I have always been a fan of Studebaker, especially the Hawk cars. They were a mixture of American reliability and European flash, with a bit of quirkiness thrown in for good measure. The Gran Tourismo Hawk is without a doubt my favorite Hawk, but they typically lacked a manual transmission. Well this one left the factory with an automatic, but at some point was converted to a 4 speed. It also have a supercharger, but it isn’t currently installed. I’m no Studebaker historian, but I don’t think they offered the R2 until ’63. Either this car is a very early example or has had the hood and supercharger from a later car added. Take a look at it here on eBay in Tucson, Arizona. If you know more about the history of the R2 and if any were built in ’62, please share!
From what I can find the R2 was not available until 63. The telling sign is if the serial number has a JTS in it. The only that i can find is the 62’s had a 289 2 or 4 barrel carb.
So true, no R series until ’63 and I have never seen or heard of a ’62 GTHawk with a factory blower. Since so much has been changed on this car already, I seriously doubt it rolled out of the South Bend plant with a blower.
It appears to be a solid car, but $9,999 seem abit optimistic. I think that if you could scrap together another 3 or 4 grand, you could own a much nicer (condition) car than this one. If you flip every stone, you can still come away with a pretty nice GT Hawk for $15,000 – although it’s getting tougher every year!
Check the serial number to verify the actual model year. The Super Hawk was a mid-year introduction. The non-traditional model year introduction muddies the water somewhat. If the car has a beefed up suspension system underneath it could be something special.
Mel, I have a 62′ GT Hawk has 4-bbl heavy duty front rear springs and shocks, on PO from Studebaker, the car has 44,782 Mis on it the Tach is 8,000 RPM Speedo160 mph, appear to be factory original as absolutely no visual sign they have been changed no tool marks nut lock material same on all gauges, additionally has Tein Traction Dana 44 rear end, 4-speed from factory, also of note no P/S or P/B’s has Avanti style air bonnet and supercharger bracket but super off. The pulley on crank is for supercharger has large harmonic dampener and crank snout is longer, heads are factory black as is block we have removed heads they are 64cc heads high flow they are exact in appearance to a later model R-1 from an Avanti. The engine IMO has never been opened head bolts had that appearance, head gasket had SB markings and was thin full metal shim gasket with factory appearing sealing agent, the carb has larger Venturi throats it’s a Carter, the pistons are dished, and cam measure out to about 288′. The block number matches the PO from Studebaker, the fan for radiator never been off engine and has no fan clutch. All evidence points to this being untouched and hone marks are visible lightly still on cylinder walks also consistent with mileage on speedo. What the heck do I have?not supposed to exist in 62′
I have a rolling project For Sale that was my brothers before he passed away. It is a 1962 Hawk. It comes with a late model low mileage 5.3L & Trans. out of a Chevy Tahoe. It Has been disassembled, media blasted and primed and some rust repair has been started. It will need new door skins or doors but the rest is good. I’m asking $3,850.00 OBO. I have pictures.
I’ve included one before disassembly.
If anyone would like any more information on the Studebaker project just reply to this comment and I’ll get back to you. Thanks.
David, you might want to double check the year of your Hawk, all ’62 Hawks were Gran Turismo Hawks – that had a flatter “Ford-like” back glass and no tailfins. All ’62 Hawks were hardtops – i.e. no metal frames around the door windows. I believe your car is a ’60 or ’61. There should be a body colored metal tag held onto the firewall, under the hood with numbers and letters stamped onto it, such as: 57K 2563 -the first two letters will indicate the year, the letter will indicate the body style and the remaining number (if memory serves) the production number of that car during that year – or something to that effect.
Good luck in selling your Hawk, someone’s going to have alot of fun restoring it!
I’m sorry, too many projects. It is a 1961 not a 62. Thank you for correcting me.
No problem! I love the finned Hawks just as much (ok maybe alittle more) than the GTs! Silver Hawks, Golden Hawks, GTs, even Power Hawks … they’re all as much fun as sticking your head under a chocolate fountain with your mouth wide open! You just can’t go wrong with any of ‘um!
I agree, they look pretty cool. I’m selling this one and finishing a 1954 with a SB chevy in it, disc brakes etc., for my brothers son. (my nephew). It will be his gift from his dad. (leukemia got him) his son is just 18. I’ll have it finished in about 3 months.
I wish I had the room and the money, I am sorry for the loss of your brother. You have my deepest sympathy
When I was a little boy our neighbors had 2 GT’s,One was cream color, They were new,and beautiful. At the time my dad had a ’51 Starlite coupe and 2 Kaisers.
The supercharger set up is more inline with the earlier Golden Hawks than R2 Avanti . Avanti used the sealed four barrel carb and hat on R2 and sealed box with R3 . Golden hawk used this box with , i think , a two barrel carb . Hood bubble is also the fiberglass add on from a Golden Hawk which needed clearance for the McCullough supercharger mounted on top of the engine .
Being an old guy with only one supercharged car being an eight stack ’37 Cord, I did not recall that McCullough made superchargers. I remember one in the early 70s Ford Engine which was a two lobe like the GM which was made in Europe to be used for air supply for their air injection system. It was cute. About the size of two packs of cigarettes. Some wound up on hobby carts.
I seem to remember that Stude used Paxton radial units. Probably mistaken.
From Wikipedia…
Chassis and engineering[edit]
Because of Studebaker’s poor financial shape, the underpinnings of the car remained very similar to previous Hawks. For that matter, there wasn’t much difference, chassis-wise, between a 1962 Hawk and a 1953 Starliner/Starlight.
For 1962, a Hawk buyer could choose from either two- or four-barrel carbureted versions of Studebaker’s 289-cubic-inch (4.7 L) V8 engine (210 or 225 horsepower) teamed with standard three-speed manual, overdrive, four-speed or Flight-O-Matic automatic transmission.
Beginning with the 1963 model year, the “Jet Thrust” R-series V-8 engines designed for the Avanti could be ordered throughout the Studebaker line, with the naturally aspirated R1 delivering 240 bhp (180 kW), the supercharged R2 giving 289 bhp (216 kW) and the limited-production supercharged 304.5 in³ (5.0 L) R3 powerplant issuing forth a full 335 bhp (250 kW). Handling and braking improvements were made to match the high-performance engines, with front and rear anti-roll bars, rear radius rods, heavy-duty springs, and front disc brakes all available ala carte or in a “Super Hawk” package (introduced mid year) with an R1 or R2 engine. Avanti engines that were factory installed in Hawks (and Larks) had serial numbers beginning with “JT” (for R1) and “JTS” (for R2), rather than the “R” and “RS” prefixes used in Avantis.
The GT Hawk was fairly light for an American car of its class and era, and any of these engines made it a sound performer; the blown R-engines just amplified the Hawk’s performance capabilities. Despite the fact that Studebaker’s V8 was a heavy engine for its size, the Hawk was, by most accounts, a car with surprisingly good handling for a contemporary American car, as well as strong straight-line performance.
My stepdad bought a 63 Lark 2dr HT in about 1967 from a farm auction in Hamburg Iowa. The engine had aluminum valve covers that said Studebaker on them and a positraction rear axle (had a emblem on the rear that said TT), and a belt drive supercharger that blew into what I think was a Carter carb. The trans was a three speed with overdrive. My brother and I thought the coolest thing was a 160 mph speedo. The car was the terror of two states and people came from a ways away to try and buy it but no sale. My stepdad sold the car to his uncle for his son to drive when we moved to Arizona and needed cash. I wish now that we kept it.it was deadly fast and fun. PS: I saw over 150 on the speedo more than once. Too fast for bias belted tires.