The Hawks were a series of Studebaker and – for one year – Packard automobiles produced from 1956 to 1964. One of the earliest was the Golden Hawk, a 2-door hardtop that had a run of three years (1956 to 1958). The seller’s nice example from 1957 will be an “easy restoration,” per the seller, though it may not take a lot to turn it into a daily driver. All ’57 Golden Hawks were supercharged, though this one’s in a box. Located in Canon City, Colorado, this cool Stude is available here on eBay for $23,500 OBO.
Hawks were never produced in large numbers, with the seller’s ’57 example being 1 of 4,356. When the Golden Hawk was released in 1956, it came with a 352 cubic inch V8 supplied by Packard (Studebaker and Packard had joined forces in 1954). That engine produced 275 hp. However, the factory in which the motor was built in was leased out, so for 1957 and 1958, the Golden Hawks had a Stude 289 CI V8 that produced the same horsepower with a supercharger. Being a lighter powerplant, you would assume the ’57 GH was peppier than the ’56.
The seller bought this cool car in 2023 with plans to do a “light” restoration as it’s pretty good the way it is. But those efforts never really got off the ground, so the next owner (who would be the car’s 4th or 5th keeper) gets to take charge. From what we piece together, the engine, automatic transmission, and supercharger have been rebuilt (the latter was never reinstalled). The paint was also redone at some point (not sure about the interior).
History pertaining to the vehicle is sketchy as the gentleman the seller bought the car from was getting quite forgetful. Said older man had owned the car for about 13 years. The auto runs well, but doesn’t do a good job of stopping (the brakes need to be redone). A second supercharger is included with the sale, as it came with the car when the seller purchased it. Also included are several boxes of parts.
A little bit of body work (but no rust) could be done, or you could let it pass and drive the Studebaker the way you see it. You’ll need to replace all the tires as they are well past being old. And two of the windows need some help rolling up and down. Anything else is minor and possibly a personal preference (for example, the Stude has a newer radio rather than the original tube type, which is MIA).
Always liked the Studebaker Hawks, not so much the Golden Hawks. Regardless this looks pretty good for it’s age.
The Packard V8 was heavier but amenable to performance upgrades. There was a shop here in California that actually built a dragster around it. That’s the only thing I would have wanted to make this car perfect imho, a souped up Packard engine. GLWTS, good price.
I think the supercharged cars used a special water pump manifold that I cannot tell for certain is present. That begs the question if the engine is even the original one. Finding the supercharger-specific parts could be a difficult and/or pricey endeavor. At least the cast pressure box for the factory 2bbl carburetor is shown in one of the ebay listing photos still mounted to the original 2bbl intake. Price seems a little on the high side to me, but not too far off for a car that seems to be mostly there and mostly original.