This sharp 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 was purchased by Keith Wahl of La Jolla, Calfornia in July 2020. Keith's Avanti has air conditioning which was not available from the factory with the supercharged R2 engine. The system uses a Sanden compressor, custom refrigerant lines, and an original type under dash evaporator. The faceplate, controls, and rectangular vents are from a 1983 Avanti that was a total loss. The power steering pump was relocated to accomodate the compressor. The engine has R3 headers and the heads have been reworked. Brakes have been upgraded with Turner discs up front, new steel brake lines, and a Chrysler dual master cylinder. Avanti II quick steering arms and 1” front and 3/4” rear sway bars have been added. The car retains its original four-spend manual transmission. Reproduction Halibrand aluminum are fitted with Michelin radial tires.

Keith's Avanti is painted Ford Medium Sandalwood. Both the front and rear bumpers have been rechromed and rain gutters which are lacking in early Avantis have been added. A front grill as found on later Avantis was also added. All new weatherstrip has been installed along with Mercedes type door latches. The interior has the Recaro front seats, door panels, and rear seats from the aforementioned 1983 Avanti. These have been reupholstered in leather by Rene Harger of Southeast Studebaker. The dash was reskinned by Just Dashes and the doors, floor, and roof have been sound dampened with Hushmat. Third party power window regulators have been installed for improved operation. The parking and tail lights have been converted to LED.

Most of the mechanical work was done by Chuck Lampman who was the third owner of the car. Mike Myer of Myer's Studebaker completed the restoration. Mike installed the interior, got the engine running, painted the car, and made dozens of mechanical installations and fixes. Keith did finishing work after the car arrived in California. This included adding an electric primer pump, changing the brackets on the front disc brakes, and rewiring the aftermarket cruise control. Other recent improvements made by Keith include a GlowShift three gauge cluster to monitor boost, fuel pressure, and vacuum and a hands free Bluetooth radio. The gauge cluster and the radio are mounted under the dash and thus could be easily removed.

Keith Wahl's Studebakers have appeared on this page several times. His Avanti powered 1955 Studebaker Conestoga Station Wagon was Stude of the Month in August 2106 and his custom 1953 Champion Starlight Coupe was in the Cool Studes section in February 2013. At one point Keith owned two 1955 Conestoga Station Wagons, one Avanti powered and one Chevy powered. A picture of the pair appeared on this page in August 2019. Keith sent the story with pictures of how he came to own the two wagons which is posted here. He no longer owns the Chevy powered one but still has the Avanti powered one. Thanks to Keith sending the pictures and information about his cool 1963 Avanti R2.

If you own or once owned a Studebaker or related vehicle and would like to see your car as "Stude of the Month" or in the "Cool Studes" section, or if you have other pictures or material that you would like to contribute to this page, please e-mail me here at wj2d44@gmail.com. I can accept either electronic or hard copy images. The Main Page is issued every other month so the next edition will be June 2021.

All of the previous editions of the Main Page going back to October 1995 have been reposted. In the process of reposting the pages, I have made corrections and revisions as needed, and in some cases added material that was not used when a page was first posted due to download speed and file storage limitations. A complete list of Main Pages and Studes of the Month with links to each is located here.

If you have a particular interest in Bullet Nose Studebakers, visit Bill Junge's Bullet Nose Paradise which is dedicated to the 1950 and 1951 Bullet Nose models.

This cool 1956 Studebaker Champion Pelham 2-Door Station Wagon Street Rod is owned by Ray and Joanne Caldwell from Washington State. It is powered by a GM LS1 V8 engine driving through a GM LE six-speed automatic transmission. Other modifications include power rack and pinion steering, power disc brakes front and rear, Corvette independent suspension front and rear, 18" alloy wheels with radial tires, and a Griffin Extra Cooling aluminum radiator. Interior features include leather seats, wool carpeting, power windows that work off the original window cranks, an Ididit tilting steering column, upgraded gauges that retain their original appearance, and a hidden AM/FM radio with CD player.

The Caldwell's wagon had a full body off frame restoration. The original fenders, doors, tailgate, and frame were acid dipped and the frame was powder coated. The car is painted the correct 1956 Studebaker colors of Tangerine and Snowcap White. The engine cover is painted Studebaker Tangerine and has a Studebaker emblem on top. Extensive sound proofing was installed to reduce noise. All of the chrome was replated to show quality. The detailing of this car is outstanding and except for the wheels and tires it appears stock at first glance. This is a relatively rare car as only 2,326 Pelham 2-Door Station Wagons were produced during the 1956 model year.

The pictures were taken by Bill Junge at a Havasu Deuces Car Show in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on March 6, 2021. Thanks to Bill for sending the pictures and information about this really cool Studebaker.

Dan Armstrong from Mansfield, Texas has created a number of crossword puzzles and games for car nuts. Dan has a strong interest in Studebakers, particularly the 1956 Sky Hawk, the performance equipped 1963 Lark Daytona, and the performance equipped 1963 and 1964 GT Hawks. The Studebaker crosswords are copyright by Dan Armstrong and are used with his permission. Thanks to Dan for providing the downloadable Studebaker crossword puzzles for readers of this page to enjoy.

This restored Hubley Kiddie Toy Studebaker C Cab Stake Bed Farm Truck is a recent addition to my collection. I purchased it on eBay in February 2021 for $30 including shipping. It was priced higher and I had it on my eBay watch list. The seller saw that I was watching it and offered it to me at a price below the posted price. It is a nicely done restoration and a good value for the price paid. All I did was clean paint overspray from the axles and polish the front grill and bumper assembly. One wheel has a flat spot but I am reluctant to replace it because of the way the axle ends are made. The Hubley appears to be a 1955 E Series truck in that has two rows of horizontal grille openings and a horizontal emblem bar on the lip of the hood.

The Hubley Studebaker C Cab truck was issued in several variations including as a log truck and as a dump truck. They were intended as children's toys not as collector items so they are usually found either well worn or restored. An original Hubley C Cab truck in new condition particularly with its original packaging would be a real find and quite valuable. I'm still searching for the dump truck version which seems to be the hardest to find in decent condition. I may bite the bullet and buy one that needs to be fully restored and give it a go. The restored Hubley Studebaker Log Truck from my collection was featured on this page in August 2014.

This 1:43 scale Milton Mini Auto Cars 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk in metallic green is a recent addition to my collection. It is a copy of the Corgi 1957 Golden Hawk made in India by Morgan Milton Ltd of Calcutta. Milton made a number of copies of Corgi Toys using old Corgi dies with some modifications. For example, the steering wheel on the Corgi above is on the left while the steering wheel on the Milton is on the right. The Milton model has simple one piece black plastic wheels while the Corgi model has rubber tires. The dies used by Milton appear to have been worn out as the Milton castings lack the sharpness of the original. A Corgi Golden Hawk from my collection is included in two of the pictures above for comparison purposes.

The one I recently acquired came in a cardboard picture box. The Milton Golden Hawk was available in metallic green, light to medium blue, and red. All are a solid color with no attempt at two-toning. Hand painted silver trim varies from model to model. Some examples have silver painted front fender vents, some have silver painted door handles, and some have silver painted fuel filler doors. The grooved area at back of the trunk is painted silver on all of the examples I have encountered. Here is a red one from Jeff Sion's collection and here is a blue one that was listed on eBay by a seller in the Netherlands for €129.99 plus €32.00 shipping to the U.S. which equals about $185.

More toy Studes can be found in the Stude Stuff area of this page and on my Studebaker Toys Home Page.

Click here for information on ordering hard to find Studebaker toys made by manufacturers such as Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Muscle Machines, Maisto, and EKO.

Jim Geary's book Studebaker Toy Treasures is the standard reference for collectors of Studebaker Toys. This wonderful book has 294 pages of color pictures and details on hundreds of Studebaker toys. Publication date is 2004 and just about every Studebaker toy and model produced up to that time is pictured and cataloged. Jim is making the book available for $25 plus $14 for shipping. Jim will sign the book if requested. It also comes with a CD of more toys than what is in the book. This is a must for the serious Studebaker toy vehicle collector. Jim can be contacted at sanjim76@live.com or send payment to Jim Geary, 181 Allendale Hills Road, Franklin, NC 28734.