The earliest Avantis – the ones made by Studebaker and featuring round headlights (not the round lenses sitting in square housings) – remain one of the ultimate bargains in collector cars today, in my opinion. Hard to find and offering very respectable performance even in base R1 form, they are an intriguing alternative to other performance cars of the era without the same high-roller price tag. Of course, in project grade form like this Avanti, the price tag really isn’t a concern, anyhow. The seller has listed it here on craigslist with a reasonable asking price of $4,500 and mentions that he is open to trades.

The Avanti is located in Austin, Texas, which likely explains the sun-baked condition. The exterior has lost all of its paint, and the leather inside is dry and in need of replacement. The dash is cracked, but it appears most of the factory trim and switchgear is still intact. The original hubcaps are sitting on the front seat, and throwing those onto the steel wheels would make for an easy improvement to the exterior cosmetics. The seller notes the Avanti is a factory A/C car, and hopefully that means the original equipment is all still intact. I wonder how much the cabin would improve if the surfaces were just wiped down.

The engine bay looks very tired, and like it hasn’t seen much attention in years. The seller recounts the numerous high-grade components that went into the Avanti engines in his description, but doesn’t touch on any known maintenance or mechanical issues – and no word on whether the engine still spins freely. R1s like this example came with a carbureted 289 with a 4 barrel, and performance was brisk right out of the box. The later supercharged models stepped up the performance cache even more, but an R1 is nothing to sneeze  at. The seller does confirm that the engine is original to the car.

The early production Avantis are definitely the ones to buy if you’re on the hunt for of these polarizing coupes. Studebaker-built and in unrestored condition, this example looks rough but is absolutely worth restoring. Good news structurally is that the seller confirms the vulnerable hog troughs are sound, along with all trim and glass. Chrome surfaces have rust building on top, so expect to re-chrome the bumpers. The wheel chocks may be an indication of a cautious owner or of a compromised parking brake, but either way, the price seems quite reasonable for an early Studebaker-built Avanti.