mr moto

Great looking! That's showing some style.

I'm a huge fan of Studebaker Hawks - all years. A few years ago I started a '56 Golden Hawk but got frustrated and set it aside. Maybe it will re-emerge (kinda like Godzilla!) in the near future but a kit of any Hawk would be welcome to me. I tried to order the Missing Link '59 Silver Hawk back in December but it was out-of-production due to molds needing maintenance. They were supposed to e-mail me if it became available again but I haven't heard anything. Anyway, I don't think Round 2 will create the new tooling needed to turn the '53 into a Golden Hawk. It's just not what they do. But every time Studebakers are mentioned on the forum there seems to be more interest. I have a funny feeling that it might be reaching the kind of critical mass that gets Moebius paying attention.

I had no idea that kit could be built so well! Great job!

That's a great build of an unusual classic. You said that you saw it at Auburn so I assume you mean the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana. I've been there myself and it's the most mind-blowing collection of automobiles and historic memerobilia that I can imagine. Every car enthusiast should see it.

Steve, I'd enjoy seeing that video.

The AMT (Round 2). BTW, that aluminum device that's front and center on the top of the engine is a fuel injection throttle body from a helicopter engine!

Thanks, Bill. I'm pretty sure that's a '57 and some owner just added the side grill mesh. The main grill is a '57 and the '57 wheel covers won't fit on the 14" wheels used in '58. I definitely second your request to Moebius (or somebody!) to produce a few high quality Studebaker kits.

Granatelli Racing/Paxton Products developed the R series engines for Studebaker and there may have been things they tried that never ended up in production. Here's a quick rundown of what did go into production: R1 - 289 c.i., single four barrel R2 - 289 c.i., supercharger and single four barrel. This is the engine in both the AMT and Aurora kits. R3 - 304.5 c.i., supercharger and single four barrel. Sounds a lot like the R2 but there were also a lot of differences . The most noticeable ones are the airbox on the carb and the five breathers. Only nine of these rolled out of the factory but Granatelli converted some cars for private owners, there were crate engines that got installed later, some were converted by dealers with parts from stock, etc. Most of those conversions (clones) are not full spec R3's but mostly look like R3's. R4 - 304.5 c.i., dual 4 barrels, NO supercharger. This was going to be their drag racing engine. None were ever factory installed in an Avanti. The only factory R4 was a Lark Daytona. These engines have been cloned quite a bit also. In the pic below there's an R3 crate on the left and an R4 on the right. "R5" - Okay, there never really was an R5 but Stude guys often use the term to refer to the twin supercharged, fuel injected engine used for Andy Granatelli's "Due Cento" (Italian for 200) Bonneville car. Rumors say it would have become the optional R5 engine but there's no evidence to prove that. BTW, the competition engine in the AMT kit is a dead ringer for this engine. The real engine still exists and has been restored. Here's some pics now and back in the day.

An R3 in a crate in California? Sounds like he found one of the original Granatelli Racing engines. Lucky find!

The '61 Hawk is my dream car! That's some classy tail fins. In my mind, the Avanti is the only car that looks more contemporary and up-to-date now than when it was introduced over 50 years ago.

True confession: I am a Studebaker geek! The rest of you may not be familiar with the R3 package that Studebaker offered only in 1964. Not surprising since only 9 of them rolled out the factory although a lot of others have been "cloned" over the years - most of them with a little bit of poetic license. This build depicts an original factory car as close as I could get it. The R3 package included a 304.5 c.i. version of the Stude V-8 that was developed by Andy Granatelli and boosted the Avanti's top speed to over 160 mph. The carb was enclosed in an aluminum pressure box that allowed for higher supercharger boost than on the R2 engine. Of course, it got high performance cam, valves, etc. and the air cleaner was relocated to the area directly behind the grill for cool air intake. This is built from the new Round 2 release of the AMT kit but I also used a number of parts from the Aurora kit including basically the whole engine (some scratch building required). Aurora missed the body shape by a mile but they included a lot of great detail parts and way better front seats than AMT. The paint is the factory Avanti Turquoise color from Model Car World. It's good stuff and looks just like the original color. The Halibrand wheels in the new Round 2 kit were available on all Studebakers in 1964. The luggage set was a dealer available option that was shown in some Studebaker sales brochures and Aurora actually include it in their kit. The photetched grill comes from Model Car Garage. It was intended for a '56 Chevy Nomad but if you turn it upside down and trim the ends it's a great fit for an Avanti.

Are any of the resin casters out there using a good, reasonably priced resin product? I find a confusing assortment of products on the net and most are not really oriented to the hobbyist. Those who are casting tires probably have some advice to offer on this.

Easy question for me! How about a '54 Studebaker Conestoga?

Excellent work! The '32 Chevy isn't seen very often but yours may encourage some other people to build it also.

Speaking of JoHan's with incorrect interiors... The USA Oldies series contains many incorrect interiors that were correct when the kits were first released as annuals in the 60's. By the timethat USA Oldies were released a lot of tooling was lost/damaged/worn out. I have a '62 Plymouth annual with correct interior and two USA Oldies versions with incorrect interiors. In fact, one of them came with a '63 Dodge dashboard and the other had a '63 Plymouth dash! The rest of the interior is wrong too but I'm not sure of the source. They used whatever they could still produce. The '62 Chrysler USA Oldie has a similar problem but Modelhaus has the solution. On the '64 Plymouth, JoHan may have upgraded the Fury interior to Sport Fury specs but I'll never figure out why Lindberg put the Sport Fury buckets in their Belvedere kit! Seems like every model company has some skeletons in their closets.

Take a look at the 500K that's currently hot in "Under Glass". It's built about 98% box stock and you would have a hard time finding a better detailed kit today.

It was excellent for its day but it shows its promo roots in the chassis department. You would probably be more pleased with the Lindberg Petty Plymouth which is a very good modern interpretation.

I think the two movies are essential go-togethers. See The Wrecking Crew first if you can (maybe it's available on Netflix or something?) and then see Love and Mercy. Two excellent films!

There also weren't as many options available back then. Forget about the "technology package" or the "comfort and convenience group"! I remember seeing cars advertised as "Fully Loaded! Radio, Heater and Whitewall Tires!".

Here is one of the better known extinct vehicles, the Ferrari 156: At least one "clone" has been built - maybe more - but there are no originals. By contrast, ALL of the original Ferrari 250 GTO's still exist.

I'll inject a question into this. AMT created a "new tool" Ala Kart that was not well received but the original Ala Kart was one of the most popular kits of all time. Do you think that there would be demand for a re-issue of the original if they get all the tooling back together again?

I love the '34 pickup!

If nobody else is going to post any pictures of actual model cars, I guess I'll jump in there. Here's my '36 Ford "Plain Jane".

I don't find that they look alike at all. Anyway, I haven't kept up with endurance racing in many years but maybe I should start - those things are WILD looking!

Very cool and interesting idea and great work. I think you've discovered the formula for one of the most expensive street rods of all time!