[Professionally restored '67 - coming to an auction near you.]

Well.. Aside from posting my intro about "Impulse" (the name I gave this car), I've been pretty quiet. I read this forum daily but there simply hasn't been much that I felt I could contribute to.

Long story short.. "Bring A Trailer" has agreed to host the '67 on their auction site, should be live within the next week. Having put a few hundred miles on the car with my foot on the floor.. It's absolutely, by far, without a doubt, the most fun to drive of any car I've owned. The car has had a very extensive body-off rebuild done, and has been driven less than 1000 miles since. There's always a little bug or two to take care of.. But it's the closest thing to a brand new RQA Avanti that I'm aware of, anywhere.

As much fun as this car is.. It needs to go to someone that'll cherish and maintain it as the show winner that it is. It's the only car I've owned that I feel bad about letting the dog ride in. And the flawless paint might get chipped in a parking lot. I might get caught in a rain storm, and then I'll have to detail it again. Either way.. I like to drive the snot out of my cars and not worry about road rash and thunderstorms, and this one is just too nice to do that with. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up. The reserve will be about what I have into it, which is a LOT less than the previous owner spent on restoring it. 

 

 

 

 

 

[New Florida AOAI member with a '67]

Hey guys.. Thought I'd write up a little intro and share what I think is a pretty neat car. 

I've had nearly a dozen different Studebakers (typically one at a time), and was on the lookout for a late '50's truck when this '67 Avanti came along and distracted me. This past March, a gentleman helping settle his late friend's estate reached out through our Studebaker parts store and asked if this car was something we'd be interested in. I humored him and asked what the price was, and was met with "make an offer, we don't have an asking price".. Generally that means that someone has an inflated value in mind so I let it go. Nearly a month passed and I found myself still thinking about the possibility of owning a pre-1970 Avanti II. After all, the RQA models have always been my favorite Avantis... And this one did look nice in the photos... What did I have to lose? I couldn't resist and I reached out again in mid April. I made a low offer, hoping get a response with an actual dollar amount. I figured that then I could sleep at night knowing it was well out of my price range. Well, much to my surprise, the response turned out to be, "Come get it." So we hooked up the trailer, drove to Charlotte, NC, and brought it home. 

1967 RQA-0135, 327 with Powershift. The car had an extensive body-off restoration about 15 years ago.. Every single part of this car was rebuilt or replaced and everything is literally like-new. I'll never know how much the previous owner spent on restoring this car, but it wasn't cheap. The sad part is that the guy was having the car restored as a gift for his wife, and shortly after they divorced. The car then sat for several years under a cover in a garage, being driven less than 300 miles since it was done. 

I've spent the last 5-6 weekends working out the bugs, and repairing things that have gone south due to sitting for so long. I've ditched the original Holley in favor of a new Edelbrock, installed a new fuel pump and fuel tank. Removed the coil spring spacers from the front end. Installed Hella H4 headlights and relays, and converted the backup lights into extra brake lights. Installed new wheels and tires. Along with a few other odds and ends.. I still need to get the a.c. system operational, and install the new flanged rear axles. I've only put a couple of hundred miles on it so far.. But I gotta say. I like it.

Matt Burnette, Gainesville, Florida

 

I did end up finding this "before" photo, posted online many years ago by the guy who did the restoration.

As far as how it appears today...