1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk Supercharged with a Stick

[alsancle]

Sold for 43,250 a few days ago.   This really floats my boat.    Blown with a stick.  I like the colors too.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-studebaker-golden-hawk-3/

 

This 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk was manufactured on June 4, 1957 and sold new at Plourde & Daigneault of Bennington, Vermont. The car is finished in metallic green with a white roof over a black interior, and power comes from a supercharged 289ci V8 paired with a column-shifted Borg-Warner T-85 three-speed manual transmission with overdrive. Equipment includes a 4.27:1 limited slip differential, dual exhaust system, tail fins, gold trim, and an engine-turned dash fascia. The car reportedly remained in the same family for approximately 55 years before being purchased in 2015 by the seller, who has since overhauled the engine, replaced the exhaust, and refreshed the brake system. This Golden Hawk is now offered with factory literature, service records, production data from the Studebaker National Museum, and a clean California title in the seller’s name.

 

[Gearheadengineer]

Great car! I’m a little surprised at the price.  I’m not saying it’s not worth it, it’s just that I didn’t think they went for that much. But this one looks like a super example with good history. 
 

Good thing it has overdrive! That rear end ratio is great for accelerating but a standard 3 speed would run out of gears too soon for highway driving. 

[Dosmo]

Very cool radio delete plate!

[alsancle]

26 minutes ago, Gearheadengineer said:

Great car! I’m a little surprised at the price.  I’m not saying it’s not worth it, it’s just that I didn’t think they went for that much. But this one looks like a super example with good history. 
 

Good thing it has overdrive! That rear end ratio is great for accelerating but a standard 3 speed would run out of gears too soon for highway driving. 

 

I think the stick/blower combo is made of unobtainium which is where the price comes from.   Plus, I think BAT does very well with unique nice stuff.

[kingrudy]

I am a big fan of all of the Hawks up to and including the '57. This is the first time that I have seen one in green. Factory color? Beautiful car, best year for the Hawks. 

[JamesR]

When did Studebaker start supercharging? Was it '57? I know I've read that the design of their V-8 wouldn't allow them to achieve large displacements (and the didn't have the resources to introduce a new V-8 design) so they relied on supercharging for performance. I believe they got respectable results.

[Bloo]

18 minutes ago, JamesR said:

Was it '57?

 

Yes. They had merged with Packard by that time. 1956 performance models got Packard engines. The Packard V8 was larger, and had much larger dimensions. It never approached it's displacement limit. The Packard V8 engine was discontinued for 1957, possibly a bad decision on their part. The Studebaker V8 eventually reached 304ci, which must have been the limit or close to it. Very few were made.

 

[wayne sheldon]

While too modern to get me going, I have always liked the Hawk series Studebakers. I had a friend many years ago that was one of the top Studebaker experts west of Colorado. He had a few of them that I got to look at closely.

The Packard engined 1956 was powerful, but the engine was too heavy. Performance was great going in a straight line, but they had a nasty habit of getting into trouble on high speed turns. They also developed front suspension issues early. For 1957, they went to a smaller V8, added a blower, and dropped a couple hundred pounds from forward of the firewall. The result was an incredible car that held up well and handled like one would expect in the 1950s.

How good was the performance? They were unbeatable for a few years in the stock classes for them. Even ten years after they were built, a good Golden Hawk could give any stock offering Mustang or Corvette a run for its money.

 

Thirty years ago, I heard about, and later saw Studebaker Hawk number two! It had been kept in a small out of the way town in Northern Califunny for decades, and suffered from the poor storage and dampness in that area. I also saw the letter from the Studebaker Corporation verifying its claim as the second Hawk built. It had the Packard engine and was mostly intact, but in poor condition. The fellow that had it wanted to sell it, but had visions of grandeur of its value. While a significant car in the Studebaker lineage, even thirty years ago, I figured it would cost well over fifty thousand dollars to do a decent restoration. Really sad to see.

I did talk with some Studebaker people I knew. A few had heard about the car, but not seen it. All believed the asking price was way too high given the car's condition.