The Golden Hawk was one of several cars branded as Hawks built by Studebaker-Packard between 1956 and 1964. It was a 2-door hardtop personal luxury car that used a supercharger in its last two years of production (1957-58; in 1956, it used a Packard motor). The seller’s ’57 Golden Hawk is a sharp-looking vehicle, though not show quality, and has had the same owner for 27 years. Located in Eustis, Florida, this happy Hawk is available here on eBay for $25,775.
With styling by designer Raymond Loewy, the Golden Hawk was an evolution of the Starliner hardtop coupe of 1955. But it wore a Mercedes-like grille and tailfins on the back. The hood was raised to accommodate the Packard 352 cubic inch V8 in 1956, which was replaced by a Stude 289 with a supercharger for the next two outings. The supercharger enabled the latter engine to kick out 275 hp, so the Golden Hawk was quite lively. Only 9,305 of the GHs were built in total, with nearly half coming in 1957.
We assume the Arctic White paint with gold accents has been redone over time, as has the matching interior. The seller has owned the car for nearly three decades and doesn’t indicate if any of that was on his to-do list. What has been done to the car recently or over time includes new tires, brakes, water pump, U-joints, an electric fuel pump, and the addition of the Continental kit on the back. The car has a Paxton supercharger as opposed to the correct McCulloch, and it needs to be rebuilt.
There is no certainty as to the car’s mileage. It shows 26,000 now, but the seller says the prior owner replaced the speedometer/odometer in the 20th Century, so who knows. We assume the car runs fine except for any anomalies related to the aged supercharger. The radio has never worked as long as the seller has owned the car, but that’s a minor issue. Just fire up some tunes on your cell phone!
The big fins on this car are bad enough but hanging that continental kit on the back of one of the best designs in automotive history just doesn’t get it.
On a positive note Bobhess, from the side view, the tall tailfins kind of block the view of the Continental Kit. I think some cars do look good with them, but probably not for a Studebaker. I have to agree with you there.
Fins look great. Continental kit looks great- aftermark though.
Am not in favor of continental kits on any car. I do like the jet-age front end, and am visualizing white w/ red fins.
I’m confused. The fins are bad, the Connie Kit is worse, but it’s one of the best designs in automotive history… 🤔
Lol yeah I was wondering that myself just now. Missed that this morning.
A beautiful design, Brook Stevens did a great job of adapting the gorgeous 1953 Starlight Coupé to a late fifties space age look.
The Mercedes Benz grille was deliberate. Studebaker represented Daimler Benz at the time, and their cars would have been sold in the same showroom.
The “Excalibur,” also by Stevens and based on the Lark Daytona convertible chassis, was originally a Studebaker traffic to drive more customers into their showrooms, and to stress the relationship with the German company
I believe this design pre-dates Brooks Stevens involvement (which started with the ’62 GT Hawk and the refreshed Larks. Also by ’57 Studebaker had severed ties (temporarily) with Loewy and Associates. Perhaps in-house designers were responsible for these first Hawk models(?)
The main body color does not look like an ‘arctic’ white. I find this creme with gold combo more pleasing.
I always heard the supercharger name as Paxton McCulloch. Was it two different brands? Did they merge? When? From what I understand, it is reasonable to get one rebuilt. Most people forget to check the oil on these. (They have their own little dip stick)
So, here’s what I know; Robert Paxton McCulloch (chain saws, London Bridge etc.) was the man behind McCulloch Superchargers. He set up the Paxton Corp to build and market them. About ‘58, the Granitellis (sp?) bought the company, simplified the design, and called them Paxton Superchargers.
Thank You for the information..
I knew that Granitellis bought the supercharger company. But thought it was in about 1962. I have Granitelli’s book. I have to find it and confirm the date. Thanks for the info.
Paxton superchargers are still manufactured, and automotive/truck kits are available from Vortech. In the 1950s & into the 1980s, most Paxton and McCulloch units were sold for commercial applications like trucks and forklift motors, to help with power needs in high altitude applications [think mountain use].
I’ve worked on many Studebakers with both the Paxton and McCulloch units, and while from the limited photos I can’t be sure, I don’t think this Paxton unit is from the later 1963-64 Studebaker vehicles and may not be correctly sized for the Studebaker 289 V8. I highly suggest that the new owner finds the correct McCulloch unit and have it professionally rebuilt. [Rebuilding one of these is a job for professionals, as it requires specific tools and knowledge.] Just touching the special steel balls in the planetary unit with your bare hands can cause corrosion to the balls resulting in catastrophic failure, as they can rotate at speeds approaching 35,000 RPM!] If I remember, the correct unit will have the letters “SP” in the serial number.
The decal on the glove box belongs on the top of the McCulloch supercharger cover plate, protecting the solenoid used to activate the supercharger clutch.
Kaiser used them also on their V8s.
Well, I do like the fact that someone built a nice Sun tachometer into the dash instead of sticking the thing on a steering column right in front of the speedometer. The other thing that’s interesting is the exposed connection block in the middle of the radiator. I bet that’s real interesting when you bend over to work on the engine with a metal belt buckle!
And that connection block is factory original!
Those are connections for headlights and turn signals. Circuits are dead unless lights are on,
The continental kit fits this body style better than on a lot of cars.. I like it.. Another beautiful vehicle to have at local show / coffee and cars events. Basically rare (from Ford or Chevy) but not that far out that parts are scarce. Hopefully it has the 3 speed with overdrive.
The grille looks like a 58. The 57 had a badge in upper right corner of the grille. Ask me how I know.😉
The grills are identical. You are correct do-dad at the bottom is from a 58.
Beautiful car. I’ve always loved the pre-1962 Studebaker Hawk.