Buying a Sky Hawk... HELP!!!

[OzarkPetunia]

I've fallen in love with this car and all I know for sure is that I don't know what questions to ask! I have a date to look it over thoroughly in a few days so all I know at the moment is that it's been through a restoration at least once in it's lifetime, the body and chrome APPEAR to be fairly straight (we'll tap panels to check for bad spots when we can get our hands on it), the interior is beautiful, and it's been sitting in a carport for a LOT of years. I'm hoping someone can give me a ROUGH idea of the gas mileage it's capable of, in addition to anything I should watch out for. THANKS!

Fayetteville, AR

[OzarkPetunia]

Thanks to all for the excellent tips! The big inspection day is this Sunday and I can hardly wait. My husband and I have a decent amount of mechanical experience but NO bodywork experience. He had grease under his nails when I met him in college and I was driving my first car, a '64 Dodge Dart, that always needed something but never anything major (still miss being able to cram 6 of my closest friends into the "Party Dart"). My next car was a '66 Mustang that I got burned on by the extent of the rust damage, but it was a good opportunity for him to show me the good and bad of rebuilding an engine in the driveway.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone that's actually driving a Sky Hawk regularly to get an idea of what I'm in for. My current car only gets about 21 mpg and the SUV before that was 16 so it sounds like I'm in the ballpark.

Thanks again, and keep the advice flowing!

Fayetteville, AR

[OzarkPetunia]

Thanks to all for the excellent tips! The big inspection day is this Sunday and I can hardly wait. My husband and I have a decent amount of mechanical experience but NO bodywork experience. He had grease under his nails when I met him in college and I was driving my first car, a '64 Dodge Dart, that always needed something but never anything major (still miss being able to cram 6 of my closest friends into the "Party Dart"). My next car was a '66 Mustang that I got burned on by the extent of the rust damage, but it was a good opportunity for him to show me the good and bad of rebuilding an engine in the driveway.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone that's actually driving a Sky Hawk regularly to get an idea of what I'm in for. My current car only gets about 21 mpg and the SUV before that was 16 so it sounds like I'm in the ballpark.

Thanks again, and keep the advice flowing!

Fayetteville, AR

[StudeRich]

Hi Petunia, welcome to the SDC Forum!
One of the things you always look for on a Stude. is RUST in the lower, REAR edge of the front fender near the door, or poorly none Bondo repair.

Next check under the floor mats for front seat area floor rust.

Then check under the mat in the Trunk floor for rust or poor repair.

Write down the ENGINE Serial number from the left (Drivers) front corner upper machined surface of the engine block. It is NOT raised, but stamped into the machined flat small pad and may need to be wiped clean.

Then write down the body tag info from the small metal plate screwed to the upper firewall on right side in engine compartment.

Next write down the car Serial number on the drivers' (forward) door post, you can compare that to the title's "Vin number".

We will be happy to de-code all these numbers and letters for you to verify that it is all original & correct, OH and they used a letter "I" to indicate a number 1! Just a few things to look for, there's more!

Also, most people do not buy these cars for fuel mileage, they are not bad for their size, weight, and engine size and were better than average in the day, in the 15 to 20 MPG area. But will not compare to smaller, lighter new cars.

StudeRich -Studebakers Northwest Ferndale, WA

[StudeRich]

Hi Petunia, welcome to the SDC Forum!
One of the things you always look for on a Stude. is RUST in the lower, REAR edge of the front fender near the door, or poorly none Bondo repair.

Next check under the floor mats for front seat area floor rust.

Then check under the mat in the Trunk floor for rust or poor repair.

Write down the ENGINE Serial number from the left (Drivers) front corner upper machined surface of the engine block. It is NOT raised, but stamped into the machined flat small pad and may need to be wiped clean.

Then write down the body tag info from the small metal plate screwed to the upper firewall on right side in engine compartment.

Next write down the car Serial number on the drivers' (forward) door post, you can compare that to the title's "Vin number".

We will be happy to de-code all these numbers and letters for you to verify that it is all original & correct, OH and they used a letter "I" to indicate a number 1! Just a few things to look for, there's more!

Also, most people do not buy these cars for fuel mileage, they are not bad for their size, weight, and engine size and were better than average in the day, in the 15 to 20 MPG area. But will not compare to smaller, lighter new cars.

StudeRich -Studebakers Northwest Ferndale, WA

[sals54]

Ozark,
Great news on the soon to be purchase. You may also, check in here with appropriate pricing for the car you are looking at. If you can get pictures, all the better.
On the issue of checking for bondo, you can use a small refrigerator magnet cuz you don't want a magnet thats too strong. A small plastic magnet will stick to metal through paint, but not through bondo. Also, it will not scratch paint unless it is scraped along the body.
Good luck.

[sals54]

Ozark,
Great news on the soon to be purchase. You may also, check in here with appropriate pricing for the car you are looking at. If you can get pictures, all the better.
On the issue of checking for bondo, you can use a small refrigerator magnet cuz you don't want a magnet thats too strong. A small plastic magnet will stick to metal through paint, but not through bondo. Also, it will not scratch paint unless it is scraped along the body.
Good luck.

[Frank Starr]

Pictures will sure help too. Take several with the camera sitting on the ground at an angle looking up at the undercarriage.

Frank Starr
Seattle

[Frank Starr]

Pictures will sure help too. Take several with the camera sitting on the ground at an angle looking up at the undercarriage.

Frank Starr
Seattle

[bob40]

If you can look it over and take a day to decide on buying it the gang here can give the car a review right here.Just a option.

[bob40]

If you can look it over and take a day to decide on buying it the gang here can give the car a review right here.Just a option.

[bondobilly]

All the above are excellent things to check, but some are missing.

Open and close the doors. Make sure you do not need to give either door a bit more force to make it close, and be sure that you are not required to lift the door to close it.

Once the doors are open, check to see if they sag when fully extended.

Since the Sky Hawk and the Golden Hawk are the same body basically they have an extra floor or a sub- floor box running from windshield post to just ahead the rear seat. If the doors sag or require lifting to close, it is and indication that the "second" floor, or sub-floor box(s) are rusted out. At that point you need to decide if you want to go through the expense of having someone repair or replace them. There is also one other place to look for rust. Under the rear side windows is what looks to be the body, but there is another body or tub that makes up the car. Have someone get down on their hands and knees and put one hand up between the outer body and the area under the side window. Over years that does rust out, you cannot see it, and it is a big job to repair.

[bondobilly]

All the above are excellent things to check, but some are missing.

Open and close the doors. Make sure you do not need to give either door a bit more force to make it close, and be sure that you are not required to lift the door to close it.

Once the doors are open, check to see if they sag when fully extended.

Since the Sky Hawk and the Golden Hawk are the same body basically they have an extra floor or a sub- floor box running from windshield post to just ahead the rear seat. If the doors sag or require lifting to close, it is and indication that the "second" floor, or sub-floor box(s) are rusted out. At that point you need to decide if you want to go through the expense of having someone repair or replace them. There is also one other place to look for rust. Under the rear side windows is what looks to be the body, but there is another body or tub that makes up the car. Have someone get down on their hands and knees and put one hand up between the outer body and the area under the side window. Over years that does rust out, you cannot see it, and it is a big job to repair.

[Roscomacaw]

[Roscomacaw]