production order interpretation.

[wiley]

Can anyone help by interpreting all of thid p.o. some things I don't understand. Thanks in advance.

[Bill Pressler]

Hi Michael,

Your Hawk was originally built in Horizon Green, which was a light metallic green. The "GC" stands for 'green cloth' and vinyl upholstery; the "OD" is overdrive transmission, the "Climatizer" is what Studebaker called their heater and defroster system, and Hill Holder should help you from rolling back on hills. The "Sold Rush" means that a retail customer ordered the car from the Galien, MI dealer. The "Belts L&R" mean seat belts, left and right. The car was built without a radio and was built with blackwall tires, since neither "Radio" nor "White Sidewalls" is listed on the production order form. The car did not have power steering or brakes, either, since those are not mentioned on the form. This means your Hawk was built with drum brakes all around and a single master cylinder.

"Walker" was the name of one of the transport companies that Studebaker utilized. The "Hold for Dealer" meant that Walker shouldn't put the car on a truck, but that the dealer would pick it up in person. I see on the map that Galien, MI is quite near South Bend. On my old '63 Lark the paperwork said "Walker to Hold for Customer". I later found out the retail customer picked the car up at the South Bend plant himself.

They don't widely advertise this (and for the life of me I can't figure that out!), but the Museum can also forward you the "Drive Away Shipper" form for your car, which will also show the name and street address of the dealer the car was sold at, and also will have two different style cards that would tell you whom the original purchaser was. The latter style card will show what he traded in and also what his occupation was. From my experience there, I believe all three of these forms I mentioned could be found within the Museum archive's $25/hour research time, with a quarter for each copy made. I don't believe any other make of car has this kind of availability of source paperwork.

[Bill Pressler]

I see Galien, MI is quite near South Bend. Here's some data on the town:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galien,_Michigan

Wow, I thought I was from a small town. Galien has 593 residents!

Apparently it's pronounced "guh-LEEN".

[SN-60]

I wonder what the 4-speed ----3.73 ratio, that's written in by hand all about?

[Bill Pressler]

Interesting about the 4-speed and 3.73--I saw the scribbling but didn't look close enough to make it out. I wonder if the car was actually built with a 4-speed instead of the OD column-shift 3-speed trans?

[StudeRich]

I wonder what the 4-speed ----3.73 ratio, that's written in by hand all about?

wiley, does your Car have the 3 Speed Overdrive Column shift or the 4 Speed Floor Shift Trans. ?

Due to the late '63 ordered date and since there is no date shipped, this order COULD have been filled from the Factory unsold Car lot and modified after production, or the order changed to 4 Speed & 3.73 Rear before production.

Update: Well what do you know! I found this from 12/27/2011:

Quote wiley: "I took the leap.
I recently posted an inquiry about Hawk GT values. Well today I found out that the vehicle is a 1964 with 4 speed. Ser.no. 64V-I2807. I was preparred to offer 1500.00 but The wonderful, wonderful owner of the car said she was asking 500.00, so what could I do but oblige her. I will pick it up next week and let the bloodied knuckles and dirty finger nails begin, not to mention the grinding of the teeth, graying of the hair and over-all frustration. But hey thats why we have hobbies isn't it?" Unquote

I think I would look for a "hand cut" hole in the Trans. Tunnel!

[Bill Pressler]

Rich, could be, but I think if that were the case, we'd see "Lot 151" or something like it, in the 'destination' block instead of Galien, MI. Maybe "Galien" would have been added later in handwriting or a different font. I wonder if the customer decided on a 4-speed after the initial order was placed? Or, if there was a shortage of overdrives and a 4-speed was substituted? Or, if there was a production goof? There was no ship date on the form as the dealer picked the car up at the plant.

[StudeRich]

It would be very interesting to see the "Shipper" copy at the Museum, to see if the original order was cancelled or not and also if it was not shipped to Galien, MI at all!

[kmac530]

The only thing I would really like to see regarding that cars shipping...is it shipped to my house...lol. I am in love with GT Hawks these day. Most are out of my price range, but that $500 GT would be right up my alley....don't tell my wife.

[wiley]

I paid 500.00 but due to sudden unforseen inflation the cars value has crept up (substantialy). LOL. It does in deed have a 4 speed. The transmission is yellow. Was that the factory color? Also as I have stated before there is no stamping on the machined area of the engine where the id should be. does anyone know who the dealer in Galien may have been?

[kmac530]

I paid 500.00 but due to sudden unforseen inflation the cars value has crept up (substantialy). LOL.

Substantially? I will offer you a 20% profit.....that is $600.00...CASH

[wiley]

Sorry, already scheduled for the body shop this April. Thanks for the offer though.

[Bill Pressler]

I paid 500.00 but due to sudden unforseen inflation the cars value has crept up (substantialy). LOL. It does in deed have a 4 speed. The transmission is yellow. Was that the factory color? Also as I have stated before there is no stamping on the machined area of the engine where the id should be. does anyone know who the dealer in Galien may have been?

Per Bob's Studebaker source, the dealer was:

Con Allen Studebaker Sales, Galien, MI (dealer since 1939)

My hunch is that it would have been the same dealer in late '63--could be wrong of course. I have a hard time believing that in a small town like that, the Studebaker dealer would have changed hands if Con Allen wanted to retire or go out of business.

[Bill Pressler]

Per Bob's Studebaker source, the dealer was:

Con Allen Studebaker Sales, Galien, MI (dealer since 1939)

My hunch is that it would have been the same dealer in late '63--could be wrong of course. I have a hard time believing that in a small town like that, the Studebaker dealer would have changed hands if Con Allen wanted to retire or go out of business.

According to this, Con Allen was a deputy sherriff in Galien in the '20's:

http://northberrienhistory.blogspot....-saturday.html

[kmac530]

Sorry, already scheduled for the body shop this April. Thanks for the offer though.

I was joking, I know it is worth much more, pics after the body shop please.