler" can rest a bit easier today knowing someday it will get its justice!

You cant make this stuff up..

Thanks John for letting me come by to see it!

[8E45E]

Thanks for sharing those photos!!

Craig