Stillborn 57J ???

[Roscomacaw]

I can't remember if I posted this before or not. I'll leave it to Craig to discern that.

I was just leafing thru some factory "Engineering Release" forms that I snagged on our impromptu tour of the vacant stamping facility some years ago. Curiously, one of these cards specs out 12 rivets for the "FRAME ENG. FRT. SUPT. BRKT. RIVET (FL. 5/16 x 7/8)" Part No. G104266 Dated 5-10-56 Indicates they're for a 57J "All K"

'57 Packard powered Golden Hawk???

[8E45E]

Maybe not the two door, but the four door hardtop. http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...-Feb-s-already!

Craig

[StudeRich]

Yeah BUT, wouldn't they have called that a '57H-J?6 or 57H-M6? The letter "I" was never used for anything, K is taken, L is taken so maybe "M".

[8E45E]

Yeah BUT, wouldn't they have called that a '57H-J?6 or 57H-M6? The letter "I" was never used for anything, K is taken, L is taken so maybe "M".

"M" was already used in 1934 on what was the 'Limousine'; essentially a regular wheelbase four door sedan with a roll-down divider glass.

You'll have to pick another letter, Rich!!

Craig

[Roscomacaw]

Yeah butt - this little document here - 57J with a capital K

I've got another of these cards in front of me right now. It reads: TACHOMETER DRIVE DIST. UNIT KIT - SPEC ORDERS. Part No. 536834 Models: 57B 57H All C and K

So my question is - was there a chance that the Packard-powered Golden Hawk was going to persist into '57 or not? And when was it decided that they'd go with a supercharger instead?

[BobPalma]

Yeah butt - this little document here - 57J with a capital K

I've got another of these cards in front of me right now. It reads: TACHOMETER DRIVE DIST. UNIT KIT - SPEC ORDERS. Part No. 536834 Models: 57B 57H All C and K

So my question is - was there a chance that the Packard-powered Golden Hawk was going to persist into '57 or not? And when was it decided that they'd go with a supercharger instead?

Probably when they realized they weren't going to be manufacturing Packard V8 engines after mid-summer 1956, Bob. With no big Packards to put them in for 1957, they couldn't entertain keeping the entire new, Packard Utica MI V8 engine plant open to build maybe 4,000 engines for 1957 Golden Hawks.

It's so easy to forget that the main reason the 1957 Golden Hawk got the supercharged Studebaker V8 is because there weren't going to be any 1957 Packard V8 engines manufactured. BP

[SN-60]

Yeah butt - this little document here - 57J with a capital K

I've got another of these cards in front of me right now. It reads: TACHOMETER DRIVE DIST. UNIT KIT - SPEC ORDERS. Part No. 536834 Models: 57B 57H All C and K

So my question is - was there a chance that the Packard-powered Golden Hawk was going to persist into '57 or not? And when was it decided that they'd go with a supercharger instead?

I believe all this really means is someone felt that the 1957 Golden Hawk model letter designation would again be "J", as was the case in 1956....and then someone else decided that with the change to Studebaker power, using "J" again might not be a good idea.

Fact is though, using "H" really didn't cut it either , as the supercharged '57 Golden Hawk, truly was a separate model from the President series. (IMHO)

[Roscomacaw]

Probably when they realized they weren't going to be manufacturing Packard V8 engines after mid-summer 1956, Bob. With no big Packards to put them in for 1957, they couldn't entertain keeping the entire new, Packard Utica MI V8 engine plant open to build maybe 4,000 engines for 1957 Golden Hawks.

It's so easy to forget that the main reason the 1957 Golden Hawk got the supercharged Studebaker V8 is because there weren't going to be any 1957 Packard V8 engines manufactured. BP

SO, while I've probably heard it before - just when WAS it decided that the 56 Packards would be the last from Detroit?

[8E45E]

...using "J" again might not be a good idea.

Then why was it used for '58 Starlights and '59 thru '64 Lark/Daytona hardtops if it was a bad idea?

Craig

[SN-60]

Then why was it used for '58 Starlights and '59 thru '64 Lark/Daytona hardtops if it was a bad idea?

Craig

That's obvious Craig,...The vehicles the OP is referencing here were of consecutive years...AND HAD THE SAME MODEL NAME......Understand?

[Roscomacaw]

Kinda funny - you guys hashing out the finer points of alphabet choices. This since Studebaker really didn't HAVE a firm grasp on the whys and wherefors of body designators. Look at the '37 and '55 models and their related tags. Then there's the really inconsistent streamers and Hamilton's do-what-you-want approach. We won't even talk about the decision after WWII to designate shift and/or station origin of a given body tub by using a punch and hammer to randomly whack a certain number of divits on the body tags.

I initiated this thread cause I wondered if maybe there was more than this here "ENGINEERING RELEASE" card that might have lent further proof that a 57J ("J" as in Packard V8-powered - not hardtop-bodied) was anticipated. In this stack of such cards, there's a number of the specific to a 57J - K. At least one of the cards has a release date of July 2nd 1956 - that's pretty close to the start of production of '57 models. In fact, I think it's safe to assume that parts would already be accumulating for the initiation of the 57 lineup.
Sure, it makes sense that they came to realize there'd be no more 352s to use, my point is that it looks like it was a last-minute decision (and engineering likely had to SCRAMBLE!) if it was into July before someone got a handle on things.

[8E45E]

I initiated this thread cause I wondered if maybe there was more than this here "ENGINEERING RELEASE" card that might have lent further proof that a 57J ("J" as in Packard V8-powered - not hardtop-bodied) was anticipated. In this stack of such cards, there's a number of the specific to a 57J - K. At least one of the cards has a release date of July 2nd 1956 - that's pretty close to the start of production of '57 models. In fact, I think it's safe to assume that parts would already be accumulating for the initiation of the 57 lineup.
Sure, it makes sense that they came to realize there'd be no more 352s to use, my point is that it looks like it was a last-minute decision (and engineering likely had to SCRAMBLE!) if it was into July before someone got a handle on things.

I'll have to re-read my book on the fall of Packard to see what the exact date was when all the banks said 'absolutely NO' to James Nance for financing the 1957 line of S-P products. It seems to me it was well before July of that year when S-P determined that there was no money forthcoming from Wall Street to fulfill their wishes of Packards (and their respective engines & transmissions) being produced in Detroit.

Craig