It Was Meant to Be… 1960 Studebaker Hawk

It Was Meant to Be… Neil and Ruth Bell’s Story

Growing up a car guy in Ottawa, Ontario in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Studebakers were a part of life. Sunday night after our Church Teen Group Meeting, we’d pile into a (Lark/Cruiser/Daytona?) and go to the Royal Burger. It was distinctive because the dashboard and gauges were all lit in red. When I was pumping gas at Sears, a customer’s black ’62 GT Hawk with gold trim, 4 speed and supercharger made a lasting impression. I thought it was one of the most beautiful and hottest cars on the road.
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Fast forward to Phoenix, Arizona, 1989. Out for a bicycle ride, I chanced on the Orphans Car Show at Los Olivos Park. Studebakers were well represented and I now saw finned Hawks alongside the Grand Turisimos and the fins did it for me. I said to myself, if I was ever to make a street rod, I would do it with a finned Hawk, put modern running gear in it and make it a driver. That became just a pipe dream on the bucket list with no thought it would ever happen.
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Fast forward again to the summer of 2010. At the car wash, I picked up the Highline Autos Magazine. Looking though the Classic Cars I saw an ad for a white 1960 Studebaker Hawk, 350 Chevy crate motor, Turbo 350 transmission, aluminum radiator, power steering, custom burgundy interior, Lecarra steering wheel, VDO gauges, Vintage Air and American Racing wheels. I took the magazine home to Ruth, told her about the pipe dream on my bucket list and said: “Look Honey, it’s already done!” We went online to the dealer that was listed in the ad and searched his inventory.

The Hawk wasn’t there! We looked at the magazine again. It was 6 months old. Oh well! But the seed was planted.

If we couldn’t have the car, maybe we could have a model. We searched online and found 1/18 scale die-cast Golden Hawks. I ordered a black and white one and Ruth ordered a red and white one. The models arrived that fall.

January 2011, we won tickets from KSLX Classic Rock radio station to the first MotoExotica auction to be held in Phoenix on January 15th. The auction site was way on the other side of town, about a 40 mile drive. Before driving out just to watch, we went online and checked the inventory. There it was! A Black 1960 Studebaker Hawk. The pictures looked good so we had to go to see one in the flesh. It looked fantastic! All black, laser straight. The owner came out and started it up. Wow! 350 Chevy small block with a 4 barrel carb and a big cam. The idle was awesome.

The tires looked good. Chrome mag type wheels. I got behind the wheel and there on the console was a photocopy of the ad we had seen 6 months before! It was the same car! He had just finished painting it black the week before. He said he had a black 1960 Hawk himself and couldn’t sell the white one sitting beside his black one. People said: “If only it was black….” So he decided that instead of doing any further restoration, he would paint it black and sell it. He assured us it was a great driver and we would really enjoy it. I asked about a reserve and the reserve he stated was close to what the Hawk was listed for in the ad.

What to do? We certainly did not go out with any intention to buy nor had any financial plans for this. But the black Hawk took our breath away and since it was the same car we had seen in the ad 6 months earlier, we felt it must be a sign. All we knew was we had enough room on our American Express card. I asked Ruth: “Considering our circumstances and that this is spur of the moment, what was the maximum you would be comfortable with if we actually won the bid?” She gave me a figure and I went to register to bid.

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