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Article content Three generations of the Selvey family, all who have made their living running heavy equipment including excavators, gathered at the recent Father’s Day in the Park show in Mission’s Heritage Park. They were displaying grandpa’s 1957 Studebaker Silver Hawk. “I bought one of these new,” 86-year-old Lyle Selvey said as I approached the gleaming white car.

“This car is just like it except my original car had the fins painted blue and these are red.” With him at the show was his son Dave and granddaughter Laticia. In March 1957, 19-year-old Lyle bought a white 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk from a dealership in Surrey.



He was an apprentice carpenter who built septic systems on the side. “I had made some money and decided to blow it all on a new car,” he says. “I read the performance reports on the Golden Hawk and decided to buy one.

The Golden Hawk was Studebaker’s flagship model offered from 1956 through 1958. It was powered by a supercharged 275-horsepower V8 engine that would outperform all other American cars in its class. Lyle’s new Golden Hawk was white with blue accented rear fenders.

The V8 engine was coupled to a three-speed manual transmission with overdrive giving it a fourth gear. It was one fast car. The following year, when Chevrolet introduced the beautiful new BelAir two-door hardtop for 1958, it caught Lyle’s eye and he had to have one.

“I wanted turquoise, but the dealership didn’t have that. So, I bought a white one.�.

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