1963 Studebaker Lark

Custom V-8 Coupe

V-8

Automatic

63V31684

Clear

Gasoline

My family found this vehicle in Mississippi in the 90's. Believe it or not, in a barn!! The original owners had covered the vehicle in hay and it sat there for 30 years. It only had 29K miles on it. We hooked up a battery and tried the starter and it turned a little. We were excited. From that day forward, everything we did was to preserve this rare find. There is no paint work on the body other than the roof (it wasn't covered up). The hay and dust had preserved the original paint. The whole interior was removed, cleaned and re-installed. The dash clock works!! The radio even works!! The AC even works (doesn't blow cold, can't get the freon). The Lark has the original spare in the trunk (picture). I looks like it has never hit the ground. I drove this car from Montgomery, Alabama to San Antonio, Texas in 2003. The most fun at truck stops and rest areas I ever had!!! People gawking and pointing. "Who makes Studebaker?" All repairs done to the car have been with Studebaker replacement parts (you send in the part, they send a rebuilt one back). The engine and transmission are the original. No rebuilds were needed. No major work was needed other than gaskets, seals, flushing fluids, belts brakes, etc. All the chrome is original and was removed, cleaned and re-installed(no re-chroming). When the Lark was in Alabama it received 1st place in shows for stock in the 3 shows we entered it into. It is a hoot to drive!!! I don't know how many times people have asked me to pull over so they could look at it. "Where did you find this?!" The original MSRP on this vehicle was $3349.65. How do I know? I have the original MSRP sticker(see picture), it was never attached to the window and is in perfect condition. I have the original MSO (all three copies) and key tag from the factory. When we showed this car, we had these in a display box. This Lark had every option available and was a rush special order for the original owner. He had kept a file on the vehicle with all these documents in them for all those years. "If you like it so much, why are you selling it??" If you have ever owned a classic automobile like this, you know that it takes time and a lot of effort to keep it in shape. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to give the Lark the time and TLC that it needs anymore. I will tell you though, that I hope that it goes to a new owner who understands the beauty of an original stock vehicle and doesn't turn it into a hot rod or something. That would be a d*** shame! Disclosures: It has a small power steering leak. There may be a small exhaust leak from the exhaust manifold(I just noticed it when I took the pictures). There is some small paint faded areas on the hood and trunk. You might be able to buff them out, not sure. The side mirror does not adjust(i have the adjusting ball super-glued in place), I have the replacement but have not installed it yet(the time thing again). The Lark is still starting great, but it is starting to run a little rough. The timing may need to be adjusted or just might need to get up on the highway and exercised a little more. I am reserving the right to stop the auction before close should I sell it outside of the auction first. I have left word with some of the Texas Studebaker clubs that it is for sale and have received some interest along with listing it on some other websites. I do need to sell the Lark as soon as possible. It is being sold AS IS / Where IS. If you have any questions please leave them, I will gladly answer ASAP!!! On Sep-24-12 at 07:25:03 PDT, seller added the following information: Additional Note 24 Sept : My wife says that reserving the right to close auction for outside sale is unfair to E-Bay bidders.... she is right again. SO..... if I receive any outside interest and they make me an offer, I will do as follows: If the offer is for less that my reserve, I will do nothing. If the offer is more than my reserve, I will require a deposit, and then will adjust my reserve. E-Bay will determine the price of the vehicle. Sorry E-bay bidders, that was unfair of me. On Sep-24-12 at 13:59:57 PDT, seller added the following information: 2ND Note: Sorry about another note. I am receiving a lot of emails about the engine. Yes it is the 4.7L 289 cubic inch V8. I believe that is why the original owner had to special order it. It was available for the Larks but not in big numbers. It is NOT the supercharged version. I believe that was the Daytona, ?? I may be wrong. Thanks. On Sep-25-12 at 17:52:52 PDT, seller added the following information: Well it looks like the Lark will sell on Sunday. My reserve was just hit. Good bidding!!! On Sep-28-12 at 12:18:13 PDT, seller added the following information: Hi !! I have received a lot of emails that are requesting the same information. I have asked that the answers be displayed on the site, but I do not see them showing up so I am going to list them here. ALSO PLEASE NOTE THE QUESTION ABOUT ENGINE SIZE!!! Has the car been titled in one name since acquired by "your family"? The vehicle title was in my Fathers and My name since we bought it. I recently had the Title transferred to Texas and dropped my fathers name since he has since passed. So technically, I am one of the original 2nd owners of the vehicle. Hope this makes since. I thought that transferring it to Texas would make the sale easier. When was the roof painted? Was it painted with a base/clear or single stage paint? The roof was painted on 5/3/1999 by Rare Body Shop in Prattville Alabama. They used Dupont Spectometer to match the paint and used base/clear. Have invoice. Just want to clarify on the A/C......what I understand you to say is the compressor engages and disengages as the A/C is switched on and off....correct? Yes. It needs R-12a. I did not think that it was available anymore, but many bidders have informed me I was wrong(What Else is NEW). Can you please tell me a little more about "starting to run rough"? When, what it's doing, what it sounds like etc.etc. This is one of the things that convinced me to sell the vehicle. It always purred. Now it starts good, but is starting to run rough after it warms up. I believe that it needs to be re-timed and since I have not been able to run it very often anymore, it probably needs to be exercised more. It is not dying or anything, just not purring like it used to and I can feel it missing some at street lights, etc.. Believe it or not, I have received this question about 6 times now: Why do you have the chock under the tire in the pictures, is the Park not working? My house is on a steep incline, I just put it there to make sure the vehicle did not roll down into the street. There is nothing wrong with the park other than I do not trust it on my parking pad. If it did roll, the only pictures I would have had were of me crying :) IMPORTANT Your car most likely has the standard, 259 cubic inch Studebaker V8 (180 hp w/ 2bbl carb) since no optional engine shows up on the window sticker. I just thought you would want to clear that up before the auction ends. My Father was the "Studebaker" guy. He always believed that it was the 289. Upon further investigation, I am leaning your way. This site studebakerdriversclub dot com, lists a Lark with the V Engine series as 259 made in USA. Another site showed the model 63VF6 model as being the 289. Here is the info off the Factory order -- Engine Serial # V-584423, Date manufactured 05/14/1963, Model 63VF6 3226 Custom 8 2 door Sedan. Body no: 940. I will be releasing this question to the auction. I will tell you though, that no matter which engine it is, it smokes the Prius at the stop light every time :) So, please bid as though it is a 259. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, How about brakes ? Very touchy. The pads are new, I have only put about 1500 miles on the vehicle since I brought it to Texas and they were replaced before I left. The Master Cylinder was replaced with a rebuilt one in 2001. I have not found someone who can adjust - bleed the brakes properly, so I believe that is why it is so sensitive. No problem stopping!!! Takes some getting used to. NUMBER 1 Question: Would you say that is well enough running condition to drive home to ??????? should I win the bid? It is a 50 yr old vehicle with the original engine and tranny. When I drove it from Alabama to Texas, it was not without problems. The differential started leaking and I had to stop at every Walmart lube shop(it was on a Sunday) from Beaumont to San Antonio to have them add lube. It also started a rear main seal leak. All of these problems have since been repaired, but I wanted you to know that things do happen with an older car, so no guarantees at all. I would suggest that everybody consider shipping the Lark. That way it keeps the miles off and I DON'T an unhappy customer!! I also had someone following me, just in case. There is still a lot of areas out there that would be pretty lonely with a broken down car. The movie Deliverance comes to mind!! I believe that these are all very valid questions that needed to be released before the auction closes so that everybody has all the information that has been passed on. Thank you for all of your questions!!! I will be glad to answer any more ASAP for you!!! Joe