Work On The GT Hawk Got Done!

[Stude Shoo-wop!]

At long last I went down to a local shop known as Central Auto Trim and I had carpet for the trunk planned out and commissioned! My trunk will no longer look like this raggedy mess...

[62champ]

Love to have a photo of what it looks like now...but...make sure you keep the half-dozen boxes filled with replacement items "just in case."

[studegary]

Is there a reason that you went with non-original aftermarket carpet rather than the original appearing repro mats that are available for $65 plus shipping?

[Stude Shoo-wop!]

Is there a reason that you went with non-original aftermarket carpet rather than the original appearing repro mats that are available for $65 plus shipping?

I like it better, and I feel as though the material I will be using will be both close enough to the original and more resistant to wear.

[JoeHall]

I have never liked the repro trunk mats either. Unless glued in place, its impossible to get them to stay put. I prefer indoor/outdoor carpet, from Lowes, cut to pattern, and simply laid it in place. That way, if the trunk gets soaked, I can just remove the carpet, drape it and let it drip dry, while the trunk metal floor is also drying. If you drive your Hawk, and get caught in hard rain, the trunk WILL get wet.

[r1lark]

Is there a reason that you went with non-original aftermarket carpet rather than the original appearing repro mats that are available for $65 plus shipping?

See Joe Hall's answer. I agree fully with Joe. The repro mats are pretty crappy IMHO, they are not stiff enough. On my '64 Commander I used some pieces of industrial strength Velcro in strategic places and that helped, but didn't fully solve the issue. For my '64 Daytona, I have some cheap thin grey carpet that will get glued to the bottom of the repro mat, hopefully this experiment will work.

[Kato]

I have never liked the repro trunk mats either. Unless glued in place, its impossible to get them to stay put. I prefer indoor/outdoor carpet, from Lowes, cut to pattern, and simply laid it in place. That way, if the trunk gets soaked, I can just remove the carpet, drape it and let it drip dry, while the trunk metal floor is also drying. If you drive your Hawk, and get caught in hard rain, the trunk WILL get wet.

I keep hearing this about GTs but my trunk stays dry in any rain. However, I cannot get the leaks at the front of the doors at the A pillar to stop no matter what I try!

[studegary]

I keep hearing this about GTs but my trunk stays dry in any rain. However, I cannot get the leaks at the front of the doors at the A pillar to stop no matter what I try!

Assuming that you have replaced the w/s post seal and the upper corner seal, try shimming these rubber parts out about 1/8 inch.

[56GH]

Jake:

There's been quite a discussion about trunk materials for 1962 GT Hawks here on the Forum. See kmolinel posting on 04-30-16, "Trunk Mat Materials."

In the end, you install whatever you want, it's your Hawk. The "Mattex" material (sometimes also referred to as "Burtex") was used on 1962 GT Hawks, not the loose-fitting vinyl rubber hounds-tooth material -- and not carpeting. Mattex appears to be a tightly-woven resin-impregnated paper fiber! They became a mess when they got wet and started to rot and come apart!

Although I haven't seen anyone commercially reproducing the original Mattex trunk mats, close approximations can be made with current materials available from the reference in the previous posts.

See photo attached for what I was told is an authentic original 1962 GT Hawk trunk mat. I've also attached a photo of what I decided to do with my 1962 GT. It's beige because I used it on my previous Mocha and Doeskin 56J. I bought the material in a roll, cut it to fit, and my wife sewed the carpet binding on for me with a regular sewing machine. I also made up the argued spare tire cover!

Looks like you've got a nice car. Interesting color. Are the taillight housings 1964? 1962-1963s were painted body color around the outside (except for the top.)

[Kato]

Assuming that you have replaced the w/s post seal and the upper corner seal, try shimming these rubber parts out about 1/8 inch.

Yes I have replaced those seals so I will try shimming them out. What have you used to do this, thin weather stripping?

[studegary]

Yes I have replaced those seals so I will try shimming them out. What have you used to do this, thin weather stripping?

Thin strips of rubber. Start with about 1/32 inch and work up from there, if necessary. A thin strip of paper can be used as an indicator of gasket compression (push the door mostly closed, not latched). Some areas may require more of a shim than other.

[Kato]

Thin strips of rubber. Start with about 1/32 inch and work up from there, if necessary. A thin strip of paper can be used as an indicator of gasket compression (push the door mostly closed, not latched). Some areas may require more of a shim than other.

OK thanks.. That's on my agenda now for this summer!

[acolds]

I have come to the conclusion that a lot of the weather striping used on Studebakers would seal a lot better if the were thicker like the newer cars use to seal. This would also help with the noise and rattles as anyone who has driven their car without any seals as I did when driving the freshly painted car home from being painted minus seals. The seals are a 40 and 50 design the 70 - 90s style are much improved as they seal over a wider gap range .

[GrumpyOne]

I have never liked the repro trunk mats either. Unless glued in place, its impossible to get them to stay put. I prefer indoor/outdoor carpet, from Lowes, cut to pattern, and simply laid it in place. That way, if the trunk gets soaked, I can just remove the carpet, drape it and let it drip dry, while the trunk metal floor is also drying. If you drive your Hawk, and get caught in hard rain, the trunk WILL get wet.

I've had my PH for over fifty years and it never leaked until ten years ago when the original started to deteriorate. I've never seen a repro for either c/k or sedan fit properly. At best they take several years to "settle in."