Perhaps not the prettiest wagon ever built, the Studebaker Lark Wagonaire offered a unique and different approach on the family car that could do it all. Capable of hauling your family and a random tall object of your choice, this station wagon teetered on the edge of being a pickup truck as well. The Wagonaire sliding rear roof increases this wagons capacity to haul large and unique items that a station wagon typically couldn’t handle. This first year Wagonaire is complete, and looks like a great potential project for a reasonable price. Offered for $2,250, this V8 powered stick shift wagon could be useful and fun. Check it out here on craigslist out of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Despite being a little grimy and rusty, this 259 V8 appears complete, and hopefully still has some kick left to offer. Shifting is rowed via a 3 on the tree making this wagon a little more fun out on the open roads. There are a few stray wires that aren’t so pretty, but they could be tidied up. There is not much of a description, but I would assume this Stude’ has been sitting for a while.
The interior looks to be complete, but the seats and door panels look to need some help. It would appear that the carpet has been removed, and that there are a few rubber mats in place on the floor. The dash looks reasonable enough, but there is a rip or two on the dash pad area.
Relatively straight the body really seems to be the selling point of this Lark. There is surface rust present, but there does not appear to be any rot, and the majority of the paint is in place. Depending on your flavor, this Studebaker could be enjoyed in its current patina and mechanically awakened for regular use. If you want a classic for a daily, but need something that can keep up with your utilitarian life style, then this Wagonaire may be just what you are looking for. Offered for a seemingly reasonable price, would you take a chance on this Lark?
I’d buy this in a heartbeat…..LOVE Studebakers.
drop an R2 motor in it and a 4 speed on the floor with that bench seat would be really cool.
Straight axle gasser–warm up the stude v-8 or use something different like a Caddy or a NailHeadBuick….
One of my favorite Matchbox cars when I was a kid was this car. It was blue with periwinkle roof panel. Made by Lesney.
These wagons are unusually enough it should be saved, and it represents Studebakers swan song.
That Matchbox car was actually a ’64/5. The nose is different…
Yes absolutely correct. It had the squared off nose.
I’m 36 and this was one of about 30 matchbox cars given to me by a family friend when their son was in his 20s. I still have some of those matchbox cars but sadly not this one.
I still have that Matchbox car and I’m 58 years old!
So do I, John and I’m 59.
Me, too. I’m 57
Only ever owned 3 Studes, a 1948 Land Cruiser, a 1957 Silver Hawk L H DRIVE and a 1959 3/4 ton pick-up. All 3 of them were great vehicles apart from the Hawk’s tendency to have the hood fly open twice on the Southern Rhodesian gravel roads. Two hoods, two windscreens later it was still a great car. Also no rust in Rhodesia!
Now we know what color you would repaint this wagon, don’t we! LOL
Still own mine too. [pic not mine]
Mine too.
A wagon with 3 on the tree? The readers from “The Truth About Cars” are lining up as we speak.
My primary transportation during college was a ’64 Studebaker wagon with I-6 and 3-on-the-tree, plus overdrive. It was a pretty common configuration.
Definitely. When I was a kid we had a 65 Buick Special Wagon with 3 on the tree. It was a stripped down model, all the way to rubber mats instead of carpet.
When I was in high school, a friend’s family used one of these wagons to move his double bass to and from the school’s music room and home. Absolutely wonderful.
The only curious thing I ever thought about on this wagon, were the rear taillights, did Studebaker forget to design them in, because the always looked like an afterthought.
Brook Stevens did the update design on Studebakers at this time. He also did the design for what became the Jeep Wagoneer. Notice the similarities for the wagon tail end and lights? Notice too how many SUV’s today have an interpretation of these high & wrapped tail lights? Of course, I always liked them.
Notice how it doesn’t say “Wagonaire” on the tailgate?
Not all ’63 Studebaker wagons were Wagonaires, and as such that do not all have a sliding roof.
Based on where it is, and the fact that the quarter panels are still there– this might be one of those without a sliding roof…
look close at the rear pic – it looks like a slit running across the top under the trim piece.
This one is a Daytona, but it clearly shows the piece Dave is talking about~
Yes- the slit you are talking about is there always.
Many parts interchange between the slider and non slider cars.
The roof included.
The difference is weather or not the tracks are there for it to move,
as well as the headliner and some other parts.
True this. Great observation. I was checking for power tailgate window, and missed this point.
I have spent so much time looking at this post on craigslist this afternoon. These wagons, the Studebaker with the sliding roof, always intrigued me as a child. When I noticed the luggage rack was forward, I got excited it might me one! I understand the sliding roofs leaked. Unless the wagon was stored inside when not in use, it would suffer. This one, based on surface rust, did not enjoy dry storage. Oh well.
Here’s the explanation:
“Perhaps as a result of the bad press from this episode, Studebaker decided in January 1963 to make available a wagon with a nonretractable roof. It was a “delete option,” meaning it had to be specifically noted on all dealer orders. Ordering the fixed-roof version saved the purchaser $100.
The Wagonaire originally came in two trim levels for the domestic market. (A third line, the Custom, was available solely for overseas markets.) The Regal was the lower-line model and it started at $2,550 with the six or $2,685 with a V-8. The top-line Daytona was $150 more in each category. The Daytona was easily distinguishable from the Regal by its wider bodyside moldings and nameplate on the rear quarter panel.
In January 1963, a stripped-down version of the Wagonaire became available. Referred to as the “Standard,” it lacked the bodyside moldings and the hood, tailgate, and grille ornaments of other models. This no-frills Wagonaire was aimed at fleet buyers and the economy minded. Available as a six and an eight, it listed for just $2,430 and $2,565, respectively. ”
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1963-1966-studebaker-wagonaire1.htm
but the nameplate on the pass side of the dash looks like it says “Varsity”?
The glove box says ‘Vanity’.
Good point. My car was a non-sliding-roof model. They look identical from the outside. If this isn’t a Wagonaire, I think the roof is fixed, not movable.
The nameplate says “Vanity” which was another Stude innovation, I agree that its probably a fixed roof version= theres way too much metal left in the hind qtrs, especially for a Wisconsin car. I can’t believe how good the tailgate looks, it must have been sheltered for a good part of its life. I do have a fresh R2 on a stand but I don’t think this is the one for me.
Sliding roof Wagonaires had the x member in the frame like convertibles andAvantis. Helped stiffen body since slider was not physically part of the front part of roof.
I’d buy this on a lark. (Someone had to say it…)