Trunk Lid and Fin

[Dudorino]

A tornado put a pretty big dent in my trunk and driver's side fin before I got the car last month. I've considered taking it to a body shop, (since it's going to need to go there anyway for paint), getting a replacement or trying to fix it myself.

What do you recommend that I do?
Or... does anyone have a decent trunk lid and/or fin for a 57 Hawk they'd want to sell me?

[Peanut]

Both of those are bolt on pieces, and I suspect that taking the dents out would be inordinately difficult due to the tight confines of the fin, and the dual layers of the trunk. As much as I hate to see potentially good metal lost, these two panels should probably be written off. Any bodymen (or bodywomen) feel otherwise?

[JoeHall]

Probably most cost effective to replace than try to repair. Still plenty of trunks and fins out there, but you may need a little patience in finding them.

[52hawk]

Studebaker International has some NOS fins,I'm not sure what years they have. 317-462-3124

[StudHawk60]

I always thought the decklid off a 53/54 looks pretty cool on a finned Hawk.

[Dudorino]

I've tried looking up the part numbers in the Body Parts Catalog, but haven't had much luck.

Is the deck lid from a 56 Golden or Silver Hawk the same lid?
Also, will the fins from a 58 work?

Thanks

[woodysrods]

56 has it's own lid.
But 57-61 are all the same.
Fins....57-61 all the same except for trim holes.
Good Roads
Brian

[woodysrods]

Where are you?
Brian

[Dudorino]

Where are you?
Brian

Brian, I'm in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm going to the 2012 meet. Why do you ask?

[Dudorino]

Here's my latest thought...
1. cut out the inner layer of metal
2. reshape the deck lid
3. reshape the inner metal (it is also bent)
4. weld the inner metal back in place
5. and if that doesn't work, hope to find part at the swap meet

Other than a lot of work, how does that sound?

[41 Frank]

You should be able to find what you need at South Bend. I looked for a fin in our stuff yesterday for you but I think we must have sold it.

Brian, I'm in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm going to the 2012 meet. Why do you ask?

[Son O Lark]

56 has it's own lid.
But 57-61 are all the same.
Fins....57-61 all the same except for trim holes.
Good Roads
Brian

Are the fins on the Golden Hawk and Silver Hawk the same (1957-58)? I thought the leading edge was different on the hardtops.

[StudHawk60]

The 57 & 58 GH fins are the same. The 57 & 58 SH fins are the same. The Silver Hawk fins are different from the Golden Hawk fins. The fins used from 59-61 are all the same, but different from the earlier years.

[Dudorino]

Well, I didn't find any of the right fins at South Bend. So, I decided to do a little metal shaping. After several days of body work, the fin is about back in shape.

I also split the inner trunk from the skin and have that pretty well back in shape too. I was glad that I did the trunk -- I found a lot of rust where the skin wraps the inner trunk and on top of the inner trunk itself. There was also a ton of rust on the quarter under the fin. I'm going to seal all of it with POR15. If I don't go the extra mile, I'd be dealing with some pretty serious rust in a few years.

[SN-60]

We are looking at the work of an auto body CRAFTSMAN here folks! When is the last time You saw someone 'skin' a Hawk deck lid?