Heavy Hawk hood. Why.

[parky]

If anybody can give me the straight scoop it will be you guys.
I just parted company with my '55 Cadillac to buy this '62 Hawk.
I'm new to the Hawk world, as if you hadn't already guessed.
The hood weighs a ton. My body shop guy wanted me to look for new hinges and springs, hoping that would help.
Will it help?? I know you can't fight the laws of gravity beyond reason, but what was this hood like when new?
The other side of this question is the search for parts. I'm told that springs and hinges from all '53-'55 C & K and all '56-'64 Hawks were the same. Is that right?
Which manual must I buy so I'll know these things and not have to ask these dumb questions?

thanks
bob

[GTtim]

Hi Bob,
Glad to see you've made a smart choice.
Yes, the hoods are heavy and you have to watch how you open and close them or they will kink. Sorry, it is just one of those lapses in Studebaker engineering that we all look on as 'endearing' these days. Specifically, you need to pull the hood forward slightly as you open it and push it rearward as you close it. The springs really don't help the opening and closing much, they mainly serve to keep the back of the hood down flush on the cowl when it is closed. That's if they are properly aligned, of course.
The books you will want to get are the '59 to '64 Shop Manual, Chassis Parts Catalog, and Body Parts Catalog. A lot of the vendors sell the reprints. Check out http://www.studebakervendors.com/ and above all join SDC. Welcome aboard and bring any 'dumb' question you want here and we will try to help you out.


Tim K.
'64 R2 GT Hawk

[parky]

Tim,
thanks for the info.
I am a member. The first thing I do to support my addiction is to join the appropriate club. I have belonged to Hudson, Cadillac, Model A Ford, and NSRA. My addiction knows no bounds.
I have the shop manual but not the others.

My hood already has a slight kink due to somebody not following your suggestion. Too bad, cause I took it to my body shop for touch-up on the new paint and to repair a dent in the door and to align doors, hood, trunk for a better fit. One of the specialists at the body shop is a whiz at paint and adjustments, but had to ask me what kind of car it was, as the previous owner removed the trunk id plate prior to painting it. The body guy wasn't aware of the design of the hood hinge. Do you think a shot or two of lubriplate would hurt or help anything?

thanks
bob

[rockne10]

"A little lubrication never hurts anything," he said with a grin.[^]

Brad Johnson
Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
33 Rockne 10
51 Commander Starlight
53 Commander Starlight

previously: 63 Cruiser, 62 Regal VI, 60 VI convertible, 50 LandCruiser

[N8N]

Also make sure the nuts are not too tight where the threaded pins on the hood go into the hinge, if your car is so equipped. This can cause the corners of the hood to buckle when raising/lowering the hood... not good! Some cars had castellated nuts and some just had cotter pins. I have a box of the castellated nuts BTW; they are apparently only available from Grainger (they are NC thread and almost all castellated nuts sold/used today are NF) and I had to buy a box of 50 to get the handful that I actually need, so if anyone needs some drop me a line.

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight

http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

[65cruiser]

Nate, everytime you say "castellated nuts" it makes a certain part of my anatomy....hurt[:I]

quote:Originally posted by N8N

I have a box of the castellated nuts BTW; they are apparently only available from Grainger (they are NC thread and almost all castellated nuts sold/used today are NF) and I had to buy a box of 50 to get the handful that I actually need, so if anyone needs some drop me a line.

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight

http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

________________________
Mark Anderson
1965 Cruiser

http://home.alltel.net/anderm

[PackardV8]

1. Make sure there are helper springs the hinges on each side. Half the cars I see are missing these.

2. Check to see if your car has the reinforcing plates welded inside the sides of the hood right next to the hinges. If these were never added, the hood is guaranteed to bend and break right there.

3. Make sure your hood has the J-shaped safety latch in place. If it is working properly, it should be impossible to raise the hood without manually holding it back. Half the Hawks ever built had the hood fly up and wreck itself, usually denting the top and sometimes breaking the windshield.

PackardV8

[Dan White]

The reinforcing plates or Anti Kink Hood Stiffeners are available form Classic Enterprises, http://www.classicent.com/hawk.htm. I might add the inner fender liners they make are a wise investment if the car is to be driven in less than perfect weather. I put a set on my '64 R1 (although the front rear sections they sell will not fit the '63/'64 GTs!) and you cannot even tell they are there.

Dan White
64 R1 GT
64 R2 GT

[parky]

This is terrific. My simple question has resulted in knowing more than I ever thought I'd know about Hawk hoods. Don't stop now. Someday I'll get smart.
The irony of this is that when I sold the Caddy I was going to take a break from the car hobby so I could see where I was heading now that I've been retired for 9 years.
The Caddy hadn't been gone for two weeks and I was suddenly drawn to this Hawk. I rented a trailer and hauled it home. We left two weeks later for winter in Az.
When I returned home to start putting my finishing touches on the car I found out I have lung cancer of the inoperable kind. Now I'm in chemotherapy and get about one good week out of three. During that one good week this car has suddenly become much more important to me than any previous one.
Thanks for all the valuable info.
Bob

[CHAMP]

Good luck with your battle with cancer. I amm a cancer surviver myself. They have come a long way with cancer treatment. Hang in there and don't give up. Cancer survivers are fighters and refuse to lose. A little prayer never hurts. Keep us posted.

GARY H 2DR.SEDAN 48 STUDEBAKER CHAMPION NORTHEAST MD.

[GTtim]

Bob, I don't know where my post went, it started by saying it was a good idea to lubricate the hinge pivots. I wanted to add that a common maintenance item is to replace the hood hinge springs. This doesn't affect the opening and closing much but it will make a difference in how the hood lines up with the cowl. That can be a problem. If you need to take your mind off something, give it over to aligning a hawk hood. Maybe start with the trunklid first, the doors can also occupy a huge amount of time. I say all of this somewhat tongue in cheek of course, but I have truly spent many a happy hour engrossed in the simple task of trying to figure out how these opening panels are aligned with the ones they close to.
Let us know how we can help.

Tim K.
'64 R2 GT Hawk

[diodorus]

While in Connecticut earlier in the week I happened to be under the hood of a 61 Hawk. As I was about to close it I noticed that there were no visible springs running horizontally back to a catch as on my '60. I asked him (Bob B. in Columbia, CT. - GREAT guy; probably some of you know him)in disbelief, "where are the springs?" He pointed out, as they were almost impossible to notice at first, that they travel down into the fender. I stated that mine were arranged differently and asked when Studebaker switched design on this obviously perennial problem. I forget the answer but remember the comment, to wit, some guys use both spring arrangements to make the hood more managable. Anyone seen that sort of set up?
Jim

[N8N]

There are actually four springs for the hood, two that hook straight down to the side of the cowl and two lighter ones that run forward and hook to the inner fenders. Bob Whiten/Whitco Springs sells 'em in stainless which is always nice.

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight

http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

[diodorus]

FOUR SPRINGS?! Oh man do I need to invest in a shop man'l.
Jim

[Ira]

Speaking of hood hinges, anyone know if a later day cars hinges would work on a 60 hawk and hold it open without the stick?