Words: John Gunnell
Like many automakers in the ‘60s, Studebaker realized performance cars were selling, and delved into its parts bin to create a “Super Package” that turned the family-oriented Lark compact into a factory hot rod. Jim Pepper’s car is the first full package Super Lark two-door sedan built.
“Studebaker took a note from Andy Granatelli’s racing success at Bonneville and decided to offer a high-performance package,” Pepper explained to Hot Rod Hotline. “Included in it was all the Avanti stuff, bundled into one option made available only for Larks and Hawks. They called it the Super Package and, in 1963, there was a March release of this equipment. On full-package cars like mine, you could also get an exclusive metallic red paint color called Super Red.”
According to Pepper — who writes technical material for the Studebaker Drivers Club’s (www.studebakerdriversclub.com) Turning Wheels magazine — the Lark Super Package included an Avanti V-8 (either the naturally aspirated R1 or the supercharged R2), a choice of a four-speed manual transmission or Power Shift automatic, bucket seats, a floor shift, a 6-grand tach, a 160-mph speedometer, seat belts, a rear sway bar, front and rear heavy-duty underpinnings, rear stabilizer bars, disc brakes and fender and grille badges.
Pepper’s car was originally ordered by a Milwaukee Studebaker dealer named Crazy Jim (his legal name). Bob Babel worked for him and was there when the Super Lark came off the truck and almost immediately blew its rear axle on a spirited test drive. The axle was replaced, the car saw use as a demonstrator for a while, and then Babel bought it and terrorized the streets on the south side of Milwaukee with his car. Pepper bought the beat-up rarity in 1967.
“The rear end had issues, all the motor mounts were broken, there was a 2x4 wedged between the trans and the tunnel to keep the driveshaft from hitting, the supercharger was missing and other parts were gone,” Pepper recalled. “It was smashed in the front and smashed in the back and barely ran. I bought it for $200 and I think I got the worse end of the deal.”
Pepper has rebuilt the car and drag raced it. With street tires and mufflers, it could run a 14:12 elapsed time at Union Grove at 100 mph. The car has been rebuilt again many times since then, but always with performance in mind. It is not a show car. In fact, even the special Super Red paint was painted over, although a few blotches show through the current paint job. One summer, Pepper used a stock 289 for i- town driving and the Avanti engine for drag racing. He thinks he swapped the engine back and forth eight times that season.
When he was a kid, neighbors of Pepper had a ’53 Studebaker hardtop and a ’57 Golden Hawk.
“I was always impressed by those cars," he said. "Then, I met Bob Babel and he had this car that was supercharged. I fell in love with his Super Lark and, after he had almost beat it to death, I bought it from him and worked on it. I painted it, I put in a new interior and I put in numerous engines, too. The supercharged V-8 in the car today is not the original, but it’s just like the one the car came with new. It’s a true factory hot rod and definitely not a Ford or Chevy."