1961 Studebaker Hawk

U/K

4.7L 4737CC 289Cu. In. V8 GAS OHV Naturally Aspira

4 on the floor

Clear

Gasoline

1961 was the last year for the finned Hawks, first introduced in 1956. Consumer Guides reported at the time "Many Studebaker devotees feel Studebaker saved the best for last with the valedictory 1961 model." One reason was the first-time availability of a four-speed floorshift gear box, supplied by Borg Warner. The guy I bought it from said he'd had the clutch rebuilt by a "good mechanic," 65 years old, working on Studebakers since he was 14. He pulled the engine, dropped the pan; his assessment: the engine had just been rebuilt. The car starts easily and without fail, runs smoothly, does not use oil, leak to any degree I can tell, or smoke. The issues I've addressed and corrected with the car were not mechanical: re-worked minimal bubbled paint areas; changed out and painted the trunk deck (which had been sprung); repaired floor with steel and installed Dynamat and new carpet; replaced door panels and trim; patched dashboard; replaced passenger seat hinge, turn signal switch, driver door latch. Had wiring organized and alternator installed. Had the speedometer connected. I have no idea what the actual miles would be. Studebaker had planned to build 6,110 of the 1961's. As it turned out demand called for only 3,929. I read somewhere that, while most of those built were powered by Studebaker's 8 cylinder 289, only 400 also had the 4-speed gearbox. Not represented as a show car, it is a credible and handsome example of this styling. I have enjoyed driving in Fall and Spring -- the heat is not connected and there's no air conditioning. As usual, there are other idiosyncrasies but this, my 3rd Hawk, stands up well to other maintained, rather than fully restored, cars of this vintage. I would encourage and cooperate on your inspection prior to final bid as well as in implementing the ultimate buyer's transport of the vehicle. A main reason I'm selling is that I no longer have garage space for it, so time between sale and pickup need to be relatively quick.On May-02-15 at 18:44:26 PDT, seller added the following information: 05/02/2015 Note: Engine pics are from when I bought the car, before change out from generator (shown) to alternator