1960 Studebaker Lark VI

[acegto]

glad I found this thread...keep up the good work

[bread_and_water]

A lot has happened since the last update, first when I was performing a cam swap on the 4.8 I discovered one of the bearings had spun in the block but I was able to exchange it for a 5.3 liter short block in much better shape so now I'm in the process of moving everything over to the 5.3. I also took the time to replace the timing set with a comp cams double roller and also purchased a high volume oil pump.

I finished up narrowing the rear axle and just need to relocate new spring perches and I bought a steering wheel.

[bread_and_water]

Started work on the airbox I like how it came out but I might do another variation with a radius on the side toward the motor that would follow the radius of the filter.

It won't be 100% sealed but it'll be close and the tube will be different.





After I finished narrowing the axle I tried bolting up the mounted steel wheels and they were still a good ways off from fitting without modifying the body.

I started looking around for another wheel that would fit and came across a different American racing torque thrust style that had various offset options, had the correct center bore clearance, and was actually a 1/2" wider. I looked on summit racing but they were backordered and $200 each which I didn't really want to fork out.

After taking some better measurements of the fender and seeing that these wheels would fit really well, I was set on finding some so I entered the part number into Google and found some places selling them cheaper but the one that really surprised me was Walmart, yes Walmart and they were $30 cheaper each than on summit with free shipping and no tax. I placed the order the week before Thanksgiving and they arrived last Wednesday.

They're a matte grey with a deeper machined lip than the other torque thrust wheel I tried and they're about half the weight of the steel ones and I like how they go with the stainless trim on the car as well.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Wow, that's sweet! You don't see many early Larks done up like that (actually any Larks at all really). The patina is nice, are you going to run that for a bit?

[bread_and_water]

Wow, that's sweet! You don't see many early Larks done up like that (actually any Larks at all really). The patina is nice, are you going to run that for a bit?

Yeah I had never seen or known of Larks or any Studebaker's really until I came across this one and I don't plan on repainting the car for awhile if at all, I really like the patina too, it's the easiest paint to maintain and not worry about.

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

Yeah I had never seen or known of Larks or any Studebaker's really until I came across this one and I don't plan on repainting the car for awhile if at all, I really like the patina too, it's the easiest paint to maintain and not worry about.

They're pretty cool cars. A friend of mine has had many Studes, at one point I would guess he had 20+ Studes of various models, mostly Larks, a few Hawks, etc. I'm pretty familiar with them. Glad you're keeping the patina, it looks great and it's only that way once... no going back once it's shiny! Plus, I've had mostly nothing but perfect, and shiny cars... it kind of gets only trying to keep them perfect!

[bread_and_water]

Set her on the ground tonight to make sure the rear cleared fully, I can't wait to drive this car.

[Centerforce]

Heck yeah! Those new shoes are looking sweet!

[OLDFLM]

New wheels look perfect on the car!

[Ripper]

I love it! Looks great!
I want one! :D


What does the inside look like? I hope you have large washers on the inside?

[bread_and_water]

I love it! Looks great!
I want one! :D


What does the inside look like? I hope you have large washers on the inside?

Thanks! And washers for where?

[Ripper]

Sorry, Between the bolt heads holding the arm in the chassis and the sheet metal. Looks like a rather thick plate, but long holes can be tricky once you putting some load on the components.

[MattA]

The new wheels look great, who makes those? I am planning to do the front suspension and possibly LS swap on mine eventually. Been driving it around with lowered stock suspension for about a year. Keep up the good work.

[bread_and_water]

Sorry, Between the bolt heads holding the arm in the chassis and the sheet metal. Looks like a rather thick plate, but long holes can be tricky once you putting some load on the components.

The bolts are a large upside down T-bolt so there's a lot of surface area and somebody can correct me but I don't think you'd really want a washer between there and the plate because it may allow the arm to slide under load.

The new wheels look great, who makes those? I am planning to do the front suspension and possibly LS swap on mine eventually. Been driving it around with lowered stock suspension for about a year. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, your car looks great and the wheels are American Racing.

[andrewb70]

I'd rock a lock washer there myself.

Andrew

[bread_and_water]

Exhaust mockup, all stainless 2.5" I'll probably run a couple turndowns after each muffler just passed the rear seat.
The X pipe and tubing is a universal Pypes kit and the manifold extensions with O2 ports are from Hooker to be used with these manifolds.



After getting the new block back together with rebuilt heads, LS6 springs, rocker trunion bearing kit, new pushrods, oil pump, and timing chain I wanted to prime the oil system and also make sure everything seemed to be working correctly. I hooked up my speedhut oil pressure gauge and cranked the motor over and it showed a consistent 40psi. I also hooked up the backlight wiring to see how it looks and I must say speedhut makes a quality product.

[dangina]

I've ran speedhut gauges in my truck conversion and the first set failed after 10k, they sent me a brand new set at no charge within days (I didn't even have to send the old one back), you'll love'm! I have never seen a studebaker lark before, I'm sure glad I read this build, great work!

[bread_and_water]

I've ran speedhut gauges in my truck conversion and the first set failed after 10k, they sent me a brand new set at no charge within days (I didn't even have to send the old one back), you'll love'm! I have never seen a studebaker lark before, I'm sure glad I read this build, great work!

Awesome, that's good to know.

Made some progress these passed couple days and finished the motor mounts. I had ground off a bit too much from the frame mounts and had to weld a plate on the crossmember to build it back up but I like how it all turned out.



I used some large dimple die gussets from ruff stuff to add more support to the mounts.





The mounts are definitely stout and can support the entire motor, it only sagged about a degree with no support on the back.



I also test fit the exhaust between the frame. I'll have to move the o2 bungs but other than that it's almost like it was made for this car.

[454bug]

Great fab work! Building everything from scratch on a one-off build is a TON of work. Hat's off for a great job so far!

[linkstar69]

Looks great