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I believe that all the transition Avantis were round headlight, and that R-4892 was the first square-headlight car. As nearly as I can tell from the pix the square headlight enclosures are sitting on top of the fiberglass, not recessed into it as the square-headlight cars are. I have seen that done before to '63 Avantis. Not surprising, then, that someone has added "Supercharged" emblems to the fenders of an R1 car. --Dwight

Doesn't have a supercharger...

Bob P. Congrats on new ownership. Your points are well taken and actually Your 63-4 R2 prices are much higher than I listed. I haven't kept up on the Market for this model but knew prices have been escalating over the 2+ years I've owned my '63' R2., automatic, white red/orange interior and as I claim a solid 7+ (Your 7 may be different). When I gave examples of the 3 groups of Avanti's I was trying to be a little conservative since I don't try and overemphasize the values, and mine is in that first group (as well as my '02' in the 3rd group)... I'm glad Your seeing (possible) #7 examples in the low to mid $40's .. It solidifies the value I have set on my own vehicle. ........ Off topic a little is the method of paying...I've kept about $100k available in cash at close reach. It's dwindled down some since I've bought 5 cars over the last 3 years. My reason for the cash is when flashing a bundle of $100's the seller sees me as serious and immediate. Also, I won't chance the deal passing me by waiting for a Banks decision. So... when I visit and agree on a deal, I have the title in hand the same hour.

What he said!!....

Merry Christmas…Happy Hannukah…Happy Festivus or whatever you follow! While some are cold I’m enjoying Hawaii where it’s beautiful out!

It’s a ‘63 that appears to have been converted to square headlights…unless it’s a transition car before the official change at R4892. It’s also got R2 emblems on the front side panels…maybe the blower was removed and a/c added? It would be interesting to see the production sheet for it.

There's a square headlight bezel 1963 Avanti available near San Franscisco. No serial number or body number provided in the ad. It appears to be a R1 automatic with air conditioning. No title. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/alameda-1963-avanti-studebaker/7901139400.html

I just saw this posting from early December 2025 in craigslist that the Rodger Ward Avanti is available again. Might this be a scam listing? I know it recently sold, and that someties vehicles are quickly flipped. Considering the history behind this car, I would think that it would be offered for sale in a different forum than craigslist. Serial number and body number not provided in the advertising. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/palm-springs-rodger-ward-studebaker/7900062023.html

Make sure all the cable terminals (battery to starter solenoid, starter solenoid to starter, and block to battery) are clean, free of corrosion, and tight. Make sure the face of the starter that contacts the transmission case and the mounting surface on the transmission case are also clean, as this interface is also part of the electrical circuit. This will require removing the starter to inspect and clean the contact surfaces.

Thank you. Merry Chistmas!

R2 automatic is a good combo!… Factory Stude Avanti four speed clutch linkage was never up to the job… The Powershift automatic really makes a better car… maybe a bit less fun to drive… but a better all around car!(IMHO)

Thanks. I’ve adorned it with a 1962 Michigan plate and a 1963 tag. No plates were made for 1963. The white plate is nearly a perfect match to the Avanti White and the green letters/numbers and tag look nice. I’m strangely attracted to peculiar items, hence the decision to get an Avanti rather than a corvette, GTO, mustang, chevelle, T-bird, etc. While I’m not terribly fixated on uniqueness, the Deluxe interior sets it apart from most Avanti’s. About 1 in 9 ‘63 R2’s with automatic transmissions were equipped with the 7xx trim code and Orange was the least popular color other than “Special”. 63R-1001 was Avanti White with Deluxe/Orange interior, however it had the 4-speed. It’s more of a project than I wanted, but it was starting to look like any choice was going to be a project to some degree. On the positive side, I’ll know exactly what’s been done and it’s going to be very mechanically sound.

Bob… Sounds to me that after doing careful research, you bought yourself a really nice Avanti. That’s great news!! I like ‘Avanti White’ Stude Avantis with the orange interior… Many of the early production Avantis were built in that fashion. Best of luck with your new purchase!……I hope you have many happy miles behind the steering wheel! Merry Christmas…Ed

Aardvark, One possible flaw in your system is that your 7 might be my 4. I’m new to the forum. That said, some of your posts suggest that you may be willing to accept imperfections that others would not. It’s easy to focus on our own particular situation. Allow me to provide some information from my perspective, which is considerably different than yours. I’ve been watching the 63-64 Avanti market for a couple of years. In particular the R2’s. Over the past 4 months I looked a 4. One via a 3rd party inspection and appraisal, because I didn’t want to invest the time and money in a trip to see it until I had more information. That car was on the market for about 4 months, had a price reduction during that time and was taken off the market because the owner decided not to sell. The other 3 I looked at in person. One in Connecticut, which had been for sale in Tennessee. It’s still for sale and has been for about a year. It sold at auction for $37,500 and is listed at $58,000. On a 1-10 scale, it’s a 6, but priced like a 8 or 9. I won’t list the deficiencies noted on a quick look over and a short test drive. Another one, in Ohio, is priced at $54,900 and that’s Bob’s “I don’t want to sell it” price. It’s an original barn find. He wouldn’t allow a test drive because the tires are so old. It’s been listed for quite awhile. I’d give it a 5, or a 6 if originality is key. Another one in Michigan, was also listed for $54,900. I gave it a 6 and bought it for $48,000. The orange, Deluxe, interior is excellent. Paint (white) is believed to be original with a few chips touched up. It doesn’t “need” paint, but would look fantastic if repainted. Doors, windows, hood and trunk all fit well and open and close properly. Chrome and glass are very good. It’s on the rack getting new suspension bushings and shocks, wheel bearings, some power steering components, rotors and hubs (calipers were recently replaced) glass packs and tail pipes, an electronic ignition and some other miscellaneous items. FWIW: I took out a loan to facilitate the purchase. I’m retired but have the cash flow to make payments. One thing about retirement is that you switch from saving to spending. My money is working for me and I prefer not to spend it down. The credit union wanted to see comps, so I emailed them a handful of listings of recently sold R2’s from Classic.com, most were in the mid-40’s, so they placed a value of $45,000 on the car when determining the loan amount. It was approved by the loan committee. In a few weeks I’ll have a car that I’d give a 7 or maybe an 8. I hope this helps you understand a different perspective. Merry Christmas, Bob

Merry Christmas. It’s interesting that you don’t show respect my opinion about your statement. Now you’ve resorted to telling me what I should do. I'm open to listening to how the statement has substance, originality or adds meaningfully to the conversation. Another cliché probably won’t suffice. Here’s another opinion to consider. Statements like “Your car is worth whatever the next guy is willing to pay” are just attempts to marginalize and dismiss a discussion. It’s great that you have it all figured out. Other folks might still want to discuss the subject. If you watch the entire film, animated or live action, you’ll see that the grinch doesn’t steal Christmas.

Whereas I realize the initial question is near impossible to answer, there are some averages I'm seeing. I used a 1-10 range settling on a 7. to take a valuation from 3 categories.. 1)original 63-64....2)65-90ish....3) 01-07. Let me give this a ''w.a.g'' (wild a$$ed guess) I've based a #7 rating as a running moderate mileage car in very good condition with little need for paint or repairs. A car I can drive and enjoy.. So.... a 63-64 in $7 condition I see them selling in the $25-40k range.....A 65-90ish. generally $15-25k.....A. 01-07 generally in the $35-45k range. Remember I look for a 50a% profit margin (or a doubling in value)....., so my 63, R2 w/ 85k mi. I bought for $16K .... My 02, w/ 40k mi. I paid $19k. There needs to be some ballparking and generalization. Where I disagree with the crowd here is this is NOT like a a R/E purchase. There are no Banks approving a loan (or rarely), no board determining value.No appraisals being done. The item might be sold in a day or so, so a effort is made to jump on the purchase.. Real Estate is quite different... You are basically ''On Your Own'' when doing a Generalized Appraisal. Yes, there are indicators of values..Hemmings BAT and other sources and they are taken into account.. Also in R/E there are very few 50% off deals (I've. never seen any)..AND...Most transactions are cash not 30 year loans. So in my Barn. I've done well. Your mileage might vary. (editing was due to spelling errors)

Bac-at-cha

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my fellow AOAI Forum members !

Wow!… were you the Grinch that stole Christmas in another life?? You need to learn respect for others opinions son! Happy Holidays!

Yes, inane. It’s a pointless comment that adds nothing to the discussion. I suspect that your sharp enough to serve up more than platitudes.

Agreed… All I’d add is…. on 6V vehicles, which need all the ‘grounding’ they can get, the ground wire is sometimes relocated directly to a starter mounting bolt. Of course, this would not apply to Avantis or any other 12V vehicle.

Sounds like the SDC forum administrator is finally attempting to earn his pay….…. Will wonders never cease ??

Here is what happened to the SDC Forum: Let your members know that the Forum is back. Here's what happened. Yesterday, 06:33 AM Well, it’s been a heckuva weekend. Here’s what happened: On Tuesday, December 16, we received a notice that our hosting provider needed to make an emergency migration of our Forum to a new webserver. No reason was given, but these things happen - equipment failures and such. They put us on the new server on Wednesday and all seemed well. Then, on Thursday, December 18, the Forum was attacked with a Denial of Service attack, in which hundreds of zombie computers open connections to a web server all at once and then don’t close them, trying to bring down the server by overwhelming it. To protect the server, our webhost suspended our account (that was the “Account Suspended” notice you saw online). For the last 5 days, Cornerstone and I have been working with our webhost to restore service and protect our site from more bad actors. Late Monday, December 22, the Forum was turned back on. Going forward, we’re going to be taking more steps to enhance security and likely examine our hosting options. I hope this doesn’t happen again but the online world is more like the Wild West every day. Thank you all for bearing with us while we got this taken care of. Clark

What is the issue? Completely dead, just a click, cranking slowly…?

“Inane”?….I don’t think so…. However, I do understand that individuals situations and viewpoints can widely differ….. I stand by my prior comments.