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Supercharged Bird: 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk

1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk

Studebaker built some amazing cars over their impressive 115 year life span, it’s just too bad they weren’t able to stay around longer. Of all the great cars they built, the Golden Hawk is one of my favorites and this example looks like an awesome buy! The previous owner put a lot of time and money into making this supercharged bird a driver he could take to shows. Sadly he passed away before he could finish it and now his widow is looking to find a good home for it. If you’d like to give it a home, you can find it here on eBay.

1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk Engine

While I love the styling of the Hawks, the McCulloch Supercharged 289 V8 is what makes it so special! 275 horsepower might not sound like a lot by modern standards, but in ’57 that was a lot of power for an engine this size. It made the Golden Hawk fairly quick and a great high speed cruiser. I’d love to climb into this beauty, shift the 3 speed into 1st and let that blower spin up! So are you a fan of the Golden Hawk or do you like a different Studebaker better?

Comments

  1. Avatar Dirty Dingus McGee

    Just about any Stude is worthy of consideration. This however (pauses, wipes drool off chin), this is in the top 2 IMHO.

    Like 2
  2. Avatar boxdin

    And then drop it into overdrive and really cruze……

    Like 2
  3. HoA Howard A Member

    This is my favorite car of all time. At a recent show, there was a red one ( non-supercharged) and although, I never do the voting thing ( they’re all winners ) I voted for this car. It seems, every one of these HAS to have the supercharger to be noticed. Personally, I’d take that off. I’d think it would make the drivability quirky ( not to mention the speeding tickets it may help acquire) Beautiful car here, and watch your head on that guillotine hood.

    Like 1
    • Avatar packrat

      -and verify the safety latch on that guilliotine hood. On too many of these, when the safety latch gets too gluey with spring weakness or old grease to correctly snap back into place, that means that the hood is free to fold over the windshield At Speed, which is Exciting for the driver and expensive to clean up at the body shop.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

        One of the well known Studebaker parts suppliers offers a kit to keep the hood edges from buckling the sheet metal just in front of the hinges. It’s a pair of sheet metal strengthening plates that mount between the hinges and hood. And of course when you open the hood on any Hawk, you always pull forward & up. I also suggest you use an old leather belt to go thru the panel just behind the bumper, and thru the center grill. When buckled, it will keep the hood from going airborne.

        I’ve had about a dozen Hawks, from 1956 Sky Hawk hardtop, supercharged Golden Hawks, Regular Hawk coupes, and a couple 62/63/64 GT Hawks.

        Like 2
  4. Avatar Chris A.

    This is a great looking ride. With the blower puffing and in OD, I wonder what one of these has for a top end speed? You can’t help but stare at it as nothing made today comes close to the shape and fins. It is also #2 for me behind the Avanti R2.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Jim

      198 mph

      Like 0
  5. Avatar Vegas Vic

    ME great Uncle had one, in late 1960s, great car, that styling is unparalleled in auto history and awesome name!
    like Mercury Marauder, couldn’t save Studabaker
    the Museum in Indiana is top notch , maybe in Auburn IN!

    Like 1
    • HoA Howard A Member

      Hi VV, I just went through the Studebaker museum a few weeks ago. I agree, it was put on well. A must see for any car lover, Studebaker or not. Lot of history in that town. I had no idea.

      Like 2
  6. Avatar Vegas Vic

    Yes, lots of good Museums in Indiana featuring cars, and the Chrysler in Auburn Hills Michigan is re opened plus Gilmores, north of Kalamazoo is TOP NOTCH !!
    great stuff, fun memories

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Dolphin Member

    These Golden Hawks blow me away every time I see one. They are so 1957 cool. And this one is a supercharged car and the installation looks original. I didn’t remember the hood louvers, so it was only after looking at photos of a few of them that I saw that they are stock—-double cool.

    I would probably say this for a few different ’57 cars, but if I had my pick of the US ’57s this would probably be the one. You just don’t see them except at shows, and you didn’t see them much back in ’57 either because they only made about 4300 of them, and few of those had the supercharger.

    Back when these weren’t too old I had a car buddy who did a rally in one with the owner. He said it wasn’t neck snapping fast, but it went down the road pretty good once you got it spooled up. I guess that’s what you would expect from this kind of supercharger.

    Looks like a pro seller on behalf of the owner. Disappointed that they didn’t show a good photo of one of my favorite parts—the dash. It looks like something on an Italian or Brit supercar from the ’60s or ’70s. Will upload photo if I can….

    Like 2
    • Avatar Dave Wright

      As I remember, all Golden Hawks were super charged in 57……. You could get whatever engine in a silver hawk but the Golden Hawks were all 289 super charged as they came from the factory.

      Like 2
      • Avatar Jeff DeWitt

        When the Golden Hawk came out in 56 it didn’t have a supercharger but it did have a Packard 353 V8. Sadly that was the last year for the big Packard engine.

        All Golden Hawks were supercharged in both 57 and 58, and had that louvered bulge on the hood to clear the supercharger. Adding the blower to the Stude 289 gave it about as much power as the big Packard engine had.

        Like 1
    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      Looks like I mixed up the ’56 and ’57 Golden Hawks. Thanks for correcting that.

      The dash should appear here if things worked with the dash pic.

      Like 2
      • Avatar Joe Howell

        Now that’s a dashboard.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Jeff DeWitt

        Joe, you were right and not mixed up at all, all 57 Golden Hawks were supercharged as you said.

        I think only the supercharged Hawks had the dash in the picture (with the boost gauge), none of the other Hawks had that gauge.

        And I LOVE those dash’s. My first car was a 60 Hawk with that dash (no boost gauge of course).

        Like 1
  8. Avatar Peter

    Does anyone know how many psi boost the factory engine was set to?

    Like 1
    • Avatar GEOFFREY GOGLE

      i would say around 5 psi

      Like 1
  9. Avatar GRAY WOLF

    You use to be able to identify cars back in the day and this one would really standout! Today it’s hard to tell which one is which except for a Smart car because they look like a spare tire that fell out of the trunk!

    Like 2
  10. Avatar Andrew

    The rear bumper license plate indentation suggests they sold them in Europe too, as they require the longer space to fit them nicely.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

      Yes, they sold Hawks & Larks in Europe. I remember in 1974 meeting a German businessman who collected older US cars. He had a Hawk hardtop that had been sold new in Switzerland. having owned several Hawks by then, When I sat in the car there was a feeling as if I had grown in size. The owner laughed and told me the interior floor was 5cm [2 inches] higher than the outer floor. [Underside of the car.] Seems that the car, when new, had been outfitted with a false floor to transport illegal drugs, and my friend bought it from the German government after it was seized.

      Like 1
  11. Avatar Nicholas Giguere

    Danbury Mint did à beautiful 1/24 diecast of this Stud. Same color. The detail was just Amazing for a diecast. Love to look at it in m’y collection of diecast. Sorry that Danbury Mint don’t do them anymore.

    Like 1
  12. Avatar john tagart Member

    love die cast stuff I have a few beauties I collected over the years love to talk and share with other collectors there is so much out there I missed like this one sure do wish however I had a real one this design is classic

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Chris A.

    The dash facia reminds me of an 812 Cord. They also were engine turned. Die Cast? I still have a couple of the Dinky Toys from the ’50s, A C5R Cunningham and an Aston Martin DB3S. They all had the same rubber “O” ring tires that are now hard as rocks.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar jack Member

    I had many of the 50’s dinky toys at a young age and have no idea what happened to them excellent detail for the times and heavy made steel

    Like 0
  15. Avatar GEOFFREY GOGLE

    i think both ”dinkey” and matchbox made 57-58 golden hawks

    Like 1
  16. Avatar Bill

    I am glad that I found a 1957 Goldenhawk. Gold with white fins in 1997 with a little over 33,000 miles on it. I am proud that I still have it and my grandson loves it.

    Like 1
  17. Avatar Barry

    My Dad’s friend was a Studebaker mechanic and I remember him telling me that try as hard as he might he could never drop a golden hawk in gear without getting a chirp out of the tires.

    A little side bar trivia in 1957-58 the Chrysler 300 was just a tad faster than the Golden Hawks, pretty good company in 1957-58. These where factory muscle cars they just didn’t become the must have cars like in the sixties.

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Børge Valdemar Jørgensen

    It was probably not a fake floor but torkch boxes to make strength just restored one sending it to the painter this week, they run from inner panel to frame, and from back to front wheel both sides

    Like 1

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