1957 Golden Hawk hot rod

[Poppicat]

I picked up a 57 Golden Hawk recently that is a great driver, converted to a 4-speed back in the late 60s and with traction bars added. It was owned by a couple of brothers for over 50 years. They had a custom shop in Hagerstown, MD. called “Berger’s Auto Custom Shop.” They raced all sorts of cars and were into high performance engine building. This car is no cream puff body wise, but the previous owner spent a fortune getting all the mechanicals rebuilt. The car has the supercharger intact and rebuilt and it runs like a bat out of hell. The 289 is not the original the car came with. The engine number is P20247(I think; kind of hard to read, but definitely not a “PS” designation.
Anyway, sifting through the paperwork, I found some interesting information that
may give some clues as to what they did with the engine back in 1964, Below is that info. Can anyone decipher what all the numbers mean?

[r1lark]

The two cards are the data sheets for the balance of the reciprocating assembly (crank, rods, pistons, etc).

[StudeRich]

I knew two Brothers named Berger, one was Dick and I forgot his Bro's, Name but in the 70's they lived in Southwest Los Angeles area,
I think Dick owned the "Lethal Lark" a 2 Door Sedan (1960?) and one of them bought a Lark I looked at to buy and did not in Palos Verdes, CA, it was a '63 Green Mist, R2 Daytona Skytop with a H.D. Flight-O-Matic !

I think the Stude. Community is too small for there to be Two Pairs of Stude. Racer Brothers named Berger !
Do you know if they Survive ?

[StudeRich]

Much Later, I learned that THIS Skytop was THE Only one built that way !
One of the few that "Got Away" !

If it was not that Light Metallic Green, I might have owned it til Today!

[StudeRich]

If you still have That same Engine as at least SOME of it was before the Re Re-Build, it's ONE HOT Tamale!
It has High Compression Jahn's Racing Pistons, 1/8th. Inch Overbore, Racer Brown Lifters and probably Camshaft.

Parts of the Custom Build details were noted on the Balancing Weights Sheet. Tri-Metal Bearings, the WORKS!
COOL !

[aardvark]

What a beauty.

[Poppicat]

Based on how it runs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the most recent rebuild followed the same specifications as the one from 1964. I’m going to try and contact the shop that rebuilt the engine and ask if they have any information on the car. Engine was rebuilt in 2019.

[Poppicat]

I believe one brother is still alive in Hagerstown, MD. Their names were David and Robert Berger.

[StudeRich]

No that must not be the same Guys, but maybe related.

[Poppicat]

I contacted the shop that rebuilt the engine and asked them if the rebuild was beefed up in any way. The name of the shop is Golden Idol Customs in West Wyoming, PA. Below is their response:

“Hello Nick
The engine was bored out to 304 and we had to use mopar 440 pistons.I really liked that car and hoped someone gives it the restration it deserves.Thank you and good luck.
Keep me posted
Thanks,Jack


Hello,
My name is Nick. I own a 57 Studebaker Golden Hawk that your shop worked on in 2018-2019. The engine was completely rebuilt among many other components. I’m trying to find out if it was a stock rebuild or was the engine beefed up in any way. It has the 289 V8 with a supercharger. It runs amazing and is very fast!! At idle it sounds like the cam is upgraded. The owner at the time was David Long.

Let me know if this car is familiar to you and what was done to the engine.

Thank you, Nick“

[r1lark]

Good deal! He has an interest in the car, so you can probably get more specific details from him as far as cam grind, compression ratio, etc.

[PackardV8]

I contacted the shop that rebuilt the engine and asked them if the rebuild was beefed up in any way. The name of the shop is Golden Idol Customs in West Wyoming, PA. Below is their response:

“Hello Nick
The engine was bored out to 304 and we had to use mopar 440 pistons.

Better ask again. Boring the Studebaker V8 .093" to 304" results in a 3.655" diameter bore. The one absolutely certain fact is they could not have used Mopar 440" pistons, which are 4.325" diameter.

jack vines

[Poppicat]

I reached out and asked again., waiting to hear back. It was five or six years ago, so maybe has it confused with another other vehicle

[bezhawk]

Perhaps Mopar 273 pistons? I use those for rings for the R3 builds.

[Poppicat]

The shop got back to me:

”Hello Nick
I may be wrong about the 440 but I know they used mopar pistons.The largest size that we could get at that time was 60 over
Thanks,Jack“

[PackardV8]

Perhaps Mopar 273 pistons? I use those for rings for the R3 builds.

For true, Brad. The 273" Mopar pistons are close in bore diameter and compression height, but what has kept me from trying them is they have a .984" wrist pin versus the Stude .875". Would you feel it safe to bore the Stude rod small end .109" oversize? That's quite a bit of material to take out.

In any case, we anxiously await further details.

jack vines

[PackardV8]

BTW, AFAIK, Egge Machine is the only source for Mopar 273" pistons and they're currently $715 a set. At that price, I'd have custom forgings with Studebaker wristpin diameter made up.

Also, Brad, you mentioned you use the 273" Mopar rings in your R3 builds, but with what pistons?

FWIW, when anyone asks me about building an engine with the R3 304.5" bore diameter, I explain how much more that last .033" of larger bore diameter is going to cost over the .060" 299" build, catalog pistons versus custom. One doesn't have to be a CASO to understand the tradeoffs.

jack vines