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1964 Hawk rocker panel moldings - paint or no?

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  • 1964 Hawk rocker panel moldings - paint or no?

    From what I've observed some '64 Hawks have black between the ribs on the aluminum rocker panel moldings and some don't. Of course, those without black between the ribs could have had their moldings replaced between 1963 and now. My '64 Hawk has the black. Does anyone know whether the black on these moldings was originally on all '64 Hawks or was added after the start of production (or the reverse)?
    -Dwight

  • #2
    ...and how about the same for the sail panel molding? My 64 has black between the ribs there, but the rock panel covers don't....
    Last edited by Lou Van Anne; 09-16-2018, 06:42 PM.
    Lou Van Anne
    62 Champ
    64 R2 GT Hawk
    79 Avanti II

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    • #3
      Not sure I have ever seen one with black between the ribs. The panel at the base of sail did have flat black between the ribs. So ditto Lou!

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      • #4
        Mine have had the black in the ribs at the sail panel but no black in the rocker moulding.
        Rob in PA.

        - - - Updated - - -

        Mine have had the black in the ribs at the sail panel but no black in the rocker moulding.
        Rob in PA.

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        • #5
          i have a NOS set of rocker panel mouldings as well as the panels that go on the sails, the sails have flat black and the rockers do not.
          It is an addiction!

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          • #6
            My 64 GT Hawk does not have black paint on the rocker panels and I know that they have never been replaced.
            Randy Ridenour
            Frostburg,MD
            1964 GT Hawk
            sigpic

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            • #7
              I have never seen a '64 Hawk without the black stripes on the C pillar moldings (my 2 '64s have them). But, additionally, my '64 Hawk sn 64V5437 has black stripes between the ribs on the rocker panel moldings (see pic). They are painted on, not tape, and they look professionally done, as if original. This car appears to be original in every way and is a nice survivor. But, I have seen several '64s without the rocker panel black stripes, including a beautiful, perfectly restored Bordeaux Red R2 at South Bend last year.

              Note that the '64 Studebaker dealer full-line book, on page 5/1, shows a white '64 Hawk with what appear to be black stripes on the rocker panel moldings. The stripes on the rocker moldings make sense when one looks at the side grille trim and the C panel moldings.

              So, we have a mystery; why do some '64s have the stripes and some do not?
              -Dwight
              Attached Files
              Last edited by Dwight FitzSimons; 09-11-2018, 05:43 PM.

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              • #8
                Will add my two cents. My '64 does not have the black in the rocker moldings and does have the black in the sails. Rocker moldings are repro, but the originals also do not have the black.

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                • #9
                  Click image for larger version

Name:	64 GT HorGrn.jpg
Views:	2
Size:	129.7 KB
ID:	1723698 an original factory produced picture of a 64 Hawk: what " GTCruiser" said.

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                  • #10
                    Dwight,

                    In all these years, I have never seen the rocker panels painted black.

                    Your white Hawk looks repainted. Maybe they painted the rockers at that time also?

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by studefan View Post
                      Dwight,

                      In all these years, I have never seen the rocker panels painted black.

                      Your white Hawk looks repainted. Maybe they painted the rockers at that time also?
                      My Hawk has been repainted, but I doubt that the rocker moldings were aftermarket painted. A couple reasons: (1) The paint job is an ordinary one, not high end. The body shop wouldn't have done anything they didn't have to. (2) It would have been a time-consuming job to have painted the background (only) on the rocker moldings due to all the masking required. An ordinary body shop (which it was) would have masked only the surrounds of the moldings, then sprayed them, then used lacquer thinner to wipe paint off the ribs. But that is not what I have. Only the background of the molding is painted on my car, no part of the ribs are painted. (3) If it weren't original why would anyone paint the aluminum moldings anyway?
                      -Dwight

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Dwight FitzSimons View Post
                        My Hawk has been repainted, but I doubt that the rocker moldings were aftermarket painted. A couple reasons: (1) The paint job is an ordinary one, not high end. The body shop wouldn't have done anything they didn't have to. (2) It would have been a time-consuming job to have painted the background (only) on the rocker moldings due to all the masking required. An ordinary body shop (which it was) would have masked only the surrounds of the moldings, then sprayed them, then used lacquer thinner to wipe paint off the ribs. But that is not what I have. Only the background of the molding is painted on my car, no part of the ribs are painted. (3) If it weren't original why would anyone paint the aluminum moldings anyway?
                        -Dwight
                        To answer your question - Because they liked the look.
                        Unless a person is the original owner of a car, it is almost impossible to know what has been changed. I can think of two examples of my own. I bought two new Plymouths in the mid-1960s, a '64 Fury hardtop and a '65 Sport Fury hardtop. When they were brand new, I neatly changed the trim paint on the front and side of the '64 and the tailpipes on the '65. I kept neither of these cars more than one year. The next owners probably thought that the cars were all original.

                        EDIT: Some new cars were changed before they were ever delivered new. Think of all of the 1961 Hawks that had the fin stripe repainted before the cars were sold, particularly on white Hawks.
                        Gary L.
                        Wappinger, NY

                        SDC member since 1968
                        Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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                        • #13
                          I agree that not everything that appears to be original is. In 1965 I bought a '63 R2 Hawk. It was a non-full-package car, so had the fender R2 badges, but no grille badge. I went to Foley Motors in Harrisonburg, Va and ordered a '63 R2 grille badge and installed it. It cost between $2 and $3. The next owner probably swore that it came from the factory with that badge.

                          I just looked at my '64 Hawk rocker moldings again. If someone painted them they certainly went to a lot of trouble, masking off not only the tops but also the sides of all the ribs. That would take a lot of patience. I see no evidence of a razor blade having been used (although that would be hard to prove).

                          Anyway, attached are pix from the 1964 Studebaker dealer full-line specs book. It shows what look for all the world like black stripes on the rocker moldings. I don't think those are shadows because no such thing shows up in the pix of '64 Hawks I have taken or found on the internet. Note also that the '64 Hawk in the dealer book lacks the black gaskets around the headlamp rims and side grilles which the production cars had. As we know, publicity photos are taken before all specs are finalized, so can't be used to establish originality. So, perhaps Studebaker's designers (Brooks Stevens) intended the rocker moldings to have black stripes and they never made it to production. But then there is still my car, and the dealer book. I'll continue to look into this very important issue. Inquiring minds want to know.
                          -Dwight
                          Attached Files

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                          • #14
                            Makes me think of when I repainted the black strips on the chrome bumper on my 1954 Mercury. I did not use masking tape, paint remover, etc., I just used a good brush, good paint and a steady hand (decades ago when I was young and steady).
                            Gary L.
                            Wappinger, NY

                            SDC member since 1968
                            Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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                            • #15
                              Please do not misinterpret my postings. I am not saying that it was not possible that the factory may have striped a few of these rocker mouldings. I just believe that it is more likely that the black was done later, perhaps by something as simple as a striping tool/wheel.
                              Gary L.
                              Wappinger, NY

                              SDC member since 1968
                              Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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