61 Hawk fin strip mouldings..Why??

[E. Davis]

What is the purpose of the 61 Hawk fin strip mouldings. My 59 Silver Hawk didn't have them and in fact I have seen some 61's that don't have them. This obscene add on looks cheap and many studebaker neophytes think its something the owner put on to cover a bad body job. Why can't these be removed and the seam they cover filled with something. Anybody out there ever tackled this problem or heard of anybody who has. I'm thinking about a new paint job and would like to fix this abomination before that happens.
E.D.

[DEEPNHOCK]

I beg to differ.
This trim adds elegance and class to the 1961 model year.
If you don't like the trim, just take the fins off.
These pieces of trim add many thousands of dollars in value to the 1961 Hawks.
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by E. Davis

What is the purpose of the 61 Hawk fin strip mouldings. My 59 Silver Hawk didn't have them and in fact I have seen some 61's that don't have them. This obscene add on looks cheap and many studebaker neophytes think its something the owner put on to cover a bad body job. Why can't these be removed and the seam they cover filled with something. Anybody out there ever tackled this problem or heard of anybody who has. I'm thinking about a new paint job and would like to fix this abomination before that happens.
E.D.

http://community.webshots.com/user/deepnhock
Note: SDC# 070190 (and earlier...)

[Steve T]

Why the extra trim strips? Change for change's sake, basically, so that a '61 Hawk would be visibly different from a '60. Stude by that date was doing anything they could to do "new" on the cheap...because they had to. The real alterations would come the following year with Mr Stevens' inventive facelift of the Hawk into the Gran Turismo hardtop. The upside, of course, is that you could, for instance, stick the plainer '60 fins onto your '61...so many things are interchangeable on Hawks.

(But that, as Jeff points out, would take many thousands of dollars off the value of the finished car...)

S.

[S2DSteve]

Are you talking about the strip that covers the seam on the top between the fin and the fender? If so, all the finned Hawks came with those. Many have been filled in over the years, but that would not be "correct" for a restored car.


Steve Hudson
The Dalles, Oregon
1949 "GMOBaker" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
1953 Champion Starliner (custom/rod project)
1954 Champion Coupe (daily driver)
1960 Hawk (future project?)

[E. Davis]

I stand corected. Thanks for the input.
E.D.

[Chantony]

Earle,I'm pretty sure it was standard on all 61 Hawks.If it wasn't there ( the thin strip that was a couple of inches above the lower outer strip),then I suspect it " went" during a restoration or the owner didn't like them.I've had two '61 Hawks and both cars had them.There was usually a plastic mylar insert in between the lower side mould and this strip to kind of give a sporty flash.Studebaker may have thought the extra glitz was needed as they were offering the four speed as well in this year.
I didn't mind them,but choose a color that goes well with the main body color and they do look good.There is the odd piece of mylar out there in stick on rolls,but it is not something you drag heavy objects against.I've seen it in gold,but can't recall it currently available in different colors.
Maybe some vendors have it??

A.C.Moisley

[StudeRich]

It is very hard to tell if the topic here is the fin to body seam filler strip on the INSIDE of the fin or one of the actual stainless trim mouldings on the outside of the fin.

But the inside body color one and the outer lower trim ARE required outherwise you would have an ugly open edge, and in production you don't fill something as large as that making it impossible to replace the fin.

The small upper Stainless Trim Moulding only used on '61's, was another thing entirely, that was to destinguish a '61 Hawk from it's predicessors the '59 Silver Hawk and the '60 Hawk, in other words a cheap facelift. Also to add a color stripe.
The foil thing on the fin must have been a Australian Studebaker assembler's trick Tony, is there more than ONE of them?

StudeRich

[N8N]

just take the fins off altogether and use 'the '55 fender stainless and taillights

Actually, I wonder if the '57-61 taillights would look OK without the fins. I suspect that they would, but I have not seen a car so equipped.

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight

http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[ddub]

I've always found that stripe below the fin (if that's what we are talking about) to be attractive. Different strokes.

Don Wilson
53 Commander Hardtop
64 Champ 1/2 ton
Centralia, WA