A little back ground information before I get into details about the Daytona.
My father's family had always been proud Studebaker owners. My great-grandfather is said to have owned a Studebaker wagon on his cattle ranch back in the day. The family bought various models of autos up till 1941 when a family member bought a Champion and everyone thought it was great. Studebaker became my grandfather's make of choice (and his children) up through the 1960s. Below is a family photo from 1954 in front of the house on the family farm.
The 2R5 and 1950 Champion were my grandparents, the 1952 Commander was my Uncle Ernest's, and the 1949 Champion was my Uncle Denson's. When my dad got his license in 1961, he found a 1953 Commander Starlight in the rear of the local Chevrolet dealership and bought it for $23 and some change ( the cars engine was in the trunk- someone had started rebuilding it, got discouraged, and used it as a trade in.) It was his daily until 1988 - it had reached 370K miles at that point.
When my mom and dad got married in July of 1965, dad bought a 1964 Commander four door. It was silver with a green interior,259 and automatic. It had been the demonstrator model at the Temple, Texas, Studebaker dealer, Beach Motors. Photo is from 1973 when I was pretty small and San Marcos, Texas, had some snow - rare occurrence in central Texas.
The car my grandparents owned when I was a kid was a 1962 Lark deluxe four door. It was bought new by my Aunt and Uncle from the Studebaker dealer in Cameron, Texas, and they sold it to my grandparents in 1965. It had the plastic seat covers on it with the little raised triangle shapes on it - was always fascinated how it left little indention on your skin after sitting on them for a short time. It was a 259, 3 sp/OD, with a 3.07 rear. My Uncle was a highway patrolman and drove 80 mph everywhere they went - the car put out a reliable 20 to 22 mpg. That car was sold @1990 to a local SDC member who restored it and took it to multiple International meets in the 1990s.
In 1992, I joined the Studebaker Driver's Club. Did not own a Studebaker at the time - was still driving the car I got in high school - 1974 AMC Gremlin. With graduation in December, 1993, I took all my graduation money and started looking for a Studebaker. Earlier that year, in the May issue of Turning Wheels, there was an ad for a 1962 Daytona that was said to have 25K original miles. The car was located a couple hours south in San Antonio - but there was one big problem - the asking price was $11K more than I had saved up by December of that year.
I did luck out, however, in finding another '62 Lark. An antique shop owner in Comanche, Texas, (where my parents were located), had a four door regal for sale for$1000. I had a look and since the floors were still there, it was V8 and 3 sp/OD, decided to buy it. The Lark had 60K miles on it, was originally metallic silver (antique store owner had it painted black) with the taupe interior. It became my daily and served me well up to the point I had to sell it in 2003 because of a move out of state. The photo below is of that Lark in @1996 or so when it was getting a new clutch put in. My dad, uncle Denson, and cousin Gary were helping out. I also learned I could roll pretty fast when I was moving the end of the transmission around and the car rolled back off the ramps - e-brake was not too good.
Jump forward to 2022 and the 1962 Daytona shows up again - this time for sale on Facebook marketplace - and still in San Antonio.
My father's family had always been proud Studebaker owners. My great-grandfather is said to have owned a Studebaker wagon on his cattle ranch back in the day. The family bought various models of autos up till 1941 when a family member bought a Champion and everyone thought it was great. Studebaker became my grandfather's make of choice (and his children) up through the 1960s. Below is a family photo from 1954 in front of the house on the family farm.
The 2R5 and 1950 Champion were my grandparents, the 1952 Commander was my Uncle Ernest's, and the 1949 Champion was my Uncle Denson's. When my dad got his license in 1961, he found a 1953 Commander Starlight in the rear of the local Chevrolet dealership and bought it for $23 and some change ( the cars engine was in the trunk- someone had started rebuilding it, got discouraged, and used it as a trade in.) It was his daily until 1988 - it had reached 370K miles at that point.
When my mom and dad got married in July of 1965, dad bought a 1964 Commander four door. It was silver with a green interior,259 and automatic. It had been the demonstrator model at the Temple, Texas, Studebaker dealer, Beach Motors. Photo is from 1973 when I was pretty small and San Marcos, Texas, had some snow - rare occurrence in central Texas.
The car my grandparents owned when I was a kid was a 1962 Lark deluxe four door. It was bought new by my Aunt and Uncle from the Studebaker dealer in Cameron, Texas, and they sold it to my grandparents in 1965. It had the plastic seat covers on it with the little raised triangle shapes on it - was always fascinated how it left little indention on your skin after sitting on them for a short time. It was a 259, 3 sp/OD, with a 3.07 rear. My Uncle was a highway patrolman and drove 80 mph everywhere they went - the car put out a reliable 20 to 22 mpg. That car was sold @1990 to a local SDC member who restored it and took it to multiple International meets in the 1990s.
In 1992, I joined the Studebaker Driver's Club. Did not own a Studebaker at the time - was still driving the car I got in high school - 1974 AMC Gremlin. With graduation in December, 1993, I took all my graduation money and started looking for a Studebaker. Earlier that year, in the May issue of Turning Wheels, there was an ad for a 1962 Daytona that was said to have 25K original miles. The car was located a couple hours south in San Antonio - but there was one big problem - the asking price was $11K more than I had saved up by December of that year.
I did luck out, however, in finding another '62 Lark. An antique shop owner in Comanche, Texas, (where my parents were located), had a four door regal for sale for$1000. I had a look and since the floors were still there, it was V8 and 3 sp/OD, decided to buy it. The Lark had 60K miles on it, was originally metallic silver (antique store owner had it painted black) with the taupe interior. It became my daily and served me well up to the point I had to sell it in 2003 because of a move out of state. The photo below is of that Lark in @1996 or so when it was getting a new clutch put in. My dad, uncle Denson, and cousin Gary were helping out. I also learned I could roll pretty fast when I was moving the end of the transmission around and the car rolled back off the ramps - e-brake was not too good.
Jump forward to 2022 and the 1962 Daytona shows up again - this time for sale on Facebook marketplace - and still in San Antonio.
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