Studebaker Lark - Special Larks

Special Larks

The Lark's body-on-frame construction made it very easy for custom coachbuilders and designers to create new interpretations of the cars both for Studebaker and for others who wanted something "a little different."

The noted Italian coachbuilder and designer Pietro Frua rebodied a very small number of Larks in 1960. Two four-door sedans are known to still exist, but both are in need of extensive restoration. It appears that at least one two-door model was also built, but it is not known if this car still exists. The Frua Larks are notable for their distinctive straight-lined bodies and generous use of glass.

In addition, American designer Brooks Stevens created several special concept cars on the basic Lark chassis. Three of these cars, a four-door sedan with suicide doors, a sliding-roof station wagon (called the Skyview) and a two-door Sceptre sports coupe exist today and are housed in the Studebaker National Museum.

The Lark convertible lent its reinforced X-frame chassis to the Avanti and to Brooks Stevens' Excalibur, both of which would be manufactured in limited numbers long after Studebaker was out of the automotive business, although Excalibur switched to a custom-designed chassis when its supply of Studebaker frames ran out. Avanti Motors would continue to use the basic chassis into the early 1980s.

The Israeli Presidential car in 1964 was a specially designed LWB Lark. It was a four-door convertible. It had a short life due to technical problems.

• Although Studebaker phased out the Lark name in 1964, many Studebaker collectors and enthusiasts refer to the 1964-66 Studebaker sedans and station wagons (excluding Avanti and Hawk models) as "Lark-types".

• From 1959 to 1961, six-cylinder Larks were identified as "Lark VI" models, while V8-powered cars bore nameplates identifying them as "Lark VIII" models. Novices in the Studebaker hobby sometimes erroneously refer to these cars as "Mark VI" and "Mark VIII" Larks (not to be confused with the Lincolns of the same names).

• The early Lark four-door sedan's body was used to create the cab section of the 1960 Studebaker Champ pickup, Studebaker's last "all-new" truck design. A new back cab wall was created, with the front doors, dashboard and front sheetmetal largely unaltered from those of the car. A more "truck-like" grille was added to the Champ, but otherwise the bodies of the 1959-60 Larks and all Champs built from 1960 to 1964 share a great deal of their body components. In fact, some export market Champs were even built on the long-wheelbase Cruiser chassis instead of the truck chassis. None were sold in the U.S.

• A rear-facing third seat was optional on station wagons from 1959 to 1965. Wagons with this option did not come with a spare tire. Instead they came with special "Captive-Air" tires that had an inner lining that allowed the car to be driven even if the outer tire were punctured.