1963 Studebaker Lark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxj7T4BuwuY

Sorry for the proud Papa moment here, this is after driving it over 100 miles to the track and then later driving it 100+ home with the first engine he rebuilt. It's a 260 (yes 260) cubic inch SBC.

Please tell us more about the 260, small displacement SBC builds are always interesting.

wheels777 wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxj7T4BuwuY Sorry for the proud Papa moment here, this is after driving it over 100 miles to the track and then later driving it 100+ home with the first engine he rebuilt. It's a 260 (yes 260) cubic inch SBC.

You need not apologize! That is awesome!!

It started as a 262 from our 1975 Monza. The crank was offset ground to a shorter stroke 3.073". The block oil drain back recess in the lifter valley was filled with a hand ground aluminum chunks that are bolted and epoxied and the deck was cut .027", pistons are .003" in the hole IIRC. L99 heads from a 1994 263 have screw in studs, guide plates, are ported and flow 219 cfm at .500". The heads are drilled on the ends and water lines are routed from the end holes to a remote manifold with a thermostat in the home made base. Intake is a Victor Jr redrilled for the L99 head and uses 17 deg wedges to align the bolt angle and has the water passage removed. The cam is a .500" lift roller from Herbert / 218 degree at .050". 650 Holley Double Pumper. 1-5/8" long tube headers with 2-1/2" collector. It makes around 310-320 HP.

Neato, what's the redline?

The rev limiter was set to 6000. I normally shifted around 5600. It was a neat engine. It felt kind of like what I would think a turbo engine would feel like (never driven one) At low RPMs it was a little sluggish, but then around 4000 it would just take off. It was fun!

If you are interested I could post some pictures of the engine build. It's pretty unique in that it has gen 2 sbc heads on a gen 1 block.

We are thinking about LS power for drag week.

It's back!

After sitting on the shelf for a while, circumstances have lead us to working on this car as one of our challenge cars. I am super excited about getting this one back up and running.

Here are some before pictures. Don't worry, the yellow wheels are temporary.

We starter by taking the front end off.

Then we removed the engine.

Then we grabbed a mock up engine and dropped it in. It took a few tries, but we figured it out.

We bolted a set of heads to it, and tried the headers that we purchased off craigslist on it. The drivers side header is nearly perfect, but the passenger side will need some work.

We also purchased a carburetor intake and MSD ignition controller off of craigslist.

This is the transmission we will be using. It is the turbo 350 that was in my Nova before it was totaled.

That's all for today. What do you guys think?

Small Block to Big Block? I approve whole heartedly !

Indy-Guy wrote: Small Block to Big Block? I approve whole heartedly !

Its an LS, not a BBC. The BBC is in another Stude, and its definitely not a Challenge Budget.

What flavor of LS?

BrokenYugo wrote: What flavor of LS?

The mock up engine is a 5.3L. We managed to get our hands on a couple of 1999-2000 LQ4's for challenge money (craigslist is amazing). That is what we will be running.

TheV8Kid wrote:

Yeaaah, that's awesome!

Update for today:

Got a picture of the car on the ground. I really love how ls engines look.

Began modifying passenger side header.

Nice. I particularly like the nitrous bottle next to it. :-)

Is this the Lark that you had been running the small inch motor in?

In reply to Pat:

Yes. It was running high 13s with that engine. I'm hoping to improve that a little with the 6.0L.

Finished primary tubes for passenger side header.

Relocated relay board.

TheV8Kid wrote: Relocated relay board.

I recognize that relay board... :-)

sanyarcosean wrote:

TheV8Kid wrote: Relocated relay board.

I recognize that relay board... :-)

Ya....we need a receipt for the throw away panel...Thanks in advance.

Cleaned headers.

Tried on rear wheels that I would like to run.

Painted headers and finished exhaust.

Assembled front end to begin fitment process. Believe it or not, fiberglass fenders for these cars are not that difficult to come by at the local studebaker show.

Mom helped sand down the hood. It weighs 42 pounds, so we are planning on making a fiberglass duplicate.

Made walk off style mounts for the front clip. Weight is the enemy!

That test rear wheel is kind of wild.

This is such a cool build.

pres589 wrote: That test rear wheel is kind of wild. This is such a cool build.

Thanks. The rear wheels are ebay specials that have been sitting in our basement for at least 5 years. They are "Cragar Super Slot II Bob Glidden signature series" wheels. Translation: they are rare, but not expensive rare.

Made new radiator mounts.

Began cleaning and assembling LQ4.

Big update. Dad was busy while I was at work.

This is the gas tank we will use.

Material to make mount for fuel cell.

Dimple dies are so cool!

Bolted on windage tray and pickup tube. Began bolting on timing chain cover.

Filled oil pan with cleaner.

Finished fuel lines in rear of car.