'56 Golden makes the scene

[Steve T]

Hi all--

I'd been waiting eagerly to see this...



...Hamilton Chapter past-president Wayne Hamilton's lovely '56 Golden Hawk, seen here in Mt.Hope on the day of the April chapter meeting there. Link to more pix of this beauty is below, including a shot of Wayne looking pretty pleased behind the wheel, as well he might! The engine in this Hawk is the correct Packard 352, topped iirc with a pair of 4bbl carbs. Sounds grand, too.

http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Stu...?sort=3&page=1

Cheers all

S.

[j.byrd]

Is that later GT Hawk front side grilles ? Never seen any done that way, guessing a mild custom ? Looks mighty nice, and love the colors.

[JoeHall]

Jack Vines and I checked this car out pretty closely, from the topside. A very tastefully done 56J. The side grills appeared to be 1963 GT Hawk shells, with a dissected piece of a 56-61 Hawk hood center grill, made to fit nicely into each side grill. It had a floor shift, and the shift knob showed: 1-2-3-OD. Not sure what kinda transmission it had though. The AC compressor on the motor looked well thought out also. It also had GT Hawk front seats, upholstered to match the, "correct" pattern the rears were done with.

Someone said the colors were Chrysler, and the owner preferred those to the OEM greens.

All in all, a very nice 56J. But aren't they all

[PackardV8]

Amen, Joe,

A very tastefully personalized '56J and one any of us would be proud to own.

jack vines

[cdn56J]

We drove the car home last night in the rain to Mount Hope, a village within the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Got home at midnight. I was smiling all the way after winning a best in division with 400 points. The transmission is an early '80s Granada with 4th gear O/D. The rear end is a '63 Avanti T/T with 4.09 gears, 2400 rpm at 70mph. Steve is not correct, it only has the original 4 barrel. We had a great time at the meet. My wife, Sharon, drove our '85 Avanti down also. Drive them and enjoy them!

[JoeHall]

We drove the car home last night in the rain to Mount Hope, a village within the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Got home at midnight. I was smiling all the way after winning a best in division with 400 points. The transmission is an early '80s Granada with 4th gear O/D. The rear end is a '63 Avanti T/T with 4.09 gears, 2400 rpm at 70mph. Steve is not correct, it only has the original 4 barrel. We had a great time at the meet. My wife, Sharon, drove our '85 Avanti down also. Drive them and enjoy them!

Congrats on the 400 points, and glad you made the round trip safe & sound. I am sure you saw countless thumbs up and A-OK signs from admirers.

Thanks or sharing the info about the transmission. Sounds like high gear OD is nearly identical to the original OD setup. With T85 transmission and 3.92 rear gears, the OEM setup, and P205/75 tires turns 2500 RPM at 70 MPH actual. A very well set up car you have there !

[junior]

It's cars like these with subtle mods that go totally unnoticed by the regular crowd that I love. Snappy colour-combo...sweet! Awesome that it's a driver too. Cheers, Junior

[PackardV8]

The engine in this Hawk is the correct Packard 352, topped iirc with a pair of 4bbl carbs.

Steve is not correct, it only has the original 4 barrel.

The only other '56J Joe and I saw was a very nice solid red car which did have the 2x4 bbl setup; it was called out on the placard displayed with it as a "dealer-installed option." For true, some of the Caribbean 2x4s were dealer-installed on '56Js and some were owner-installed, but as we all know, it was never a factory sanctioned "option".

jack vines

[spokejr]

Steve,

Shame on you, posting all those great pictures! Now my I-pad's covered in drool!

Thankfully there's a kitchen towel near.

There's only one thing that could make that car any better, parked next to my Avanti!

Ken Buchanan