Photo: Rod Helmuth/Facebook Marketplace
Studebaker has been dead for decades now, having disappeared in 1967 after a long struggle to keep up with GM, Ford, and Chrysler. But the brand left behind a handful of iconic models. The Champion and the Hawk are among the most beautiful designs of their respective eras, while the Avanti was the world's fastest production car upon its introduction.
Back in an era when performance cars barely hit the 150-mph mark, the Avanti reached a top speed of 178 mph (286 kph). It also broke no fewer than 29 speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was 1962 when the Avanti broke cover, but it never reached its full potential due to Studebaker's financial problems.
Discontinued in 1963, the Avanti was built in fewer than 6,000 examples, so it's one of the rarest vehicles from the era. Because it was powerful, impressively fast, and featured a fiberglass body with a complex shape, it's arguably the most desirable Studebaker out there. They're hard to come by, so I was surprised to find one that's been kept in storage for almost 40 years.
This red-painted example from 1963 surfaced the Interwebz on Facebook Marketplace, and the ad says it hasn't "been on the road since the early 1980s." Unfortunately, it spent all these decades unattended, so it's mostly a barn find that needs a complete restoration to reclaim its former glory.
The seller doesn't provide any info, and the photos don't cover the entire car, but they give us a good idea of what needs to be fixed. There's some damage to the right-side front corner, with big cracks in the fiberglass body and signs of rust on the bumpers and under the hood.
The interior seems to be missing a few parts, and one bucket seat is covered in a strange cover, but it shouldn't need a whole lot of work to shine again.
The Avanti packs a 4.7-liter V8 engine under the hood. There's no word on whether it's running or not, but it needs an air cleaner, and it's safe to assume that it won't start without a bit of work. It is clearly an R1 variant of the Avanti, so it comes with the carbureted V8, rated at 240 horsepower back in the day. The supercharged R2 came with 289 horses on tap.
While it's not the best-looking Avanti out there, it's a solid restoration project. There's no extensive damage inside and out, and it shouldn't cost a fortune to bring it back to life. Given there's no heavy rust under the car, that is.
The seller asks $9,999 or "best reasonable offer," and the car is located in the Seattle area. Avanti R1 models usually go for $12,000 in working condition but concours-state examples can fetch close to $60,000. Expensive or not, this Avanti needs to be saved and put back on the road.
Discontinued in 1963, the Avanti was built in fewer than 6,000 examples, so it's one of the rarest vehicles from the era. Because it was powerful, impressively fast, and featured a fiberglass body with a complex shape, it's arguably the most desirable Studebaker out there. They're hard to come by, so I was surprised to find one that's been kept in storage for almost 40 years.
This red-painted example from 1963 surfaced the Interwebz on Facebook Marketplace, and the ad says it hasn't "been on the road since the early 1980s." Unfortunately, it spent all these decades unattended, so it's mostly a barn find that needs a complete restoration to reclaim its former glory.
The seller doesn't provide any info, and the photos don't cover the entire car, but they give us a good idea of what needs to be fixed. There's some damage to the right-side front corner, with big cracks in the fiberglass body and signs of rust on the bumpers and under the hood.
The interior seems to be missing a few parts, and one bucket seat is covered in a strange cover, but it shouldn't need a whole lot of work to shine again.
The Avanti packs a 4.7-liter V8 engine under the hood. There's no word on whether it's running or not, but it needs an air cleaner, and it's safe to assume that it won't start without a bit of work. It is clearly an R1 variant of the Avanti, so it comes with the carbureted V8, rated at 240 horsepower back in the day. The supercharged R2 came with 289 horses on tap.
While it's not the best-looking Avanti out there, it's a solid restoration project. There's no extensive damage inside and out, and it shouldn't cost a fortune to bring it back to life. Given there's no heavy rust under the car, that is.
The seller asks $9,999 or "best reasonable offer," and the car is located in the Seattle area. Avanti R1 models usually go for $12,000 in working condition but concours-state examples can fetch close to $60,000. Expensive or not, this Avanti needs to be saved and put back on the road.
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