I guess that the owner of this Avanti II has referred to it as a Studebaker for convenience, but by the time this example was produced, it was no longer a Studebaker, but the product of the Avanti Motor Company. As such, while the Avanti II was visually almost identical to the original Studebaker product, there have been some pretty significant changes to the car itself. You will find this Avanti II listed for sale here on Craigslist. It is located in Lennon, Michigan, and is being offered for sale with a clean title. The owner has set a price of $8,500 for this car.
The owner refers to this Avanti II as an all original barn find. It will need some restoration work, but overall, it doesn’t look too bad. We don’t know the condition of the frame, The fiberglass body looks in good condition, but it will definitely require a repaint. All of the exterior trim and badges also appear to be in place, but the bumpers look they may need a trip to the plater. All of the glass appears to be present and in good condition, and the wheels also look quite good.
The interior is complete, and it also looks like it is original. This can be quite hard to be 100% sure of with an Avanti II, as they were essentially a hand-built car with a myriad of different options and equipment. If the buyer had the money, they could have the interior trimmed in virtually any material that they chose. It’s a bit hard to be sure, but I think that the trim on this car is cloth and leather, rather than cloth and vinyl. The cloth itself looks good, and the leather is solid, but a bit discolored in places. I don’t think that it will need replacing, because I think a clean and condition will revive it nicely. The carpet has been removed from the vehicle, but the owner has it, and it will be included in the sale.
Initially, the Avanti II was fitted with a Studebaker engine, but the company moved the Chevrolet engines very quickly. Over the lifespan of the Avanti II, there were a number of different engines used, and the final Avanti II built in March 2006 was fitted with a Ford V8 engine. Our feature car is fitted with its original engine, which is a 327ci Chevrolet V8 which produces 300hp. This is backed by a Power-Shift automatic transmission. The owner says that the car runs and drives, but it will require work on the brakes. Speaking of brakes, the car is fitted with power brakes, with front discs and rear drums, and it is also fitted with power steering.
In its original Studebaker guise, the Avanti was an attempt by the manufacturer to build a sports car. Under the stewardship of the Avanti Motor Company, the Avanti II was marketed as a GT car. The Avanti II is also a car of mystery, as no one has ever been certain how many were built in total. That makes this an interesting car that might represent a good investment.
Don’t think any Avanti ii;s ever were fitted with Studebaker mills as the engine plant closed in late 1963. all studes from then on,both Avanti 2’s and regular cars built in Hamilton were Chevy powered.
To the contrary, the Avantis could be fitted with the “R” series 1-3. The Studebaker plant in Soutbend stopped making cars in Dec of 63. The Canadian plant built from then until the last STUDE ROLLED OFF IN 1966. 1965 and 1966 used chevy motors
NO Avanti IIs were ever fitted with a Studebaker engine. Studebaker used them in-house until they ran out and then used GM engines in later models built in ON. In the first few years, the Avanti II, manufactured by Avanti Motor Corp in South Bend, used 300 hp 327s. They were, however, built on Studebaker chassis until around 1985 when the inventory was depleted.
All later model Avanti’s all the Ford 289 V8.
May you please cite your source on this, Geof? I own a 1966 Avanti II with the original Chevy
327/300hp engine. I have the factory production sheet and it lists the engine serial number, which is stamped on the block in front of the passenger cylinder head.
To the best of my knowledge, all the Avanti II’s built in South Bend through 1983 had some iteration of the smallblock Chevy.
Some of the very late Avanti’s were based on the Mustang platform, but that was well after the Ford 289 was out of production.
One of the challenges and tasks of being an Avanti owner is helping clear up
misconceptions and erroneous info. The convoluted history and myriad versions can mislead even the well-intended.
Restored one in 90s chevy powered wasnt bad just ugly and rough ride . Wasnt worth 10g after restoration the owner lost on that one .
Wow that is one disc brake vacuum canister shown in the Engine pictures.
I think it’s a classic cool looking car!
Silver on red is the best color on many cars of this era,and this one is no exception.For me ,”patina ” is overrated,and sounds like Italian for “needs paint” but this paint looks salvageable.Detail that engine bay,get the front bumper (maybe more) to the chrome shop,wax ‘er up,and cruise in style.Many will ask “wtf is that ? “
interesting cars, it reminds me on the NSU RO80 a verry beautiful and also progressive car
Don’t think Avanti’s were ever built in Hamilton. Last couple of years,thru 66 were just Commander. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I think @roblack meant “both regular cars built in Hamilton and Avanti 2’s [built in South Bend] were Chevy powered.”
BTW, that’s also why the Avanti IIs lost the raked stance and got chunkier-looking front fenders. They had to raise the front end by about an inch, and lower the front wheelarches accordingly to close the resulting wheel gap, in order to clear the taller intake stack of the Corvette engine.
I often wonder how readily a II fitted with a modern low-profile FI plenum could have the front end re-lowered and wheelarches re-raised (and round headlights retrofitted while you’re at it) to restore the original stance.
During the last 2 model years produced (65-66) in Hamilton, the line consisted of Commander, Cruiser, Daytona and Wagonaire. Basically the only differences were the trim levels, but in the ’66 models, the interior trim were extremely nice with some of the nicest materials I have seen, even compared to higher priced luxury type cars available in the states. Starting on the 65 models, they did use GM engines produced by McKinnon Industries, and were heavy duty units built for industrial applications. The 283 fit very nicely with a change of front frame mounts and with the addition of a rear frame mount. The 6 cylinder was very tight front to back and the water pump flange was pushed back well over an inch, which has to be done when replacing the water pump. Otherwise, no problem except for the poor gas mileage that they got in comparison to the Studebaker powered ones. I have owned 1 65, and 4 ’66’s, one I bought new. I still prefer the Stude engines, of which I have had many.
No supercharger!!!!! LOL
I know, I know……
Looks like an pretty intact survivor. The carpet on these cars is 14 pieces, with lots of them glued in place…not something to just remove, then put back. I’d hope it’s a replacement carpet set that’s included.
The big deal on any Avanti/Stude-framed Avanti II is rust in the hog troughs (sheet metal body reinforcements) and rear portions of the frame,especially in snow country. Replacement troughs are available for around $1500, but a LOT of shop time to correctly install. Not an easy job.
Always loved these cars….not the performance level of a contemporary Corvette, but a decent driver and will garner way more looks/questions/admiration than your run-of-the-mill ‘66 Mustang Fastback.
Yup – – they were — are a head turner and draw a crowd at car shows and cruises.. and of course entertaining comments the owner hears from time to time.
I do like the Studebaker Hawk Series more.
However, I appreciate all specialty vehicles and their owners appreciation of our hobby, keeping it alive for future generations.
When the Avanti ll was kind of resurrected and proclaimed as being hand built “Quality” vehicle, I found one on the showroom floor at our local Wheaton GMC Pontiac Cadillac dealer.
I went over the vehicle checking fitment and alignments paint quality etc and was amazed that what one might have expected as a high quality hand built vehicle wasn’t what you might have expected.
Hood, and drivers door gaps / alignment was off, and the paint job had very visible orange peal on quarters and trunk areas.
So – – – as they say = = = built on Monday or Friday?
I was surprised that the vehicle reached the dealership having missed the QC inspection, and adjustments plus the dealership staging it before having some of the obvious dealt with.
Given the quality presented MSRP price tag was hard to swallow.
NOW – – don’t get me wrong, I really liked the style and all, just was taken back by what I saw going over the car, and the salesman that was kind of hovering around agreed in a sidebar conversation over coffee in their coffee room with what I’d noted. He was going to pass it on to management.
NOTE: I am a retired Specialty Auto Appraiser (having my own business which I sold some time ago), hobbyist / restorer car show producer etc. so probably have a more critical eye than some enthusiasts,
Anyway, it was a nice car.
Nuff said.
Never have I seen an Avanti of any vintage with roll up windows
I worked as a die inspector in what was left of the Studebaker stamping, refinishing and shipping department after Allied Products bought it.. That was around 1979 but there were still old timer Studebaker employees working there. You knew them by how many fingers they had left.. no OSHA regulations in the early days..
Anyway, the old timers said that some of the earliest ‘64 Avantis were built in what was the South Bend upholstery building.. then all tooling, jigs and other equipment was shipped to Canada.
They also said that interiors for Avantis continued to be manufactured in the old South Bend upholstery building for a few more years.
I knew a guy in Mishawaka that bought a ‘67 new with a Chrysler 440 and Torque Flight transmission in it. Not sure if it was a special order or not though.
But it was a beast.
My Dad owned one of the early cars. His, I think, was a Chevrolet motor. I thought it was a 327. It went away before I could drive it on my own (which meant that it was driven very gently under my Dad’s supervision. Ours did have power windows. I seem to remember that the later Avantis could be distinguished by the wheel cutouts which had a slight rake versus the original which had straight ones (or vice versa). the early cars also had round headlight bezels versus the rectangular ones.. Ours always looked like they should have glass covers over them, but I think that was illegal back then. We drove ours to Colorado from Chicago and then from Kansas City several times and it made more than one trip up Pikes Peak. I thought the “bucket” seats were the coolest thing ever invented.
I was completely in love with the car and had dreams of taking one of the local girls to the Prom in it. Like most dreams, it didn’t happen, but at least I married the girl I would have taken. We went in a two-year old Buick Skylark which stayed with us for the first few years of our marriage.
The Avanti turned heads everywhere it went. Contrary to what has been written elsewhere, ours seemed almost perfect All of the parts fit the door gaps were perfect, and it drove very nicely. My Dad was a connoisseur who went on to own some other cars that I also wanted.
From 1963 to 1985, Avanti II’s were built on the Studebaker-designed chassis. Then used the Chevrolet Monte Carlo chassis; which Chevy discontinued in 1987, and Avanti switched to the Chevrolet Caprice chassis.
The first Avanti II’s MAY have had Studebaker engines, as he Avanti 240- and 290-horsepower V-8s actually were available for some 1964 models. But Studebaker engines were gone by 1965, so two Chevy engines were offered for 1965 and 1966,
No Studebaker engines in the Avanti ll
My friend in the service had an Avanti. He always referred to the engine as a 289. I just assumed it was a Ford engine.
Studebaker Avanti Had a 289 or a 304 both Studebaker engines
Avanti II’s never had Studebaker engines. Those engines were never available to the Altman brothers who bought the tooling and rights to the car. They built them in South Bend originally to a very high standard. The cars always had Chevy engines. Starting with the 327, then the 400, then the 350, and finally the 305. The interiors were all built to the customers wishes. This was for the time period of 1966 to 1982.
Had a ’66 Daytona 30 yrs ago. Called on the ad and the guy said it had a Studebaker “283” and parts were very hard to find. Ha Ha. It was of course a 283 sbc, but had Studebaker valve covers. Love the Avanti. :-) Terry J
Avanti II’s never had Studebaker or Ford engines installed in new vehicles. Production started in late 65 with the 300 hp 327 used until 69 when it used 350’s for a few years years, 400’s from 72-76, 350’s for 77-78 and 305’s after. Ford power did appear when the last ownership of Avanti Motors used the Mustang for the basis of the car. Avanti production was in South Bend from 65 to 87, Youngstown OH 88-91, then to Villa Rica GA and finally to Cancun Mexico with 07 being the last production year.
Value- wise, the original supercharged 63 and 64 Avantis bring the most money, build quality-wise, the Avanti II’s were better than the originals. Handling wise, I prefer the 89’s built on the Caprice chassis. I had a 64 Avanti 52 years ago and currently own a 76 Avanti II and an 89 Avanti convertible. I like each generation for different reasons. They were and still are a unique and polarizing design that looks great going down the road no matter what year or decade it is.
Here’s my 89 Avanti convertible.