If you’re a Studebaker owner you’ll know that after a while you don’t need to search for them anymore. They seem to find you. Most Studebaker owners have experienced this, I think it’s fate…
Several years ago I was out enjoying a day of riding motorcycles with a friend. We weren’t going any place special, just riding taking in some scenery. We ended up near the Finger Lakes region of New York state which is a good three hours from home. I don’t know why we took the roads we did, they were just there and looked interesting at the time.
While riding through a small village I spotted a 1959 Lark for sale along the roadside. Well, I had to stop… The car was nice but a little pricey for my tastes. Some may say I’m cheap but I prefer to think of it as… uh… oh never mind, I’m cheap.
We rode away and I didn’t have any more thoughts of the Lark. After all I didn’t need it, I already had two Studebaker sitting at home in the garage, a 1962 Lark and a 1963 Avanti.
Two years later I was at an automotive swap meet in Dunkirk New York and in the car corral sat this same 1959 Lark. It was now closer to home but still priced too high, so again, I walked away.
The next year I had sold my 1962 Lark while at the 1997 International Studebaker Drivers Club meet in South Bend Indiana, I hadn’t planned to sell it but it happened, See the story here.
Now I was down to just the Avanti. Just one Studebaker? Now that just won’t do! I was talking on the phone one day with a fellow chapter member when he told me of a nice little Lark he was selling.
I’m sure you can see where this is leading… Yes, it was the same car I had seen in the Finger Lakes and in Dunkirk. However it was now only a few miles from my home and the price had come down quite a bit so I bought it.
This one is still with me and I have really enjoyed it over the years. It’s a 1959 Lark Regal two door sedan with the flathead six and a three speed tranny. I’ve put over 30,000 miles on it and it had taken me to many meets and even South Bend twice. One summer I even used it for a few weeks as my daily driver because my regular car and truck were both broke down.
If I ever sell this Lark it will probably be to my nephew who has been requesting it since he was about 5 year old.
