This Studebaker Cruiser is a family's crown jewel

Studebakers were very popular in Australia, sales peaked in 1963 with the Lark selling a total of 1,441 units. The Lark was also used as police cars and ambulances.

The Cruiser model was on a longer wheelbase (extended by 4 inches) than the Lark. On May the 13th, 1966, Ray Davenport of One Mile Motors at Templeton Street Wangaratta, took delivery of this new Studebaker Cruiser. By late 1967 – early 1968, Ray had become a dealer for another manufacturer so he needed to be driving the brand he was representing, and so offered the car to Frank Garth.

At the time Frank was driving a Peugeot 403  which was probably a better car in terms of handling and economy, but he couldn't resist the Studebaker.

Frank was a builder who grew up in Wangaratta and married his love Olive, who was from the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill. Over the years they had six boys. When Frank was 73 years of age, he happened to be driving over the bridge into Wangaratta one day when the local constabulary nabbed him doing 5km over the newly posted speed limit. Frank was a stickler for obeying the law, and was made to feel like a criminal. He was so distressed, he almost had a heart attack.

Frank kept the Studebaker and the same hat he bought in 1969 right up until his death in 1986. He is fondly remembered for his memorable quote, "My hat hasn't changed, my car hasn't changed but jeez I sure have!" 

His son Robert recalls how he came to be the custodian of the Studebaker. "Dad had a stroke and couldn't talk. I said to him that we had to find a good owner for the car. At that moment he got out of his chair, grabbed the teledex, scrolled through a list and pointed to my name. It bought a tear to my eye and I was certainly surprised. I couldn't say no, I was honoured." Although Rob was now the custodian of the 'Studey' he decided to leave it with his mum. 

Bob has taken the car on a few trips away. Once he took it across Mount Hotham and onto Metung, and on other occasions he took it to the Adelaide Formula 1 Grand Prix twice. Bob moved to Melbourne, so once a month when visiting his Mum in Wangaratta, he would take the Studebaker for a drive, just to keep things ticking over. 

In 1999, Bob's Mum Olive, was placed into a nursing home. The family home was sold and Bob took a train to pick up the Studebaker and bring it home to Melbourne where it sits today alongside Bob's 1969 BSA and Triumph 1000 RS Sprint.

There was a small fire in the carburettor once so now a fire extinguisher is kept on the passenger side. The only modification appears to be the mirrors which were changed to a GM-H type. As with many Survivors, the Studebaker has its share of knocks and scrapes. There's a small dent in the quarter panel where a spike was flung up from the road by a passing car and another small dent in the LHR door where Frank had hit a pole because he was blind in one eye (as result of being hit in the eye with a stick by another kid as a 12 year old).

Bob takes the car for a drive religiously twice a month to keep everything turning. He services the car himself and says it's about to clock over 100,000 miles. Bob said, "I'm going to take a photo of it when it does. I intend to keep it and enjoy it."

Source: Survivor Car Australia 

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