O Scale Motor Vehicle Chronicle Vol. XVII June 7

Studebaker Larks were good cars that did not get the notice they deserved.  My favorite teacher in high school had one and it was far nicer and quicker than my Plymouth Valiant (and not nearly as ugly).

This is my latest die-cast vehicles project.

Land Speed Record Train. Cool!!!
The Stusebaker Lark didn’t hold any speed records, but a factory stock 1962 Avanti did better than 169 MPH at Bonneville and held 29 records for many years. Not bad for a car that was essentially a Lark with a fiberglass body and less than a 300 C.I supercharged V8.

Way back then I thought the Avanti was very, very cool: the car for people with exceptionally good taste, etc.  Studebaker really needed a bigger displacement V8 - even American motors had their 340 and 390. 

I also recall being very impressed that the Excaliber - a car I also liked a lot at the time (still do) - at least some of the first ones - originally came with the Studebaker V8. 

Edit: BTW I noticed that Diecast Direct lists a 1:43 Automodello Avanti, in gold, matching the one you have in the picture, arriving in June 2013.  Its Brooklin price range but will be nice.  I'm thinking about it.

Lee:
Buby and Franklin Mint both offered 1/43 Avantis.
You are correct in saying Studebaker needed a larger engine. Remember that the Avanti was developed on a shoestring budget. The engine was bored close to its maximum from the original 232 C.I. They could not increase the stroke in their V8 any more because it had a gear driven rather than chain driven camshaft. As a result the cam was low in the block and would have interfered with the crankshaft counterweights. They could have used the Packard V8 but it was to heavy and they could not justify the cost of putting it back into production although they did use a 352 C.I. Packard engine in the 1956 Golden Hawk. Considering its size the Studebaker V8 was an excellent engine with a lot of low-end torque and with some small design changes was able to develop a lot of horsepower

Still, it was supercharged.  Back then, I used a "one third more" more rule, meaning a SC'd 289 was equal to about 390 cid, ora Paxton SC'd MGB to equivalent of 2.4 liters, etc. Studebaker was competitive but just a bit off-beat or something, I guess, so the market just gradually lost interest in them, I guess.  The Avanti and the Lark deserved better attention than they got. 

I always wondered what a competitor to the Metropolitan would have looked like from Studebaker.  Wish they had made one!

The Avanti and the Lark deserved better attention than they got. 

Both cars failed because of styling. The Lark looked like what it was, a well-built but pedestrian econobox. The Avanti was just plain ugly - the Chrysler Airflow of the 60's. The Avanti has a cult following but, like the Airflow, most people found its styling repulsive. Buyers preferred to spend their money on a Corvette. Both the early 50's Studebakers and the Hawks were infinitely better looking than the Avanti.

Actually, I liked the Avanti styling.  Very Italian - not something Pinifarina would have done, but Vignale or Ghia - definitely.  It was clean, curvy, and elegant.  After what, 50 years, it still looks pretty good to my eye.  I suppose there just weren't enough like me . . .

Oh, I totally agree.  It still looks good to me.  Clean, but somewhat aggressive.  Imagine it with the European style headlights all the current cars have, and it's very contemporary, high trunkline and all.

Count me in with the Avanti - I always admired them as a young man. Still find the shape a piece of sculpture.

There is a Studebaker Club in Boone, NC and the fella there hosts quite a nice gathering every couple of years. I got to see some really nice examples 7 or 8 years ago.

Lee, I don't follow land speed records and am amazed at your research here. Was quite surprised to hear about the MGA powered racer as I had a couple of MGA's and they were agonizingly slow!

c.sam - that is amazing!  I actually have used the term 'agonizingly slow' to describe the MGA.  Nice looking car, nice sounding exhaust, and actually a lot of fun, but boy, they were slow even in by '70s standards: 75 HP or something and 0-60 in about 15 seconds I think.  The MG EX-181 had a almost-ready-to-explode version on the MGA twin cam engine.  I never had one of those - legendary, and notorious, a completely different head than the standard MGA - crossflow, twin-cam.  It made almost 110 HP on high octane fuel it would do 0-60 in about 9 seconds - faster than a Healey at the time and a great performer, but the stock twin cam became notorious because an intake exhaust resonance would make the engine run lean at cruising speeds, burning valves, etc.  For EX-181, MG managed to get 300 HP out of the engine running it on a mixture of really bizarre, super-volatile  fuels including acetone.  Phil Hill drove it to 250 mph or so one year to set and record and Sirling Moss raised that the following year or so later to 257.  I always though those guys were incredibly brave: the car was a rolling bomb: had it rolled or had an accident the fuel would have exploded. 

Still, 257 mph in 1957, from 91 cubic inches, wow!

Lee when I had my first MGA I was in college and my Dad had acquired a Mercedes 190SL which he always admired. As handsome and solid as it was, my 'A' would outrun that 190 easily. What would be a good term to describe 'slower than agonizing'?

Id seen Avanti often growing up, but the first Hawk I saw I attempted to buy on the spot ($500 shy, he wouldn't budge) I still spent a good hour or two(show ended) taking in every inch I could inside and out. Loved it. 

edit; removed "lark", inserted "Hawk"

"Pathetic?"  Geez, the MB 190 SL looked good, but it was such a loser.  The MGA was a good car it you looked at it in comparison the TC-TD-TF line.  I handled well for the time.  The MB was good looking and well fitted out but not that much of a sport car, really, more of a boulevard tourer.

Styling is subjective, but the Avanti was years ahead of everyone else. I drive a new Lincoln MKS and the basic styling is not much different as a 51 year old Avanti. I will admit the original Corvette Sting Ray was a handsome automobile, however the split window coupe was controversial and did not sell well. The next year they replaced the rear window with a single glass. 50 years later the most desirable Sting Ray is the split window coupe. I doubt anyone one who wanted a Corvette would ever consider an Avanti. It was a Studebaker after all.
Studebaker’s trouble wasn’t styling or quality, it was poor management. Their downward slide began in the early ‘50s when they had the best looking cars on the road.

Andrew:

The Studebaker Wagonaire was a h*ll of a good idea, but the roof had some structural problems. GMC recently offered retractable top on one of their SUVs but discontinued it. My guess is that they were not able to solve the same structural problems.

I bet that Lark convertible is a lot of fun.

Lee you have email.

Bob

I don't remember ever seeing a Studebaker Wagonaire.

Bob

Would you believe a 1:43 Studebaker Wagonaire was made in a very limited amount and is very rare.

Bob

Here is another of my well worn Dinky Toys, a Studebaker President.