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IIRC, the SDC forums uses vBulletin. There was a major update released recently. I don't know if it self or cloud hosted. My guess is cloud as it is more expensive to self host and maintain a bank of servers. Ed, seems like you have quite a beef with the current SDC admin. I am sure Clark is doing the best he can. Do you have any credentials to opine on the technical aspects? FWIW, I have B.S. Electrical Engineering, B.S. Computer Science, and graduate studies in Computer Science and engineering. I have been in the computer business over 50 years with many certifications such a Sun Certified Java Programmer, Oracle Certified Data Base Administrator, Computer Information Security Professional ...

Wouldn’t be too sure about that!

Thank you for the advice Dwight, but SI delivers an already revised example from the shelve. With other words… it’s another revised booster. I will check the paint anyway. Merry Christmas and a very good and healthy new year! / best regards, Paul

After lots of background processing and thought, I figured out why my part was not fitting on my Avanti for the backup lights. There’s a small metal threaded reducer that is situated between the backup light switch and the master cylinder. It's a larger diameter on one end and a smaller diameter on the other end. When I took off the old switch, this part was still threaded onto the old switch, and so the new switch didn't fit into the master cylinder correctly. Once I realized this, I unscrewed it from the old switch and then re-screwed into the new switch and now it fit perfectly and the lights work. Yay! Here is a photo with the old switch still in place, in case it helps someone else who encounters this situation.

Wow! What a great information site! Thank you for the excellent, useful information.

The best I can remember it was from a Chevrolet but it’s twenty years so I’m fuzzy on that.

Footer. I'm not so concerned about the average age of an Avanti Collector. In the future I have to assume (like all very old collectibles) there will be a market for them based on rarity and condition.

Here are a couple ideas... http://studebaker-info.org/rjtechjan2023p1.html#BRAKELIGHTSW

Back to the outage. From what we know, an update was scheduled by however is hosting the forum. This could have gone horribly wrong. It is also possible that the host was "hacked". In any case, more than the SDC forum is affected. The SDC administrator would not have any control over either of those situations. If hacked, the SDC is not high value, so is not the likely target.

I understand your frustration. As an unpaid volunteer, I administer the campground WiFi/Internet system. We have over 200 users. Let there be a slow down, or heaven forbid an outage, and I am the devil incarnate. I should demand that they triple my salary! As an acquaintance of mine that administers a different park said, "I could spell IT, so now I am it.

The tabs are definitely fragile. When I got the trim piece that separates the carpet from the upholstery on the door cards several years ago, one of the tabs had to be reattached. 60 year old car, too much fun!

Wow, I am really underpaid. In addition to publishing Avanti Magazine, I administer our AOAI website and forum gratis… as an IT professional I should be getting $120,000 from the AOAI at minimum. 😎😎😳😳

More power to him… however, when I’m paying dues to a not for profit car club, and I want to know how my money is being spent, I do not think I should be retaliated against just for asking the question… which is exactly what happened to me.

Do not know the admin's salary, but the median salary nationwide is around $115,000 for IT professionals, according to Glass Door. This seems reasonable. When I retired in 2012, my salary was $120,000 for enterprise architect.

Allegedly, the site was hacked and ransom exceeding the administrator’s salary by many multiples is being demanded. It is clearly a high value target.

Hi, Paul, A bit of advice from experience: I received a rebuilt booster in January for my '64 Avanti. It was nicely painted, but there were pits (from rust) all over it, which showed through the paint. This booster will likely have the same problem. So, if you can get the rebuilder to glass bead the booster but leave it unpainted that would allow you to finish it as you want. In my case I would have used Naval Jelly (phosphoric acid jell) to make sure that all of the microscopic rust was gone, then filled the pits with finishing putty. Then paint. --Dwight

I think that demand probably drives the price more than anything. It would be interesting to know the average age of Avanti owners. Are there enough younger fans out there to replace those of us who will eventually “age out” and sell in the next 5 or 10 years? Will the market get flooded? If demand drops then auction prices may drop. You can bet restoration prices won’t drop. Guess it’s on us to keep the Studebaker and Avanti story alive so there is a healthy supply of future owners. Mike

I’ll tell you one thing… although the Studebaker Drivers Club is (supposedly) non profit, never ask the Stude Forum administrator his annual salary!! (Hush-hush!)

Amen!

That’s an interesting point..I’ve never seen the reference that you mention Bob, but it would validate ‘factory orange’ Paxton superchargers on some Avanti models. (as well as black) The very first Avanti I ever saw (a Gold R2 four speed) definitely had a black supercharger. Once again, either black or orange has been accepted by present day Studebaker Avanti expert judges at major meets, so if it satisfies them, it satisfies me! And frankly, I feel orange looks way better than black painted superchargers on Avantis….My own ‘63 had a black blower when I purchased it years ago.. but it’s ‘Chevy’ orange now!!

Why then, are so many Avantis equipped with orange superchargers? The production data booklet shows a photo of a pre-production R2 engine with a black supercharger and a caption that reads “Production cars were fitted with orange superchargers from the factory.”

Yes, it's been awhile since my last post... Thanks to all who have replied about my emblem. I guess it's not really an issue for me, since I actually like the "swoosh" appearance. I'll just let the next "caretaker" deal with it, if they want.

The quote “Price is what you pay, value is what you get” is attributed to Warren Buffet/Benjamin Graham. Price is arbitrary, value is fundamental. Determining the value of a stock is difficult and complicated, however getting a reasonably accurate result is possible. Finding stocks that were priced below their value made Mr Buffet a wealthy man. Determining the value of a 60 year old vehicle may be as difficult as determining the value of a publicly traded company. Each of the ~4500, ‘63-‘64 Avanti's would need to be evaluated on an individual basis. At this point in their lives, no 2 cars are going to be in the same condition. This makes it unreasonable to state a value for, say all ‘63 R1’s. Some are projects, both big and small, some will be DIY jobs others will be farmed out at current shop rates. Some will be nice drivers, others may win a ribbon at a local car show, a few will be trailer queens. True or not, it is often said in the classic car collector world, that you’re better off buying a car that someone else fixed or restored. Not everyone wants a project. They want a car that can be driven for fun and shown simply for the sake of showing it to others. They are frequently bought with disposable income and little to no intent of ever being sold. What we end up with are broad strokes of ratings from 1-4, when it should probably be 1-100. Then we get an average for each group. It’s the best we can do unless we have each car appraised and then add that information to the registry.

Gunslinger, what is the recommended mechanical brake light switch?

If you think about it it would make sense that two colors were delivered to the factory so as there was no mix up on the production assembly lines. Lark Hawk being orange on one line and Avanti being black on another line. They are clocked different for the exhaust outlet so don’t interchange without some dismantle/reassembly.