Supercharged! 1963 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk
The 1962-64 GT Hawks would be the last literation of the Studebaker car that dated back to 1956. These machines were designed to compete with personal luxury cars like the Ford Thunderbird and – next to the Avanti – may be the most collectible of all Studebakers. This 1963 GT Hawk has the rare R2 supercharger, which would make it 1 of just 278 built that year. It was owned by the same family for 58 years before the seller took possession. Located in Hadley, New York, and available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $20,000, this rare car looks solid, and we’re told that it runs and drives.
Like the legendary Avanti of 1963-64, the GT Hawks were some of the last efforts made by Studebaker to be relevant in the automotive world. They hadn’t had any success since the introduction of the compact Lark in 1959, so designer Brooks Stevens was called in to give the aging Hawk an affordable makeover. His effort resulted in a timeless-looking car that still makes the automobile bucket lists of some folks, including me.
Just 4,634 GT Hawks left the factory in 1963 and this one is an additional rare bird. It has the R2 McCullough supercharger which takes the 289 cubic inch V8 from an output of as little as 210 hp to one horsepower per inch, turning it into a real performer for the likes of racer Andy Granatelli out at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Besides the potent powerplant, this GT Hawk has a 4-speed manual transmission. We’re told this car is also interesting because it was one of two provided by Studebaker for display at the 1963 New York International Auto Show. It’s a shame that the automobile ceased production when Studebaker closed its factory in South Bend, Indiana, and the whole company followed suit in 1966.
In running condition with 80,000 miles and no modifications, this car was purchased by the seller from the family of the original owner who had the car for six decades. It comes with dated documentation and some NOS parts including fenders. The Hawk, with aftermarket wheels, looks quite nice in the photos provided, and there’s no mention of any rust, but the seller does mention that it should get a full restoration due to its historic automotive significance.
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Comments
3 pictures of part of the car and a 4th telling you what’s in it? No way to know anything about it from that. For the asking price there’s got to be more to work with for the buyers. Always been a fan of these cars but if I was a potential buyer I’d be prone to looking somewhere else.
Why do flippers always include the trailer pic? Is that a plus I don’t undertand. Nice mark up from when it was on facebook two weeks ago for 12k.
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/364359-1963-studebaker-gt-hawk-12k
Ok. So adding the build sheet with the auto show provenance is absolutely value add. Wish it was included in original Facebook ad.
Flippers will be the death of hobby cars. Wonder why someone in stude clubs didn’t buy? Seems a good one.
Flippers usually pick up stuff like this from estate sales where no one has a clue….
Because flippers are greedy clowns for the most part. And they are one of the reasons why the hobby will have no interest sooner than later. Two big auctions also are helping the demise of the hobby, as well as other sites.
Thanks for the link.
Good catch AJ
One of my pet peeves A.J.! Nothing screams “flipper” more than pictures of a car still on the trailer…
As said. Need more pics of this interesting car.
I suppose with the price of film so extreme and the cost of having it developed so much worse, the ownerv must really be in need of getting this car sold.
Additionally; Why don’t the editors of this Post demand better and more pictures. This is not the first time I’ve seen inadequate photos of very interesting cars. The editors must not think much of the people who frequent these posts, otherwise they would have acted on this problem, far in advance of our complaints.
Duh, not their job. Maybe you should take that on for them…
Dude, the BF folks aren’t responsible for the ads they pull off the internet to bring interesting cars to readers of BF. The ad is a jumping off point for the discussion of the car as well as the blankety blanks who are selling them.
If an R2 Supercharger Hawk WITH a 4 speed isnt worth the eyeball time for you, ok. As you can see another reader found the ad before the price went up on (I assume) the new flippers ownership.
Sometimes you just have click more than once.
When they are the ones advertising the car for sale, I would think that it is part of their job to ask the seller for some better ad copy and photos than your average Craig’s List ad.
https://barnfinds.com/classifieds/1963-studebaker-gt-hawk/
Dude, it is Barn Find ad…..and yes the editors could make sure the seller emails good pictures. Although, I understand, nobody wants to step up with anything, blame it on covid, like everyone does.
I used to check Barn Finds 5x more than BAT. That has flipped. The BAT online auctions are the best on the internet. Pictures, descriptions, videos, etc. This Studebaker with a BAT auction would have brought 30k.
I’m not sure how many of you realize how special it is and the original seller did themselves a huge disservice by not posting the build sheet. Some dude with a trailer profited.
As far as BAT goes, I was on that site as well as BF for a number of years. Then, a year or so ago, if I dared say a car was “ugly” or anything unfavorable, i.e. shared my opinion, my posts got deleted. After a bunch of times and no response from BAT to my questions, I said to hell with them, let the rich guys stroke each other’s egos without me. BF has changed but honesty is still permitted here.
It Runs A Drives. Wish I had the Extra $$$$ Lived above a Studebaker Dealer in the 60’s and love to watch them being unloaded when they arrived. Saw the first Avanti’s when they showed up but my Dad always talked about the HAWKS.
I never buy from someone flipping
There is nothing wrong with flipping if you are adding value in the flip. Cleaning up the title, getting it running, better pictures of problem areas, etc, etc. But when I see the car sitting on the trailer at the end of the driveway, I don’t see any value add.
Facebook ad mentioned the NY Auto Show connection but failed to include documentation in the single photo provided. Don’t see where this flipper added any value whatsoever. Just another flip for a quick $8K profit, assuming he even paid the full $12K asking price. Which flippers rarely do.
Only a ‘troublemaker’ needs pics LOL!!!
I love this old Studebaker GT Hawk and would have jumped on it at the original listing price from 2 weeks ago. This is the only time I’ve seen the New York Auto Show documented in the factory paperwork too.
Worth a closer look
Restoration is an overused term, this car needs a bit of reconditioning and preservation judging by the few pics.
JT,
I saw this car at an indoor rod & custom car show a couple of decades past, being exhibited by the original owner’s family. They had the history of the car on large display panels, and the owner was very proud of the car & it’s history. And I might add that at the time the car was all original and in VERY nice condition.
I’m guessing the 3rd generation family members, not having an appreciation for what they inherited, just wanted it gone.
Keystones!
Its on Barn Finds sales or whatever you call it. Gee you would think they would require better pictures, sad.
Gee, get a life.
A great car to begin with, the bugs had been worked out on the engine which began with the ’51, and the supercharger, a clean modification of the ’53 body, to me looks better that the first edition, and the later ones with the tacked on fins, at $12,000 it was a fair deal. At $20,000 I would want the original wheel covers (and wheels), to examine the underbody, and to put my foot down and hear and feel the supercharger whine! No interior shots, is it good, or trashed, or missing?
Its a very rare car, then and more so now, serious buyers will check it out thoroughly in person regardless of pictures in my opinion,, which is below average, but,
at first glance on my device I thought it was an early Buick Riviera! I know very little about Studebakers outside of what I read about these years ago. Decent machine.
I’d offer 11,999.00
I’m always fascinated to note how this basic underlying body endured through the rise and fall of tailfins, starting in ’53 with nominal fins on the Champion/Commander, then revised for ’56 into the various Hawk series that gained more extravagant fins as the years went on, then revised again for ’62 with Stevens’ GT Hawks reverting back to vestigial fins.
This is a really cool car that I would love to own. It appears to be in very good condition based on the shots published. Thank you Barn Finds for posting this interesting Stude.
Eight years ago I sold some real estate, my kids had finished college, I was making good money, and figured that $10,000 would buy me a toy, it had to be a convertible, and had to have parts availability, since I was going to drive it a lot. (I am still driving it a lot, but just locally.)
So, I ended up with a ’93 Allante for $3000, plus another $3000 in immediate repairs, radiator, some leaky seals, rear brakes, discs and pads, throttle body (there were none to be had, mechanic and I used electrical tape and other things to repair it). It was not numbers matching (it had a rebuilt transmission).
So looking at this site daily for several years, and at Hemmings’ monthly listings, there still are reasonable old vehicles available at reasonable prices, if you are not one of the people that wants what everyone else wants. Allantes, Reatas, all manner of Studebakers (but no convertibles after ’52 until the Lark showed up), let alone Hudsons, most Mopars except the Chrysler letter cars, and more recently the Pontiacs with the retractable hardtops, and the VW , Volvo, and Mercedes versions of the same, are all really interesting and the retractable hardtops, practical cars. And the bargain of all bargains is the bean shaped Chrysler convertibles of the ’80’ and ’90’s, or if you want reliability, a Toyota Solara convertible of that era. For $5000 you can have a great car.
So, yes, you can pay through the nose at the big auction houses, or pay a flipper, or, you can look here, Craigslist, Hemmings, even E bay, the local car rag (that is how I found two Allantes in one week, one for $1,300, one for $5000 which rapidly came down to $3000, the bottom feeding used car dealer for the $1300 one had bought it at the local beater auction for $1000, not really knowing what it was. It did run, but that was the best thing about it and I knew enough to know that the $3000 one did not share a lot of mechanical part with the $1300 one, and besides, I had no place to put a parts car. So, weep not, my friends, look for a vehicle that does what you want, regardless of make, and you might be happy with what you get! (But, like the giant motor home, stay away from the $5000 Rolls and Bentley, unless you can afford the big auction houses and the big flippers.)
left out the overpriced MOPAR muscle cars as the high priced
I have the old car passion! That said I want to sell my cars to someone that……..WANTS THE CAR! Not some lowball predator that thinks he can find my buyer . Don’t appreciate that at all!
Actuslly dealt with that literally in the last hour, TWICE!
By the way. Barn Finds does a GREAT JOB, maybe best of any I check out. Advertise on most sites THEY dictate the reserve! Whats up wit that? This format is honest , inexpensive and fun to follow! What more can you ask?
What more to as?
Require pictures. Some like me do not live in NY anymore. We fled it.
Fran and Mike, you’ve just offended thousands of used car dealers, used boat dealers, used airplane dealers, antique shop owners and estate sale and farm auction attendees. So a flipper buys a vehicle, advertises it in a fashion that makes it available to a wider audience, and makes a profit in so doing. That’s called capitalism. I’m trying to decide who is getting hurt.
I was a used car dealer in NY many years ago. I had to pay all sorts of NYS fees, forms, and warrantee cars. It sucked. I had to charge NYS sales tax and pay it.
Flippers, “open” many titles registrations, so they can hide their part in the sale. They for the most part can simply leave uncle sam out of the sale.
Flipers are a cause of the old car hobby going away.
This car is a very neat car! I am not taking anything away for that.
So, offend? LOL I guess I offended myself and had to pay the fees also!
Kenn,
You are spot on!
Purely out of curiosity, what about this person taking the car from the previous owner’s house to their own made the car suddenly jump up in price by $8k?
He posted a picture of the build sheet confirming the R2 four speed and most importantly the auto show provenance.
I’m not much of a fan of Studebakers,but I really like the 1962-64 GT Hawks and the Avanti.These are some pretty cars and the R2 makes this one pretty special.
I have seen several of these listed as having Chevrolet engines. Can any one comment on this. I don’t remember any 289 CID Chevrolet’s…only the 283 CID V8s.
The Hawk ended production in my 1964. All had Studebaker engines. 1965 & 1966 Studebaker Larks had Chevrolet engines.
I have seen several of these listed as having Chevrolet engines. Can any one comment on this.
Some or all of the post-Studebaker Avanti’s had Chevy engines. In the later 50’s, early 60’s, the engine of choice to put into a Lowey couple was often a Cadillac, the “Studillac” as it was known, but the ’53 coupe was too flexible, fixed for the ’54’s and thereafter, so when a friend (who became an architect) was enthralled with the looks of the ’53 and ’54, this was l963, we looked to see who could do it, not an easy thing to find out before the internet, and found someone in LA, he was from San Francisco, so it might have happened. We also looked for a non-rusted ’54, that he could drive back to LA, but we were in college in New England and there were none to be found. They were just 10 year old cars with 100,000 miles and toast.
I’ll ask again: Who, exactly is hurt by flippers? The person from whom the flipper purchased the vehicle? They could have said “No” to the sale. The buyer to whom the flipper sold? They, too, could have said “No” to the asking price. Looking forward to rationalizations here.
Oh goodness, I’ve dealt with several over the last 18 months when selling two cars and two motorcycles. They are obnoxious time wasters who often might(?) have limited knowledge about the vehicle they’re buying.
Dismissed every last one of them until the right buyer/price came to be. The home improvement ‘scammer’ that made off with $190 recently is another story and entirely my fault. He appeared legitimate as he is/was connected to the Landscaping Service I contract with. Police report filed.
Kenn, the marketplace gets hurt by predatory flippers. Obviously it can make the car difficult for someone to restore or even freshen up for use. In the case with this car its a ridiculous markup. Nicely done this car could be found for under $25,000 IMHO. Nothing personal just an opinion from someone notorious for taking discretionary income from car lovers for 30 + years?
No you can’t. This is probably the most special post war Studebaker that is not an Avanti. It is a R2 four speed car with documented auto show provenance. A lot of you seem to be missing that point.
Not sure I understand your answer Lowell Peterson. If your last sentence suggests it’s something I’ve been doing, I’m not in the auto business, or any business involving the hated “flipping”. If your sentence is bragging about what you’ve been doing, then the preceding sentences make your case. But my question/observation remains the same: So if this car has “….a ridiculous markup.” an interested party can say “No thanks. I’ll buy one for thousands less”.
If anyone wants to look at my SuperHawk, please ask and set up an appointment. I have owned Studebakers most of my life.
The rank and file here would rather rant about the injustice of the capitalistic system, rather than get off of there lazy you know what and look at the vehicle.The asking price is just a starting point. Questions and a little research is better than any snap judgment and a damnation without facts.
The internet allows any slob to interject, knowing full well they have no intention of looking or buying. I was brought up, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.It is easy to hide behind a keyboard. Just a bunch of cowards.
Heck, This automobile should have sold long ago – wondering why it hasn’t?!?!
Was searching thru my Studebaker factory files and found this photo. While it’s black & white, it’s the Studebaker stand at the 1963 New York Auto Show, and that’s clearly a red car, as any other colors the company offered don’t look even close in B&W.
So the car in the photo is the car offered for sale.