Remaining 1961 Lark 2 Door Wagons

[61Lark]

Does anyone have a rough estimate of how many 1961 2 door wagons are out there?

I took mine to the meet in South Bend last summer and one of the judges made the comment that he has never seen one. That got me thinking. The only other one I've seen in the 7 years I've owned mine is a white V8. I know that there has to be more left than one of the roughly thousand sixes built and one of the approximately thousand V8s built.

Nick

[8E45E]

quote:Originally posted by 61Lark

Does anyone have a rough estimate of how many 1961 2 door wagons are out there?

I took mine to the meet in South Bend last summer and one of the judges made the comment that he has never seen one. That got me thinking. The only other one I've seen in the 7 years I've owned mine is a white V8. I know that there has to be more left than one of the roughly thousand sixes built and one of the approximately thousand V8s built.

Nick

I have only seen a couple over the years, including a yellow one. Indeed, they are rare. Rarer still is a 1962 2 door wagon. So far, no one has claimed to have seen one.

This one must be yours...



Craig

[raprice]

Boy, that's a good looking wagon. You have a gem there.
Rog

'59 Lark VI Regal Hardtop

[jnewkirk77]

I don't have any idea how many there are, but I know they're extremely rare these days; seems like everyone's two-door wagons are about like hen's teeth, with the exception (perhaps) of the Chevy Nomad and Pontiac Safari, and of course there are more Nomads than Safaris out there, because "everyone" loves the Tri-Chevys ...

One has to remember, too, that two-door wagons were, by '61, largely on their way out of the marketplace, and a lot were sold to fleet buyers, who tended to use them for hard work. That's bound to have contributed to the low number of them that are extant today. And the '62s you mention, IIRC, were all built to fill existing fleet orders, primarily for the U.S. government, I think. If there are any still out there, I've yet to hear of one.

Jacob Newkirk - Owensboro, KY

KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL! Drive a Studebaker!

[Mike Van Veghten]

Agreed...very nice car.

My 60 2dr wagon (22,000 documented orig. miles) is slightly different.
The side trim is down where the 59 trim is located at the body line. Also the tailgate window frame is stainless steel. I guess it could be a stainless cover...haven't paid that much attention to that detail.
And if I recall the 61's correctly...mine only has one headlite per side.

My daily driver is a 59 2dr wagon. Kinda rough...but it still gets me around!
It may be replaced in the sorta (relatively) near future when I get the 55 Conestoga cleaned up though.

Again...very nice wagon.

Mike

[bams50]

That is a beauty of a wagon. I see the 61 trim, but with 59 or 60 taillights. Any idea what mods, if any, had to be done to change them?

Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- Studebakeracres- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
Parish, central NY 13131

"With your Lark you're on your own, free as a bird, alive as a Lark. You've suddenly discovered that parking is a pleasure, traffic is a breeze, turning's no trick at all, and happiness is a thing called Larking!"

[StudeDave57]

Being that I'm not much of a Lark fan~ the '61 two door wagon Dad had is one I wish he'd kept~ even though it was a six-banger!!! I've yet to see it since it was sold back in about 1997 or so- anyone in SoCal ever seen it? It was tan when it drove out of our lives...

StudeDave [8D]
V/P San Diego County SDC
San Diego, Ca

https://www.studebakersandiego.com

'54 Commander Regal 4dr 'Ruby'
'57 Commander DeLuxe 2dr 'Baby'
'57 Champion Custom 2dr 'Jewel'
'57 Parkview 'Betsy' (she's a 2dr wagon...)
'58 Packard sedan 'Cleo'
'65 Cruiser 'Sweet Pea'

[StudeRich]

Mike; the '60 & '61 are both unique in that they both had the cargo area "C" pillar cut out and are much better looking than '54-'59 2Drs.
The downside is that they tend to crack at the "D" pillar because it is thinner than '59 and there was even a factory patch panel to fix those that the owner complained about. [:0]

There were no Regals in those two years, and that is what is neat about the '59's they came in either Deluxe OR Regal and the interiors were outstanding looking and are every bit as good looking or better than anything that the Olds, Pontiac, Buick compacts had to offer. [^]

Your stainless trimmed upper tailgate is from a Regal 4 Dr. '60,'61, or '62 Wagon.

The '61 Wagons only have the single headlight treatment with the neat small round separate parking lights, since they are all Deluxes, BUT that is not to say that there were not a [u]very</u> few that had the optional 4 headlight system, an order-able option, I have NEVER seen one though! We had a '61 Deluxe 2 Dr. sedan with the optional 4 headlights but my '61 Wagon and all I've ever seen had only 2. [:0]

quote:Originally posted by Mike Van Veghten

Also the tailgate window frame is stainless steel.
And if I recall the 61's correctly...mine only has one headlite per side.

Nick; a close guess might be 15-20 remaining '61 2 dr. Wagons in the U.S. with maybe 5, actually running and driving. World-wide they probably have at least that many in other Countries, as they are appreciated way more in Australia & Europe than here.

StudeRich -Studebakers Northwest Ferndale, WA

[Mike Van Veghten]

Rich -

Thanks for the extra info.

Correct about the Regal parts. This is how I found the 60 wagon...by selling parts off of my 59 Regal wagon! The owner of the 60 wanted to "upgrade" it to get more money when he sold it. Even as my 59 was/is a Regal option, it had many things I'm not sure were actually a showroom floor option. Maybe....many over the counter options had been added....

I think though, because I know much of the history of the 60, the tailgate frame was just a factory slipup, or it may have been an option...or a later year 60 build. This car was originally bought by an elderly gent that wrote down EVERYTHING he did or was done to this car. Every gas fillup even! No such tailgate problems on paper.

The next owner let it sit in an air condtioned garage for almost 8 years and was hardly ever driven.
All in all, until I bought it, this car was never messed with. It even still had the original brake shoes on it!

Glad you mentioned about the "D" pillar. This is something I will watch closly once it's back on the road.

Mike

[61Lark]

Thanks for the info guys. Yes this is my car, the picture must have been taken at the Studebaker Drag race on Friday at the National Meet. I've never been happy with the paint on the car and it is a 20 footer at best (I had it painted in college so money was tight).

From what I remember there we're roughly 40 62 2 door wagons built to fill fleet orders. I've been looking for them for the last few years and have come close once to find out the advertised car was a not a 2 door but a 4 door.

As far as the 59 or 60 tail lights go, if you are going to switch over you need the bases as well as the lens. Additionally you'll need to drill a hole in the body for the bulb socket because they changed locations. I copied my grandpa on this after one of this tail lights got busted in his 61 4 door sedan. I have the lens, but since I drove the car to college for 2 years I decided to switch so nothing would happen to them.

The only other 61 I've seen was owned by Jeff Cerise and he had it at the Red Wing meet in 2001. Last I've seen it was in Alabama or Mississippi. That car had a V8 and dual head lights (4 bulbs).

StudeRich, I believe your right that in 61 you could only order a delux 2 door wagon, but I think that was limited to the 6 cylinders not the V8s. I'd have to check before I swear by it.

And speaking of factory slip ups, this car came with painted headlight rims like the 59 or 60 Larks. I doubt that some one would have changed them because from the looks of the car when I got it, no one ever put a dime more in it than was required to keep it on the road.

Nick

[STEWDI]

I've been waiting for a nice '60 2dr. to pop up the last few years, but didn't see it.

So. I still have an NOS kit for making a panel-delivery, should any one else want to do it. Contact me by email.

Roger "153624" Hill

55 Champion
47 M-5
Izzer Buggy
Junior Wagon

[lstude]

quote:I took mine to the meet in South Bend last summer and one of the judges made the comment that he has never seen one. That got me thinking. The only other one I've seen in the 7 years I've owned mine is a white V8. I know that there has to be more left than one of the roughly thousand sixes built and one of the approximately thousand V8s built.

Nick

I also said to you that I had never seen a 61 Lark 2dr. wagon either. I took some pictures of your car on the show field.





The ones below were taken at the Osceola Drag Strip.






Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/

[Guido]

quote:Originally posted by lstude

Looks like someone is trying to break into the back of your truck! [:0]


http://community.webshots.com/user/GuidoSalvage

Hiding and preserving Studebakers in Richmond, Goochland & Louisa, Va.

[53k]

quote:Originally posted by jnewkirk77
...One has to remember, too, that two-door wagons were, by '61, largely on their way out of the marketplace, and a lot were sold to fleet buyers, who tended to use them for hard work. That's bound to have contributed to the low number of them that are extant today. And the '62s you mention, IIRC, were all built to fill existing fleet orders, primarily for the U.S. government, I think. If there are any still out there, I've yet to hear of one.

I wrote a letter to Sherwood Egbert early in the '63 model year suggesting that Studebaker offer a Nomad-like wagon. I sent him a drawing where I traced over a '63 Daytona hardtop profile and added the Wagonaire rear. I received a nice reply from him saying (among other things) that there was no market for two-wagons.


[img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/R-4.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64L.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64P.jpg[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/53K.jpg[/img=right]Paul Johnson, Wild and Wonderful West Virginia
'53 Commander Starliner (since 1966)
'64 Daytona Wagonaire (original owner)
'64 Daytona Convertible (2006)
Museum R-4 engine
1962 Gravely Model L (Studebaker-Packard serial plate)
1972 Gravely Model 430 (Studebaker name plate, Studebaker Onan engine)

[lstude]

quote:Looks like someone is trying to break into the back of your truck!

Man, you've got a keen eye! [:0] That is Bob Feaganes (Stude53), my rommie, who rode with me. I guess I locked him out!



I also took a picture of the interior of the 61 Lark.





Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/