1963 R2 Lark "The Whistler"

[studejohn]

Thanks all for your vote. I never thought that it would ever come to this, Great! As for The Whistler's moving up in the list of cars, its close to the top. I'm right in the middle of a restoration, a 1958 1 Ton 9ft bed truck, and I'm also working with my son on his 1958 Packard Hawk. Other projects are in the fire such as a 1931 Commander Coupe and what used to be my daily driver, a 63 GT Hawk, my first car at age 14 and now pushing 49 years young. Like I said in other posts, time and money. Thanks for your input on how the car should be restored. I think it will cost a lot less being restored as the Whistler hay day and not a point car. Yes the restoration is some were between the truck and the Packard. With my good friend's help Mike Lynch and Sabation Scopelli, it will eventually get there.
Thanks -John Kroulik

[8E45E]

Yes, thanks to all who took the time to vote. Clearly, the discovery of The Whistler was the top Studebaker news story of 2013. At first I had no intentions of making it a poll, but thanks to BP and Sebastian, just for fun, I ended up starting it with the four potential top news items for last year. As previously noted, The Whistler ended with nearly 50% of the votes, though for the first week or two, it was tight race with the other news item being the 50th Anniversary of the shutdown in South Bend. The significance of The Whistler's discovery has now been proven, and indeed, we are all looking forward to seeing its restoration as time goes on. Thanks again to all who participated!

Craig

[BobPalma]

Well stated, Craig.

It looks like The Good News (The Whistler being discovered and rescued, with the original engine block) won out over The Bad News (50 years since Studebaker closed in South Bend).

That's a good "Good News / Bad News" scenario, for sure. BP

BTW: John, Mike, and Seb: I concur, restore it as the race car; the icon it was....and again can and will be. There were 59 1963 R2/4-speed Regal 2-doors built, but only one of them was The Whistler.

[SScopelli]

The Whistler at the Drags Video

Wow!
Mike called me this Morning and said he thinks he found a video of "The Whistler" at the drags onYouTube..

At 3:59 "The Whistler", with a Win Light!




At 4:26 The black 60 Lark



At 8:00, "The Whistler"




Here is the YouTube Video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsceGtevg6c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeyndbFO5tU

(7,001)

[2R2]

Seb,

thanks for posting! I've already watched them a couple of times, and want to look at them again later on a monitor. Hopefully someday the Whistler will ride again!

Eric

[SScopelli]

Madras Drag Strip 1963

Not The Whistler, but Studebaker related..



A 63 Daytona at 2:20:
Click on pictures..



A 53 at 7:11:
Click on pictures..




The Daytona again at 7:44, He must have won the race at 2:20!:
Click on pictures..

Direct link ==> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UKPz-Fa-XQ

(7,447)
(7,899)

[BobPalma]

Cool, Seb;

I finally got around to watching the video in Post #124. I think the fellow writing the current-day captions that were stripped in from time to time could get a job in Washington DC rewriting history!

I say that because, at about 8:52, he says the "Chevy is no match for the Dodge Hemi." That was indeed a 1963(?) Dodge in the right lane, but it couldn't have been a Hemi unless it was an old 331/354/392 from 1951-1958 (or an even smaller Dodge hemi from those years). It was probably a 426 Max Wedge like this, since Ma MoPar wouldn't introduce the second-generation 426 hemi for a couple more years:



Nice footage of The Whistler, for sure. 'Glad this footage survived and The Whistler was called out on the screen.

Thanks for the post(s), Seb. BP

[SScopelli]

The race begins..

Great job on securing that nice R1 car Sebastian. As you the new Owner it will be a nice car. A green on green car must have nick name for it . Maybe The Green Machine ! Or The Green Hornet. It should carry great graphics on the side just like The Whistler. Maybe we should have a race Against each other to see who can get their cars done first! That would be a kick. The Whistler may have its advantages given its Pedigree R2 Engine. LOL. :-)

Looks like John was not kidding..

A little taunting sending me Pics of the Whistlers's disassemble..







I'm thinking "Wall Art" for the man cave..



I guess I better dunk in the tub of mosquito repellent and get busy on "Hulk Smash"
(8,174)

[2R2]

Seb, thanks for the update on the Whistler, I was curious how the car was coming along.
Boy, those floor sure look solid! Please get some more photos from John, as well as addional pictures of your '63!

[BobPalma]

Thanks for the report, Seb; good news on The Whistler.

(Say, has the swelling in your head gone down since Hemmings Muscle Machines came out?) BP

[57pack]

The Whistler just needs a little "Signal go further gasoline"

[SScopelli]

Thanks for the report, Seb; good news on The Whistler.

(Say, has the swelling in your head gone down since Hemmings Muscle Machines came out?) BP

Why fame has not changed me at all Bob..

Hold on..

Another Martini my dear..

Ok, back again..

The floors and body is very solid on the Whistler. I believe that is due to it was a "Track" car and seen very little "Daily Driver" use.

There are a few race track modifications to the floor that may just stay there as well.

The rear quarters are off already?




Don't worry, I have my come back strategy..

[SScopelli]

Trans Tunnel Exposed

In several post it was mention that the Transmission Tunnel had a "Race Track" modification done to it.

In this photo it shows that an attempt was made to conceal this alteration since maybe it was no longer a Track Car..










From the outside, it is fairly obvious that someone was attempting a weld up job on the tunnel..




A bit of scraping and chiseling was required to remove the tar, bondo, and bubble gum surrounding the modification.











The screws on the back side indicate this may have been done so repeated access could be had to the transmission or bell housing for a clutch adjustment..

With all the gunk removed, It easily lifts up and can be screwed back down again..




Forget your welder at home? No problem, Just cut the socket end off of your extension cord, expose some wire, plug into a 110 outlet and weld away..


Seriously, this welding job does not look like stick, or MIG or even gas, but just raw metal fusion..


Completly removed, gives full access to the bell housing and transmissions linkages..


A good selection of panels to reconstruct the tunnel



Any repairs to the floors will be done while the car is on the frame. The firewall portion and tunnel from a donor will be use to replace all this metal and remove the topside accessibility after proper planing, layout and cutting.

After the flooring is complete, the body will be removed and the frame repaired.

More on that later..
8,637

[2R2]

Seb,

Thanks for the photos of the trans tunnel. I have to admit, I a removable hump tunnel would have been rather helpful when I rebuilt my engine and clutch - I had to yank the trans out three times to get everything working correctly!

Keep the photos coming - curious to see what other race modifications the care had.

[jts359]

I saw something like that floor over 40 years ago where a clutch exploded on a 427 Chebby !, Ed