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The Avanti Stiletto

In Washington State I have a collector vehicle plate, a one time purchase that goes on the back only. There are restrictions so it won’t work for a daily driver. Looks like Maryland has an “historic vehicle” category but your car has to be fifty years old. The Chevy dealership I worked at in college used dealer plates with springs and clips the hooked on the rear bumper, never tried it on the front but it could probably be done to withstand the wind. I agree the Avanti looks better without the front plate. Mike

Looks like a good candidate as a museum piece.

That’s going to look nice. Mine are already cut, just need to bend the instrument panel and of course the gauge removal. Thanks.

R2W, I’m thinking of changing my yellowing and peeling brushed aluminum dash and console to the 83 black 20th anniversary style. Any tips you want to share? Did you have to bend the dash piece or was it already bent? Thanks, Mike

Not only would a six not have fit the performance image of the Avanti, the length of the engine would probably been an issue. They might have had to mount the radiator on the front bumper! Mike

Good rant Wayne, I agree! Mike

I love the “sloper” in my 81 4x4 stepside, but I can’t imagine having one in my Avanti! The decision to use the SBC made sense at the time and turned out to be probably the best choice as years went by as folks had lots of options to upgrade their engines. Mike

If you are worried about a judge that probably couldn’t decipher what was original throughout an Avanti II anyway, leave the black cover on for the judge, then put your chrome cover back on so you can enjoy the look the other 99.9% of the time! I agree with Jim and Gunslinger. Enjoy your car the way you like it. Most people don’t know what an Avanti is anyway, let alone what air cleaner it had. Mike

I’m 6’5”, so I sit so high in most rigs the rear view mirror interferes with my view out the windshield. The only thing a low mirror does to me is block the view of the hood. I’ve thought about lowering the one in my 83. Make sure you get it where you want it when you glue on the new mount, that glue grabs quick!

I was introduced to Studebakers in the late sixties when my folks bought a 56 Sky Hawk as an extra car. I’d never heard of an Avanti, but after I did I was smitten and followed the car through the Newman/Altman years, then through Blake and Kelly I would read the brochures and articles of how the Avanti was different from factory built cars, that the assemblers took their time to make everything just right when they put them together by hand. Although quality was advertised, it sounds like it wasn’t always the result. I finally bought mine two years ago, 1983 RQB 3771. It is about the end of the line for the chrome bumper era, the style I like the best. I enjoy mine and hope you find one that brings you pleasure. Good luck with your search, Mike

According to Bob Johnston’s registry, my 83, RQB 3771, once had a blower. It wasn’t on it when I got it and I have no history on it. A crate motor might be more practical but a supercharger on an Avanti is kind of neat! Mike

Randy gave his location as “Spokanish”, maybe it’s the same car. Mike

I had corrosion in my positive cable running across the firewall to the starter. Couldn’t see it under the insulation but a new cable made an amazing amount of difference when it started the car. Mike

Just out of curiosity, what’s the difference between the 259 and 289 -bore, stroke, or a little of both? Be interesting to see what, if any, machine work was done since it’s supercharged. Mike