All Activity

Anthony. I just sent you a private message..

disregard - used

disregard - used

The April ‘24 AOAI Calendar car is truly an outstanding example of a low mileage, unrestored Studebaker Avanti …. and also an ultra rare ‘Avanti Black’ model! As Mr. Rippa indicates, R4175 was displayed at the 1975 Autorama show in Boston… and I was there! I babysat that Avanti during the three day show whenever it’s then owner, my friend Paul Savard, wasn’t there. R4175 sat right beside my 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk at that show… the car which I bought back in 2021, and am presently restoring.

Well after finally loosing it while removing the seats of RQB-3616 some weeks ago I did some damage to the non-locking sliding rail that I am pretty sure I can't recover from. Anyway through my efforts I found out that the seat rails are the same one that were in use on the Porsche 944/924 in the early 80's..... NOT sure that I will go down that road. Used Set that look to have fought both Gulf Wars single highhandedly are looking like $150 post shipping.....

Well my seats are done and back from the shop!!!! i will not say how long or how many times it took me to get the driver's seat in and set so that I could crawl into the car but I will say that I do like the end results. I tried a new set of universal sliders but they were a NO-GO on the driver's seat. They were 1/8in two wide so they sat lower than the originals and caused the seat to sit higher. The results were my knees barely getting under the steering wheel. So original sliders it is. I will use the universal set on the passenger side. They will be going back for as there are some issues with the rear seat and the headrests. I will swing by the shop as soon as I get the passenger seat installed to show them my concerns and then let them have it after Iron Chariots on 4 May. I did get it out on the road and it ran well especially considering it hasn't been on the road since last summer....

Hey Gold? Wanna go out for a Run Tomorrow,? Bring yer Camara !

Gold. Thanks for the feedback. Nice Quote.. Yeah. I fell into the purchase I made. It came available and I jumped on it immediately. I wasn't searching for one, it just appeared and I knew instinctively the pricing was low, and after some short research I glom'ed on it. . So It arrived and I found a few minor issues needing addressed like the front bumper needing a repaint, a door hinge no good, and some small scratches in the clear-coat. All easily serviceable items. She's got 40k miles on Her. 3 years is a long wait for one,..I hope ya come up with something.. Availability is sparse and pricing (to me) is an unknown, since they are widely misunderstood,,, even unknown by the general Car Buying Public. So I'll hold to my $50k ballpark and someday in the future, lI'll list it for that,, What will it bring? I don't have to let it go and won't accept less than $45-46k after my repairs are done to Her. She can stay here for years for all I care. I have not as of yet gotten ANY negative responses. If I do, I have to assume it would come from Studie Purists. Owning a '63' R2 Avanti. I could claim, anything after '64' isn't really a Studie... It's a GM Based car.... But that would be narrow minded and discounting efforts that led up to what I own now. I look at the Production Numbers... This one is 1 out of 53 in 4 years (or 1 out of 11-13ish in '02'.) A quick personal experience at 2 different Store Locations.... 1 at Walmart and the 2nd at Ingles Food Store. ... I don't park in their parking lots. I'll pull up to the front of the store and stay in the car as Wifey goes in and does Her thing. Both times the car has been flooded with people of all ages and genders wondering what the car is. Then the Phone Cameras come out. The conversations get extensive and always to the point of me describing the car in detail.....I normally will do a few local venue Car Shows, but that hasn't happened yet. This should be interesting this year. Canton Mich? My old stomping grounds... I'm originally from Taylor. MI... After numerous moves, I'm now in a different Canton (in NC). Dan O'

Aardvark, I have been looking for a 2001-2004 Avanti for about 3 years. I know of a yellow one (out East somewhere) with a red interior & 6-speed stick trans and I know of a a red one in Waco, TX. Both are available in the $40+k range. Those showing up at dealers and on Gateway's sites are in the $50+k range. I bid on a near new Supercharged 2004 yellow conv with black interior on B.A.T. last May. It sold for $32.5k, a real good deal. These cars sold for between $75k & $83k when new. Getting a 2002 at what you and I paid for them were great deals. Even paying another $10k for additional work (body/paint and/or mechanical) still place these great cars as a good purchase for us both (IMHO). As far as people saying negative words about them (just a reworked Camaro or Firebird, it's just a kit car or it's not an Avanti) I have permission from Lew Schucart to quote him from a reply of his on B.A.T.. And that is (again, quoting Lew): “Nothing competes with the work Tom Kellogg did in 1961-62 with Loewy and team in Palm Springs. But, these 2001-2004 Avantis were designed in 1997 by Tom Kellogg himself, with the AVX (AvantiExperimental), 3 prototype cars built and sold through the efforts of Jim Bunting. They used the GM F-body platform with all body panels replaced with fiberglass. These cars have the Avanti DNA, as continued by one of the four original Avanti designers”.

It is definitely a leaky rear window. The hard part will be finding someone competent to replace the seal.

I am finding this to be very difficult. How does one get the bulbs and the metal connectors to stay in the rubber socket? My bulbs keep falling out and into the gauges. Only worked on the temperature gauge and the one below it so far. Ve ry frustrating.

@mrfeez Thankfully spring is here and you should be able to make some serious progress over the next several months, keep us posted.

With a rebuild on my 63 Avanti Carburetor, car started up, no Black smoke at exhaust, let run for 10 minutes, then antifreeze coming out of radiator expansion tank tube, car over heating, possible radiator cap or thermostat, car has been sitting for long time

Anthony. George Krem’s father had a 63 Avanti many years ago with an R3 engine. He was not impressed with the performance at the time. He mentioned he suspected cam grind issues so he changed out the cam. That car with engine were sold several times. The present owner has removed the cylinder heads or at least one head for some reason I don’t remember. He mentioned the pistons were notched to possibly lower compression. I believe the runners in the head were also massaged to increase flow. The engine was purchased from Paxton in the late 60’s and I believe it has a B number around 100. Speculation is that it may have the rotating assembly from R5 and possibly the cylinder heads also? The car also had a four row radiator which sounds typical for the Bonneville cars. I know Vince was assembling R3 engines as long as he could out of left over parts as long as parts could be had. Any thoughts as to the feasibility this engine could have R5 parts in its build??

I tend to see it a little different. My '63' R2 is one of 800ish produced with a supercharger. The sales prices are all over the board, and Hemmings is showing good examples (say a 8 out of 10) with reasonably low mileage selling in the $35k range. There are many sold cheaper but you get what you pay for and will spend up on fixing and buying parts for them, ..Thus You'll have a good chunk out in doing so. IF Ya want one done needing nothing, the $35k range is what to expect. Then we come into this model ('01'-'07'). Mine is an '02'. They made about 11 to 13 of them. 53 in all over '01'- '05'. The Trans Am versions (which I've been following) are up for sale... if you can even find one... for $50-59k.... some have been offered low ball offers (like $32k) and have been refused... Some get thru and must be from desperate sellers for less. I don't know the condition of those sold since the info out there is sparse. My guestimate is they should be priced around Mid to Hi $40's in a '9 out of 10' condition with low miles. IF a Buyer wants something bad enough, and the market is extremely limited in availability, they will pay up... there is no other choice. That's obvious while watching the Auctions, with a reserve on. Those unsold at Auctions, many times are sold after the Auction ends. Many times the Buyer/Seller can't come together to seal a deal. In my case. I have no need to be desperate or take a low ball offer from someone trying to get something for 30-40% off the asking price. This car can sit for a number of years for all I care. It will come out this year and go to car shows with a 'For Sale' sign on it for $50k. The response on This car has been stunning by the general publics responses from all ages of people, men and women alike.. It expect be the same or more when at the shows. The shows are not my demographic to sell as this Forum isn't either.. Here. we are looking for low ball deals.. (I did). I would take $45k reluctantly, to make a buyer think they did good. Hey, I have a '82' Porsche 928. It's proposed selling price is around $40k. I love the 70 Mach 1's but they are bringing $80-90-100k.. (too rich for my blood)...and the Production numbers are not low like this model And don't get me started on the Chrysler Muscle.. that has gone insane. There are those who are very well off. and IF they see what they want, they're down on it.... I'm in this for the love of the Cars but it is all a Business Transaction and nothing more. I buy em right, enjoy em, and move to the next deal..IF I didn't do this, I couldn't afford to own any of these vehicles. I'm in a financial class where any hobby I take on MUST pay off. So the Buying/Selling decisions are critically thought thru, and not done out of a love or lust for the products. (wish it didn't have to be that way).

The market for the 2001-2007 Avantis is very limited...not many people even know the cars exist. its about one hundred made in a market where they're all but unknown doesn't necessarily translate into market value. Perceived value is one thing...realized value can be something completely different. When I owned my 2002 Avanti I heard comments that ran the gamut...from "The best looking car I've ever seen" to "It's nothing but a re-skinned Camaro". When I decided to sell the car several years ago interested buyers were few and far between...those who were interested wanted a bargain. On their best days Avantis are polarizing. That both works for and against you.

Dream on. It is sad that you seem so obsessed with your perceived value of your car. Generally something is worth what it sold for.

If there is a market and they are not available, that adjusts the pricing. I'm not so sure the market is that small either. I have people from all age and statuses fawning over this car. Other vehicles I've owned have never had a reaction like this.

Rarity does not mean high price. There is a very small market for these cars.

Gold!!...Others I tried to get in touch with John Hull, via this site. No response. I am trying to find out if there are records of how many were made in my year (02)....His book is vague on yearly production numbers (last page). My question is only partially answered in His book that 53 Units were made between 2001-5. So doing the simple math, that tells me that 53 cars/5years = 11cars a year, But I know that is not the method of determining the ''real number''. Maybe if You are in contact with John, You might ask that question... .... Hope John is good. Heard He had a tornado hit His house.. The above point goes into the rarity and possible valuation. I saw one on Haggerty listed for $59k. It didn't say it sold (I assume it didn't) I've seen offers of $32k turned down in this forum. So to me, the Value needs to be somewhere in-between. These cars are soooo rare, the price (to me) should be sitting well over $40k. I wouldn't sell mine for less than $50k.... but I'm not interested in selling so it would take '''$$ Big Bucks $$''' to pry the title outa my grasping hands. They sold new for around $60k. I can't believe the price has dropped significantly. Thanks for the info on the Disks Color. Yes, they are bright yellow. and quite large. They really don't match the color of the car, and stand out Big Time. Also the info on the Magnaflow.. I have a few items to go thru. The front bumper paint is a mess and theres one deep scratch on the passenger quarter panel. Got a good body shop for those items. The drivers seat showed a little wear, I took a black Marks-a -lot and went over the distressed areas... Solved the problem. So I set the Trip Odo to keep track of the miles I drive her. So far 200 miles. The car has just over 40k on the clock.,..I want to keep that number down. Happy Motoring!! Dan O'

Footer, maybe you worked for me when I ran the Mercedes body shop, we used to do the exact same thing, stick someone into the trunk and wet the whole top and rear down and find the leak. Seemed to always work.

Very interesting information. Thanks for sharing.

Or the wire broke off the NSS. The wires are brittle with age and tenuously attached.

I don't want to upset the wagon and can certainly appreciate what has been done to make a "tribute" to the R5. The work that went into building it is very commendable. I believe that the intake boxes, brackets, and pulleys that are on the engine are in fact ones used on the car. However I do know for fact that the block is not the block used for the R5 or any of the potential back up engines. I would have to look through some paperwork to find the exact numbers, but the R5 that was run in 63 had a number stamped on it. I know this because I have a comprehensive list of all the numbers stamped on engine blocks. The R5 that was used and any back up engines that were built all were stamped. Also somewhere there was mention of the car not getting over 200mph, the car did in fact go over 200. The time slips that Andy had proved that. I believe that somewhere around here I have copies of them. The two way average was obviously not 200 because of poor salt conditions. I'll try and locate those. The cars were run October 14-23 of 63. The original plan was September 16, but conditions were poor.

When I worked in the body shop back in the 70’s (I was still flexible) my boss would lock me up in the trunk with a good flashlight and run the hose over the car. That worked most of the time to narrow down where the leak was. You might have to make yourself mighty little to fit in your Avanti’s trunk! Mike