Best seats in an early Lark I’ve ever seen

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I have found stock Studebaker seats to be amongst the most comfortable of almost any car I've either ridden in, or driven; both for short trips and 800 mile, full-day driving on the highway. I've ridden in many mid-size Fords of that era, and don't find they are any improvement over stock Studebaker seats.

Craig

I agree with Craig. In 1966 I drove my newly acquired Riviera Blue 62 Hawk from Biloxi, MS (Keesler AFB) to central Virginia in one trip (except for an hour nap). That was quite a test of those bucket seats and they were very comfortable--no backache. They had already been nicely reupholstered due to the poor vinyl Studebaker used in 62. When I have my 64 Hawk reupholstered with NOS cloth seat covers I will have new foam installed. I understand that modern foam is better than what was available then.
--Dwight

[studegary]

I have found stock Studebaker seats to be amongst the most comfortable of almost any car I've either ridden in, or driven; both for short trips and 800 mile, full-day driving on the highway. I've ridden in many mid-size Fords of that era, and don't find they are any improvement over stock Studebaker seats.

Craig

It depends on which Studebaker seats. The buckets in my 1963 Daytona Wagonaire were quite comfortable (more than 500 miles in a day). The buckets in my 1963 Avanti were terrible (about 100 mile limit). The improved buckets in my 1964 Avanti were somewhat better and the buckets in my 1987 Avanti were much better. None of them were as supportive and safe as modern buckets.
With that said, different seats fit different people differently. I remember a Bonneville that my sister had. She loved the driver's seat. I hated it. I figured out why. She was short enough that the roll across the top of the seat cradled her and cut across my back.

[8E45E]

It depends on which Studebaker seats. The buckets in my 1963 Daytona Wagonaire were quite comfortable (more than 500 miles in a day). The buckets in my 1963 Avanti were terrible (about 100 mile limit). The improved buckets in my 1964 Avanti were somewhat better and the buckets in my 1987 Avanti were much better. None of them were as supportive and safe as modern buckets.
With that said, different seats fit different people differently. I remember a Bonneville that my sister had. She loved the driver's seat. I hated it. I figured out why. She was short enough that the roll across the top of the seat cradled her and cut across my back.

I'm aware of the lack of support of the early Avanti seats, but we have been discussing Lark seats. It was a common complaint for many Avanti owners, and the 1964 style was Studebaker's solution to address the issue. One must wonder why Sherwood Egbert, at 6'4" in height never offered his input on them as he did other elements at the Avanti design stage, like he did with the windshield rake and size of the sun visors. Reportedly, he hit his head getting in a styling mockup in one of the early design studies and ordered it changed.

Craig

[Bob Andrews]

God bless you guys who feel the need to stick with the stock seats, nothing wrong with that either. But they are primitive compared to modern seats with high backs, lumbar supports, arm rests, heat/cool, integrated shoulder belts, etc. As my RA advances it gets harder to not be in pain, whether it’s bed, furniture, or car seats. We searched for months trying to find a high-end bed where I could get some sleep; and my new truck was bought specifically because of seat comfort. This is the reality for lots of folks: they love their old car but the stock seats make it difficult to enjoy the car as they age; some of it is support, some of it is height for ease of entry/exit. My goal is to try to help people enjoy their classic as long as possible. And seating upgrades sometimes is a good weapon in that fight.

Again though, if you are comfortable with stock or insist that your car be all original, more power to you. But in my mind, the main goal is enjoyment of their car by the individual.

Of course for the CASOs, there’s an added benefit: a set of junkyard seats is going to be cheaper than a restoration of stock seats

[Dan White]

Those Cougar seats kind of remind me of a couple of things, Ricardo Montalban's fine Corinthan leather (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_HMIN0nGl0) and pimp my ride!