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The wagon was
originally purchased by Reginald James Baker on 7th June 1961.
It was Regs’ pride and joy, as it was the first new vehicle he had ever bought.
He used it for special occasions, eg. Annual holidays, wedding outings, family picnics and Vivienne, (Regs’ wife), would use it to go shopping once a fortnight. Reg would drive his faithful 1936 Graham Page for every day use.
During 1973, with Reg and Vivienne’s 4 of their 5 children had grown up and left the family home, the Studebaker wagon was removed from service with 59,325 miles on the speedometer, this represented the wagon travelling less than 5000 miles per year for each year of its life.
Also, Vivienne had been complaining for some time, that it was too hard to park in the main street of Campbelltown when she went shopping. (I think the real problem was, with Campbelltown’s rapid expansion, lead to people parking anywhere, without consideration for the older identities of the area who had their regular routines including their own parking space in the main street.
The wagon was garaged, placed on blocks and there it sat for the next 27 years, until April 2000.
In 1982, Reg commenced restoring the wagon, he replaced the wheel and master cylinder rubbers, repaired n/s body damage to rear door, lower body damage and rear bumper bar.
He would start the engine occasionally, mixing plenty of oil with the petrol, (more oil than petrol) and then turn the engine off after 10 minutes of running. Reg would repeat this procedure for the next eight years until 1990.
Between 1990 and 2000, the engine was not started, due to Vivienne’s complaints about the house filling up with smoke and fumes, coming from the garage area which was attached to the house.
April 2000. After the death of Reg in 1997, Vivienne sold the 1961 Wagon to her son, Phillip.
Phillip towed the Studebaker to his home and placed it in his garage, there with his son Caleb, commenced restoration of the 1961 Studebaker Lark Wagon.
As they commenced restoration, they realised it was going to be a massive job, the suspension, brake rubbers, the seals in the engine, gearbox and differential had completely deteriorated with the non use of the vehicle. After much deliberation, they decided to completely rebuild the vehicle, removing the engine and body from the chassis, as it would be easier to repair the mechanics of the vehicle along the chassis line with no body on the chassis, also stripping the body paint back to bare metal as they found the paintwork had crazed in various places.
Studebaker are well known for not placing a lot of paint on there vehicles from new.
The engine, gearbox and brakes have been rebuilt, while the differential had seals replaced only. The engine heads have had the steel valves and inserts replaced with stainless steel to accommodate unleaded fuel. A fuelmate has been fitted to further prolong the engine life.
After 3 years of restoration and commitment, (originally it was only going to take one year), the wagon had been returned to its former glory. Phillip and Caleb have gone to extraordinary measures to keep the vehicle in original factory condition. The head lining, seats, door trims and many other features are all original.
Phillip and Caleb would like to thank many people for their assistance and patience during the restoration period, especially wife and mum, Susan, daughter and sister, Angela.
This project would not have been completed without the exceptional talent and skill of the following dedicated professionals:-
Darryn Fisher - Studebaker parts
Craig Hopwood and Staff - Applied Mechanical Repairs
Darren Grimson - Daz spray painting.
1961 Studebaker Lark, 4 Door Wagon in Australia.
Before assembly in Australia began, a number of Lark Wagons were imported into Australia. This being the case, it made Studebaker an expensive vehicle, hard to compete with the local market.
Studebaker wanting to compete and expand, a local assembler was commissioned to
fulfill the task. The long established Canada Cycle and Car Company which owned a former aircraft hanger on five acres in the west Melbourne suburb of Tottenham accepted the challenge.
The first locally assembled Lark Wagon on sale in Australia were the shorter wheelbase version
of 113 inches, (2.87 metre) with manual transmissions.
Our deluxe model wagon was one of the first six wagons to be assembled during 1961.
(Deluxe meaning basic wagon, standard).
During 1961, there were 103 Lark Wagons assembled at the Tottenham plant.
The retail price was £1895.0.0 or ($3790.00 in to-days money) for the manual and £2045.0.0 ($4090.00) for the automatic version.
King Size Comfort For The Family, form and function are highly integrated in the Lark Wagon. This smartly styled compact wagon provides full interior room for six adults with ample headroom, legroom and seat width. Four large doors with flat floor and no sill, makes it the easiest in and outer of them all. Useless overhang at the front and rear have been eliminated to make parking easier, provide more
maneuverability and allow you up to twenty inches, (558 mm) more space in your garage than any other wagon.
The 1961 Studebaker Lark Wagon is the most luxurious compact on the road, featuring twin headlights, a tasteful addition of chrome and the most elegant interiors in the entire world of compact wagons.
Today, there are 5 of the original 103 Australian Assembled 1961 Studebaker Lark Wagons in
existence;
1
- NSW, presently not registered,
1
- NSW, Body original with many mechanical modifications, registered,
1
- NSW complete body parts only,
1
- Victoria, registered, restored and in good condition, and
1
- No. 5, our deluxe wagon.
Many wagons have been stripped over the years for the restoration of sedan vehicles, as the parts between the front bumper bar and rear doors are interchangeable.
This wagon as it is today, minus the seat covers, heater, seat belts, power brakes and the fuel tank spill tray, is how it was delivered from York Motors in Sydney on 7th June 1961.
Additional Extras: Sun Visor, Drivers Weather Shield, AWA Transistor Pressmatic AM Radio, Heater, Wheel Trims, Mud Flaps, Power Brakes and fuel tank spill tray.
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