YEOW: $22K for Lark Six!

[BobPalma]

Yep, it sold! BP

https://barrett-jackson.com/Events/E...M-COUPE-246181

[Milaca]

Despite only being a flathead six, lots of work and expense went into this Lark:

Lot #650.1 - This 1959 Studebaker Lark Six custom coupe sports an all-new frame-off rotisserie restoration that took a total of 18 months to complete. It's powered by a 2.6-liter 6-cylinder engine backed by an automatic transmission and is equipped with disc brakes, tubular front suspension, rack & pinion steering, coilover shocks and American Racing Torq Thrust wheels.

[JRoberts]

It is a great looking car with lots of money invested in it. The Champ grill really looks good. That is high as far as I am concerned. I wonder why a V-8 of some kind wasn't put in the car. Of course we all need remember that the owner is allowed to do with what he/she wants to do with their own car.

[r1lark]

Well, it is a hardtop! IMHO chances are good that it will get a LS swap pretty quickly.

[studegary]

Just needs something like a 259 V8 and A/C added to it.

[swvalcon]

sounds like a lot of money for a Lark but you couldn't start to build it for that.

[Dick Steinkamp]

Those seats!

[Andy R.]

Those seats!

That was exactly my thought...
I don't mind the 6, but with those wheels I'd expect it to have a dual carb setup and aluminum head.

[rbisacca]

Appears beautifully done. I'm sure whoever did the work has way more than 22 grand in it. If it were mine I'd absolutely leave in the original flathead 6 . Obviously this is not going to be a daily driver! IMHO padded dash would look better. And I'm not too sure 'bout seats and door panels either.

[52-fan]

Those seats!

I agree. It's a shame to put that much effort into a car and then use upholstery that looks like that.
It is a nice looking car and, like any used item, it is "worth" whatever a buyer will pay. I guess today that doesn't seem like a lot of money to some people.
The thing that puts me off the most is the color. My first two cars, a Lark and a Plymouth, were that color. As a young guy I thought it was an old lady's color, but it was what I could afford at the time.

[rbisacca]

I like the color. But the interior definitely appears "old ladyish". Doesn't really go with the blue.

[StudeRich]

Those Button Pleated, overstuffed BROWN Door Panels! Anyone is free to do what they like but, WHAT were they thinking?

A 9 Inch or whatever Ford Rear, Dual Exhausts, Rack and Pinion with Tubular A Arms, Disc Brakes & Dual Master Conversion, the Original "Plan" or Future Plan had to be a Small Block.

What I couldn't figure out is; WHAT is that Oil Cap looking thing on an extension to the Round Air Cleaner with a small Vacuum hose? attached? Almost looks like a Alcohol or Water Injection System!

UPDATE: I saved that Engine View and enlarged it, and it appears to be some kind of Cold Start Air Damper.

They have that Throttle Linkage so jerry-rigged that I don't see HOW the Borg Warner could shift correctly.

[8E45E]

Very high attention to detail on that car, especially under the hood!

The new owner better get some inner fender splash shields into place before driving it around, or it won't stay looking like that for very long; especially if he encounters a sudden cloudburst on the way home from a show.

Craig

[NCDave51]

That interior is indeed brutal.

Showing once again the indifference of the market to originality, and perhaps the overheating that comes from an auction setting.

Enjoy what we have and what we do to our own tastes, tufted velour and all.

That’s what makes this a personal hobby. Forget the investment potential, and enjoy the uniqueness of owning a piece of history.

[Bob Andrews]

I saw it live, and I don't get it either. But, you never know in an auction setting.

B-J is all 'no reserve' but I frequent Mecum auctions, where you can have a reserve. It is very common to see a car go far beyond what the seller was shooting for. In January I was looking at a Corvette restomod where the seller lifted the reserve at $225,000. It ended up selling for $330,000. Seen through that prism, over double what I would have projected for this Lark doesn't seem that big.

A note on auctions- This year sales have been uncharacteristically strong. I have clients that have increased interest in investment-grade cars as a portfolio diversification. This has led to stronger than usual sales at auction. It could be that somebody that doesn't know what they're doing think this is an investment because Studebakers are 'rare'.