Some one told me about a Studebaker in behind a gas station in Elko BC Canada when I was like 17 or 18 .. I went and checked it out then but had no money or room for it .. Now thirty some years later I decided to see if by chance the 1965 Cruiser was still there .. Low and behold there is still sits in the same spot .. The vegetation has grown up around it but otherwise the car is much the same as I remembered it .. Its a V8 and 3 speed with OD .. The odometer reads 88,ooo miles or so . Fairly rust free with some rust just starting to bubble in the front fenders .. The dash is trashed as some idiot cut the dash to get the radio out .. Had to have taken more time to cut the dash to get the radio out then by removing it properly .. Not sure of options on the car as I could not get the hood open on this visit . The brake pedal still had pressure and so did the clutch which was surprising .. Anyways I thought I would share the story and some pics .. Tell me what you guys think and know about this model ..
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Revisited a 1965 Studebaker Cruiser just waiting for a new and caring owner ..
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Siting out and on the ground for at least 30 years, I expect the frame, exhaust, floors, fuel line, etc. to be rusted away. Along with the obvious damage to be repaired, it would cost MUCH more to bring this car back to life, let alone restore it, than it will be worth when finished.
One unusual factor is that this was the 65th V8 car for the 1965 model year.Gary L.
Wappinger, NY
SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer
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If you are not going to fix it up to drive as Gary suggests, there are a lot of usable parts on it. You might get lucky and it has disc brakes! I would try and open the hood to see what’s under there. And see if it is for sale and how much. Could surprise you.
Mark
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Yes I realize there is not much value in these cars .. The floors feel solid and not "crunchy" under foot but who knows .. I think the V8 and 3spd OD is a great set up and I have seen very few with that combination for 65 and 66 .. Yeah if I get a chance I will talk with the owner and see what he wants to do with it . I do remember back when I was a teen looking at it that he said it had a 327 in it but it had been over heated and that is why it was parked . I did question him back then on it having the engine changed out at some point as the 327 was not available as a factory installed engine. He was not backing down on it being a 327 .. Where is the engine number on the GM engines ?Love my Lark
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My first Studebaker was a Yukon Gold '65 Cruiser. Loved that car. Loved the way it handled and accelerated, and have regretted ever selling it since 1970.
This one may prove to be in better shape than it looks, and of course, as Gary points out it may be much worse.
The only way to know for sure is jack it up and examine the floors and frame for rust through.
Good points on '64-'66 Studebaker's 4 doors is that almost every body panel and piece is still readily available, and the 283 V-8 is relatively inexpensive to rebuild or replace.
Not a model that anyone should dump ten grand into, but if you could get it for $500 and up and running for around 3 or 4k, it could be entertaining, and break even or better on resale.
If it were a 1000 miles closer I might even be tempted. (but then I already have a huge stash of Lark type parts on hand)
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Agree with 64Larklover....you never get over that first love. I still have a warm fuzzy for a 1948 Nash Ambassador that I tried to buy when I was a kid, but the old man wouldn't sell & it finally melted into the ground. Sonya says a thank you prayer every day that I haven't gotten serious about finding one.....
Mike Sal
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Is the car for sale Randy, or did you just take a look to see if it still existed? Did you mean Elkford, because I've never heard of Elk BC. I googled it and got no results. There always seems to be a market for good 283 and 327 sbc engines. Rodders and restorers still want them. Cheers, Juniorsigpic
1954 C5 Hamilton car.
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Originally posted by Jett289 View PostWhere is the engine number on the GM engines ?
If it is Studebaker factory installed 283, it will have a 9 digit number in this location. This will only tell you the year of the engine, but it will confirm it is a 283 built for Studebaker. http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/V8EngineID.asp
If it is any other SBC, it will have more info including the GM factory that cast it, the date it was stamped and a suffex code that tells you the CID, HP, and transmission.
If the block has been "decked", there will not be a number. In this case, you can use the block casting number to at least tell you the original CID of the block.
More info here... http://www.gregwapling.com/hotrod/mo...8-engines.htmlDick Steinkamp
Bellingham, WA
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Yes my mistake and I have corrected it .. Elko BC which is not very far from Fernie . Im not in love with the car but I do like it . I was just revisiting it to see if it was even still there . I do like your thinking though 64LarkLover .. I could have a field of old cars and just sit and look at them .. Thanks Dick for the info on the engine and if I get back to the car I will ask the owner if its for sale and if I can look under the hood . Any ideas on opening the hood ? The cable seemed seized .Love my Lark
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