Humber Hawk
1945–1967 · two unrelated cars, one name · front discs from October 1960
Separate-chassis to 1957, unitary after. Ask for the year before anything else.
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About the Humber Hawk
The Mark I to VIA cars, 1945–57, start on a 1944cc side-valve four at 56bhp with transverse-leaf independent front suspension and half-elliptic springs at the rear. Two changes matter. The Mark III of October 1948 replaced the transverse leaf with coil-sprung IFS and brought a new hypoid rear axle and the Loewy Studio body that did away with separate headlights and front wings. The Mark IV of spring 1951 went to 2267cc with an aluminium cylinder head, 58bhp and 15in wheels. Then the Mark VI of June 1954 put an overhead-valve head on the 2267 for twenty per cent more power — and, usefully for us, forty per cent more brake lining area than the Mark V. Estates with a fold-down tailgate came in 1955.
May 1957 is a completely new car. The unitary Series I has far more glass and a wrap-around windscreen, still on the 2267, and its estate had the largest unitary bodyshell of any British car built to that point, with a horizontally split tailgate whose lower half drops down and the fuel filler hidden behind the offside rear reflector. Front discs arrive with the Series II in October 1960, servo-assisted. The Series III of September 1962 brought a larger fuel tank and a bigger rear window. And then October 1964, the Series IV: a flatter roof, a smaller rear window, an extra side window behind the rear doors, a rear anti-roll bar and synchromesh on bottom gear. That roof change is the hard break in rear glass and seals, and the Super Snipe got the same change in the same month. Hawk, Super Snipe and Imperial all ended in March 1967.
Humber Hawk — specification & changes within the model
- Brakes
- Front discs, servo-assisted, from the Series II in October 1960. Drums before that. On the earlier separate-era cars the only figure any source gives is relative: the Mark VI has forty per cent more lining area than the Mark V.
- Two Hawks
- Mark I–VIA, 1945–57 — separate era, transverse-leaf front until 1948, then coil IFS. Series I–IVA, 1957–67 — unitary, wrap-around screen, far more glass. Nothing body or glass crosses between them.
- October 1964 — the glass breakpoint
- Series IV: flatter roof, smaller rear window, an extra side window behind the rear doors. Windscreen, rear screen and side glass all split there. It also gained a rear anti-roll bar and synchromesh on bottom gear. The Super Snipe Series V changed the same way in the same month.
- The separate-era marks
- I 1945, 1944cc side-valve 56bhp, transverse-leaf IFS · II Sep 1947, column change · III Oct 1948, coil IFS and hypoid axle, Loewy body · IV spring 1951, 2267cc alloy head, 15in wheels · V Sep 1952, larger clutch, lowered bonnet line, wrap-around bumpers · VI Jun 1954, overhead-valve 2267, longer rear body · VIA Apr 1956, interior.
- The unitary series
- I May 1957, new unitary body · IA 1959, gear ratios and trim · II Oct 1960, servo front discs · III Sep 1962, larger tank, bigger rear window · IV Oct 1964, flat roof, six-light · IVA 1965, Borg Warner 35 automatic returns.
- The estate
- The Series I estate had the largest unitary bodyshell of any British-built car up to that point, with a horizontally split tailgate, lower half opening downwards, and the fuel filler concealed behind the offside rear reflector.
- Not claimed
- Brake type and size for the Mark I to VIA and the Series I — only the Mark VI’s relative lining increase is recorded. And earth polarity. One reference work does not list New Zealand among the Hawk’s assembly locations even though a New Zealand source refers to locally assembled Hawks — unresolved.