1963 Studebaker Avanti

Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Manual

R-3694

Gasoline

Up for auction is a 1963 Avanti v.i.n. R-3694, body number RQ-2709. Originally an R2 supercharged V8 engine number RS-2137, the second owner had the 289 short block traded for a Studebaker 259 with an R2 cam. The rest of the engine including the R2 heads and the proper sealed R2 carb, is original. He said he was after an engine that was faster off the line. In theory at least, the 259, with a shorter stroke, can out rev the 289. It is very strong and very fast; you can catch rubber out of the first three gears. The factory paperwork says the car went through final assembly on March 7, 1963 and was shipped to St. Petersburg Florida. It was then taken to Texas where it was eventually purchased by its second owner in 1987. So the last title is from Texas, signed by that second owner and open. This is a very good example of the '63 Avanti. It has not been a daily driver hence accumulating only 67,000 miles so far, but it is a driver. It has never been a show car. We bought it in March of 2009 and have driven it a bit over 1500 miles to date. As you can see in the pictures it shows the wear of a car in use. It is totally solid underneath. There are no issues with the hog troughs and the support under the trunk is original and solid. The brakes have been regularly serviced and are excellent. The engine does not overheat and it does not burn oil. The 4 speed has had one rebuild and the alternator and starter have been rebuilt. The R2 heads got a valve job 3,000 miles ago. It has a Dave Thibeault electronic ignition in it. You could get in this car right now and drive it anywhere but I think it is time for someone to go through the body so that it looks as good as it runs. It is listed as Avanti turquoise from the factory so it is not in its original paint and it needs to be redone. An earlier attempt at repaint when the engine was out explains the color in the engine compartment. The holes on top of the driver's side fender are from the now missing mirror. The factory order includes tinted windshield with sun band and tinted side windows. It has the twin traction rear end with a 3.73 ratio. It does not have power steering and was converted to the shorter steering arm for quicker steering. I think that the pictures tell the rest of the story. We intended to paint the car and deal with the dash cover. The seats and door panels are excellent for original Avanti. So here it is, reserved at only what we have into it. Buy it now before everything in Connecticut freezes and have a great car when the Spring shows up.