Is this the most pathetic looking car you’re ever seen?
Found on Facebook Marketplace, location: Poolesville, MD. No other description given. Only 588 of these Packard Hawks were made; who knows how many survive today in any form. Is this example too far gone to restore? Is it about to be “cut up”?
That looks like the original supercharger atop the engine, with the McCulloch emblem still in place!
Side view. Not too many good photos were provided.
I bet that hood is plenty rare.
Twin-finned parking/directional light “rocket pods” were, I believe, shared with the Studebaker Hawk. However, many of the parts on this car were Packard Hawk only.
I’ve never seen that grille guard before–is that a factory original accessory?
If you’re looking for an unobtainium mine, I think I’ve found it!
Someone should act on this soon before it all disappears forever! But how many people are restoring a Packard Hawk right now and need the parts this car has?
See also: 1958 Packard Hawk–“The Most Original Car On The American Road”
I hope someone saves this.
There’s one restored at the Studebaker museum in South Bend.
I think one is enough, cut it up.
There might be more out there, that’s why it should be parted out.
“save the liver…”
What would you restore it with, parts from the other 587 examples?
If there are only 587 others and pats of this well gone one can be used to help at least one other better example keep moving (or get closer to moving), then there’s no higher purpose for this one than to cut it up and try to sell the parts individually, although it’s likely a fool’s errand in time and cost. The other option which this guy is hoping for is to add this to the list of likely at least a few dozen others sitting and rotting somewhere waiting for the day that never comes with whatever parts are needed and NLA.
I’d take pictures of it too if I found it in the junkyard 🙂 thanks for sharing it.
There may have only been 588 of these built, but Studebaker sold this basic car under their own brand from 1953 to 1964, and there were something like 200,000 of those made, mostly in the earlier years, and many of their parts interchange.
This seems largely a question of whether you have enough space to store a whole parts car while you restore your Hawk, or would you rather let this guy in Poolesville use his place to store the car and then later dispose of the bulk of the hulk that’s not useful. Since it seems that this seller makes it his living to pull old cars off of others’ property and then disassemble them for parts (how this is different from “junk yard”, I’m not sure), I’d let him do the work and just negotiate for the parts I needed.
Poolesville, as it happens, is just about 5 miles from where my Grandmother and uncles used to live at what was pretty much the first scenario I mentioned above. Their property was ultimately littered with at least a dozen vehicles that looked a lot like this Hawk (none were Packards though)…all awaiting the removal of parts that would “someday” go toward some as yet unrestored other car. Inevitably, the “other car” also wound up as another derelict and thus the collection grew until all of the humans also passed.
Perhaps some of those vehicles wound up at this guy’s place in Poolesville. A few of those things in the background look a bit familiar.
If this were a ’56 Caribbean, it might be worth saving or parting out, but not a ’58 Packard Hawk.
I find it interesting that the hood and front clip are a different color than the rest of the car, which makes me wonder if this was originally a (much more common) Studebaker version. Kind of like that ’57 Packard/Studebaker mashup wagon featured here earlier this year, with parts from both brands on the same car.
It’s an old saying that just because something is rare, doesn’t always make it valuable. Even without more photos it’s obvious that this car would need a total restoration, or a total rebuild. It depends on what condition the basic body and chassis are in. It might make a starting point for a total custom. I’ve tried to revive a couple of really gone cars and I ran out of steam well before I finished.
I remember encountering one of these Packards when I was a kid, parked on the street in front of a local diner back in ’67. I was amazed by the car, I’d never seen anything like that before, and I’d never heard of a Packard either! I hope that someone can save it, but it won’t be me. You have to really love a car to save it, usually there is an emotional/ family/life time dream feeling that is there.
I’m desperate to find a right front fender and upper rear fins for a ‘58 Packard Hardtop, so I know how hard unique parts are for these cars are to find. I know people are out there who would need that hood and badging. It’s just getting them to this guy before the cut date
If I had a ’58 Packard (or Studebaker) hardtop without the stick-on fins, I might just keep it that way and fill the holes or trim as needed. The non-Hawk hardtop as you likely know was a one year only body style; there was a Lark hardtop from ’59 to ’64 which shares some parts but has a different roofline and rear side window.
There’s a part of me that thinks that even some sort of restomod would be a better fate for this car than to be chopped up. It would probably be impossible to get back to factory stock, especially with such low production and at any reasonable cost. Let someone restomod this thing on this supercool body shell. Just don’t let it go to waste…
I think resto-mod is the way to go here, too. If the entire chassis is too far gone, at least save the doghouse and put it on a decent Hawk body, remove the bolted-on fins and, for god’s sake, get rid of those damn Dagmars on the front bumper. They’re what really makes the ’58 Packardbaker look like a catfish. Without them, it’s not nearly as bad.
Add an LS1 SBC drivetrain, and call it a day.
I’m a bit confused as I followed the link to the ad and it says it’s only for the hood.
Is he just trying to sell the hood for $1200? I like the supercharged engine. It resembles the R2 Studebaker engines, but not the R3s, which had a different compressor mounted outside of the valley between the cylinder banks.
That’s a sad looking car, Rare indeed, especially if was a stick shift which only 23 were produced. Could be saved if you really wanted it., The front nose, hood and decklid were the things that made them different from the other hardtop hawk bodies. Must have no title I’m thinking!
I’ve read the Packard Hawk decklid was actually the same part used in 1953-55 Studebaker coupes and hardtops, with the “toilet seat” fake spare tire holder stuck onto it. Can anyone verify this?
Studebaker was cheap. The new, taller, squared-off trunk lid used starting in 1956 makes it look like there were be additional room in the trunk beneath it, but the inner decklid stamping wasn’t changed from the lower, curvier ’53-55 part, so the trunk didn’t really gain any usable additional height.
A friend and I are probably gonna go see this in a couple of days, as we are fairly close to it. If it’s not too rusted out at the bottom, it could be restored. 98% of the parts are Studebaker, and the Packard Hawk parts are mostly available as reproduction
Neat! If you go, perhaps you can give us an update on what you found.
That is the standard number for the 58’s.
anybody that would cut this up is a moron!
full framed car. one of the mist desirable cars ever built. time to have second thoughts on what this really is.
Unfortunately there are too many morons out there like the guy in Kansas with the Studebaker yard who would cut it up, crush it etc. Just because it isn’t a 57 Chevy, mustang GT or some iconic piece of crap. As a connisiour of anything automotive odd and unusual, l say save it! You will always find a market in today’s world
This one looks awfully rough, but it looks like the important parts are there. As noted above, most of these parts will interchange with other Studes, so only the fiberglass front end, the decklid toilet seat and the interior trim pieces are critical. Finding one with the supercharger still there is a plus, too. I, of course, am WAY past the time when I might contemplate such a thing – and even in my prime, such contemplation would surely have led to about six kinds of disaster. But it’s fun to dream.
Actually, I think my tastes would run more towards a 57 Packard Clipper wagon. Those might even be more rare than these (though I am guessing).
In 1958, 588 people cared enough to put down their money for a new one. They are probably all dead now. Most people today don’t care. Restoring this one is a fools errand. Part it out or restomod it.
My friend called and found out the car is in either Georgia or Tennessee ( I can’t remember which), and as pointed out by others, the price is for the hood only. I’m pretty sure I know the guy selling it, he is known to part out rare cars because he makes more money that way.
It is a rare car and contrary to what some people believe, they actually are desirable cars and I think they had the 375 ci supercharged Packards engine in them. Many parts are available as they were Studebaker coupes with different nose and trunk lid and interior. It’s sad how there are people who automatically say to cut it up no matter what it is or how rare it is unless it is a 55-57 Chevy.
If you love it, let it go.
It’s like not being an organ donor, there’s alot of people that need your help.