While some classic cars can survive years of neglect remarkably well, this 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk is not one of those cars. It was parked under a tarp in 1985 and has just emerged from its slumber. The deterioration is pretty significant, and it would appear that this car’s destiny lies in being a parts car. It is located in Olympia, Washington, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of $2,400, but he will entertain offers.
I think that the first photo in this article is the most telling when it comes to understanding the deterioration in the Studebaker. With the car up on forks, you can see by the body lines that the car has a sizeable bend in the middle. This would suggest that the floors and frame are probably pretty rotted. This also reinforces the owner’s belief that the car is beyond being a restorable proposition, and that its destiny is to be a parts car. As a parts car, it does have quite a few decent pieces that can be salvaged. The hood is said to be good, while the glass also seems to be in pretty reasonable condition. Most of the external trim and chrome pieces are also present, and while some of it is showing deterioration that is consistent with the rest of the car’s condition, there are a fair few parts that would be considered to be in a restorable state.
There is some good news when we pop the hood, with the supercharged 289ci V8 engine said to turn freely. The owner also states that there are no signs of any water in the oil, so the engine itself may be able to be salvaged. The news isn’t quite as good with the McCulloch supercharger, which is said to be locked. The car also features power steering and power brakes, and with it being mechanically complete, there is the possibility that there are plenty of mechanical components that could potentially be utilized on another project.
The interior of the Golden Hawk surprised me a bit because there are plenty of parts here to be saved. The seats look like they are in reasonable condition, but the highlight is the dash. Not only is it complete and unmodified, but it is in good condition. The dash itself is clean and tidy, the gauges appear to be perfect, and the pad looks like it is free of cracks. The rest of the interior trim is a bit of a lucky dip, but it appears as though it could be a good source of all of those tiny parts that can be so hard to source today.
There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the owner is right when he says that this Golden Hawk is beyond restoration. From the outside, it certainly isn’t the worst example that we’ve ever seen, but that bend in the body really tells the story. With 4,356 Golden Hawks produced during 1957, it isn’t the most common car on the planet. Many of those cars wound-up in the same state as this one, but hopefully, the parts from this one will help another example to live.
I think the Hawk has seen better days!! If you can get the car and all the parts for $2400 and hope it comes with floors, quarters and every other body panel!!
Send me a certified cheque for $2200.00 USD and I’ll tell you how to save $200.00 USD on the Golden Hawk purchase.
Bob
I believe that Golden Hawk has had its wings clipped.
Did Brooks Stevens design this car?
OK I looked it up, it was Raymond Lowey.
You gotta love that first pic in the ebay ad.
Cool! “Port-a-Walls” white walls on the tires. Haven’t seen those in many many moons. Any of you young whipper snappers know what I am talking about?
At least the seller isn’t misrepresenting the car; it’s for parts only obviously. Lots of items are still very usable, if not much of the sheetmetal. Interior trim pieces that you can’t find just anywhere appear to be in place; a serious plus. I have no idea if the supercharger can be rebuilt, but at least it isn’t missing. As for the price, I guess that depends on how bad a person needs this to complete their own Golden Hawk.
Will Fox and everyone here,
Yes the supercharger can be rebuilt, but it’s not cheap.
Best thing for this car is to also find a 1957/58 Silver Hawk hardtop with little or no rust, and install all the Golden Hawk items including body number and VIN.
Unfortunately, there were NO Silver Hawks sold domestically that were hard tops. All Silver Hawks and all Hawks from 59 thru 61 were coupes.
Wayne, you are correct, I meant to say take a 1956 Silver Hawk hardtop or a 1953 to 55 hardtop.
Unfortunately, they didn’t make a Silver Hawk in 56 but they did make a Sky Hawk and a Power Hawk. I an not sure which one of the two was a hard top, but I think it was the Power Hawk. Any hardtopfrom 53 thru 55 would work as a donor body and frame. It would be a fairly easy swap to change everything over. Finding rear fins that aren’t rusted might be a trick, however, but they are around. Changing the power steering would be simple once the engine is out and they would want to use the Golden Hawk brakes as they were bigger.
WayneC,
Once again my aging brain frizzled when I wrote ’56 Silver Hawk, as I know better. I meant to write “Sky Hawk”. I had a beautiful 1956 Sky Hawk hardtop, blue & white, 54,000 miles & garaged. That’s the one I was thinking about.
And while I’m talking about early Hawks, I’ve got a pair of the Hawk ribbed aluminum rocker panel trim pieces if anyone is interested. These came off a very low mileage Hawk that was wrecked about 40 years ago. No dents or scrapes.
I wonder what kind of condition it was in before it was parked and tarped?
If it was restorable then, it amazes me how many people park a car over dirt, and throw a tarp over it, and think it will remain the same as when it was parked.
Not half bad compared to the T- Bird.
Bill McCoskey, please contact me at:
hairrip@gmail.com