Thread: Farewell 1963 Studebaker Gran Turismo "Hawk"

I'm sure that letting that beautiful car go is heartbreaking.

They don't make cars to 'last' these days. They are just 'disposable' like so much of our society.

Today there are Nash car clubs, Lincoln car clubs, Hudson car clubs, Studebaker clubs etc all that will share anything needed to restore another members car including the loaning of parts for duplication, manuals etc.

50 years from now who's going to have access to some deteriorating plastic parts for today's cars? Better yet, who's going to want to 'restore' one?

If anyone is interested, there is a Magazine out there called Auto Restorer, it's pricey but there aren't any ads and the articles are usually by Pros who do what they are showing for a living.

We always remember the good and forget the bad.

Sure collectors restore and baby cars so they last forever.

Come back to reality and the average car. Cars from the 50s and 60s rust away to nothing. In those days a 10 year old car was ancient and the service required? Lube and oil change at least 3000 miles. Valve jobs by 50K exhaust systems that last a very few years. Tires were garbage, lighting-forget it, comfort in the car? The old pipe under the front seat for heat and no fan forced ventilation. Seats with no support whatsoever and shocks that had to be replaced every couple of years and springs that broke on a regular basis. I could go on and on.

In fact cars today are 10 times better in every respect except styling.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

We always remember the good and forget the bad.

Sure collectors restore and baby cars so they last forever.

Come back to reality and the average car. Cars from the 50s and 60s rust away to nothing. In those days a 10 year old car was ancient and the service required? Lube and oil change at least 3000 miles. Valve jobs by 50K exhaust systems that last a very few years. Tires were garbage, lighting-forget it, comfort in the car? The old pipe under the front seat for heat and no fan forced ventilation. Seats with no support whatsoever and shocks that had to be replaced every couple of years and springs that broke on a regular basis. I could go on and on.

In fact cars today are 10 times better in every respect except styling.

Nelson, please go on and on, but I think that what you meant at the beginning of your post was:

We always remember the BAD and forget the GOOD.

Great car....It almost looks like an American version of the car James Bond drove in the movie Goldfinger.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Pretty cars.did not some of those come super charged??

The later Golden Hawk by Studebaker-Packard had a Paxton centrifugal super charger in one model. And, yes, If it didn't blow the Packard engine it was about the fastest thing on the road for its day and would blow the doors off a Jag 140.

That's a great looking car, nice work! Do you have any pictures from when you found it?

Originally Posted by Geezer

The later Golden Hawk by Studebaker-Packard had a Paxton centrifugal super charger in one model. And, yes, If it didn't blow the Packard engine it was about the fastest thing on the road for its day and would blow the doors off a Jag 140.

They were always ahead of their time. The entire hawk lineup the Gold, Silver, Power and Flight and of course the Avanti and the standard models the Commander and the President and Grand series.

Too bad they made a business decision to come out with the Scotsman and later Lark which was a piece of garbage and sealed their fate.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

They were always ahead of their time. The entire hawk lineup the Gold, Silver, Power and Flight and of course the Avanti and the standard models the Commander and the President and Grand series.

Too bad they made a business decision to come out with the Scotsman and later Lark which was a piece of garbage and sealed their fate.

I really like a nice LARK

Love Studebakers, thanks for showing the pictures. When I was in art school, a fellow student borrowed his dad's Golden Hawk and gave a group of us a ride to the mountain region at the centre of Puerto Rico for a night in the forest. What a beautiful machine inside and out, very luxurious. The radio had tubes so it took a while to play. The V-8 engine felt very powerful.