Studebaker got a reprieve in the late 1950s with the compact Lark. That little car breathed life temporarily back into a company that suffered greatly from its merger with Packard. By the early 1960s, Studebaker’s fortunes were beginning to falter again, and they hoped to strike gold twice with the new Avanti personal luxury automobile. But it wasn’t the sales success they had hoped for, and the company stopped U.S. production in late 1963, putting an early end to the Avanti (for a time). This first-year example is owned by a museum, yet it finds itself outside behind the building. Located in Nation City, California, this presumed survivor is available here on craigslist for $12,995. Our appreciation goes to Pat L. for this Turquoise tip treat!
Management had hoped the Avanti, with its fiberglass body, would grow to 20,000 units in sales each year. But that number didn’t even get to 5,000 in total when things came to an abrupt stop. When Studebaker shifted all auto production to Canada in the middle of the 1964 model year, the Avanti was not part of the transition. But the car would live on a couple of years later when two former Studebaker dealers bought the name and production capabilities and brought the Avanti II to life in 1965 with Chevrolet drivetrains.
The Avanti borrowed from the existing Studebaker parts bin, so a 289 cubic inch V8 should be under the hood of this ‘63 edition. 2,282 copies of the Avanti were built that year with the non-supercharged version of the motor (while 1,552 did come with that add-on equipment). Zero background is offered on this car which is said to be the property of the San Diego Automotive Museum but no evidence of it appears on their website or elsewhere. There is some confusion about the auto’s mileage as the seller says it’s 42,000 yet a photo of the odometer reflects 86,000.
We’re told this Studebaker is in fair condition, but no mention is made of whether it runs or needs any mechanical work. It appears to look okay, but the paint is faded a bit and the interior looks a little amiss. But why would a museum park a classic like this outside and possibly cover it like the two other vehicles that surround it? A little more information about this car would be helpful, but it appears to be one of the nicer Avantis we’ve run across of late.
Owed by a Museum does not necessary mean displayed. A lot of musuems have things they own but are not ready for display. Car does look solid though
The museum probably took the car donation with the intent of selling the car to fund the museum, while the donor received a healthy tax write-off.
But priced about $3,000 to $4,000 too high, based on what will be required to restore everything.
And you would think the museum would know how to spell the name of the car. (Hint: There’s no “E” on the end!!)
My Brother is working with MOMAon Wilshire Blvd to restore and put on exhibit in 2025. He was the 2nd ow.ner of this car after Raymond Lowyes. Joe Zeiger
This is a really good deal if its as solid as it looks.I’d love to put it in my garage if I had the room and it was closer.It’s probably out back because they are selling the property asap.An american classic.
An American classic…like the Clenet!
For the record, being sarcastic about the Clenet.
Great color. In & out. What’s up with the wood dash?
It’s actually “National City” (abutting San Diego), which the seller should know. So, consistency in errors.
And it’s Avanti….. NOT “Avante”. Spelling is not the sellers (or museum) strong suit.
Saw one of these in a car show as a kid, with wire wheels, and dark blue paint. Was smitten at the time, not sure I would appreciate it as much now. I remembered it as having a hopped up small block Chev…
Actually, now that Ive looked at it a little bit, that dash situation seems all wrong. Shouldnt it be padded? This looks like something out of a high school shop class
I think that’s the exposed base structure that’s normally hidden under the pad.
New dash pads are available form several sources. They seem to vary greatly in quality and price. The brand that claims to fit is best costs about $2,200 including shipping, and then you must install it yourself.
This car may be good, but the ad description is definitely weak. I’d inspect it if I lived nearby. Since I don’t, I’m out.
I stand corrected. That dash is somebody’s homemade wooden replacement for the factory padded dash.
There’s no covering that hideous thing with a stock reproduction padded dash; it would have to be removed first. So the question is: what’s beneath it?
One of my all-time favorites, but I’m a big Studebaker fan … almost ordered one of Nate Altman’s reproductions back in the 70s … still have the brochure around somewhere …
I still remember when Richard Mulligan stole one in the movie SOB
Seller must not know much about what they are selling.
They keep calling it an “Avante”
Isn’t that a beverage size at Starbucks?
I, in fact, like the wooden dash. If it were mine I’d include the instrument cluster also.
Has an Arizona license plate affixed to the rear.
I volunteer at a museum that has the first Avanti ever made.
Museums will receive donations of cars, The owners donate them, hoping that their car will live on in a museum. The museums let the owner know that the car may be sold in order to support the museum with funding. I suspect that’s the case with this car. The museum does not want to put it on display, but in fact, wants to sell it to Support the museum
Do the owners get a tax write off when they donate?
It reminds me of when I worked in I.T. in schools. Parents would always want to donate their old computer equipment and 9 times out of 10 it was old junk that we could never use. We politely declined every time, but we did take some stuff in that was decent (usually from businesses that went defunct or were upgrading all of their I.T. equipment). In those cases, I believe they worked out something with the office on getting paperwork they could use for a write-off.
Yes, donators get a tax write off for the value of the vehicle.
If the suspected value is over $5000, the donors need to have a professional appraisal done for the value in order to get the tax write off
I’m sure they removed the cover to take photos…I see it on the ground. I’ve always liked the body style of the Avanti…ahead of it’s time. Sounds cheap enough…but too many unanswered questions.
First Avanti I’ve seen this well equipped. Looks like it has Power brakes and steering and has A/C. Looks great in this color combo too! I hope someone saves this and brings it back to it’s former glory. It looks worthy of it!
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Looks fine from above. But for the price, the undercarriage must be as decent as the above photos, with no rot, very little rust. Running would also be required at that price.