1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk
64 years ago Mrs. Butler walked into Mosby-Mack Motors in Topeka , KS and ordered this 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk in white, with a blue interior, blue carpets, twin traction (limited slip rear end), power brakes, power steering, windshield washer, heater, undercoat, radio, reclining seats, Flight-O-Matic automatic transmission, wide whitewall tires, clock, tachometer, special order wide brake pedal and air conditioning. She traded in a 1952 Studebaker Champion. The car traveled with them to live in FL for several years and when she and her husband moved back to New Britain CT, in 1979 the car came with them. The brass plaque on the dash still proudly bears their names Tad and Eleanor Butler, interesting though that only her name is on all the paperwork. She bought the car and special ordered it, but her husband's name is on the plaque first ... funny sign of the times.
Back in CT, she hardly drove the car and it sat in the garage until she passed away, and continued to sit until the early 2000's. Her kids decided to get the car running and had thoughts of restoring the car to it's former glory but finances prohibited that. They did get the seats reupholstered and the car was "recommissioned" so to speak, some brake work was done and it was tuned so it would start, run and drive. This was in around 2012 or so. In 2014 they decided to sell the car as none of the kids were driving it and they figured they'd at least get some money for the car. Mr R came into the picture. He was a Studebaker guy from way back, he loved the Brooks Stevens design and his wife had passed a couple years previous, he needed something to bring him out of the doldrums of that loss. His son tells me that he was so excited to get into this car. It brought him out of that funk and he truly enjoyed life again. It is amazing what cars can do for so many of us. He was able to enjoy this car for several years until he passed just a couple of years ago. His son decided to get the car back to a better running condition and had some work done at the Paddock here in CT and Studebaker whisperer, guru Bob Belling's also here in CT. Bob cleaned up under the hood, deep cleaning everything, repainting the valve covers, the York AC compressor and the power brake booster, but the engine, with only 44000 miles, was not broken open, just tuned. It was decided that, due to the originality under the hood, everything on the interior original aside from the seat upholstery, he would keep the paint original, with only some slight touch ups here and there. There are multiple small chips and rubs but that is the original character of this nearly all original car. She gets more admirers than the fully restored beauties.
In essence, this car is an original time capsule. Several Studebaker club members have used the engine bay as a model for what a 62 GT Hawk should look like.
You can hop in, tap the gas, turn the key and the 289 4 BBL fires right up. She sounds great through the true dual exhaust.
The Flight-O Matic shifts well, power steering works smoothly and the power brakes are typical of power drum brakes from the early 60's, a little touchy but they work well.
The radio does not work and the clock doesn't work. All the other gauges do work, the wipers, work, lights, (the right blinker is finicky - working a couple times while I was with her and not another time), the heater works and most importantly, the AC works! I photographed the car on a 97 degree day and it was blowing cool .. it may need a recharge, it may have simply been too darn hot, my newer car's AC was having a hard time keeping up.
While the white paint may not be perfect, the body is rust free and only surface rust is present on the undercarriage. Many bushings and steering components were replaced by the Dad.
This a great 2 owner, original Gran Turismo Hawk with a great story. This car lifted the spirits of a man who had lost his wife and gave him reason to get up and get out and enjoy the ride. He took the car to shows with his son and had a blast with the car.
It's now time for this car to enrich the life of someone else.
The asking price is $15,900
Any questions, for many more photos and video to schedule a time to see in person, or to just make an offer, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for the interest!
