Studebaker frames

[60Stude]

While rebuilding my rear brakes this weekend, and looking for a place to hang my trouble lamp, I was looking at the underside of my '60 Lark wagon, something I've never really done before. It is very clean underneath, no rust anyplace. I am amazed at the amount of undercoating the factory applied, and how well it is still bonded to the metal after almost 53 years. What I was really looking at though was how heavy the frame appears to be, in comparison to other frames I'm familiar with that are basically a "U" channel laid on it's side.

The frame on my wagon looks more like a frame that has been boxed on all 4 sides. Are all the Lark frames built like this, or was the wagon frame built heavier? This frame looks beefier than the frame on my '57 F-100 shortbed!

Mike

[Skybolt]

As far as I know, all Lark frames are like yours. Of course with the sedans and four door cars the gauge of metal used depended on engine size and other factors but the construction was the same. If you want to see a sturdier frame look under a Lark Wagonaire and check out the added X-member. I'm pretty sure one of those frames could be swapped under your car if you one day needed the extra rigidity. Len.

[Mike Van Veghten]

ALL....Stude frames are basically the same in terms of design...even the (first design) Avanti.
It's a "hat" section, in aircraft terms with a closeout spot welded to the bottom of the "hat". Sorta normal for the 40's and a few years earlier.
But for the time, 50's and later, it's pretty much a light weight, both in general design and material thickness. The frame under my ol 56 Chevy 2dr, 210, was a truck compared to the Stude.

Mike