Projects 56 Studebaker Golden HAwk

I picked this beauty out of a pole barn where it had been hiding since '72. Mostly rust free but definitely needing some body work and lots of love for all the mechanicals. The Hawk has the original Packard 352 and is fairly complete minus a few (but critical) trim and interior pieces. Motor is not locked up but very crunchy when turned by hand, and pretty sure it will need a complete rebuild. 3spd manual trans was a transplant and I would like to put an original auto back in. Plan for the Stude is to make her go, whoa and be highway safe, then drive the old girl in all her glory till weather warms up again and I can get some paint work done.

Any tips or info on parts availability would be appreciated

 

Cool find! I have a '56 Shy Hawk. The Golden Hawk used not only the Packard V8, but the Packard Ultramatic.....both the engine and trans are very heavy and the Ultramatic is not especially efficient by modern standards.

Not sure if there is a readily available trans adapter, but if you are determined to have an automatic, I would suggest you look to a GM unit......350/400/700R4 etc.

If interested in pursuing that you might want to check with www.transmissionadapters.com Bendtsens in Minnesota

Best wishes with your project.

Edit: just went to the site mentioned above and they do have a Packard to Chev adapter available now.

Ray

 

for trans adapter try Speed Gems.
I got an adapter from them for my 49 Packard to bolt up to a Chevy bell housing.
They made it easy sending me the adapter and the bell housing I needed for my T-5

 

IIRC, the Packard club recognizes & recommends an adapter that uses a 727. I never looked into it beyond that. Do yourself a favor, if you want to actually drive the Hawk, stay w/the 3spOD. Ultramatics are not known for being cheap to fix, nor long-lifed. Which is why many '56 GoldenHawks w/the auto died a early death - same deal for the Packards. Fairly decent trans behind a stock staight8, *maybe* 40k behind the v8. BTW; resale, if it matters, should be better w/the 3spOD - if it's the stock trans. &, lucky you, since there were some space considerations in the Stude, Studebaker did *not* use Packards' vacuum pump that was attached at the bottom of the oil pump - one of the other big reasons Packard v8s died an early death. (Pump plate moved, sucked air, goodbye bearings.) Otherwise, the GM trans swap is a good idea. .

Marcus...

 

Thanks for the info guys. Original intent ( at SO's urging ) was to stay as original as possible. I just happen to have a couple of good 3spOD trans in the shop, and since money is tight and I hate doing things twice, one of them will end up in the Hawk. Really appreciate the lead on the adaptor plates. I'll try to start a build thread when I get her in the shop.

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=744895

In that post I talked about the stuck engine and looking for words of wisdom. Convention requires a breakdown to see what's really going on so here we go. Since my memory sucks as I get older, figured I better photo document everything and I could share it with you guys as well, especially since I am no pro on these Studebakers. For those that don't know, the engine is actually a Packard 352. I'll try to add notes as we go along.

Unexpectedly it seems I can't bring pics over from my album (or do I just not know how). I'll get back to this when I figure that out or load em up to photobucket.

 

OK, lets see if I got this.

Overall view of the engine bay


Power steering pump


Brake booster and power steering units


Generator & Volt reg






Oil Bath Air Filter


Dizzy, WS Wiper motor and blower


First get all this stuff out of the way


Removed the PS pump


Guess I better document that carb linkage








Removed the brake booster and driver side valve cover

 

Moving across the front I noticed this clip in the water pump snout. NO clue why it's there or if it even belongs there. Hopefully one of you Stude / Packard guys will chime in on that.



Heater hose routing is interesting, second set of hoses are for the heater under the passenger seat.



and pulled the pass side valve cover



Pulled the Carb and then the intake to reveal the valley pan



Which revealed this crank case vent tube that must be disconnected to proceed


Under the valley pan is a very unexpected find, a lifter valley baffle



Not too bad for a 1956 with 56xxx on the speedo, but I believe is 156xxx miles



Cam looks pretty good with nominal wear, that's oil your seeing



With the PS unit in there it is easier to remove the driver side head with the header attached. Head gaskets leave a lot to be desired. Heads and valves looked pretty good with minor carbon buildup



Piston and cylinder walls looked good. Minimal carbon, No ridge on the cylinders and the walls were not scored at all.





Oh oh, that don't look good. Passenger side head gasket was blown. Note the rust in the #2 dome, all the others were ok.





Yep, that's were it's stuck





SO, I cleaned it up with rust remover, WD40 and 600gt wet-dri paper, the rust was surface with out any pitting on the cylinder wall.Aapparently, there is still some rust on the rings cause I cant get it to move. Turning the crank I get a slight amount of movement in all the other pistons but this baby ain't moving. Left it to soak with some rust buster in there, we'll see what we get in a few days.

Be glad to hear any advice or tips to get her unstuck.

Based on the condition of the rest of it I think if I can get that one freed up I can clean out the sludge, replace all the gaskets, put it back together and run her.

Watcha Think?

 

Id go with a hone and crank polish, then a rering, bearing rebuild. Clean and reuse the existing pistons.

 

ATF/ACETONE 50/50 mix and cost all the surfaces and walk away for a week then it should turn free.

 

The clip in the water pump belongs there. It holds the shaft in the case.

 

Do some research on the oil pump. I have read that they were prone to failure. I believe there is a replacement which is much more reliable than the original. I'm sure you can find a thread on the Studebaker Drivers Club forum.

 

Being an currently unemployed cheapskate, I was hoping to do the minimal expense route. We'll see if I eventually get her cleaned up

 

Thanks, I needed that.

 

Yep, I had heard of the oil pump problem too. still looking into it. Thanks

 

SO, I cleaned it up with rust remover, WD40 and 600gt wet-dri paper, the rust was surface with out any pitting on the cylinder wall.Aapparently, there is still some rust on the rings cause I cant get it to move. Turning the crank I get a slight amount of movement in all the other pistons but this baby ain't moving. Left it to soak with some rust buster in there, we'll see what we get in a few days.

Be glad to hear any advice or tips to get her unstuck.

Based on the condition of the rest of it I think if I can get that one freed up I can clean out the sludge, replace all the gaskets, put it back together and run her.

Watcha Think?[/QUOTE]

Little update on the engine ; after many days soaking and several attempts to get it unstuck, I admitted defeat and tore the whole thing down. Turns out that #2 piston was pretty much completely hosed. All crank / rod / cam bearings were shot as well. Took the block, crank, cam and piston to my local machinist for a thorough cleaning and forensic inspection and should know more on exactly what it's gonna need shortly. Will update when I get the good / bad news.