This 1964 Studebaker Avanti is a desirable early generation car that was unfortunately torn down for a restoration that never began. The coupe has a mild celebrity connection, at one time belogning to Dr. Ralph Stanley, a well-known bluegrass musician who passed in 2016. The Avanti was sold by the museum bearing his name some time before that, and it’s now here on eBay selling at no reserve.
Bidding is quite low at the moment, hovering near $3K with the auction ending Sunday night. The Avanti lineage is quite complex, with different ownership groups claiming control over the years. The earlier cars always have sense of purity about them, being closest to the original manifestation of the show-car design and Studebaker vision. Production figures also indicate 1964 models represented a small batch of vehicles before the factory closed.
The seller offers no mention as to its history beyond the famous musician ownership and once being housed in a museum. He is almost apologetic about the car’s current state, clearing up quickly that he’s not the one who turned into a half-finished restoration with lots of loose ends. There’s no word on whether motor turns, but it’s claimed to have 75,000 miles. Power was respectable across the Avanti line and routed via a Borg-Warner sourced automatic.
The interior looks like it’s in dire need of a cleaning, and that may not even help all that much. The seller makes no mention of rust, so we hope this rough project-grade example at least has that going for it. While the musical connection is interesting, I doubt it will add any value here. Bidding is low and the auction is winding down – does anyone think this could be snagged for under $5K?
Buy this one without checking out the hog troughs, and you could be a “Man of Constant Sorrow”.
Or you could find yourself up “The Lonesome River”.🎶
Or another body of water without a paddle.
I know I’m getting kind of technical, but when the car was disassembled the restoration began. Your write up should probably state that the restoration was not completed…
I am always amazed at flippers or storage buyers .
The car is in your garage so pull the sh*t out of your car and armeral the seats and let the buyer see what else is in the car 😳
Does it have bumpers?
How’s the underneath pans?
Is there a carb on manifold under wraps?
Where’s the breather?
Is the original owner in the trunk? Or what is in the trunk?
This could of boosted your flip by thousands ……….
So right!!!!!!!
Umm where’s the steering wheel and column🤦♂️🙈🙊🙉
No one has written “car flippers book for dummies” yet to aid common sense challenged people😂
You can kinda just see the steering wheel in the driver side back window.
You nailed it Classic Steel & Driverless Car?, said exactly what I was thinking !! Someone needs to write that book (Car Flipping For Dummies), cuz these ads can get frustrating 🤨
Steering column?
…there’s that Raymond Loewy again.
Has this car been in a flood? Look at that waterline.
Where in the hell is the steering wheel or is it opps ya have to buy a steering colum for it as well?
For this price, it would be worth taking a chance on it, at the very worst, the parts would bring far more than the current bidding.
Sad fate of the end of South Bend….pretty sure a red on is rare….gots to go get a beverage to smooth this one out……
This is the worst barn find proporting to be a classic find looks like a flood car it’ll cost a fortune to restore, the absence of a steering column & steering wheel alone is a red flag. The seller has not been honest. If it smells like fish it is get your money back its not worth it.