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The gentleman that now owns the Avanti ‘R5’ engine is a visionary! Many years ago he had the initative to pursue the Granatelli brothers for all the unique R5 engine parts… back when no one else was really very interested in these parts, finally acquiring them…. Setting the parts to one side for years, he ultimately reassembled this one of a kind engine….. Now, I’m not sure if he’s using the original damaged block or not, and it’s been said the pistons were changed, but all the peripheral parts are now assembled, with the engine now sitting on an engine stand. Once again, it would be wonderful to see this unique R5 engine again under the hood of the Due Cento Studebaker Avanti!

Well said!

I think any Avanti that is improved on or brought back to life is good for the whole Avanti community, regardless of the reason for doing it. Mike

Yes they do!

They don't know where the original engine is.

I went a different way to get rear discs. I took a ford explorer 8.8 limited slip rear end and shortened the left side axle an inch or so, removed ford spring perches and put on ones to fit stude springs, also made mounts for torque rods (traction bars). E brake cable IHad made by california push pull, locally. Nice clean set up.

MFG.. Yeah, they were a unique touch.... as were the l.e.d. side markers.(I put them on my H2 Hummer) So, an '85' Avanti in very good condition can be had for around $25-30k. Wouldn't it have made better sense to start with a fine example and improve on it? ... The entire logic of that restoration, baffles me.

The custom sill plates on that car that illuminate the name ‘Avanti’ when the doors are opened is very ‘Cool’!

Did he mention if there is any possibility of reuniting R5 engine with this car?

If you guys had been at the AOAI convention last September like we were, you would have received the full accurate story, met Bennet, hands on the car and received the multi-page booklet on that car and the history of it.

https://austin.craigslist.org/cto/d/austin-1985-avanti-22k-original-miles/7895643993.html

This was a old ''Fantom Works'' Tv show... I saw the $150k one Your talking about but this nowhere compared to that one. Nice work but there seems to be a limit to Car Logic.

One detail on the ‘Due Cento’ I’m not very keen on is the full rear fender skirts! I understand they were added for important aerodynamic reasons… however, as far as looks go, I doubt if very many current Studebaker Avanti owners will be replicating them!!!

RQB3263/81 ... THESE WHEELS ARE 16 INCH ...FORD MUSTANG 07-09 SALVAGE YARD 50$ EACH .... BUT I HAVE NO CLUE AS TO THE BACK SPACING... BUT REQUIRED SPACER/ADAPTERS 1 1/4 INCH IN FRONT FOR SUSPENSION CLEARANCE AND 1 INCH IN REAR FOR GOOD LOOKS ... WORKED WELL FOR TEN YEARS NOW AND LOOKS GREAT THE TIRES ARE VOGUE GOLD LINE WHITE WALL R225/60R/16 BUY 5 AS THIS COMBO WILL FIT IN THE AVANTI SPARE TIRE WELL !! BEST WISHES AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS ....BILL IN FLORIDA

What was the backspacing on the wheels you used?

You forgot the first rule of business "The customer is always right" not knowing what the guy ended up with for his 100k investment makes it difficult to jugde, after all a custom Avanti just sold on bring a trailer for over 150k

RQB3263/81/305 MELROSE FLORIDA 411 MILES FROM CHESTER SC .....I READ WITH GREAT INTEREST ABOUT YOUR REAR DISC BRAKE CONVERSION... I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO CONVERT RQB3263 TO REAR DISCS FOR YEARS !! I HAVE THE SAME DANA 44 /6 BOLT BACKING PLATE AS YOUR 84 AVANTI PLEASE CALL BILL GREGG CELL 386-466-6434 ANY TIME AS I WOULD LIKE TO PLAN A 2026 AVANTI PROJECT AND THIS SOUNDS PERFECT .....THANKS BILL GREGG

SO...I was watching a popular car show where a client comes in with an '85' Avanti needing restored. The car was a total mess but did have a radical engine in place. The shop told the owner that the project didn't make sense, but the owner insisted in going ahead. This fool owner had collected a slew of parts at a total tallied cost of $55ish K. His wife was unaware of this and shocked. The bottom line is it cost this individual a 1000 hour labor bill (plus some parts) to get the car finished. So what we can assume is the entire project likely cost this person near $100k. Not added in the mix was the initial cost of buying the vehicle/. This is to me where emotions and desires have gone off the rails horribly. Should a shop out of Moral Obligation refuse a Job like this? (I vote absolutely yes)

sted 6 minutes ago RQB3263/81/305 .... TRACK BAR REHAB COMPLETE ... KEY ... USE LOTSA ANTI SEIZE COMPOUND ON EVERYTHING ... AND... LOOSEN THE U-BOLTS THAT HOLD THE AXEL HOUSING TO THE SPRING.... I REMOVED THE NUTS ONE AT A TIME AND ANTI SEIZED THEM LIBERALLY ...ONE AT A TIME.... THIS WAS ALL DONE EASILY WITHOUT JACKING THE CAR OR REMOVING THE WHEEL.... BUT UP ON A 4 POST LIFT .... KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK .... BEST WISHES IN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE .... BILL IN FLORIDA ...

RQB3263/81/305 .... TRACK BAR REHAB COMPLETE ... KEY ... USE LOTSA ANTI SEIZE COMPOUND ON EVERYTHING ... AND... LOOSEN THE U-BOLTS THAT HOLD THE AXEL HOUSING TO THE SPRING.... I REMOVED THE NUTS ONE AT A TIME AND ANTI SEIZED THEM LIBERALLY ...ONE AT A TIME.... THIS WAS ALL DONE EASILY WITHOUT JACKING THE CAR OR REMOVING THE WHEEL.... BUT UP ON A 4 POST LIFT .... KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK .... BEST WISHES IN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AND DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE .... BILL IN FLORIDA ...

After removing the liner from the glove box vanity the name "Lescoa" appeared in script. Is this something original to a 63 car or is this a replacement from a later year car? Thanks for any help, Tom

My daughter and son in law tinker with AI songwriting, so while visiting for the holidays I told her to ask AI to write a song from the perspective of a new '63 Avanti waiting patiently in the showroom for it's new owner. She's a big Toy Story fan so she told it to make it similar to a song in the movie. Here is what it cranked out in about a minute. As you might expect, it failed miserably on the photo attached to the song, so I posted my Avanti below. https://suno.com/song/9f92ace4-33cb-41d8-9aee-34b263ed02ae?sh=MEh30LYupukGKBvI&fbclid=IwY2xjawOayVNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOR0VpemFQZGxaNmFjZ1Qwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnTBySmWNVzdZY6q04I7gRume-eN-2BWdFFcdP-0GhlQZaCrUnosLX9rSVaQ_aem_Q28XfNXE2LHFENJgDo0j2Q

I’ve never been a fan of hood scoops on Studebaker Avantis… However, the air scoop which the Granatellis added at the front edge of the Due Cento’s hood looks, to me, mean & aggressive…. I like it!!

Is the driveshaft the correct length? If it’s too long and no room for the slip yoke to move forward on the output shaft it will bind when springs compress. I assume it still has a Dana 44?

I don’t hate the look without the grille, and with all the projects I still have on the table I’m not sure if I will ever get to it. A cheap material might be a good idea if there will a lot of trial and error. The cross bars would be easier, but I like the look of some type of mesh. Our Avantis are always calling! Mike