Seldom do automobiles get a second chance when their manufacturer falters. But the Avanti is one of them, an iconic product from Studebaker that was only around for two model years (1963 and 1964). When Studebaker’s U.S. auto production ceased at the end of calendar ’63, it looked like the Avanti was dead. Until two former Studebaker dealers took a chance and bought the molds and production capacity to revive the car in 1965 – and it would continue to be built for another 40 years!
The new company was called Avanti Motors and the Avanti II would be much like the original through 1982. Except for the platform and drivetrain which was sourced from Chevrolet for many years. These automobiles were largely hand-built, so production numbers were low. For example, in 1976, we understand that just 156 copies were assembled, and the seller’s beautiful example is one of them.
This sharp example was purchased by the seller a few months ago. The prior owner had the car for 18 years before that and a bit of work was needed to bring it back to specs. It’s described as a “turn-key 10-ft. driver” which means it may not win any awards but is nice enough to turn a few heads. When it was built, the color of the paint was Cameo Gold, but it wears a white finish now. Everything is up to snuff except for the radio.
The odometer reads just 33,000 miles, but that number cannot be verified. Work done by the seller includes a new set of wheels and tires, the gas tank, and fuel lines, and the carburetor was treated to a rebuild. Under the hood resides a Chevy 400 cubic inch “small block” V8 paired with what should be a TH-350 automatic transmission (perhaps the same as you could get in a Monte Carlo in 1976).
From Cypress, Texas, this Studebaker tribute of sorts is being sold because the seller is thinning the herd due to acquiring new housing. It’s available here on eBay where the current bid is $9,900 with no reserve looming. Would you consider an Avanti II to be a good substitute for a genuine Studebaker Avanti?
Love the Avanti. This one would cruise nice i bet. Of course the 289 w factory supercharger ↩️ and 4sp are unreal.
Me, too … probably my all-time favorite … one of the most beautiful cars of all time … almost bought one of Nate Altman’s back in the 70s … even though it gets 117 here in the summer, my choice would still be the R2 manual …
I’ve always been partial to Avanti’s, and this one appears to be a fairly nice example of one manufactured after Studebaker bit the dust. For me, the small block Chevrolet is a welcome addition to what I believe is a pretty iconic car. If I was in the market for a “toy” car, I would certainly consider this one. Good luck to both the seller and the eventual buyer.
I have a ’73 400 4spd all factory. Weird that this one doesn’t have an A/C pump anymore, A/C was standard equipment on these. The cool thing about these cars is you can still order factory ‘build/order sheets’ for them and find out how they were built. As far as driving one, they are pretty awesome and usually well loaded up with options, A/T/C, power windows/locks/disc brakes/power moon roof, the early ones all come with SW gauges. Pretty cool cars.
Not having a 4 speed was the only drawback that I found on this car. Good to know that the manufacturer had that as an option, so finding the parts to convert one shouldn’t be impossible. That would most certainly make this car even cooler than it already is.
Awesome car Bird 👍
Minor correction/clarification: The Avanti II was always built on a Studebaker platform (not Chevy) throughout its run, using new old stock Lark convertible chassis up through ’84 or so when that supply of chassis finally ran out.
The Avanti IIs did however use a series of various Chevy V8s, which required the front end to be lifted by an inch or so to clear the taller intake stack, with the front wheelarches also lowered accordingly to close the resulting wheel gap, losing some of the original Avanti’s raked stance and leaner front-end massing in the bargain.
They only switched to Chevy chassis as of ’87, by which time they’d also already dropped the “II” from the name, and the interior changed as well. Whereas the prior cars IMO could be legitimately considered a continuation and subtle evolution of Studebaker’s Avanti production, I regard these latter cars as little more than Avanti tributes, sharing nothing but the general body shape with the originals.
My late friends (husband & wife) were looking for something different in the early 80s. I told them to buy an Avanti & they did from a small Chev.-Buick dealer in suburban sw Mpls. They moved to Calif. in ’87 & used to take it to a shop in Oregon every other year or so for service. Theirs was white with tan leather. Miss them & the car.
Hands down, the most beautiful design of the 1960s, IMHO.