Need a golden hawk

[arkie]

Looking for a driver any year will do,thanks . Please p.m. Me, arkie

[LeoH]

Looking for a driver any year will do,thanks . Please p.m. Me, arkie

I can send the url later, check out Reno Nevada Craigslist, there's a 56 GH for sale as of a few days ago. I want to say it was semi-decent looking and pretty much all there from the photos. I was sort of skimming the ad and not studying it, so that impression could easily be way off.

[Gary1953]

There are two 1956 Golden Hawks in Collins, MO. A few miles north of Springfield, MO.
They were on CL a couple of weeks ago.

[JoeHall]

If the OP is looking for a driver, none of the above fit the bill. If he goes to the want ads on the 56 Golden Hawk Register site http://www.1956goldenhawk.com/ , there are several there that fit the bill nicely. They all look to be at fair prices, but some would have difficulty understanding why they cost so much. However, I'd venture to say none of the above cars can be restored for the price of those on the 56 GH site.

Gary Capwell's car, out in Oregon is in the 56 GH want ads for $25,000, and is one of the few turn key 56Js in the country. It also has a 374 in that drives out very nicely, according to what Gary has always said.

[LeoH]

374?! Ooooooooh. Nice.

[arkie]

Thanks joe , will check it out

[SN-60]

Thanks joe , will check it out

In reality, if You want to buy a 'Golden Hawk' to use as a 'driver', the '57-'58 version is the ONLY practical choice for a variety of good reasons. Sorry '56 fans....but a 352/Ultramatic is going to be a good everyday driver???????? Better have a BIG wallet!!

[JoeHall]

In reality, if You want to buy a 'Golden Hawk' to use as a 'driver', the '57-'58 version is the ONLY practical choice for a variety of good reasons. Sorry '56 fans....but a 352/Ultramatic is going to be a good everyday driver???????? Better have a BIG wallet!!

Ed,
Had you began with, "I believe" I would support your right to your opinion. But you began with, "In reality" then expressed an opinion, as if it were fact. In reality, the above is only your opinion, debatable by anyone with 56J experience.

There are many 5J owners today who have driven Ultra equipped cars many miles, i.e. Frank A., Gary C., the guy in Florida who recently used his to (very successfully) compete in the European "Mega Milo", etc.. The one I owned, rebuilt, and drove in the late 1980s is still on the road today.

The main thing I dislike about Ultras is they are what I call finicky. But then, that's also what I dislike about the Flight-O-Matic in the wife's 63 GT. Just my opinions.
My bro-in-law has a 57 GH, dislikes the finicky FOM also, and has been threatening to install a TH350 for years. Just his opinion. Whatever the OP chooses, hopefully its not due to opinions on the tranny, whether Ultra or FOM.

Opinions are like elbows, most folks have a couple. But I am not gonna get sucked into another drawn out, opinionated debate, based on your recollections of "facts" concerning problems of 56Js' Packard drive train, as I watched you lure some others into recently. So I am done now.

[SN-60]

Joe,--I know You love Your '56J's, and that You have the ability to keep one up and running forever. But let Me ask You one simple question: If someone was 'new' to the Studebaker scene, and they decided they wanted to buy a Golden Hawk as a driver......Do You REALLY believe they would be better off driving a 352 Packard V8 powered version, with its problematic Twin-Ultramatic transmission......or would they be better off buying and driving a Studebaker V8 version, with its time tested Flightomatic? Bear in mind the Flightomatic is the same Borg Warner automatic transmission used by Ford, Mercury, American Motors, Jeep, and Studebaker.
P.S.....You may remember that there was a very nice '56 Packard Clipper for sale on e-bay last month.....and the seller said that this car had a rebuilt Ultramatic in perfect operating condition....AND IT ONLY COST HIM FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS TO REBUILD THAT ODDBALL TRANSMISSION!!!!!!!!

[bezhawk]

I had a 56 J in high school....It didn't break me. In fact we have had 4 of them over the years without too many problems. I did split a Dana 44 in half once from the power! I'm going to look at another one this weekend....which will not only be a driver, but pull a trailer!

[SN-60]

I had a 56 J in high school....It didn't break me. In fact we have had 4 of them over the years without too many problems. I did split a Dana 44 in half once from the power! I'm going to look at another one this weekend....which will not only be a driver, but pull a trailer!

As with Joe Hall....... You're a good mechanic that can handle mechanical issues as they arise. Would You also say that all else being equal...and as an everyday driver in 2013....a '56 Golden Hawk would be as dependable and reliable as a '57 Golden Hawk? (esp. with both vehicles equipped with their respective automatic transmissions)

[Dick Steinkamp]

The 56 Patrician I owned had sat for over 15 years before I bought it. I got it running fairly quickly, spiffed it up, went through the brakes, cleaned it up and drove the you know what out of it. I never even changed the trany fluid. I may have been lucky, but that Ultramatic was a smooth shifting trany that did everything just right. As Jack would say, "your results may vary."

[bezhawk]

As with Joe Hall....... You're a good mechanic that can handle mechanical issues as they arise. Would You also say that all else being equal...and as an everyday driver in 2013....a '56 Golden Hawk would be as dependable and reliable as a '57 Golden Hawk? (esp. with both vehicles equipped with their respective automatic transmissions)

Well, in the event of a possible breakdown, the Studebaker parts would be easier to obtain in a timely manner. Other than that, one is not more prone to troubles than the other (if both are COMPLETLY gone through)

[SN-60]

Bez, .......with everything that You've learned about Studebakers and Packards over the years....You're actually saying that a Packard Twin-Ultramatic, as would be found in a '56 Golden, should be as trouble free as a Borg Warner Flightomatic (Model 8) as found in a '57 Golden, as well as (most) all '56-'66 Studebakers? In all seriousness?

[SN-60]

The 56 Patrician I owned had sat for over 15 years before I bought it. I got it running fairly quickly, spiffed it up, went through the brakes, cleaned it up and drove the you know what out of it. I never even changed the trany fluid. I may have been lucky, but that Ultramatic was a smooth shifting trany that did everything just right. As Jack would say, "your results may vary."

Dick, I enjoyed Your video...The Packard looks very nice....as to the satisfactory performance that You received from its Ultramatic....and I'm not trying to be a smart alec here....I would INDEED say that You were lucky.