Pardon the interruption

[Chucks Stude]

I have owned three Hawks over the years, but have never seen one with this bar across the trunk, fastened to the hinge supports. Is this something someone has dreamed up, or is it some kind of option?

[studegary]

It doesn't appear to be fastened. I think it is a rod that is used to hold up a shower curtain. They are a spring loaded tube. They are held in place with compression of the spring inside. The bar is probably just there to hold things in place in the trunk.

[Chucks Stude]

It seems to be fastened....

[Bud]

I've never seen a bar like that in any of the Studebakers that I've owned or serviced. The bar must have been installed to keep things on the shelf. Bud

[comatus]

I think it is a rod that is used to hold up a shower curtain.
That's true, but it brings up the question of how many Hawks came from the factory with a shower.
My Studebaker has a bar in the back. I didn't know it was that rare.
I've been working up a plan for a champagne cooler in the console, too, but I have a 007 problem:
I don't really like champagne.

[barnlark]

I've seen some that were leakers, comatus...almost like a shower. <G> Maybe, if one doesn't have the energy to crawl underneath to install a sway bar, it's installed there. Maybe the previous owner was a pro bowler.
Seriously, I agree with Bud. It must be a support of some sort for traveling. Stude parts tend to roll around a lot, you know. Looks like it was done well and not too hokey if it was just for trunk safety. Interesting pic!

[DEEPNHOCK]

Looks like a campus beer case restraint system.

[studegary]

Thanks for the better pictures that disprove my original statement. I still think that it is a homemade piece to hold things in the rear of the trunk.

[Chucks Stude]

Your probably right, I can't imagine that it could do anything structurally, fastenend where they are. One never knows.