The Avanti was the iconic car created by Studebaker for 1963-64 that came along too late to save the company. But even after the firm folded, the car lived on through five ownership situations that produced the Avanti II through 2005. Going forward, the fiberglass-bodied car would largely rely on Chevrolet drivetrains to propel the slippery-shaped cars. This Avanti II from 1978 looks as though its seen better days and will need a total restoration. It resides in Welaka, Florida and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,800.

When Studebaker shifted its production to Canada as a last gasp effort for 1964-66, the move effectively ended the run of the original Avanti after only about 4,600 units. This move idled the plant in South Bend, Indiana as well as the tooling for the Avanti, so two area Studebaker dealers swooped it and acquired the rights and hardware to move forward with the car. The Avanti II looked much like the car that spawned it and between 1965 and 1983, Altman & Newman (the dealers( supervised the assembly of 2,528 more cars.

Avanti Motor Corp., as the new company would be called, used Studebaker molds, tooling, and development to keep it going for the next 18 years until they would sell to Steven Blake as a retirement move. The first-generation Avanti II’s would use Chevrolet small-block V8s, mostly the 327. Later the cars would use 305 and 350 V8s. Besides motors and transmissions, the cars also benefitted from GM front disc brakes and air conditioning. Sources indicate that either 142 or 180 Avant II’s were built for 1978, which is small production in either case.

This 1978 Avanti II has been in storage for years. The fiberglass body is in fair condition, but there looks to be a big chunk out of the right front fender and the front bumper is missing, at least for it being on the car. It was painted red at one time, then burgundy later. Back in those days, you could get these cars painted in just about any color you wanted. This one has a sunroof with no mention of whether it’s waterproof. This option was not available on the original Avanti.

Parts of the Chevy V8 are missing (at least the carburetor) and are perhaps included in the “lots of extra parts” the seller says are coming with the car. So, a lot of assembly or repair work under the hood will be required. The mileage claimed is under 60,000, so it must have had some premature issues to give out so early. This car has an automatic transmission, which would likely be GM’s Turbo-Hydramatic.

The interior is rather tired looking and perhaps would clean-up to an acceptable level along with a new set of carpets. But the color combination isn’t that attractive, so perhaps this would be a good opportunity for an Extreme Makeover in the passenger compartment. This car has only had two owners in the past 43 years and Hagerty believes these cars in Fair condition will fetch $6,800. Restored, this car may be worth $25,000, but not likely as much as an original 1963-64 Avanti in comparable shape.