It’s hard to pinpoint the moment in time when you could see the end was coming for Studebaker Corp. Most would say that happened in December 1963 when they announced an end to all U.S. production. They would soldier on in Canada until March 1966. This ’66 Daytona Sports Sedan could be one of the last ever to be built out of a pool of 873 (620 with V8s). Located in Bonney Lake, Washington, this older restoration is available here on craigslist for $10,000. Bravo to “Curvette” for such a cool tip.
Studebaker’s roots go back to the 1850s, and its automotive business started not long after the turn of the century. Never one with deep pockets, its fortunes may have gotten worse with an ill-fated merger with Packard that worked so poorly that the Packard brand was gone after 1958. Studebaker got a brief reprieve from launching the compact Lark in 1959, but a swarm of competition soon arrived. Even the swanky and now iconic Avanti of 1963-64 couldn’t save the day.
All production shifted to the already existing Hamilton, Ontario plant mid-way through the 1964 model year. The company thought they could stay afloat at 20,000 cars per year. That number was never realized, and Studebaker threw in the towel at just shy of 9,000 ’66 cars that Spring. All Canadian-built Studes got their engines from GM of Canada (Chevrolet).
The seller’s 1966 Daytona Sports Sedan is in rare company as only a few hundred were assembled. Under the hood resides what should be a 283 cubic-inch V8, although a 6-banger was the starting point on the order sheet. It also has an automatic transmission, and we’re told the Daytona runs well at 136,000 miles. We assume the drivetrain was rebuilt during an earlier restoration that may have held up. The photos provided don’t do the car justice, as images shot in portrait always leave things out.
The black paint looks at least okay, accented by a matching vinyl roof covering, which could have been a factory option. The red interior looks most tidy. The seller has health issues, which have prompted the sale, but living outside under a canvas cover does classic cars no good. If I were 2,000 miles closer, I might take a run at this one.
Neat looking little cars. Probably move around smartly w the small V8 and autoloader.
I have to assume that the ’65-66 cars were only bought by the unwaveringly faithful. Everyone knew the end was in sight, and nobody wanted to be stuck with an unsupported orphan. Just down the street, the Chevy dealer would happily sell you a similarly sized Chevelle, and I can’t think of a reason to pick this Stude over a Chevy.
Because it was better looking than a ’65 Chevelle and used the same 283 engine.
Agreed , i never was a fan of ” parts bin ” cars .
Terrible photos
Possibly the worst ever.
Intetestingly enough my first glance told me Pontiac Acadian 66 just by the front end.
Rare beast indeed. Doesn’t look bad and I would take a shot at this if it wasn’t on the left coast. With the V8 and the right tweaking these things could move.how many of these Daytona coupes have you seen in town or at car shows?
Black on red always looks good. Studebakers always seemed to be owned by a different kind of buyer, almost as a protest against the big three automakers. This is the last of the breed.
what? no full pictures of the car from any angle?
I really like this. I would be very tempted to pull (and save) the original drive train and install a newer, more potent drive train with an overdrive transmission. And then drive it alot!
Had a nice ’65 Daytona much like the one pictured. Advertisement said “283 Studebaker V8 engine”. I assumed that to be a mistake until I looked it up in my interchange manual (an old JC Whitney catalogue). Sure enough, there it was in the engine gasket section. Odd, it was the same part number as the 283 Chevy. Called the guy and he disclosed that parts were hard to find. Ha Ha, I told him I could find engine parts in every auto parts store in town (which he disbelieved). It was a great little car and quick too. :-) Terry J
I had a 1964 Studebaker Cruiser once. It had a good running 289 2-barrel. I went to the local auto parts store for an oil filter and the guy behind the counter told me “That 289 is a Ford engine”. Wrong!
I didn’t buy any more auto parts at that store.
I had a similar story. My 71 big block Impala was in need of front coil springs, I ripped the front end apart when we were slow and ordered the needed parts. When springs for a small block showed up, even though I made sure they it wasn’t one. The counter guy told me, “454s were for Vettes and Chevelles, not grandma cars”
In 66 (even65 was better) they put a cadillac like interior in them trying to upgrade their profile,,they threw in the “towel” in 66 not because of poor sales but because the die for the trunk broke and would cost a cool million for a new one to be made,,they were scrambling to find used trunk lids in junk yards to keep going,,and actually they made a profit in 65 , not much but a million is a million and that was in the green for them,,but curtis wright bot them yrs earlier just as a tax write off , so their future was sealed when they did that.
How about full photos of front, back and both sides of car !What does this car actually look like?
I saw an add from Texas that looks to be the same car. Was sold from Texas three years ago with 35,995 miles but I assume it’s 135,995. Black, red interior, 283 engine and same rims.
Better pics at this link.
https://dyler.com/cars/studebaker/lark-for-sale/1966/223377/studebaker-lark-daytona-coupe-1966-black-for-sale
Thanks for that! Pretty sharp-looking car.
Agreed , i never was a fan of ” parts bin ” cars .
Especially by 1966, these were looking pretty dated, with the old Borg Warner PNDLR three speed automatic and kingpins. Still, I would love a Studey.
This body style came out in 64,,not that dated look at chryslers 300 15 yrs same body! VW bug and I loved the old trans PNDLR,, had a 60 Olds (& a 55 Stude coupe same time) and I’d slam it into R,,didn’t have to look and then up 2 and I was gone. The Borg Warner trans was an excellent trans,,was used in Ford,Merc,Packard,Mercedes , Volvo,,Jaguar and the king pins were old tech but worked good IF kept greased which seldom happened.
dave chambers, All cars of the late 40s to late 70s were parts bin cars to some extent. Some more than others. Would you a GTO a parts bin car? The 3 speed. manual transmission was from Ford. AMCs used Mopar transmissions (Besides Borg Warner) Studebakers used Autolite distributors, etc, etc. Many cars and trucks used Motorcraft (Ford) carburetors. And these are just a few. I could go on for many, many examples. ( The unfortunate disease of a former parts guy!)
Looks like what The Green Hornet and Kato would be tooling around in if they decided to down size
Heck…..they’d been in business for 115 years at this point so why not throw in the towl…….
Unusually good looking car for Studebaker