Be Seen Going To South Bend's Popular Night Spots In Your '59 Studefaker

[Mr. Bill]

From You Tube:

http://youtu.be/CXaAZs9Sx3E

I thought this was interesting. If it has been posted before, I apologize. Isn't this Lark a '60 model going by the "Lark VI" designation on the front fenders?

Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC

[Chris_Dresbach]

I never knew about the accessory bowling ball on the mirror, I wonder if that at as AC or SP number? lol
That was funny

[556063]

This was done as a spoof on the South Bend Junior Achievement sponsored program "Beyond Our Control" on WNDU Channel 16 in the early 1970's. High School kids were turned loose in the studios to produce all kinds of fun stuff. When I was a pre-teen, my family watched the show regularly. It was on late Sunday afternoon, and was still on the air in the early 80's when I was a high schooler. I think it's been gone for about 20 years or so. Several cast and crew members went on to careers in real TV.

The spot linked to at top is the most Stude related spot I know of.

Here are two of my other favorites. If you want more, search You Tube for "Beyond Our Control":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NVcnfP8iu4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70DByvSvAj8&feature=relmfu

[BobPalma]

Isn't this Lark a '60 model going by the "Lark VI" designation on the front fenders? Mr. Bill

That's right, Bill; It is a 1960 model. Note the center-mount Lark grill emblem, too.

Given what Kevin posted in #3, it's too bad they had already forgotten such details in barely a dozen years. Sigh. BP

[Noxnabaker]

Luv it ! ! !

[556063]

That's right, Bill; It is a 1960 model. Note the center-mount Lark grill emblem, too.

Given what Kevin posted in #3, it's too bad they had already forgotten such details in barely a dozen years. Sigh. BP

But Bob, this was back far enough in the past that it was general local household knowledge 1959 was "The Year Of The Lark". The opening was filmed along the river close to where the Farmer's Market is located. The views of the "Nightspots" bring back memories of the way South Bend looked around 1970.

[JRoberts]

These are funny. Of course the "Studefaker" bit hit a humorous chord, but the "Dragchurch" was really a hoot. Thanks for posting these.

[raprice]

Very clever!!! Nice job.
Rog

[Steve T]

That's funny. "Studefaker" now is the nickname for those El Caminos with the replica '50 Champion nose...That Lark in the "ad" reminds me very much of the '59 Lark wagon that used to rest in a gully on the property of a car collector in Paris, Ontario, but that one wasn't capable of being driven...when I examined it I wished I'd arrived twenty years sooner, it had been a really neat little car. (It was cleared out last year and probably crushed.)

Ever see the circa-1971 Allstate Insurance ad that similarly, though less good-naturedly, disparaged a down-on-its-luck '62 Lark 2dr sedan?

S.

[bezhawk]

I never knew about the accessory bowling ball on the mirror, I wonder if that at as AC or SP number? lol
That was funny

I believe it's an AMF number!

[556063]

I see the title of the video says "Beyond Our Control - 1960's". There's a reference in the clip to "Eleven Years in the Making". 1959-1970 would be eleven years. At the earliest, the clip may have been done in 1969. The clothes the players are wearing kind of support that timeframe too.

If this was 1969, and the wagon is a 1960, you can see what kind of damage the South Bend Salt did in just nine winters. Today, it would be almost impossible to find a 2003 model with rust holes big enough to stick your fist in. I remember my Dad buying a 1960 Falcon wagon and helping him pop rivet new floorboards into it about the time this video was produced.

Puts into perspective that even back that long ago, the "rust free" Stude everyone wants, was a rare commodity. I remember the first Stude I tried to buy, a 63 Daytona, separated at the back of the front fenders when my Dad hooked a chain to tow it with. The owner refused to sell it to me after that happened. That was in 1979.