This Studebaker Golden Hawk runs and drives, and it could be the foundation for a satisfying project for the right person. Listed for sale here on eBay it is located in Mishawaka, Indiana. It has a clear title, and while bidding opened at a mere $2,000, at the time of writing it has reached $16,500.
This Studebaker is far from a pristine example. The paintwork is looking distinctly tired, but the body generally looks to be quite straight. This photo illustrates the only obvious rust issues on the body itself, being on the passenger side outer rocker and the bottom of the front fender.
There is also some rust issues with the floor on the driver’s side, but once again this isn’t severe, and should be relatively easy to address. The trunk pan looks to be solid and the supplied shots of the underside of the car appear to be very encouraging. The seller has access to a lift, and seems to be quite happy to provide more detailed photos of the underside if requested.
The interior is going to require some work, but to a large degree I think that it would respond to a really good clean. The edges of the door trims look like they have lifted in a couple of spots, but this should be able to be addressed fairly easily. The dash appears to be complete, but the pad seems to be lifting on the edge just above the radio. This may only require re-gluing. The rest of the trim and the headliner appear to be in reasonable condition, but how good it is will only be known once it is cleaned. While the back seat appears to be intact, the front seat is going to require a new cover.
Under the hood is the 289ci V8 topped with a McCulloch supercharger. This pumps our 275hp which is then fed to an automatic transmission. The seller states that the car runs and drives, and that the transmission shifts gears well. For a car of this age the engine bay looks quite tidy, and the seller appears to be quite confident that the car could be driven and enjoyed as is. This Golden Hawk also sports power steering and power brakes.
What the new owner chooses to do with this Studebaker Golden Hawk will be very much determined by the final sale price. They may choose to make repairs to the rust and then drive the car as it stands now, or they may choose to undertake a full restoration. With good examples of this Studebaker commanding prices in excess of $65,000 there is certainly some room to move on a complete restoration.
What is it with American car makers of the 50s? They come up with a beautiful design and then the following years proceed to completely ruin it. The 53 and 54 Studes were and still are remarkable cars. 55 was okay, but then they went with ridiculous fins, such as this monstrosity, and followed it up with the Chrysler 300/Dodge RAM grill, ruining Loewy’s design (I hear it was actually the work of an assistant…did Dutch Darin have his hand in this?). Let me further the hypothesis with the 57/58 Fords or the 63/64 Chryslers. There are others, and in some cases such as the Tri-5 Chevys where they were more careful, but consider the late 60s/early 70s Mercedes, keeping the exact same excellent body style for years. Maybe it’s just me. Rant over.
In the ’50s, the Big Three dictated planned obsolescence to the industry. The idea was that, with a few detail changes, your neighbors could tell if you were driving last year’s model, so you’d better keep up. The Tri-5’s are a perfect example: anyone can see that the basic car is the same, but almost anyone can tell what year a given Tri-5 was made. Studebaker didn’t have a fraction of the resources that Ford, GM or Chrysler had, so they did whatever they could to facelift the basic ’53 body all the way to the end of the first generation Lark in ’63. It made sense at the time, when the VW Beetle still wasn’t seen as a serious threat and it hadn’t occurred to anyone that a solid design could stay viable for decades, or at least years. The car industry continues to get sucked into this trap: style wise, Ford has never really improved on the ’65-66 Mustang, and Scion ditched their best model after three years, eventually at the cost of the brand’s existence.
Monstrosity? This is a fantastic design , highly sought after , the fins were a sign of the times , would you consider the 59 Cadillac a monstrosity? Sure fins seem unthinkable on modern cars , but back then what a fantastic time for design , think mad men , Sputnik, Henry Miller furniture , much better than the square designs of the 70s or the generic jellybean design trend we’ve been in for the last 25 years
Howard Miller unless you are thinking this Stude is pornographic.
Ummm, I believe it was Herman Miller furniture…a minor nit. As to fins, I don’t have an issue with them generally, but do in the specific. I think these look like they were grafted onto the car like ears that stick out 2 inches from your head. The 59 Caddy is consider iconic (mostly for the taillights IMO) but I actually prefer the 60 Caddy’s approach. The 57 Chrysler line (Plymouth, Dodge, Desoto, Chrysler) all had nice fins. 58 wasn’t bad, but 59 brought the Plymouth’s fins considered the highest in the industry and not very pretty. Consider the 59 Pontiac fins as an aesthetic alternative (one of my favorites…Ma had 59 Catalina convertible that I drove…powder blue, aquamarine interior). So, no, fins not a problem. These fins are the problem :-). Regarding the jelly bean trends of recent years, there are still versions that are spectacularly beautiful (IMO) and others that are not going to stand the test of time (Mercury Mystique, Ford Taurus, Chrysler ‘cab forward’ anyone?)
IMHO it’s always been between this, a Gran Turismo, or a 59 Rambler Ambassador. Fifties designs but timeless, AND beautiful orphans.
Eric…get a grip and blame Mercedes and early history – because your way off base….and before you jump into the present.
On another note….nice to see a lot of the factory components present.
Opinions are like….ummm….errrr….noses, yeah noses. We all have them and they all smell.
This deserves a full restoration. Save it while it still can be saved. Love it or hate it, it is a important part of American automotive history. Personally, I love it! I’m sure it was something to behold when it rolled off the assembly line.
Great discussion on design study. Eric, using the word ‘hypothesis’ is deserving of “Scotty Points.” But the English language confounds me. Why is there no ‘hyper-thesis’ to countermand the inverse. Or, ‘hypotheces’, plural and rhymes with feces as in; this is really a bunch of crap.
Being the son of a Chizzler engineer in the ’50s, I was saddend to hear that the ’55-’56 MoPars were already obsolete in ’57.
Fins forever!!
Yes, language is fun. I would go with ‘hypofeces’ and I’ve owned a few.
What a gorgeous car.
It deserves a nice resto
Which one looks like the other one?
Corgi Toys of Wales (Britain) made a splendid model of the Studebaker Golden Hawk, which would be a grand wee accessory to add to his Studebaker…maybe mounted on the dash. Plenty available; just google & see…!
I think the fins work wonderfully on the Hawk body. My brother has a 53 Commander coupe – factory show circuit car. It IS a beautiful design, especially for 53, when everyone else was making barges. The 55 got that heavy chrome nose than really clashed with the overall body, but 56-61 was very contemporary and smooth. If anyone wants to argue that, just look at how Studebaker applied fins to their other cars to see what un-smooth looks like. I’ll take a well-equipped hardtop ANY day, thanks. But then again, I keep a 58 Fireflite ragtop and a 58 Plymouth in my garage. I love a good fin car design !
A local guy built a Hawk as a ragtop. Not sure what he stole the top mechanism and trim from, but he did it so well, you’d swear it is factory. Stunning car.
Hi I own a fully restored high point 57 Golden Hawk Gold with white I love it and so does every one who sees it . Great car and a good driver. Super ch’gd with od. I drive it for club outings etc. Car is in B.C. Canada Greg ps, love the fins.
C’mon, Greg, …. you know the deal, … no photos, it never happened. 🚀
I had one of these and it was a super car, except in traffic. It would vaperlock
Every time it was in hot weather and in traffic. If I had put a recirculating type
Fuel system in it it would have been great. On the road it would get 16 mpg
After I did a little work on the Carter carb. At that time I did not know how to
Fix it so traded it for a new Ih Scout in 1961