Nicest One Left? 1965 Studebaker Daytona
By 1965, Studebaker was on life support. They had ceased producing cars in the U.S. the prior year and would call it quits in 1966. Which was a shame because Studebaker’s were solid, reliable cars back in the day. Independents like Studebaker and American Motors found it hard to compete against the “Big 3” and Studebaker would be the next to go. This 1965 Daytona is a beautiful automobile that looks as though it just drove off the showroom floor. It has only 19,000 miles and has been made completely roadworthy after being in storage for many years. From a dealer’s lot in Horseheads, New York, this Stude is available here on eBay where the no reserve auction holds at $13,078.
The Daytona was a rebrand of the Studebaker Lark which had been around since 1959. In addition to a 4-door sedan and the cool Wagonaire station wagon, the 2-door Sports Sedan rounded out the mix. All production had been consolidated in Hamilton, Ontario as of Christmas 1963. The Sports Sedan was the rarest of the lot, with just 1,628 copies assembled in 1965. All but one of those had a V8 engine, flanked by a token single inline-six. With the move to Canada, all of Studebaker’s engines were now sourced from General Motors, so there’s a 283 “Chevy” V8 under the hood, built by GM of Canada.
This ’65 Daytona was purchased new in Maryland in April 1965, but the owner passed away 18 months later, so the car went into prolonged storage after that. That accounts for the low mileage on the vehicle today. This extended hibernation necessitated a serious refresh of lots of parts and components. As a result, the gas tank, radiator (records), tires, hoses, coil springs, shock absorbers, oil pump, and tons of other things are all new as well as the fluids and a battery and tune-up.
We’re told this is a numbers-matching automobile whose combination of white paint and a red interior could make it one of just 10 Daytona Sport Sedans. Lots of documentation will accompany the car, such as maintenance records, the built sheet, its purchase order, and even some docs from the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana. This automobile is quite the beauty and has those rare time capsule qualities. The seller has more photos and a video here on VernMorgans.com. I’ve always had a soft spot for underdog cars like Studebaker and this one makes me want to start bidding!
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Comments
Stunning car! I’m drawn to the Daytona looks and would want the manual transmission with the red interior. It probably is one of the nicest examples left. Still looks showroom fresh. I remember the 64 Daytona R2 that a older fellow drag races. That is one sweet ride.
Now that’s one good looking car.Looks great in that
color combination.Also more interesting in that it’s a
Studebaker – you won’t see another one when you drive
it.
The sad fact that such an absolute beauty didn´t outsell the other brands is prove positive of the stupidity of the masses. When I arrived in South Bend In. back in the spring of 1956, I expected Studes all over the place. Wrong, I saw nothing but Fords and Chevys. Upon incredulously asking my new found friends why no one was driving THEIR make, they just shrugged their shoulders in disdain. I, the foreign kid with a heavy German accent was the only Studebaker fan in the whole bunch. I thought and think this to be very sad.
Gerard,
In 1956, a dollar was worth a dollar, and many people shopped price. Well substantiated are the high pay Studebaker unions demanded; that, along with one of the oldest manufacturing plants put Studebaker at a disadvantage with respect to other car makers. You growing up south of a great lake (Michigan) mirrors my childhood south of Lake Erie. You should have witnessed the same Studebaker rust I did. Most people crave a vehicle remaining road worthy longer than their last car payment. Don’t mean to besmirch Studies, but the deck was stacked against them.
So often we are stunned at the prices that once mediocre cars bring at auction. This car is a rare gem, I hope it brings a high price. This car deserves it.
Gerard:
If you think what happened to Studebaker a travesty, take some time to investigate Borgward. That was criminal.
scottymac – you are right on target. The criminals behind that travesrty were Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Bnk and some members of the senate in Bremen. Did you know that Carl F. Borgward designed almost the entire line by himself, including the 2-stroke machines by Goliath and LAlkoyd? This guy was a bleedin´ggenius, totally forgotten today. Borgward also built, to order and within a few months, the arguable best Halftrack vehicle of the Wehrmacht. He designed a vehicle which could move on the seabed, stealthily attacking enemy harbors. That was however strictly a pipe dream, but it shows the man´s original thinking.I think what earned him the enmity of mighty Mercedes was his highly competitive military vehicle program which represented formidable competition to them. I have read the book about the engineered demise of his company, it was written by his grandson and gives one interesting info of how behind the scenes, publicly uknown powerbrokers are the real creators of the economic reality we all live in. I really think, his Isabella 2-door sports coupé was a beautiful design, originating on his drawing board in his office.
But then again – NO other makes had just celebrated their 100 years in business !
As a lifelong Maryland resident and a Studebaker-Packard enthusiast with a shop that specialized in the 2 makes, I had heard rumors of this white and red Daytona 2-door In Hagerstown, MD. This was in the 1980s, and at that time the car was said to have only a couple of thousand miles on it, and it was not for sale.
Fleigh Motors was the local Studebaker dealer in Hagerstown, the last time I visited the location in 2007, the building contained a big antique mall. I still have a business card for Bob Fleigh in my collection.
Nice to see the car has finally come to light.
Bill….I’m just looking at this – owning a 1964 Daytona hartop myself – the interior just doesn’t look right …..the seats and that steering wheel.
Stillrunners,
At first glance my initial feeling was this interior is different, but as I thought about it more, I realized why it looked different compared to all the 65 Daytona cars I’ve seen and worked on over the years — the other interiors were all BLACK, not red!
The 3-button tufted seats are correct, the steering wheel is correct, as is the horn ring, but again it’s red, not black.
I went and googled photos of 65 Daytona 2-door cars, and only found 3 with red interior, and they all match what this car has.
I found Bob Fleigh’s business card, so here it is
I love Studebaker’s, Larks like this and the early 50s Commander. I’ve driven a Lark and it drove and rode great. I wouldn’t mind owning one for a daily summer driver, especially with a Chevy 283 in it.
Nice looking and I spy a 3rd pedal. Would this still have the overdrive option?
Yes, the ebay listing says it’s 3-speed & overdrive.
There was one of these in turquoise that I used to
see all the time when I lived in Eureka.I was surprised
when it was for sale for a very reasonable price.
The owner’s Daughter was driving it for a while,&
when I was driving by the local blood bank,I noticed that
someone had driven it up into a bunch of shrubs.It was
raining,& when I checked,nobody was inside of it.
There had to be a story behind that…..
Unfortunate that Studebaker called it quits around 1966 and had no products or factories that could have given the company buy-out potential. I heard the pension fund was empty so the employees/ retirees (and stockholders) got nothing and the government created the pension guarantee organization that gave the retirees a part of their promised benefits. At least with AMC (formerly Nash & Hudson) they made a reluctant decision around that same time to buy money-losing Jeep which wound up keeping AMC alive until additional financing came from Renault to build a couple new high-tech auto factories. So, when Renault changed management, they decided to dump their 49% ownership of AMC and in 1987 Chrysler grabbed those valuable assets, Jeep & the new factories. AMC employees did ok with Chrysler jobs and no loss of pension benefits. Even AMC stockholder did ok as their stock converted to Chrysler stock and then to Daimler-Benz (Mercedes) shares after Daimler bought Chrysler-Ram-Jeep. I still have 23 shares of Daimler (Mercedes) that was originally 100 shares of AMC, and it pays a dividend!
Interesting that it’s referred to as a ‘Chevy’ engine. Officially they weren’t. They were produced by McKinnon Industries, just down the road from Hamilton in St Catharines Ontario. An industrial casting company that produced castings for multiple industries (and other car and truck firms), McKinnon had the contract to produce ‘Chevrolet Pattern’ engines. Primary supplier to GM of Canada, but allowed to sell them to other companies. Studebaker would refer to them as McKinnon Engines.
This is a really nice car. Someone will be heading down the road with a big smile on their face. Wish it was me.
My favorite iteration of this is the Lark Daytona. A few were made with the 289 R2 engine, supercharged. I love the earlier Lark styling to begin with, and that engine made it really special.
They held the record at Bonneville into the 1990’s……..
But only up through 1964 for that engine, unfortunately.
I always liked Studebakers, for their trucks, mostly, but I can say without reservation, every AMC worker breathed a sigh of relief when Studebaker went under. Suddenly, the pressure was off, when a non “Big 3” car was wanted. Mid/late 60’s were some of of AMCs best years, and Studebakers demise was part of it. It was THE best place to work then. Just shows, you can have the best products, and I thought Studebaker had the best components, but shoddy management, or whatever, maybe the name just sounded old, but Studebaker was, I thought, one of the best cars made.
A beautiful survivor indeed. The bidding will likely exceed $20k. The color combo is rare and sharp looking. I would bid if it were an automatic. Would make a nice sibling for my 64 Daytona convertible.