Not too much money and not too much time. Time to do what? Bid on, and win, the 1961 Studebaker Hawk up for auction here on ebay. The car has three days to go in its sale, and the bidding is sitting tight under $8000. Is that just cagey people waiting each other out, or is this one going to stay right there in the bargain bin? If you get it, you’ll truck it home from Euclid, Ohio to start your new life with it.
What’s under the hood? A V8 engine, possibly factory, stirred by a manual transmission. There are some needs, as I’ll note below, so don’t plan on jumping in and driving it home (hence the truck reference above). The engine is at 90,000 miles, which is not an outrageous number, and it thus ought to give you some good years of service once you take care of some details. Inside, there’s air conditioning, though no word as to its functionality. If it had been upgraded for today’s refrigerants, though, it’s a safe bet to say that the seller would say so. The under-dash unit itself looks to have been stored in a wet environment. What does that suggest about the car as a whole? Check out other possibly troublesome signs, such as surface rust underhood and funky looking body seams that point, at the least, to prior so-so treatment. Then again, the car is not being sold as currently show-ready.
What needs to be done? Well, the current seller, a shop, has gotten the car running by adding an electric fuel pump, but he says you should think about spending some effort in returning it to a mechanical pump. The brakes also need doing, particularly because the master cylinder is “shot,” but apparently cheap to buy on ebay. You’ll get a bunch of parts thrown in on the deal, which the seller says you can have or not, but he doesn’t want any of them. Might there be a way to recoup some of your bid price by going on ebay with the ones not needed for recommissioning the car?
Whatever you do, if you acquire this car, at some not-too-distant moment, you’re going to be piloting around a very red car with a strikingly red interior, which is in great shape for the most part. The paint is “what you see in the pictures,” but that doesn’t really say much of a specific nature. What you can see is some fading and what looks like a mismatch between the hood and front fender or fenders. The seller does say the car is driver quality. To be reassured before you bid, you’d be best having a look, or sending someone with some expertise to do it for you. But if the price on this handsome “Stude” stays anywhere close to where it now is, this is a car you can’t go too far wrong with.
Hi, I have a question maybe 2or3; what size is the engine that is #1/ Is that fuel injection I see #2
Probably a 289 as my 63 Avanti R2 is such, however, there a phone number to consellee in ad.
Just because it’s a Hawk doesn’t mean it has a 289….most likely a base 259.
This is definitely a Studebaker with ATTITUDE! Sadly the attitude wasn’t enough to save Studebaker. I thought Studebaker was no longer building Hawks in 61🤔 ???
This is the last year for the Hawk, only as a post coupe. Not sure when they stopped making hardtops. From 1962 to 64 there was the Gran Turismo Hawk.
The only Hawk pillarless hardtops (excluding the ’62-64 GT Hawk) were the ’56-58 Golden Hawks, the ’56 Sky Hawk and the ’58 Packard Hawk. All the rest were pillared coupes.
’61 was the first year for a 4-speed manual in a Hawk, which accounts for the floor shift. The 3-speeds were column shifted.
The V8 here would be a 289ci with either 210 or 225 hp.
The Golden Hawks were hts, and the 58 was the last of those. 59-61 were the coupe Silver Hawks, and then 62-64 were the Gran Turismo Hawks.
If you go to the eBay ad and look closely at the pics, the paint looks like lacquer that has sat out in the sun a lot, cracks everywhere on top. See the start of a few rust bubbles and looks like some starting in the seams as well. Even though it looks good in the pics, up close inspection would probably uncover a car in need of some rust repair and new paint. I would go into this one figuring to take it down to bare metal and go from there. $$$$
I see it has a GT Hawk (62-64) dash, I wonder what else has been changed.
In any case, a finned Hawk, especially a 61 with a four speed is something special, hope it finds a good home.
FYI to the headline writer, ALL Hawks are 2 doors.
It’s tough to outcool a finned Hawk!
The fins look like a complex thing to stamp out.
Are they a bolted on assembly?
They bolt on.
yes….fins bolt on…you’ll need the top chrome trim from earlier models to cover the top quarter panel/fender screws…..1955 I think is the one you want from a base car….
You’re right. I had a ’61 Hawk years ago. It was my daily driver from 1976-86. The interior is definitely from a ’62-’64. No mention of that in the ad.
I knew that dash looked strange, I have a 61 Hawk with a 289 & 4-speed.
What a gloriously complete set of gauges!
My favorite Studie has always been the 57 Golden Hawk, albeit this 61 Hawk does look pretty nice too. Personally I would rather have an automatic over the floor shift on this car. With a bit of tweaking and fixing up this could be a nice vehicle for cruising around.
I agree!
I’d be bored to tears if my collectable proud to own car we a press-and-go. Aside from the potential $ the body might require, I would be proud to own/drive this Hawk. The original owner must have been also.
The fins look like a complex thing to stamp out.
Are they a bolted on assembly?
Don’t go near a 1959 Cadillac.
Taking the fins off is very risky, but should be done. The reason is because the quarter was never painted under the fin and always rusty. Taking the fins off and putting them back on required a very specialised strip and screws. I bought these 25 years ago, not sure if they are still available. Have to belong to the Studebaker club to source parts for this rebuild.
whoever gets this Stude is going to have a lot of work ahead of them.
Great car this is. Love the 4-speed and everything. Now, last week we debated where Dick Teague got the Matador nose from…
I like that: Stude wit a Tude
I like!
Ebay ad says 3sp…..
whoops….that 3 was for seats…that’s above the transmission….but looking back at it – yep all those parts inside and under the hood could very well came from a 1962-64 GT Hawk….