Making progress on the 1956 Studebaker power hawk.

[harrisonm]

Everything is painted and polished out. We are now doing final assembly. The current task is wiring. On an interesting side note, the dash in these old Studebakers is made out of fiberglass. There were so many cracks in the fiberglass it took me a week to fix all the cracks, sand down the repairs, prime, and paint it. He bought an amazingly nice wiring diagram from a guy who makes them for Studebakers. The new harness is exactly like the old one. It is hard to find a good wiring diagram for this car. It is a good thing. We kept the entire old wire harness intact and took lots of notes.

 

[33IMP]

I have always loved the "engine turned" look of those Stude dashes!

 

[67Dart273]

I have always liked those girls!! How many sub models are there? I new about the Silver Hawk and Golden Hawk

(Gets back from Wiki, LOLOL)

The Studebaker-Packard Hawk series were cars produced by the merged Studebaker-Packard corporation between 1956 and 1964. All but the 1958 Packard Hawk were badged Studebaker. Described by the company as "family sports cars", they were all two-door, four-seat coupes and hardtops. They were an evolution of the long wheelbase (120") 1953 C/K models designed by Robert Bourke, lead designer with the Raymond Loewy Agency. The 1962 redesign as the GT Hawk was by another famed stylist, Brooks Stevens.

The precursor of the Hawks was the 1955 Studebaker Speedster, a special edition hardtop based on the Studebaker President with stainless steel trim above the rear window, usually fog lights on the front bumper, deluxe leather interior, a special dash and unique two tone paint combinations. The success of the Speedster led to the expanded line of 1956 Hawks as a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and the Oldsmobile Starfire.