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2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Lots of fake woodgrain inside on '64's. Woodgrain was still pretty unusual then; I can only think of Cadillac Fleetwoods and Eldorados having it on the dash and doors, and Pontiac Bonnevilles and Grand Prix having a horizontal strip of it around the switches; both real wood.
The '64 Avanti has a LOT of woodgrain, and it's obviously fake, LOL. On the '63's, there was zero.
I could tolerate it a lot more on the 'Elk' interior.
Maybe with white exterior?
And maybe the real color looks better than the camera's eye says it does...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I was under the impression that most places closed down on Nov. 25 so that everybody could watch JFK's funeral on TV, but apparently not.
No reply yet from original owner's son, sigh.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
But to answer your question!
It's a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic, but in "D", it starts in second gear.
I like the glass-covered instruments with chrome rings, in an era of plastic in other cars there, but I'll admit it's probably less-safe.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Supposedly there's some way to get two upshifts with the PNDLR trans, but it involved moving back and forth from "L" and I'm not going to try that.
The Canadian cars could be had with disc brakes and transistorized ignition, a couple things generally ahead-of-the-curve compared to the Big Three at the time, although my car has neither. I do have the dual-chamber master cylinder which I'm not sure all the makers were using at that general time.
So many odd transmissions then. Has me thinking of the Stude-sized fintail, which starts out in 2nd unless you manually kick down into 1st with the button under the accelerator - not recommended as it is rough and will quickly upshift anyway (I think maybe it can also be done by starting out with 2nd selected, not sure). It can't be locked in 1st, but can be held in other gears - I often keep it in 3rd at around 25 mph, as it upshifts to 4th at that speed, but the revs drop too much, sapping speed and even sometimes maybe overfueling a little as it will miss if in 4th too slow.
Also interesting, the gears aren't in a straight line, but a little notchy - is the Stude like this?
Fintails could also be had with a 4 on the tree.
The Stude "Powershift" was just a straight-line. It was developed by Borg-Warner for the Avanti, and when fit to Larks or Hawks, a fiberglass extender to elevate the shifter and quadrant was used, and covered with carpet. Here's the one in my friend's new Super Hawk:
I grew up Chevy, but they were still using the Powerglide two-speed, even in the Corvette at the time. And I feel pretty sure some Buicks and Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles were still using a quadrant with "R" at the bottom in '63 and '64, although with 'notches' for three forward gears.
When I was in high school (90s), a friend had a green on green 69 Nova sedan, 307 with a 2 speed powerglide, that I think was given to him by a grandparent. I recall on hard acceleration, it would stay in first until maybe 50 mph, then harshly move into second, and the car really seemed to be flying. That car had a fun quirk, a horn that had aged somehow, and when honked sounded like a duck.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-studebaker-cruiser/
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Those are the for-real Stude optional headrests, not often seen.
Although to its commercial detriment, one thing I like about those last few years' Studes is they seemed to pay zero attention to what Detroit was doing.
There is some evidence that Studebaker tried to get its dealer organization to quit on its own after the U.S. production lines stopped in Dec. '63. They had about 1,915 U.S. dealers; then dropped the Hawk, Avanti, and trucks and continued to build Lark-types in their smaller, but newer and more-efficient, Hamilton, Ontario plant. The South Bend engine plant continued to supply engines for 1964 Hamilton-built cars after Dec. '63. But the South Bend engine plant was waaaayyy underutilized, and Engineering looked for replacement engines. They picked the "Chevy" engines that were actually sold to Studebaker by McKinnon Industries, a GM subsidiary. The longtime engine guru in the international Studebaker Drivers Club has torn a bunch of these engines down over the years and says that they have the Power Pack heads, not used on all regular Chevys of the time in the U.S. Supposedly the engines were used in Canadian Pontiacs and trucks. I'm sure Studebaker didn't specify Power Pack heads, but bought whatever could be gotten at a good price.
By March 1966, when the last car was built, their U.S. dealer organization was down to 450. They had been worried about being flooded with dealer lawsuits in Dec. '63 had they completely shut down, but with attrition that risk was minimized.
I really like the interior on the BaT car. No other 113-inch wheelbase car that I'm thinking of had an interior like that, IMHO.
That Stude sold for $7,800. I think somebody got a nice car for that. I'm only guessing, but I'm not sure if a '65 Chevy II or Chevelle Malibu four-door with a 283, rust repair in the trunk, and over 100K miles would've brought more than that, or even that much.
My friend's car has the typical "This Gran Turismo Hawk Built Expressly For" little plaque on the dash, and it is engraved "Fran and Marge", which had us scratching our heads a bit. But I see that the original owner was Francis Gachter. Some 'Googling' resulted in his wife's obit...Marjorie, who passed in 2015. According to it, they had no children but loved boating and camping, and Marjorie was the bookkeeper at the Ford dealer in the town they lived (Navarre, OH) for thirty years. I love that this stuff is available.
I was disappointed to see that the engine no. wasn't included on the Drive-Away Shipper. It is usually handwritten on the production order, which I didn't purchase. I have a back-door way to get that number though.
Thanks for the pleasant reminder of that place.
Looks like the area where the original owner lived has been renumbered or renamed, no record of that address at online maps.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
He had the Hawk parked in the garage, under fluorescent light, but he'd sure cleaned it up since last time I saw it. The whitewalls were white-white. They look just like the width and placement in the brochure, but at 40K miles I realize they couldn't be the factory bias-tires...although they are bias-ply (which he realizes should be replaced). He mounted the factory-repro mirror too. I was drooling.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I always liked the optional vinyl top on the '64, the '64 wheelcovers, and the smooth, denuded decklid of the '64.
As an aside, I see a '65 Chevy II in the pic, which is my favorite year of the first-gen Chevy II. I never cared for the '66 and '67 models at all.
I wondered if you'd seen that example before.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My daughter and son-in-law are looking around Plain City for a starter home. They like that area as it's less congested and far-enough out that pricing is more-reasonable.
Another recent sighting.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/d/annville-1963-studebaker-lark/7154716243.html
There are a good number of low-mileage Studes of the '63-66 vintage, but this is probably among the very lowest.
My parents' '67 Chevelle 300 Deluxe, our first new car, had rubber on the floor as well, as did our '73 Nova.
My fintail has rubber in front, carpet in back - I think they were all like that, at least in first series cars. Now only work trucks have rubber floors, I think.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1960-studebaker-lark-3/
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I don't love the blue top, and the grille emblem is supposed to be in the bottom center (easily corrected).
I generally like '62 and later Larks better, but there is something about a '60 in convertible form that has a 'cuteness' not seen in the later ones I think. I don't know; maybe 'jaunty' is the word.
A compact convertible, and a compact V8, were Stude exclusives in the '60 model year, I'm nearly certain.
Internet peanut galleries are generally toxic and shouldn't exist. However, BaT is in the business of selling clicks as much as cars.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Is the R-2 engine common in the Wagonnaires?
Not at all. I can't recall if Malcolm's was built with it, or not.
I just looked at our club magazine from 1989 (which I had handy) that shows 15 '63 Wagonaires built with R2. There would've been even fewer '64's, but that magazine is two floors down, in the basement.