1959 Silver Hawk, 1960 & 1961 Hawks – Rock River Valley Chapter SDC

In 1959 the Golden Hawk, Silver Hawk and Packard Hawk hardtops are retired. Also gone was the 185 Six and 289 V8’s for Hawks. The only remaining Hawk was the Silver Hawk coupe, only offered in 170 Six or 259 V8. The thinking for the engine changes is to keep Hawk production inline with the new Lark engine offering, making the Hawk more profitable. The V8 version has stainless-steel wheel opening moldings, chrome taillight housings, and stainless-steel roof drip moldings which were not seen on the Six. However chrome moldings were added below the windshield and side windows on both models. Two-tone paint would not be offered on any 1959 Hawks, even though it is commonly seen today. Reclining front seats were made optional in 1959. The fins trim is modified from the 1957 & 1958 Hawks and would be similar on 1960 & 1961 Hawks. 15 inch wheels return as the standard after a one year use of 14 inch wheels in 1958. Note that the car shown is a 259 V8, but it lacks the chrome wheel opening trim and the chrome drip rail trim. These items, if missing in a restoration are hard to find today and most likely accounts for the reason they are missing.

In 1960 Studebaker again offered only one model in the Hawk line, the same coupe offered in 1959, but Studebaker would drop the use of “Silver” and call the 1960 & 1961 just a “Hawk”. For 1960 the 289 cubic inch V8 returned as standard power, the 259 V8 and 170 six would still be offered outside the U.S. Stitching is added to the padded dash and carpet is added to the lower panel of the interior door panels. Split front seats are first offered as an option. Early 1960 V8’s still had the four nut valve covers, but shortly after production started for the 1960 model year, the valve covers changed to the two nut version which would be seen until the end in 1963.

The 1961 Hawk coupe is nearly the same as 1960. Some minor trim changes on the rear fins are made, but the big news for 1961 would be the availability of a four speed manual transmission, Semi-bucket seats and the color band on the rear fins. The export 170 six would use the new overhead valve engine, however no domestic Hawks would be built using this engine.

Tells for 1959 Silver Hawks:

The fender mounted front signal lights are gone and are replanted in the side grille

openings (photo left) . The large center round badge found on the center grille of the 1958, is replaced with a simpler round black background Hawk badge on the lower right of the same center grille. 1959 Silver Hawk is the only Hawks to sport “Silver Hawk” badges on the rear fins. They are moved there from their prior location on the read deck lid. (photo right)

Tells for 1960 Hawks:

The background on that black badge is now red. The rear fins show three chevrons near the door and “Hawk” script with the red background hawk badge near the rear portion of the fin.

Tells for 1961 Hawks:

The rear fins have an additional chrome trim through the center of the fin, creating a color band. The “Hawk” script replaces the 1960 chevrons near the door and the hawk badges move to the back of the fin, pretty much just reversed from last year. The horn ring is replaced with a horn bar.

1959, 1960, & 1961 Hawk Production
1959 Silver Hawk	South Bend	Canada	Export	Total
Coupe (59S-C6) C-body Six	1,942	223	252	2,417
Coupe (57V-C6) C-body 259 V8	4,707	369	295	5,371
Grand Total	6,649	592	547	7,788
1960 Hawk	South Bend	Canada	Export	Total
Coupe (60S-C6) C-body Six	0	0	227	227
¹Coupe (60V-C6) C-body V8	3,117	220	341	4,280
Grand Total	3,117	220	568	4,507
1960 Hawk	South Bend	Canada	Export	Total
²Coupe (61S-C6) C-body Six	0	0	266	266
Coupe (61V-C6) C-body 289 V8	3,719	223	323	3,663
Grand Total	3,719	223	589	3,929
¹All domestic 1960 & 1961 Hawks were built with 289 cubic inch V8’s. Some models sold outside the US were built with 259 cubic inch V8’s.

1959, 1960 & 1961 Hawk Serial Numbers and List Price
Model	South Bend	Canada	Price
Hawk 59S-C6 Six	59S-1,001	59SC-1,001	$2,360.00
Hawk 59V-C6 V8	59V-1,001	59VC-1,001	$2,495.00
¹Hawk 60S-C6 Six	60S-1,001	60SC-1,001	───
Hawk 60V-C6 V8	60V-1,001	60VC-1,001	$2,650.00
¹Hawk 61S-C6 Six	61S-1,001	61SC-1,001	───
Hawk 61V-C6 V8	61V-1,001	61VC-1,001	$2,650.00
Starting in 1959 Studebaker added the model year as a prefix to the serial number and therefore all the serial numbers could start each new model year with 1,001. This numbering system had been seen on the 1957 & 1958 Packard. ¹Only sold outside North America.