Dragged another one home.

[gordr]

Was at the Three Hills cruise on Saturday, and a guy approached me who said he had a parts Lark to sell. Went to fetch it Monday night, and we got it dragged out of the tall grass with his tractor, and got some of the junk out of it. I had brought my air tank and one aired-up tire/rim combo, but could not get the remaining three tires to hold air, and darkness overtook us. So I went back last night, with three more aired-up wheels, and got them all mounted on the car. Pulled the driveshaft, too, because the transmission appeared to be locked up. Slip yoke was rusty and water trickled out when I pulled it. Not a good sign. Anyway, with 4 aired-up tires on it, I got loaded on my trailer with no drama, and hauled it home.

This one's going to get parted out. 1963 plain-Jane Lark 4 door, 6 cylinder standard, no OD. Drum brakes all round. Engine threw a rod. I will take the head off and inspect it for cracks. Dash is cracked, but not too bad; might be fixable. Most trim is still in place, but most tail/turn lenses are shot. Body-wise, the rear quarters and front bumper look semi-OK. Front bumper is straight, shiny, and has some scratches. Would be OK for a driver. Rear quarters have slight rust at front edge, but aren't all beat up. You could get patch panels from them at least. Hood OK, I think, trunk lid bad. Most doors bad. I expect the floors have terminal rust, but I haven't got that far yet. some exterior trim parts are OK.

Anybody with specific needs, let me know.

[Dick Steinkamp]

Gord...you're over your limit already

You need to join a Studebaker's Anonymous 12 step program.

[gordr]

Heh. I am saving parts for future generations. But China will likely get the hulk.

[rockinhawk]

If you have water in the transmission, I would bet the rubber hose on the firewall is missing or damaged.

[candbstudebakers]

Sounds like a waste of good gas going and getting.

[gordr]

Bingo! Indeed, it was there, but the part that snaps into the hole in the cowl was missing.

Got it off the trailer today. Rear quarters off it; they could be salvaged, or cut up for patch panels. Rear bumper went straight to the scrap bin. The trunk floor and side walls are not that bad. If i were restoring the car, and the trunk was the worst part, I'd be shouting "Hallelujah!" Those boxy area on the upper side walls that often rust out? Not at all. Some slight rust in the trunk floor, but fixable. I could cut the entire trunk out, if somebody wants it.

Got the radiator out, and it still had a little coolant in it, so it may be OK. And that I can use. So a win there. Got the head off the engine. No obvious cracks between the valve seats, but #4 cylinder had coolant pooled on the piston, so there may be a hidden crack. Looks like #3 was the rod that let go. #3 piston was at the top, while #4 was at bottom of stroke, and #3 had chunks cracked out of the top. I tapped on it with a ratchet handle, and drove down the cylinder all the way, and heard a clatter and tinkle as something fell into the pan. I expect I will pull the engine and tranny tomorrow, and then then leave the final dismemberment for later.

[rkapteyn]

Be aware that there were a number of 1963 six cylinder engines produced that had a serious flaw.
Somewhere the block machining station machined a number of blocks in where the #6 cylinder (not piston) was not machined parallel to the others.
There was no quality control check for this and the flaw was not discovered until a number of cars were shipped and engines started failing.
The serial numbers were mentioned in a service letter that i can not find.
The dealers replaced most engines free of charge but some cars were not found.
I bought a wrecked low milage 1963 Lark in a local junk yard and found #6 rod broken.Did anyone run into a problem with a 1963 Lark 6 like this?

[gordr]

Robert, this car did indeed have a "service replacement engine" in it, identified by a metal tag bolted to the block. I will tear the engine down, once I get it out. Possibly the block can be saved. I have not found a hole in the side of it yet; the broken rod may have gone through the pan instead. In any case, curiosity compels me.

[studeclunker]

Thanks Gord for saving needed parts for the rest of us. If there weren't people like you around, these cars wouldn't be as easy to keep on the road. In fact, without people like you, Bob in Castro Valley, our ex-president, etc... we would be in serious trouble indeed.

[gordr]

Well, got the engine out. Hulk smash!!! Well, some smashing got done, anyway. Water had filled the bellhousing, and the transmission input shaft is welded to the spline on the clutch disc. Still. I took the top cover off the tranny, and it had been full of water too, and the gears are rusty. So I beat on the tranny case with a 2# hammer until it came off in pieces. The gears, synchros, and bearings, such as they are, didn't get smashed up. Bellhousing wouldn't come off, because the front bearing retainer and throwout bearing were held in by way of the clutch release cross-shaft. The bellhousing had a crack, so I smashed it to pieces too. I have more bellhousings and T96 front cases than I will ever need, anyway. The gears and cluster pin are the wear parts, and these "might" clean up.

Got the clutch cover and flywheel off. They are nasty. Got my pullers out, and pulled the front hub, no problem. Got the timing cover off, and woo-hoo! a nice shiny aluminum cam gear. Got both gears safely pulled off. Got the fuel pump and engine mount brackets off. Put it on the ground, rolled it over, and got started taking the pan off. Big rain shower came down, so I lit my burning barrel, which was awaiting some rainfall, and got back to the pan when the shower passed. Pan had holes in both sides and bottom, but I think the block is OK. Will have to clean it up and give it the hairy eyeball. Rods #3 and #4 both bent into "S" bends and in bottom of pan. Nothing left of the respective pistons but the top and rings. Undid the remaining rods, took off the main bearing caps, and pried the crank out. Main bearings and other rod bearings look "OK". Some wear. Looks like something blocked oil flow to #3 and #4 rod journals. Got all pistons out OK. There is next to no ridge at all in the top of the cylinders. This engine must have had pretty low miles on it when the bearings let go. It has the late-style slipper-skirt pistons in it, too. I hope the block can be saved, because the bores just might clean up OK standard. Haven't checked the pistons for oversize markings yet, but I did check a couple of bearing shells, and saw Studebaker part numbers, but no oversize number.

[rkapteyn]

If it had the slipper pistons it must have been a 1964 block.
These worked very well in the late sixes.
You may be lucky and have the late redesigned head also. (NOCRACKHEAD)
Robert Kapteyn

[rkapteyn]

Check to see if the bearing shells were installed properly
One half had the oil hole the other half not.
I have a new crank and bearings if you need them and any other parts for this engine.

[gordr]

Is there a unique part number to the redesigned head? Or would the number on the engine tag be of use?