(6/19/05)

STUDEBAKER SKYTOP REGISTRY ESTABLISHED

By PAUL WARTA, SDC and NCSDC member

The Studebaker Skytop Registry is now actively collecting information on the surviving 1961 through 1963 Studebakers with the Skytop factory fabric folding sunroof option. The purpose of the Registry is to document the surviving Studebaker Skytop cars; to facilitate the sharing of information on Skytops between owners; to educate the public about Studebaker Skytops; and most importantly to have fun with our Studebakers!

We are currently in the data collection phase, trying to contact all Studebaker Skytop owners to build the actual Registry of cars/owners.

The Studebaker Skytop Registry Homepage is also up and running; while only a rudimentary and temporary site, it allows a place to publicize both Studebaker Skytops and the Registry effort. We encourage everyone to visit the website at: http://hometown.aol.com/r1skytop/myhomepage/index.html , even if you do not own a Studebaker Skytop. For futurte reference, a link to the Skytop Registry website has also been added to the Valuable Links section of the SDC website.

The website contains a short Skytop history, pictures of existing Skytops, scans of factory brochures, and information on other cars that used very similar Skytop-like sunroofs. Detailed information on the 1963 Avanti-powered Skytops is provided, plus a Skytop 'For Sale/Wanted Page'. The website also has a Skytop Technical Page that we hope to fill with information on repairing, maintaining, and restoring Skytop components.

Bookmark the website and keep checking back, because we have a lot of information that is not yet loaded on the website.

If you are a Studebaker Skytop owner, or know of a Skytop owner who is not active on the Internet, please email us at r1skytop@aol.com . We have a registry form that we will either email or send via the US Postal Service; the data will then be entered into the Registry.

The sharing of personal information has been in the news a lot lately. On the Registry, O wners' addresses will not be shared 'publicly'. Email addresses will be shared unless an Owner specifically requests that their email not be shared. If a fellow Skytop Owner would like to contact another Owner on the Registry, this can either be done by email, or the Registry facilitator will act as the intermediary for snail mail.

If you have questions, please email us at r1skytop@aol.com . This email address has been set up specifically for The Studebaker Skytop Registry use.