Thank you for your interest in the
1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk Owners Register. I hope the
following information will answer most of your questions.
The Short
Version:
I started the Owners Register in January 1989
for the purpose of helping other 1956 Golden Hawk owners and to
try to identify the remaining 1956 Golden Hawks. I ask each owner
to send the serial number (from the driver door jamb) and body
number (from the firewall on the passenger side) for each 1956
Golden Hawk he/she owns. This is the only requirement for
inclusion in the Register. I publish a periodic newsletter, called
56J ONLY every 4
months (Feb, June and November), with information and questions
supplied by other owners and/or fans. The newsletter is free to
registered owners. All the back issues are available for viewing
on this web site. Registered owners with Internet access will
receive a notice when a new newsletter is posted which allows them
to view it at their convenience. Owners without Internet access
will receive a printed B/W copy.
Often I receive letters from non owners
requesting membership. There
is no actual membership. What I have
is simply a list of people who own at least one 1956 Golden
Hawk..Since I am paying the cost of printing and postage for the
newsletter, I have had to limit the printed distribution to OWNERS
only. However, ALL the back issues of the newsletter are posted on
the web site, so anyone with web access can view, download, and/or
print them. Simply click on Newsletters on the header screen.
To help cover some my costs, I
offer various manuals, Books, CDs, DVDs, decals, patches, and other
items for sale a low prices. See "56J
Publications and Products" on the web site
for more information.Many of these items are available for free on
this web site. Those items are listed on the Options page. I offer
them for free because the purpose is to provide help and
information, not to dangle a carrot in front of the people we are
trying to help. Owners accessing us via the Internet are not an
expense, therefore we can offer some items for free this way.
I also receive letters from individuals
who wish to buy a 1956 Golden Hawk. Most of our
members are pretty happy with their cars but there are times
someone will put one up for sale. Some times they do run across
another car that is for sell and you might be able to get one this
way. I will be happy to put an ad, at no charge to you, on the web
site and in the Newsletter for you and maybe something will turn
up. The newsletter is only done three times a year, so it could be
up to four months before your ad appears, but anyone with Internet
access can see your ad immediately.
If you are looking for a 1956 Golden
Hawk, here are some things to watch for: the serial
# on the driver's side door post MUST be either in the range of
6030001 - 6033472 (for cars produced in South Bend) or 6800001 -
6800601 (for cars assembled in Los Angeles). The body # (cowl,
passenger side under the hood) MUST read 56J-K7 and have from 1 to
4 digits below in the range of 1 to 4073.
If you own a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk,
please provide the information, and send it to me. I must have the
serial number as a minimum. You can use the on-line registration
form.
I hope I have been able to answer any
questions you may have had about the 1956 Studebaker
Golden Hawk Owners Register. Please check the related
items below for more information.
The seed for the Register were started when I read a letter in
the Studebaker Drivers Club magazine, Turning Wheels. Don Girvan
of Moncton New Brunswick asked about the color the valve covers.
The answer did not match what was on my car, so I contacted Don.
This started us on a quest to find upholstery material for the
seats and door panels for our cars as they were the same color.
While this was going on, I was trying to figure out why I had a
lifter noise problem on a newly rebuilt engine. This was holding
up the restoration since I didn't want to finish the car only to
find I might have to pull the engine again. My problem was solved
in 1987 when I met Bob Deitzler of Simi Valley CA at the SDC
International Meet at Estes Park Colorado. Bob explained how there
was an oil pump modification that would cure the problem. I had
the modification done and after almost five years of frustration,
I could finally drive the car more than 10 miles at a time.
In late 1988, I thought about these two instances and decided that
I will likely encounter more problems for which someone else has
already found the solution. Rather than reinvent the wheel each
time, I thought it would be nice to have a network of owners who
could correspond and help each other. So, in January 1989 I formed
what would eventually become the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk
owners Register. I put an ad in the SDC magazine asking owners to
contact me with their information. I also wanted to identify and
track the remaining cars so I made it a requirement to supply the
car's serial number as a confirmation for joining the group. I
didn't expect more than about 20-30 responses and figured I could
afford to publish a periodic newsletter for a small group, at no
charge. I was working at the time and printing costs were rather
cheap at about 3 cents for a double sided sheet.
Well, the response ran reached 66 by the end of the year. Still, I
wanted to keep this a free enterprise and resisted the suggestion
of charging dues. Dues would add record keeping and renewals
processing to my workload. Without dues, I could quit if I
decided the effort was not worth it. But, I offered to accept
donations and many owners were very generous. You have to realize
that in Studebaker circles, our cars are unique because they have
a Packard V8 engine installed instead of a Studebaker V8. This
made finding information and help a little harder. When most parts
suppliers offered V8 engine parts, they usually added the phrase,
"except 1956 GH, or except 56J". 56J was the model designator
assigned by Studebaker for the 1956 Golden Hawk. That is how I
came upon naming our newsletter, 56J Only. Owners were so happy to
receive a newsletter dedicated to their particular model that they
sent in donations to express their gratitude and hopefully keep
the project funded. More importantly, they sent in articles about
their experience. More owners registered with the number exceeding
90 by end of the second year.
All this time I kept
thinking how nice it would be to have a parts manual that dealt
only with our particular year and model. I began this project in
1990 completing in it 1994. I went through each section of the
body and chassis parts manuals which covered several years and
models, selected only items for the "56J", and typed the nearly
370,000 characters making up over 70,000 words filling 350 pages.
I formatted it just like the other Studebaker parts manuals
including the list of indices, introduction, list of
abbreviations, index of major groups and subgroups, alphabetical
index, line drawings, every part # used on a 1956 Golden Hawk,
utility items, accessory codes, and a numerical index. I offered
this for sale in printed format initially, but have since
transferred it to digital format with searchable text and put it,
along with other items on both CD and DVD media.
Once the Parts Catalog was completed,
I began working on an Authenticity Guide designed to provide some
form of identifying how the cars were equipped when they left the
factory. It was also the objective to help owners wishing to
restore their car to original specifications. Although I didn't
think of it originally, the Guide has proven useful for
prospective owners to help them make an intelligent purchase. In
essence, it became a useful tool for restorers, sellers, and
buyers alike. This project took only two years with the completion
coming in 1996. Offered in printed format only initially, it is
now also offered in digital format on CD and DVD media with
searchable text making it very easy to locate specific items. This
guide was updated in 2017 with about 200 photos added and the
entire Guide is now in full color. The new version is loaded on
our web site.
I taught myself how to type when I was
about 12 years old, and this ability has proven to be a blessing
many times over. I spent my working career in the computer world,
working on the old punched card equipment. This occasionally
required me to use a key punch machine that punched the rectangular
holes in the Hollerith cards, better known as IBM cards. Later, as a
programmer, we made the switch from key punch cards to input through
a keyboard, and this typing ability made the transition seamless.
It's amusing, but I've gotten much more use out of my self taught
typing skill than anything I learned in Biology, Chemistry, Physics,
or Political Science. I once knew all the Presidents names in order,
every State capital, and most of the elements in the periodic table.
Lack of use of the information has left me with many holes to fill.
However, I still know the location of each letter key on the
keyboard. On the other hand, English and Math have been very useful
so thanks to Mrs. Shier and Miss Neiman.
Things took a decided leap in exposure when I was able to put our
Register on the World Wide Web. In 1999, my wife Anita gave me one
of those How To books "For Dummies" as a birthday present. I like to
think it was the How To and not the Dummies reference that inspired
the gift, but we never discussed it. The author’s writing style and
easy to follow procedures worked well for me and I had success on my
first try. My typing skill and my computer background allowed me to
successfully create a web site and suddenly, we had world wide
exposure. This led to a spike in registrations. The donations helped
me stay afloat for many years, despite keeping this a no dues
operation, We are the PBS of Studebaker Registers, but without the
periodic funds drive.
Shortly after getting us on the web, I started sending the
newsletter via Email to those who had Email capability. This cut my
cost and time expenditure considerably. We're still keeping our head
above water financially. If only the Studebaker Corporation could
have been as efficient! Once I got the web site working I put all
the back issues of the newsletter on the site and posted all
subsequent issues there as well. Now I simply send a notice to
everyone whenever I post a new issue which they can read at their
convenience. The printed copy mailing has dropped from roughly 270
to under 60 copies. The on-line version is far superior, in color
and not damaged in transit. Hopefully everyone will received it that
way some day.
With the web site fully functional, I decided the next logical step
was a video. The Authenticity Guide needed some form of upgrade and
the video version, called the Restorers Guide project began. Thanks
to other 56J owners, we learned a lot since the Guide made its debut
in 1996, so the video was the perfect solution for the presentation
of this new information. I covered all the points discussed in the
Authenticity Guide and slipped in a few new ones.
Of course, I didn't have a factory fresh 1956 Golden Hawk to use as
my subject vehicle. I had to rely on my own two cars as the video
stars, and there are several things that deviate from the factory
version. The best advice I could offer is that if it isn't something
I've discussed, don't assume what else you see is correct. The video
took about a year to produce and was completed in 2009. The books
and video are now uploaded to our web site so anyone can view them.
With technology in an
ever changing state, many computers no longer feature a DVD/CD
drive. I decided to put everything on a small and convenient thumb
drive. This was done in 2015. The drive contains the complete
Restorers Guide video plus the Parts Catalog, Authenticity,
Production Orders, Newsletters, Owners Manual, Accessories Catalog,
plus digital versions of the Studebaker Shop, Chassis, and Body
manuals. The complete package is now on a drive that measures
roughly 2"x1"x1/8".
We've also had a lot of help from owners and non owners alike. Often
I'll receive reports of 56J sightings from Studebaker fans around
the world. We've also had help with the reproduction of parts that
were no longer available for many years. Studebaker International
began reproducing the exhaust extensions and tail light housings for
our cars several years ago. The Shrock brothers recast our steering
wheels in a material far superior to the original while retaining
the original aesthetics. Southeast Studebaker can provide complete
interiors. Owner Brent Hagen of Portland OR has manufactured
several parts as well. For those owners less interested in
authenticity, owner Jack Nordstrom of New Braunfels TX has
fabricated an adapter to convert from the Ultramatic to a TH400
transmission and has a set of hardware brackets for adding air
conditioning. Pertronix now offers and electronic ignition for our
Autolite distributor.
In 2002, owner Scott Reid started a message forum for 56J owners and
although it is not officially a part of our Register, it has been a
blessing since its inception. It has turned this into a good friends
community with owners and fans corresponding from all over the globe
including Sweden, Mexico, Canada, India, South Africa, The UK,
Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Norway, Australia, Belgium, and The
Netherlands. Through the years I've been referred to by many names
such as The 1956 Golden Hawk Guru, but I always point out, there is
no such person. Rather it is an entity, The 1956 Golden Hawk owners
are the collective expert. Together, we probably know more about
these cars than anyone or any group in the world and the message
forum has become that knowledge data base.
When I started the Register in 1989, I set no goals for longevity or
accomplishments. I would just let it drive itself and follow the
road with no specific destination. However with the one step at a
time process that took place, things have progressed far beyond
anything I could have imagined. I like to think of us as (pardon the
expression) the Cadillac of owners registers. Hopefully we can
continue for many more years helping the 1956 Golden Hawk owner with
advice, help, and information. For us, it's just 56J Only.
All this time I kept
thinking how nice it would be to have a parts manual that dealt
only with our particular year and model. I began this project in
1990 completing in it 1994. I went through each section of the
body and chassis parts manuals which covered several years and
models, selected only items for the "56J", and typed the nearly
370,000 characters making up over 70,000 words filling 350 pages.
I formatted it just like the other Studebaker parts manuals
including the list of indices, introduction, list of
abbreviations, index of major groups and subgroups, alphabetical
index, line drawings, every part # used on a 1956 Golden Hawk,
utility items, accessory codes, and a numerical index. I offered
this for sale in printed format initially, but have since
transferred it to digital format with searchable text and put it,
along with other items on both CD and DVD media.
Once the Parts Catalog was completed,
I began working on an Authenticity Guide designed to provide some
form of identifying how the cars were equipped when they left the
factory. It was also the objective to help owners wishing to
restore their car to original specifications. Although I didn't
think of it originally, the Guide has proven useful for
prospective owners to help them make an intelligent purchase. In
essence, it became a useful tool for restorers, sellers, and
buyers alike. This project took only two years with the completion
coming in 1996. Offered in printed format only initially, it is
now also offered in digital format on CD and DVD media with
searchable text making it very easy to locate specific items. This
guide was updated in 2017 with about 200 photos added and the
entire Guide is now in full color. The new version is loaded on
our web site.
I taught myself how to type when I was
about 12 years old, and this ability has proven to be a blessing
many times over. I spent my working career in the computer world,
working on the old punched card equipment. This occasionally
required me to use a key punch machine that punched the rectangular
holes in the Hollerith cards, better known as IBM cards. Later, as a
programmer, we made the switch from key punch cards to input through
a keyboard, and this typing ability made the transition seamless.
It's amusing, but I've gotten much more use out of my self taught
typing skill than anything I learned in Biology, Chemistry, Physics,
or Political Science. I once knew all the Presidents names in order,
every State capital, and most of the elements in the periodic table.
Lack of use of the information has left me with many holes to fill.
However, I still know the location of each letter key on the
keyboard. On the other hand, English and Math have been very useful
so thanks to Mrs. Shier and Miss Neiman.
With technology in an
ever changing state, many computers no longer feature a DVD/CD
drive. I decided to put everything on a small and convenient thumb
drive. This was done in 2015. The drive contains the complete
Restorers Guide video plus the Parts Catalog, Authenticity,
Production Orders, Newsletters, Owners Manual, Accessories Catalog,
plus digital versions of the Studebaker Shop, Chassis, and Body
manuals. The complete package is now on a drive that measures
roughly 2"x1"x1/8".