First Step of the New Project

[SilverHawkDan]

So I had the Bel Aire up to the shop today. Since the Power Hawk is also a 1956 model I though some side by side pictures would be interesting and cool. SO enjoy the pictures:





So now you see why you don't see people racing the tri fives in land speed racing. Next to the Hawk that thing is a brick. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Dan

[SilverHawkDan]

rkapteyn,

Take it or not. Your choice. As for getting clocked at 130 mph I guess you were never 16 and stupid. Sorry you missed a great time to live and grow.

The Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth shop manuals tell a different story for tapered axles. And since they built much more powerful and much heavier cars with a LOT more torque (think 392 Hemi) I think they knew what they were talking about. SO do what you feel comfortable doing. And I will do the same. We can agree to disagree and still love the brand.
Dan

[sweetolbob]

Same color and year Chebby I owned. First car except it was a 210 post. Still love the looks but a 53/54 Stude was the what I lusted after for quite a while.

Bob

[mbstude]

The Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth shop manuals tell a different story for tapered axles.
Dan

That may be true, I don't know. But since you're working on a Studebaker, not a Mopar, following a Mopar shop manual may not be the best idea.

I've seen a couple of rear tapered hubs with grease on them, and the issue is that the slipperiness makes it easy to overtorque the axle nut, which causes the hub to ride too far onto the axle shaft, and it splits the hub. May not be a problem on Mopars, but it certainly happens on Studes.

[Buzzard]

[QUOTE=SilverHawkDan;1064262]rkapteyn,

Take it or not. Your choice. As for getting clocked at 130 mph I guess you were never 16 and stupid. Sorry you missed a great time to live and grow.

Dan, When I was that age I had just tuned up my GT Hawk and took it onto our Trans Canada highway nearby to see how it was performing. Well the cop that clocked me around 90 mph was all excited and stated I was the fastest guy he had ever clocked. I said he should have nailed me 30 seconds earlier as I would have been his all time record.
Bill

[SilverHawkDan]

mbstude,

The thing is I raced Studebakers for eight years (1966 to 1974) and ALL of them had a thin layer of chassis grease on the axles. I never had a problem. But of course I was taught at age seven how to use a torque wrench so maybe that is why I never had an issue. So I guess we will see how things turn out with the Power Hawk. It is slated to go 75 mph by months end in some aero testing.
Dan

[mbstude]

mbstude,

The thing is I raced Studebakers for eight years (1966 to 1974) and ALL of them had a thin layer of chassis grease on the axles. I never had a problem. But of course I was taught at age seven how to use a torque wrench so maybe that is why I never had an issue. So I guess we will see how things turn out with the Power Hawk. It is slated to go 75 mph by months end in some aero testing.
Dan

Okay Dan, my apologies for saying anything. Good luck with your project.

[Noxnabaker]

Just now I saw the Chrysler picture & though "-62 NewPort!", as we had a 4-door in the 90's as daily driver for some years & I can easily say it was the best car I ever had, not mint condition - just a rough driver, & even in the snow it was impresive for the size & weight + auto trans.
(& when it came down to getting gas for cutting & welding on our first tug it swallowed 2 sets of tubes in the trunk easily & the car didn't even notice... )

[S2Deluxe]

My project for later this year followed me home yesterday. It was the most harrowing car pick up I have ever experienced. That says a lot as I have picked up over 300 cars in my lifetime. I don't have time to share the whole story right now but will do so soon. Here is the foundation for what will be a 200 mile per hour 1957 Golden Hawk clone.


More about the project in the future. Oh and YES it will be Studebaker powered.

The rules call for us to use a Golden Hawk hood with the fiberglass overlay and rear fins. So we are looking to trade this ONE YEAR only hood for the hood and fins we need. The hood is in excellent shape. If a trade cannot be made we will be selling this hood to help pay for the parts we need. Anyone interested?
PM me.

Update: The plans have changed. Got a ruling from an official and it turns out that hood scoops are allowed for the class. Therefore there is no need to use a GH hood and overlay. So any standard Hawk hood will work. << Why not keep the Power Hawk hood? >> The plans are being modified as I type this and the new plans will be ready soon. The car will NOT be a GH clone. << Why couldn't it j just be a 200 mile per hour 1956 Power Hawk? >> Don't want to have to deal with the drama people.

That being said the hood and trunk lid and the chrome on top of the rear fenders and other parts of the car will be made available to purchase. Any deal on the hood and fenders will have to include replacement hood and trunk lid or at least a solid lead on them. So PM me if you are restoring one and want to top quality parts.
Dan

<< Although the '56 hoods and trunk lids are scarce, the actual differences aren't all that dramatic. If you can use the pre - 1957 doors, with the scallops, I don't see why the hood and trunk lid won't work? If you need to add fins, they won't prevent you from doing that? Soo, Dan, what is it I'm missing? >>

Mark

[SilverHawkDan]

mbstude,

No need to apologize as I like the comments and right now I am feeling the need to explore this further. I always love a challenge and this issue presents one. So this week when I pull the Hawk in the shop I am going to revisit this set up. It has been years since I worked on one and although I do remember doing the work I don't remember details. I am in no way saying I know it all or even that I know best. I just figure that if anyone should have had a failure it should have been me. I drove my cars hard and raced everything I ever owned so I was bound to have happen to me. Heck I had a lot of everything else happen to me. I broke a lot of stuff in my younger and crazier days. So I will keep everyone posted as I explore this further.

Mark,

The original plan was to run a Golden Hawk as I think they are great looking cars and of course came with a factory supercharger so it was a natural in my opinion. But since some people whined about using a coupe instead of a hardtop we took a different path. Since this car is going to be a race car I am offering the one year only hood and deck lid so that someone who is restoring one can have the correct parts. The car will be logged in the book as a 1957 Silver Hawk for the sake of the rules but we are going to paint Flight Hawk on deck lid as a tribute to the guy I am building it for. Sorry for the confusion but sometimes your plans get set sideways by someone who would rather be petty then encourage you to go out and break their record. Saddest part is the guy is a Stude guy. Oh well. Look for more in the coming months as this project moves forward.
Dan

[SilverHawkDan]

Made the first trip in the Power Hawk. 26 miles one way. Everything was fine until a block from home the throttle linkage fell off. I guess the guy forgot to tighten it when he rebuilt the carb. Put the washer and nut back on and tightened them. Good to go. Wife took this picture from out stairs landing last night.
<a href="http://s125.photobucket.com/user/dieselguy2006/media/The%20Golden%20Flyer%20for%20Bonneville/The%20Power%20First%20Trip%2025%20miles%207-21-17_zpshaqtltic.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p56/dieselguy2006/The%20Golden%20Flyer%20for%20Bonneville/The%20Power%20First%20Trip%2025%20miles%207-21-17_zpshaqtltic.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo The Power First Trip 25 miles 7-21-17_zpshaqtltic.jpg"/></a>
Took the car to the Donut Derelicts gathering this morning and all was good. Car was a big hit. People just love the looks of the Studebakers.

[Buzzard]

Great progress Dan. However I couldn't get a picture to load.
Bill

[Noxnabaker]

Pictures didn't work here either, just a lot of numbers...

[SilverHawkDan]

Lets see if it works this time.
Dan

[Noxnabaker]

YEP!!!
& a really cool angle too!