Most of youreading this already have a decent understanding of Studebakers and their High Performance history, ut for those who don't, his little independent car company was often ahead of its time and the1963 model line was no exception. This was the year that Studebaker introduced its radical Avanti - afiberglass bodied, upercharged sports car that would become America's fastest car in 1963. In the spirit of this flagship model, tudebaker decided to make Avanti's Paxton superchargeddrivetrainavailable in every model that was produced in South Bend. The result was nothing less than spectacular and the first "Muscle Car" was born.
Although some would argue that the 1964 1/2 Pontiac GTO will always be Americas first muscle car, ts hard to dispute that the often ignored little supercharged Lark R2rightfully owns the title. Especially when you think about what was offered in the late summer 1962 for the 63 model year.
These cars had enginesbuilt with Paxton superchargers, luminum gear drive, olid lifters, orged crankshafts, orged rods, orged rocker arms, versized bearings, iscous drive fans, D radiators, indage trays, ealed 4 barrel carbs, ot camshafts, hrome valve covers, reathers, ir cleaners and bonnets, nd more.
Factory glass pack mufflers, ront and rear sway bars, raction bars, achometers, 60 speedometers, ucket seats, nbsp;posi traction dana44 rear ends, ISC BRAKES (A Studebaker first), speed transmissions, eavy Duty springs and shocks, ere just some of the available options. A true candidate for the first muscle car title by any review.
The Lark I have listed here just happens to be one of those incredibly rare little muscle cars,still retaining its numbers matching Factory Supercharged 289 C.I.engine. This is really a great little car, ut I am downsizing my collection, nd its time for this one to find a new home.
This is an incredibly original car with only a few owners over the last 50 years and very few miles. The owner who sold me the car gave me a Stamped affidavit from a state notary (see photo)that officially documents the car having 59,000 miles in 1988. He swore the mileage was correct when I bought it, o I believe the current mileage of 63,000 to be correct. It has been well cared for andnever abused.Make no mistake, his isnot arotisserie restored trailer queen by any means, ut it is a wonderfully solid and original car that runs, rives and looks fantastic.
The car is almost rust free from what I can tell. It has been painted one time many years ago and still looks really nice. It has a few little nicks here and there, ut does just fine atlocal car shows. The color combois factory original and one of the most sought after.....Red and white. All the trim seems straight and better than average. Bumpers are original and showing patina.
Interior is very nice but not perfect. The dash is unbelievably nice for a 63. Really nice carpet and door panels. Reclining bucket seats. Passenger seat has a couple small but repairable splits at the seams. All the gauges work to my knowledge. Horn is nice and loud. Clock works great.
Factory Paxton supercharger (Paxton was a Studebaker owned company as was STP oil treatment) is working perfectly.
HD automatic transmission with oil cooler in the radiator shifts smooth and correct.
It has power Disc brakes, eavy duty front and rear springs and 3.73 gears with posi traction.
Power steering lets you relax and Dual exhausts with glass packs providelistening enjoyment.
An absolute joy to drive, his car runs excellent and sounds absolutely amazing. It has had literally thousands of dollars put into the mechanicals within the last 500 miles.
Here are a few of the items that were recently replaced;
Complete brake job costing over $2000.00 - rotors, alipers, ines, oses, rums, hoes, aster cylinder. Stops smooth and straight.
Brand new heavy duty rear springs with new rear shocks.
Professionally rebuilt posi traction rear end with new bearings and seals.
$1200.00 of BRAND NEW Coker reproduction tires.
Sandblasted and painted wheels with baby moon hubcaps. The original Daytona hubcaps come with the car also, ut they are off the car to enjoy the freshly painted look.
Professionally rebuilt carburetor.
Professionally rebuilt radiator (high quality)
Quartz retrofit clock that works great.
All new battery cables, olenoid, oil, ose clamps, tc.
All in all, his is a SUPER RARE car that makes for a fantastic investment. It is original, olid and reliable. It is definitely one of those cars that was preserved better than many, nd makes a super fun car to cruise to events in and actually drive instead of trailer. Of course its also the perfect candidate if someone wanted to do a full blown restoration as it is a very rare and valuable machine.
VERY FEW of these survive as only 110 were built in 1963and only 17 are known tostill existaccording tothe jet thrust news which has kept records of these cars for decades.
Mecum auctions and Hemmingshave put Studebakers at the top of their list for cars with most potential to increase in cost and the Supercharged cars are at the top of that list!
Even Jay Leno stated that supercharged Studebakers are the next cars to rapidly increase in value and Golden hawkshave recentlysold for$100,000.
If you are considering bidding on the car, eel free to email me any questions you might have. I will also happily return phone calls and talk about the car.
I also WELCOME anyone who would like to the see the car in person to evaluate it up close, EFORE thelisting ends,so I will run the auction as long as possible to make this possible.