Classic car display revs up the memories in the East Village

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By John Willard | Saturday, July 8, 2006 12:30 AM CDT | () comments

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO David Kahn shows off his 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk.

David Kahn will fulfill a wish of his late grandfather when he shows a restored 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk for the first time at today’s Village Classic Car Display in the Village of East Davenport.

The sporty coupe belonged to his grandfather, John Hogan, who only had about six months to enjoy it before he died a decade ago.

Hogan had high hopes for his sleek European-inspired classic, which came out in the final years of Studebaker Corp.’s reign as an automotive engineering and styling leader. Once, while he was in the hospital, his grandson asked what he wanted done with

the car.

“I want a show car. I want something beautiful to drive and be proud of,” Hogan told his grandson.

After his grandfather died, Kahn, of Moline, was given a choice of $5,000 in cash or the Hawk. He opted for the Hawk, driving it for fun until he launched the full-scale restoration that his grandfather had dreamed of. Six years later, the restored car will make its debut when it joins more than 100 other vintage cars on display today in the historic business district overlooking the Mississippi River.

The slice of nostalgia comes courtesy of the Quad-City Antique Ford Club, the Big Six Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club and the Quad-Cities Cruisers. The free event is a cruise into motoring’s past, not a show in which cars are judged or voted on in a contest for prizes.

“It’s a first-class display in a setting that includes historic shops and a nice park,” Tom Lagomarcino, the president of the Village of East Davenport Association, said. “It’s like having a car show in a small town.”

Vintage car owners get a chance to share their hobby and knowledge about such marques as the Studebaker, a familiar name on the automotive scene for much of the 20th century until it ceased production in 1966.

Kahn, 37, became interested in Studebakers through his grandfather, who had owned a 1953 Studebaker before he bought his 1962 Gran Turismo Hawk in LaPorte, Ind. The car needed work, but the price was right and the two men were proud of the classic Studebaker.

Produced between 1962 and 1964, the Gran Turismo Hawk was one of the last hurrahs for the Studebaker Corp., a South Bend, Ind. auto maker that traced its roots to wagon manufacturing in the 19th century. The car’s stylist, famed industrial designer Brooks Stevens, combined elements that began with the original car in the series, the 1956 Golden Hawk, with European touches.

Kahn’s Hawk is powered by a 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine harnessed to a four-speed “Flight-O-Matic” automatic transmission. Other amenities include power steering, power brakes, AM radio with rear speaker and antenna mounted on the rear deck lid. The car is black with a black and white vinyl interior.

Challenges in completing the work, being carried out by Big River Customs, Port Byron, Ill., included a 4½-year-search for rust-free front fenders. “Sheet metal is hard to come by,” Kahn said.

Kahn, who holds jobs at Kone and Federal Express, enjoys attending Studebaker events, such as a national meet in which he got Brooks Stevens’ autograph. The fact that Studebaker no longer is in production separates it from other Detroit marques.

“It is an orphan car. There aren’t that many around,” he said.

John Willard can be contacted at (563) 383-2314 or jwillard@qcitimes.com.

If you go

What: Third annual Village Classic Car Display

When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. today

Where: Village of East Davenport, East River Drive and Mound streets. The cars will be displayed along 11th Street, between Mound and Jersey Ridge Road.

How much: Free

Information: (563) 324-6137