For those of us who aren’t already Studebaker fans, swinging this barn’s doors open probably wouldn’t cause much excitement. However, once you take a closer look at this little Lark, you might just have a change of heart. Sure it was meant to be an economical car to save Studebaker from failure, but these unique birds have some serious sleeper potential. This light little two door 1959 Lark has a V8 under the hood and would make for a fun stop light sleeper. Take a look at this Barn Lark here on eBay out of Salem, Virginia.



In factory form, this 259 cui V8 wasn’t terribly powerful, but it is known to be extremely durable. With only 195 horsepower, this car was still able to reach 60 mph in 9.9 seconds, which might not sound great by today’s standards but was impressive back in ’59 for an economy car. The seller claims the engine runs, but that the carburetor needs work. We are sure the engine could use a complete tune up and if you are planning on upgrading it, we would recommend rebuilding it. Even though Studebaker closed its doors just a few years after this car was built, parts support is still good. Finding replacement and performance parts shouldn’t prove to be difficult and most Studebaker owners are happy to share information and a helping hand.

Like the rest of the car, the interior is in sad shape. It looks complete, but has definitely seen better days. Given the overall condition of the car, we wouldn’t feel too bad modifying it, although we would want to keep as much of the car original as possible. The seller was planning on restoring it themselves, but health issues have gotten in the way, so they have decided to let it go. Hopefully the next owner will be more successful at getting back on the road.

At one time the Lark was a popular option for racers. The low curb weight and factory V8 meant it could go through a turn as well as it went in a straight line. In ’63, Studebaker decided to capitalize on some of the Lark’s past success and they introduced their own performance tuned version. They went as far as to create the Super Lark, which came with a sport tuned suspension, limited slip differential, disc brakes, and most importantly a Supercharged version of the 289 V8. Turning this old Lark into an R2 Super Lark wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be expensive…

Whatever the next owner does with it, we are sure they will enjoy it. We would be sure to inspect this one very carefully though, as it may have rust issues and possible problems from not being started properly. Let’s just hope the seller didn’t do any serious damage when they started it up and that it is as simple as junk in the carburetor. If this was your Lark, would you modify it or restore it?