Bob Preston

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.

There’s another site called classic.com that provides valuations based on sales. Is it more accurate than Hagerty or BAT, who knows? Just another data point. Because of a nearly infinite number of variables it is next to impossible to say that a 1963 R2 with a 4-speed, 50K miles in #2 condition (who’s #2?) is worth X dollars. On the subject of turning a profit, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. One is the true cost of the project. Everyone I know always wins in Vegas. The reality is that it just isn’t possible. Another is that what one believes their vehicle is worth isn’t what a buyer thinks it is worth. Additionally, when the value of an item increases over time, it is likely that the value of similar items have increased as well. A hobby that has to be a profitable business venture, is a job, not a hobby. There are certainly a number of big and small operations that are buying and selling classic cars. Most appear to be doing quite well. For someone engaged in that activity, escalating prices would seem to be a desirable trend. I’ve had endless discussions with my dad about stock valuations and even the price of apples. It’s difficult to know if it just doesn’t make sense to him, if he truly doesn’t understand it, if he’s stuck in the past or if he just wants to carry on a discussion without realizing that he’s presenting himself as being somewhat uninformed. Similarly, a discussion about Avanti values will require a look at data and what is actually occurring in the market, rather than opinions and individual circumstances.

Interestingly, R-4200, which is currently for sale, had a final assembly date of 4/29/63 and a destination of Carmichael CA. The ad has photos of the production order and the serial number plate on the frame. No “A” is visible on either. This, just over 2 months after the internal memo posted previously. Perhaps the car was initially sold outside of CA and therefore did not require an additional digit to satisfy CA DMV. On edit: The registry shows 2 early owners in CA and a listing for the car from 2018 states that is was a CA car from new and remained in CA until 2017.

How about 5643?

It was delivered to Jackson, MS. Do we know its current location?

Perhaps this is a question for the trivia page. The production data booklet only mentions orange as the factory color.

Thanks. That’s the conclusion we reached, however I haven’t seen that part on a diagram in the parts catalog. I’ll look to see if it’s addressed in the shop manual Our diesel motorhome also returns unused fuel to the tank. In this situation the returning fuel is warmer than the fuel in the tank. Over time and as the fuel level in the tank decreases the fuel temperature can increase to a point where performance can be negatively impacted. We’ve made a practice of filling the tank after we’ve used about half the fuel, or about 60 gallons, particularly on hot days. Just need to find a new kicker.

Dave’s voicemail box is full. I’ll try the kicker adjustment suggestion when the car is back on the ground. I’m fortunate to have a friend/neighbor/car enthusiast who has a nice shop setup in his pole barn and has a retired mechanic who works a few hours a day at a reasonable rate to do most of the work. We were under it yesterday and found a few more parts that are in need of replacing. For lack of a better description, the plunger on the kicker feels sticky, crusty and requires quite a bit of effort to push in. Maybe that’s normal and a small adjustment will resolve the issue? Another peculiarity we discovered is a second fuel line running alongside the fuel line shown in the parts diagram, with the drain plug on the driver’s side, that goes from the fuel pump back to the fuel tank. I didn’t see a tread that covered the subject, so I’m adding it to this one. Should I start a separate thread for that or are a fuel line and a throttle kicker close enough relatives for the same thread?

Thanks. I’ll measure the voltages to confirm. The transistorized ignition I plan to install it the factory option #196. It is not a full electronic ignition. To my original questions. Does the installation of the transistorized ignition eliminate the ignition resistor? If not, where can I order one? Can the throttle kicker be reconditioned/rebuilt? If not, where can I order one?

New member, new owner. Recently purchased a 63 R2 automatic. Currently working on replacing most suspension components (bushings and shocks) rebuilding the power steering pump and hydraulic cylinder. After experiencing difficulties in starting the engine the ignition resistor was bypassed and it fired right up. My plan is to install the transistorized ignition, which I understand, bypasses/eliminates the resistor. I was unable to source a resistor. Thoughts on the above? Second issue was high idle. Current solution was removing the throttle kicker and plugging the vacuum hose. Idles perfectly now. Currently unable to source a kicker. Any ideas? Is the kicker serviceable? The action seems very stiff, IMO too stiff for the vacuum to operate properly, if at all. On a side note, there was initially considerable smoke, particularly from the drivers side which has now almost completely cleared since removing the kicker. My brother in law commented that he thought the smoke was fuel related rather than oil/piston ring related. I’m sure I’ll have a few more questions. Thanks in advance.