Paint: Hawk Valance color

[wdills]

I finally made it to the Museum for the first time today. Since I am restoring a 61 Hawk, I was checking out the one in the museum in as much detail as I could from behind the ropes.

I noticed that the front valance and the little fill piece behind the bumper that screws to the bottom of the front fender were both painted the same silver color as the sheet metal inserts in the side grills.




Are these items supposed to be silver? They are body color on my project and parts car.

Thanks

[bezhawk]

61's were silver. No rhyme or reason, one year only. Other years were body color. Some years had black in the inside (GT Hawks?).

[Clem64]

Our '61 is original paint (Dessert Sand), and yes the area you are asking about is silver. The entire valance piece is silver. It's the same color as the flats in front of the side grills. It might be what they call Argent Silver?

[wdills]

Thanks for the confirmation. Glad I went to the museum and saw that. I would have never thought to ask about the color of those pieces, They look like they should be body color. In fact they look a little odd in silver.

Amy other pieces on the 61 Hawk body that are not supposed to be body color?

Wayne

[jg61hawk]

The rims are also a silver color not body color. I also have a 61 hawk I try to keep it as close to factory as possible but for me the air deflector painted silver made it look like I bought a used piece from a junk yard and stuck it on. I'm sure that motivates you to keep it original....just my opinion. The silver by the grills and silver rims I actually have grown to like. Ed Reynolds has a book 90 percent photos called Hawks. It details the colors and quirks of each year. You know the valve covers are an orange color not yellow.

[RadioRoy]

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that everything in the museum is painted/assembled accurately and authentically. Lots of stuff there was donated and "restored" by whomever.

And in the world of Studebakers, "whomever" often does not do the necessary research to redo things authentically. As an example, the 50 convertible has lots of things wrong with it, including the chrome rims around the grilles.

[studegary]

Thanks for the confirmation. Glad I went to the museum and saw that. I would have never thought to ask about the color of those pieces, They look like they should be body color. In fact they look a little odd in silver.

Amy other pieces on the 61 Hawk body that are not supposed to be body color?

Wayne

The accent stripe at the lower fin is correctly off-white/ivory on all 1961 Hawks. You will see many painted to match the interior as many were modified like that including at the dealer before original delivery.

[E. Davis]

You are right. I have an original factory production photo of the 61 Hawk and the valance is silver and the stripe is ivory even on the white models. I can see why anyone would want to paint the valance because that color is god awful and does nothing for the car. Big Big design mistake.

[wdills]

Thanks to all. The more I think about it, I think mine are going to be body color. I just don't like that argent silver. The car is not going back completely stock anyway.

Wayne

[Clem64]

I agree, the ivory colored fin stripe is just a bit too bland. I have seen some '61s that the owners repainted the stripe in red and it looks very good. Yes, the wheels are silver also.

[unclemiltie]

While I know mine on my 61 was originally silver as it was a one owner never repainted car, I painted mine blaze red just like the rest of the car as I just did not think it looked good silver. This of course is my opnion