A big thank you to the SDC village! We are getting close to being done finishing up my Dads 1957 Golden Hawk in time for Tacoma.
HUGE shout outs to Mike (S) and Rich Gahlbeck (Studerich)! To Neil Wollam (289 eng rebuild) and Chuck Tubins (trans rebuild) on helping getting the car back to originality.
http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?99473-Terry-Barnes-Puyallup-WA-1957-Goldenhawks&highlight=terry+barnes
My siblings
As posted before, the car is very solid and a fantastic example,no signs of rust, but wasn’t “original”. Years ago the 289 was removed (we had in dry storagefor 30 years, including heads, covers, pan, etc..) and was replaced with a supercharged 259 which ran fine. The automatic was removed in the 80s and was converted to a 3SP OD. A nice job, but at 6’5 300, I couldn’t drive it, I had to shift under my thigh.
Knowing the cars historical and sentimental value to me, I wanted to return the car to as original as possible, without breaking the bank. Well, whatever that means..
Engine: Neil Wollam drove across WA State to pick up the original engine and trans at my Dad’s house in Puyallup (Just a few miles from Tacoma and this year’s international meet) to start the rebuild. His “Great Studebaker adventure". 289 Serial number PS4462 was rebuilt.030 over, R2 cam grind. The clearances and condition are excellent! Whew! Love that guy!!
Transmission:Borg Warner was rebuilt by Chuck Tubins with a first gear start (still dialing that in).
Supercharger was rebuilt prior and converted to direct drive pulley.
So now I had a fresh engine and transmission, but it’s way over my head, capabilities, space and the work it will take to return back.
Time to drive up on tow truck. I didn’t trust the brakes for the 2 hour journey to Ferndale WA
Enter Mike (S) and Rich Gahlbeck (Studerich) in Ferndale, WA. I needed the engine and transmission swapped, remount and dial in supercharger, all new brakes, check suspension, return to automatic shifting, paint engine bay, figure out some wiring bugs and found a list of several things to improve. Such as HD front and rear sway bars, adding the missing cross member (yikes) doing some fancy driveline work returning back to a 2 piece driveline and fabricating the carrier bearing housing. Among many more tweaks and safety improvements!
Mike spent many hours tinkering, restoring, painting, scrubbing, replacing, and Studebakering. Rich spent his time figuring out parts and how to dial all this in, including the fuel system, supercharger and driveline situation.
My wife loved the tour of their collections and was eyeing the Champ and the 54 Commander! I lost track of the cool cars and racks and racks of parts they have, but my Goldenhawk was in the best hands I know. They treat it like their own.
The discussion and priority with Mike: The key for me is to make it safe and dependable, so I can hop in and go get groceries or let my wife hop in and drive anytime. I wanted to stay original, but not be obsessed with every clamp, clip and washer to be exact. So if you are looking at the pics and see the wrong hose clamp, or wire, no need to comment as this wasn’t intended to be a perfect concourse winner. I want this to be a great representation and drivable, but not get obsessed chasing. And no, I’m not painting the badass polished supercharger and carb box black! Hey Rich, was there a clear hood option?? This looks cool.
It’s getting closer and just a minute ago a carpet kit arrived at the front door, to replace the hole where the floor shifter was
.
I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone as the car is getting closer to being done, to my standards. I will have it in Tacoma as a tribute to my dad. Is it the best GH around? No.. One of them maybe, but to me, who spent 30 years with this car and learning to tinker and sand and restore when I was young… it’s the world’s best, because it was my Dads.
As mentioned before, it was at my daughter’s wedding a few weeks after Dad passed in Mukilteo WA, where the car resides.
See you in Tacoma, look for me. Tall guy who can barely squeeze into the Goldenhawk.
Gordy
HUGE shout outs to Mike (S) and Rich Gahlbeck (Studerich)! To Neil Wollam (289 eng rebuild) and Chuck Tubins (trans rebuild) on helping getting the car back to originality.
http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?99473-Terry-Barnes-Puyallup-WA-1957-Goldenhawks&highlight=terry+barnes
As posted before, the car is very solid and a fantastic example,no signs of rust, but wasn’t “original”. Years ago the 289 was removed (we had in dry storagefor 30 years, including heads, covers, pan, etc..) and was replaced with a supercharged 259 which ran fine. The automatic was removed in the 80s and was converted to a 3SP OD. A nice job, but at 6’5 300, I couldn’t drive it, I had to shift under my thigh.
Knowing the cars historical and sentimental value to me, I wanted to return the car to as original as possible, without breaking the bank. Well, whatever that means..
Engine: Neil Wollam drove across WA State to pick up the original engine and trans at my Dad’s house in Puyallup (Just a few miles from Tacoma and this year’s international meet) to start the rebuild. His “Great Studebaker adventure". 289 Serial number PS4462 was rebuilt.030 over, R2 cam grind. The clearances and condition are excellent! Whew! Love that guy!!
Transmission:Borg Warner was rebuilt by Chuck Tubins with a first gear start (still dialing that in).
Supercharger was rebuilt prior and converted to direct drive pulley.
So now I had a fresh engine and transmission, but it’s way over my head, capabilities, space and the work it will take to return back.
Time to drive up on tow truck. I didn’t trust the brakes for the 2 hour journey to Ferndale WA
Enter Mike (S) and Rich Gahlbeck (Studerich) in Ferndale, WA. I needed the engine and transmission swapped, remount and dial in supercharger, all new brakes, check suspension, return to automatic shifting, paint engine bay, figure out some wiring bugs and found a list of several things to improve. Such as HD front and rear sway bars, adding the missing cross member (yikes) doing some fancy driveline work returning back to a 2 piece driveline and fabricating the carrier bearing housing. Among many more tweaks and safety improvements!
Mike spent many hours tinkering, restoring, painting, scrubbing, replacing, and Studebakering. Rich spent his time figuring out parts and how to dial all this in, including the fuel system, supercharger and driveline situation.
My wife loved the tour of their collections and was eyeing the Champ and the 54 Commander! I lost track of the cool cars and racks and racks of parts they have, but my Goldenhawk was in the best hands I know. They treat it like their own.
The discussion and priority with Mike: The key for me is to make it safe and dependable, so I can hop in and go get groceries or let my wife hop in and drive anytime. I wanted to stay original, but not be obsessed with every clamp, clip and washer to be exact. So if you are looking at the pics and see the wrong hose clamp, or wire, no need to comment as this wasn’t intended to be a perfect concourse winner. I want this to be a great representation and drivable, but not get obsessed chasing. And no, I’m not painting the badass polished supercharger and carb box black! Hey Rich, was there a clear hood option?? This looks cool.
It’s getting closer and just a minute ago a carpet kit arrived at the front door, to replace the hole where the floor shifter was
. I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone as the car is getting closer to being done, to my standards. I will have it in Tacoma as a tribute to my dad. Is it the best GH around? No.. One of them maybe, but to me, who spent 30 years with this car and learning to tinker and sand and restore when I was young… it’s the world’s best, because it was my Dads.
As mentioned before, it was at my daughter’s wedding a few weeks after Dad passed in Mukilteo WA, where the car resides.
See you in Tacoma, look for me. Tall guy who can barely squeeze into the Goldenhawk.
Gordy
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