General Information
Many dealers installed a dual 4 barrel setup, at the customer's request, or the customer had it
done elsewhere since all the parts were available directly from the Packard parts bin. Of course,
not all of these conversions received the cam and distributor.
Here is the option as described in the July 1956 issue of Motor Trend:
"Studebaker's Golden Hawk is a pretty hot potato as it sits in the dealer's showroom
but has so far escaped the active interest of race drivers. A recently announced kit
for factory or dealer installation converting it into a "Jet Streak" may change all this."
"Boosting horsepower to 330, it consists of an Iskenderian cam, 1955 Packard
Caribbean dual 4 barrel carburetors and manifold, chrome valve covers, dual
breaker distributor, and a special coil. Displacement and compression ratio remain
unchanged neither requiring a lift."
I have examined all 4073 production orders and there is no indication that any 1956 Golden
Hawks came from the factory with either a 374 cubic inch engine or the Jet Streak option.”
Many of the original production orders for exports, including Canada, show an item identified as
LC HEAD and/or 8.25 to 1 RATIO. The parts catalog supports the standard 9.5 to 1 ratio as well
as this lower compression engine.
Three of the production orders had a note indicating HC HEAD but I believe this simply meant the
normal engine as opposed to the LC Head lower ratio engine. As stated earlier, production orders
contained many variations and even some obvious errors.
Last Update - July 2, 2018
Page 17
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