Calgary's Pacific Can-Am Zone Meet will host a Studebaker show-shine on Sunday, Aug. 30

After buying his 1962 Gran Turismo Hawk in 1985, Gregory immersed himself in Studebaker history. Studebaker Hawks were derived from the Starlight and Starliner coupes, which were designed by Robert Bourke of Raymond Loewy Associates. These Studebakers were low-slung cars first launched in 1953. In 1956, the coupes were modified to become the Hawk until 1962 when the last redesign incorporated a uniquely European-style grille, with other changes, to become the Gran Turismo Hawk. “Studebaker had a distributorship for Mercedes in the early sixties,” Gregory says, “and they liked the look of the Mercedes grille, so they morphed that into the design of the Gran Turismo Hawk.”

Gregory enjoys driving the GT Hawk, powered by a 289 cubic-inch V8 engine that makes 210 horsepower. But he wanted to build a “new” Studebaker. With that goal, in 2000, he bought a 1962 Studebaker truck. He completely dismantled the truck and rebuilt it with all new components, including a small block Chevy engine mated to a 700 R4 transmission. The chassis was upgraded with a Mustang II front end, which replaced the leaf springs the Studebaker had originally. “Like any good Studebaker, I’ve got twice the amount of money in it than I’d ever be able to get for it,” Gregory laughs.

With his grandson, he has also been building a convertible 1960 Studebaker Lark retrofitted with a supercharged R3 Studebaker powerplant. These R3 engines were developed with Paxton Automotive, and the V8s were bored to 304.5 c.i. and topped with a Paxton supercharger to make 335 horsepower. “It took me three years to build it between pulling it apart and putting it back together with all of the things that are necessary to make it an R3 engine,” Gregory says. “They’re quite hard to find all the parts for, but I did all of that and got that into the Lark’s tiny engine compartment. That’s the car I’ll likely have at the show.”

Starting Friday, Aug. 28, the Pacific Can-Am Zone Meet convenes with registration at the Holiday Inn & Suites Calgary South, followed by a drive to the A&W at Glendeer Circle S.E. for the weekly Cruisin’ the Dub event. Saturday is the special Studebaker show-and-shine, held on a reserved lot at the hotel, where it is free for the public to attend. On Sunday, the group drives to Pioneer Acres for a tour of the truck and tractor museum near Irricana. During the weekend, Gregory hopes folks, “would come and look at the Studebakers and appreciate that something different is beautiful. And join the club too, it’d be nice to have more Studebaker drivers.”

Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at gregwilliams@shaw.ca

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