Studebaker and Packard merged in 1954 in the hopes of keeping both brands relevant. But that didn’t work out, and the Packard marque was gone after 1958. The Lark compact arrived in 1959, but that only stalled the Grim Reaper for a bit. U.S. auto production ceased in 1963/64 and altogether in 1966. The seller has a ’66 Cruiser 4-door sedan, which was a reworked Lark beginning in 1964. It looks pretty solid, and we’re told it runs, though the car looks to have been in storage for a while. Located in a warehouse in Colton, California, this two-tone survivor is available here on craigslist for $3,999. An attaboy goes to Tony Primo for the tip!
The 1964-66 Studebaker Commanders, Daytonas, and Cruisers were all Larks under the skin. The Lark had saved the company for a couple of years in the late 1950s/early 1960s until all of Detroit got into the compact car game. Dwindling sales across the board caused Studebaker to close its manufacturing plant in South Bend, Indiana, around Christmas 1963. So, the remainder of 1964, 1965, and 1966 production came out of Hamilton, Ontario (Canada).
With South Bend dead, Studebaker engines were no longer available for the Canadian Studebakers. As a result, they struck a deal to obtain inline-6 and V8 power from GM of Canada, which were essentially Chevy engines. One such motor is the 283 cubic inch V8 in the seller’s car, which may only have 42,000 miles with an automatic transmission (2-speed Powerglide?). This Stude looks to be part of a collection, but one that likes to attract dust.
Only 1,844 Cruiser 4-door sedans were produced in 1966 before Studebaker finally threw in the towel in March. We’re told this car is a “special build”, but we don’t know what that means besides it being part of a limited production run. The seller says the auto runs well and comes with a lot of NOS parts. So perhaps all this old car needs is a second life (though the paint is questionable in places). With Chevrolet hardware, keeping this Stude going shouldn’t be a challenge.
I prefer the looks of these over the earlier cars.
The price seems cheap,but you’d still want to inspect it.
The fact that its nothing but a rebodied Lark did NOT help at all .
Aunt Bees ( Francis Bavier) last car was a ’66 Studebaker. I read after Andy Griffith show ended, she was devastated, and didn’t do much else with her life, and died in Siler City, NC, which was mentioned in the show many times.
It is a bit selfish, to be clear, I liked Studebakers, yeah, even the Avanti, but we in Milwaukenosha breathed a sigh of relief when Studebaker went under, we were no longer in competition for that #4 automaker, clear sailing’,or so we thought,,oh, oh, what’s a Toyota, dad? No worries, my son, of little concern,,,,
The Avanti was the final nail in the Studebaker coffin. Why? Though it’s a very nice and gorgeous car, it was the type of automobile that had no chance of saving the company. It was a personal luxury vehicle that would only appeal to a narrow scope of buyers, the last thing that Studebaker should have been building. The car here is a handsome family hauler, and it appears to have a touch of luxury. One thing about late Studes, they had beautiful instrument clusters, especially the Avanti and GT’s. This one’s nice too. I wonder, by its serial, how close to the end of production it was.
Hi Terrry, not so. I read, while the Avanti was a poor decision, it was Stevens himself that put the last nail in the Studebaker coffin. He was supposed to redesign the Lark for 1964, but insisted that trucks were the answer. Fell on deaf ears as Studebaker didn’t have the cash for a much needed full size car, much less trucks. Considering where trucks went, they should have listened to that man.
Interesting! Still, it was what to manufacture and when is what did the company in. From what I understand, Studebaker discontinued operations before they started really losing money. They saw the writing on the wall and the stockholders wanted out. This is why they were able to “ease out” instead of shutting everything down at once. Ironically, today, building trucks would have been a good decision by the company!
These are actually 1953 Studebakers if you really get under the skin. The company did not have the money to engineer a new frame.
The Borg-Warner 3-speed “Flight-O-Matic” transmissions continued to be used in 1965-1966 Studebakers via an adapter (bellhousing) that allowed the BW trans to bolt up to the GM engines. These were sourced from Checker since that company had already designed the adapter for their own use.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/studebaker-adaptor-found.1090118/
If it is the original the trans is virtually the same as 64, a 3 speed that when put in drive starts in second unless it is floored, starts in first if the selector is in low, no relation to Powerglide. I have a 66 wagon since 1987
Brooke Stevens also designed the Sceptre which would have probably been built as a 1966 or 1967 model, all new body, but existing chassis. But it was never to have been.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-story-of-the-1963-studebaker-sceptre-the-futuristic-concept-you-never-knew-existed-195952.html
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w9Ern3axpmQ
Packard should’ve merged with Nash. That might’ve saved them both long term. Studebaker couldn’t make a profit most years. Packard never should’ve bought Studebaker. Nance couldn’t get along with Mason. Both wanted to be CEOs. Nance became CEO of nothing. He ran Packard into the ground. Curtis Wright put the final nails in the coffin. Mason went on to create American motors. As long as he was at the helm, it was successful.
Mason died shortly after the creation of American Motors. George Romney his replacement kept the company sucessful.
what else is hiding in that pole barn??
Don’t think it has a Powerglide. Squinting my eyes, it seems to read PNDLR, suggesting it’s a Borg Warner with the adapter Checker made available to them to use Chevy engines.
My 1956 Chevy has a power glide transmission and PNDLR.
That’s exactly what it is, Bob C. It’s the same three speed Borg-Warner automatic that Studebaker had been using for many years, configured to start in second gear when installed behind a V8. First gear was there, but accessible only when selected manually.
Lovely looking car. It’s a damn shame that it was discontinued so soon. I knew that Studebaker had discontinued production. It’s the best looking Studebaker since the 1961 model year.
I like it……and the price.
Too Bad you ar4e so far away from Nova Scotia Canada . if you were closer That would be in my garage ASAP .
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the best old iron is in the West part of the USA. If I lived there instead of the East part I would be heading there to buy this Studie just because. I might even daily it.
Studebaker had one last innovation for 1966, flow-through ventilation. The extraction vents are the slotted areas above the tail lights.
Hold me back ! Good buy on a factory Chevy powered Stude – wouldn’t be hard to swap in a Turbo 350 trans or a later powerglide. With two Daytona’s in the roast along with a 1963 Cruiser with an R1 – I’m kinda at my limit.
BuyBuyBuy !