It Ain’t Easy to Hawk a One-Off Rumble-Seat Studebaker

Back in late 1960, if you were to walk into the nearest Studebaker dealer to spec your new Hawk, you could have ticked the boxes next to things like air conditioning, fully reclining front seats, tinted glass, seat belts front and rear, a tissue dispenser, a push-button transistor radio, a Skytop sunroof, and much, much more. Nowhere in that "much, much more," however, would you find a rumble seat.

Studebaker never offered such potentially lethal accommodations from the factory-especially not in a car that already had a rear seat-but Frank Hilker, an enterprising dealer in Chicago Heights, Illinois, certainly gave it a go. He reportedly sent a pair of Hawks and a pair of Larks south to the nearby town of Bradley, where brothers Len and Corky Cooley customized them with the unique feature.

It seems that Hilker hoped the custom Studes would help drive traffic to his shop on Halsted Avenue, and that perhaps Studebaker might consider a factory conversion. It's not clear if the increased traffic actually drove sales, but it is clear that the factory never considered taking up the endeavor.

If you're the type who wonders "Where are they now?" well, here's one. This '61 Hawk is currently listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace for either $35,000 or $50,000, depending on which part of the ad you're inclined to believe. But it's certainly not a new listing, as previous attempts by the Michigan seller to offload it on Facebook go back to at least July 2022, when Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) forum members first flagged it for discussion. (Credit for bringing it back to our attention goes to barnfinds.com.) Back then it had a $40,000 price tag, but the text of the ad is otherwise unchanged:

"1961 Studebaker Hawk, one of a kind. Has built in rumble seat. 2 were made, this is the only one left. Excellent shape. 63,000 original miles. Interior great condition. Very clean car. Engine 289 CU / 259 HP 4 barrel Auto trans. All chrome and badges are excellent with zero rust on body. Reason for selling, can't drive anymore."

In the limited number of photos, the car does appear to be in pretty good (not excellent) shape, though the bloom has definitely fallen off the restoration, which was done in the 1970s, when the car was painted in its present Flamingo colorway. These days, a "regular" Studebaker Hawk in #1 (Concours) condition will run you close to fifty grand. It's hard to price one-offs, especially when there's no factory connection, but given this car's failure to sell for so long, it's hard not to think the asking price is ambitious. Facebook probably isn't the right venue for this one, either.

A goofy framed scroll accompanying the listing states that "this particular car is the sole surviving Rumble seat equipped Hawk. The other car Was destroyed in an accident several years ago." We can only hope no one was in that ejector rumble seat at the time.

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