"Why you should buy a 63-64 Studebaker Avanti Right Now....."

[JBOYLE]

Time magazine 's parent has launched a new automotive web magazine...thedrive.com .
It covers all aspects of motoring, new cars, car culture and vintage autos.
I'd never heard of it until the author A.J. Baime (Go Like Hell...a book about Ford vs. Ferrari at Le Mans in the 60s and the current bestseller, Arsenal of Democracy about Detroit helping win WWII) contacted me about doing a story on one of my cars.

Here's one of its first articles from two weeks ago:

http://www.thedrive.com/article/366/why-you-should-buy-a-1963-64-studebaker-avanti-right-now

Apologies if it's already been posted, I've been ill and haven't been on the forum much lately.

[paintim613]

On our radar to own, not to flip. Now if I could get owner of one with R1 or R2 engine to sell it. Thanks for posting.

[SN-60]

Interesting article....I think the R-1004 car is pictured....restored here in Massachusetts!

[BobPalma]

Cool, John; thanks. I had no idea there was so much leather in Avantis; even the dashboard! Amazing.

Nice article nonetheless; positive and effective. BP

[Milaca]

Cool, John; thanks. I had no idea there was so much leather in Avantis; even the dashboard! Amazing.

Nice article nonetheless; positive and effective. BP

Artificial leather, that is. Perhaps the word 'artificial' is not in Brett Berk's vocabulary?

[8E45E]

Cool, John; thanks. I had no idea there was so much leather in Avantis; even the dashboard!

I guess you'll have to settle for an '80's Blake'/Kelly Avanti if you want that!!

Craig

[edpjr]

Great article. I'm sure everyone has heard the famous quote; "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Avanti." The statement is 100% true. But now-a-days I'd expand on it to: "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Studebaker." I've learned my lesson on it since 1973 when I bought my 1st Stude, a 1953 Couple 6 cyl. I paid $100 for it and sank well over $1000 into it along with hundreds of hours labor to finally sell it in 1981 for $350. It never became roadworthy. I also lost $$$ on a '63 Wagonaire with sliding roof. Perhaps the only SBaker I ever got my $$$ out of was a black '59 2-dr HTP with factory 259-4V, duals and auto trans. It would fly, was fairly reliable and I drove it for 7 years. My '63 R2 Avanti is now nicely restored and sits mostly quiet in the garage. It's not practical to drive except maybe on Sunday afternoons occasionally. It gets terrible gas mileage and requires over 100 octane leaded fuel to perform properly. Just lost my posterior on the sale of a "rare" '64 GT Hawk 289-4V, duals, auto floor shift, full instrumentation, power disc brakes, pwr steering, etc. because it needed full restoration. Right now I'm back working on my '66 Commander 4-dr, 6 cyl, 3 on the tree - just for fun. So far it has cost me about 3x what it would ever bring back. But I like it, so I spend the time and $$$.

[sals54]

Great article. I'm sure everyone has heard the famous quote; "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Avanti." The statement is 100% true. But now-a-days I'd expand on it to: "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Studebaker." I've learned my lesson on it since 1973 when I bought my 1st Stude, a 1953 Couple 6 cyl. I paid $100 for it and sank well over $1000 into it along with hundreds of hours labor to finally sell it in 1981 for $350. It never became roadworthy. I also lost $$$ on a '63 Wagonaire with sliding roof. Perhaps the only SBaker I ever got my $$$ out of was a black '59 2-dr HTP with factory 259-4V, duals and auto trans. It would fly, was fairly reliable and I drove it for 7 years. My '63 R2 Avanti is now nicely restored and sits mostly quiet in the garage. It's not practical to drive except maybe on Sunday afternoons occasionally. It gets terrible gas mileage and requires over 100 octane leaded fuel to perform properly. Just lost my posterior on the sale of a "rare" '64 GT Hawk 289-4V, duals, auto floor shift, full instrumentation, power disc brakes, pwr steering, etc. because it needed full restoration. Right now I'm back working on my '66 Commander 4-dr, 6 cyl, 3 on the tree - just for fun. So far it has cost me about 3x what it would ever bring back. But I like it, so I spend the time and $$$.

Perhaps you need to work on your flipping skills. I've bought and sold hundreds of Studebakers through the years. Very rarely did I ever lose money on one. Buy low, sell high. But always leave enough meat on the bone for the next guy. Thats how I deal with it.

[Skip Lackie]

Perhaps you need to work on your flipping skills. I've bought and sold hundreds of Studebakers through the years. Very rarely did I ever lose money on one. Buy low, sell high. But always leave enough meat on the bone for the next guy. Thats how I deal with it.

Some of my best friends enjoy flipping cars, so this is not intended as a snub. But some us have neither the skills nor the interest to do it. I buy the vehicles I like, and then spend way more money and labor on them than they could ever be worth. And if I have to sell one and take a loss on it after decades of ownership, well then that's what I get for liking cars that will never be hot collectables. Buy low, sell even lower -- that's my approach.

[kelmbaker]

While I have known several people who have made good money and some who have made a nice living off the Studebaker hobby (business) the vast majority do not. There is no real reason for a super rare Studebaker anything to be a percentage of the value of the equivalent Ford or Chevy except supply and demand. Studes were not big sellers when sold new, and that has kept the price down when a "hobby" sprung up around the marque. I have know a handful of Chevy/Ford/Mopar guys to buy a Stude and become frustrated for a variety of reasons. Mostly because Studes are just different (I, know...by design). I love 'em, but it has been a love/hate thing sometimes. I for one hate to see the age of Newman and Altman sheet metal for $16 a fender, or dealing with Dennis at SASCO, go away. But I did get to experience it. I still have managed to find cheap Arizona cars, but they are literally drying up. I think the profiteers and others who are making a buck are here more so than at any other time I been into the hobby. +/- since 1989, and I'm a baby when it comes to Studes. What hasn't changed is that Studebaker people are just generally nicer, and I believe more honest. The day of the internal combustion engine might be approaching. I'm glad I'm my age. To not hear a V-8 seductive rumble would just make me sad.

[edpjr]

Yeah, but I'm not a flipper Sal. I bought my cars with intentions of restoring and driving them - and therefore spent lots of cash on paint, interiors, motor rebuilds, etc. A divorce in 1981 created the need for me to dump my '59 Lark and '53 Champion coupe. Otherwise, I'd probably still be driving that marvelous little black car. After investing $40k in an Avanti that might bring about 1/2 that amount now, I realized restoring the '64 GT Hawk was a pipe dream. Lord willing, I'm hanging onto the '66 till it becomes my son's inheritance. :-)

Perhaps you need to work on your flipping skills. I've bought and sold hundreds of Studebakers through the years. Very rarely did I ever lose money on one. Buy low, sell high. But always leave enough meat on the bone for the next guy. Thats how I deal with it.

[edpjr]

lol Skip. That's the story of my Studebaker life. And, to be honest, SBakers may've contributed to the demise of my 1st and 2nd marriages. My 2nd wife absolutely hated the Avanti and the $$$ I spent on it. She was gone a few short months after I bought the Hawk.

Some of my best friends enjoy flipping cars, so this is not intended as a snub. But some us have neither the skills nor the interest to do it. I buy the vehicles I like, and then spend way more money and labor on them than they could ever be worth. And if I have to sell one and take a loss on it after decades of ownership, well then that's what I get for liking cars that will never be hot collectables. Buy low, sell even lower -- that's my approach.

[Lou Van Anne]

I've never expected to make money on any of my Studebakers...it's a hobby man! My estate is going to lose a lot of money on my '64 GT Hawk when my nephew sells it. I don't care, I'll be dead.

[JBOYLE]

I don't care, I'll be dead.

That's the way to stay positive!

[edpjr]

But the car will live on to cost $$$...

I've never expected to make money on any of my Studebakers...it's a hobby man! My estate is going to lose a lot of money on my '64 GT Hawk when my nephew sells it. I don't care, I'll be dead.