Brooks Stevens designed the Studebaker Wagonaire, which was released in 1963. It had a rear top that could be folded down to carry big things. The Wagonaire roof was an interesting way for Studebaker to boost falling sales, but it had problems closing from the start. Less than 20,000 of the cars were made until 1966, and sales were never as good as promised. Most Wagonaires had 259-cubic-inch V-8 or straight-6 engines, but this rebuilt car has the optional 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine that makes 225 horsepower. Even though Studebaker could have been more creative, they went all out with their product rush in the early 1960s because they had a lot of money. In order to expand the business beyond cars, Sherwood Egbert, the company’s new, flashy CEO and financial expert, finally got involved in bringing life back to South Bend’s auto industry. The Avanti, the Gran Turismo Hawk, supercharged Larks, and the Studebaker Lark Wagonaire, one of the most interesting station wagons of the 1960s, were just a few of the amazing cars that came out during this time. Studebaker wasn’t saved by these cars, but this 1963 Lark Daytona Wagonaire for sale on Bring a Trailer—owned by Hearst Autos, the same company that owns Invoice Pricing—shows that people tried to save the company. This Wagonaire is as beautiful as these long roofs can get, thanks to its power disc brakes, beautiful Rose Mist color, and strong Studebaker 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine. Egbert called Raymond Loewy and Brooks Stevens soon after he was hired on December 28, 1960. When he was forty, he left McCulloch Motors, which made motors for Paxton Superchargers and chainsaws, to work for Studebaker. When Egbert was on holiday in Palm Springs, he met Loewy. Stevens had done work as a consultant for McCulloch. He gave both of them less than $7 million to work with and told Loewy to design the Avanti in 13 months and Stevens to design the modern Hawk and Lark in six. By that time, Studebaker was used to working with tight budgets and long lead times. The company’s 1958 design was turned into a compact by cutting off parts in just seven months. This led to the Lark, which saved the company from going bankrupt in 1959. By late 1960, Lark had to make a change because the Big Three’s compacts were hurting their sales. Stevens did a great job, giving the 1962 Larks a soft, almost European look. Then, he improved the 1963 design by changing the chassis to get rid of the heavy pillars and wraparound windshields that were on the 1958 model. It was a rework of the Lark Wagon with a new addition: a sliding rear top based on Stevens’ 1959 Scimitar prototype car for an aluminum manufacturer. The Wagonaire was the most important body for 1963. When the back window was lowered, the sliding piece moved forward and into a space under the roof. This made a large open space that could fit tall, bulky items and gave the impression of being outside, like a convertible top. As with modern trucks, a tailgate step could be added as an extra. Most of the old Studebaker gear stayed underground, but Egbert made changes that made some parts better. He hired Paxton to make the R1 and R2 packages with superchargers, and he bought Bendix to make the extra front disc brakes. In 1963, Studebaker was the only car company in the US that made cars with disc brakes. The Daytona two-doors, convertibles, and Wagonaires came with two V-8 engines: the “Power Thrust” 289, which had 259 cubic inches and 180 horsepower, and the “Thunderbolt” 289, which had 225 horsepower. The base engine was a 170-cubic-inch “Skybolt” Six from Studebaker that made 112 horsepower. When the long-awaited Wagonaire finally came out in September 1962, early models were sent back to the plant right away because they had water leaks. Even though bad news made people less interested, Studebaker quickly improved the weatherstripping and started fixing the cars. In fact, in January 1963, the company offered a fixed-roof version as an option. Sales of Studebakers dropped by 21% in 1961, but 11,915 Wagonaires were still made. Photographers and film companies bought some because it was clear they could be used as bases for mobile cameras. The trend didn’t change with the Avanti or Egbert’s other improvements. After Studebaker’s assembly plant shut down in December, Lark and Wagonaire cars were still made in Canada until 1966. Egbert’s attempts to expand the business helped Studebaker stay in business until 1979, but not as a car company. Surprisingly, no one tried the moving roof idea again until GMC’s Envoy XUV in 2004. Less than 20,000 Wagonaires were made in total, but only the 1963 model has that special face. With its 289 V-8 engine and disc brakes like these, the Lark was a great performer back then, and it drives like a pretty current car these days. This particular model has also had a lot of work done to it, such as full rust treatment and repainting, new engine parts, a rebuilt transmission, and a new fuel tank. And then there’s the way it looks. The inside is just as classy as the outside, with brown, pink, and burgundy colors and Brooks Stevens’ gold trim that looks as royal as ever. The sale ends on July 31 if you want to buy a rose-colored piece of wagon history.
