Desert Driver

A fitting tribute to the engineering excellence of Studebaker and dedicated owners. Kudos to all!

17 gallons of gas for $5.50...those were the days, my friend! Clean it up inside and out...get rid of those rims, and purchase the correct ones. Whatever money put into replacing hog troughs, you'll never see again. Red exterior, black interior and AC - it'll sell for a nice price!

Awesome look. That front end looks rather intimidating, but I dig your ride's attitude.

Nice looker! Those hog troughs look fairly new, and I can see the power steering hoses are far enough away from the exhaust manifold.

WOW! A right hand drive Avanti.

Hmmm....then he must've worked 25/8!

I think you're going in the right direction with this project. Those hog troughs were a quick solution to securing a wider chassis to the narrower Lark frame While providing structural rigidity. The outriggers on the frame shown in the photo look quite substantial. Couple that with reinforced fiberglass, and you've got something better than what Studebaker engineers came up with for the Avanti. Those guys were under the gun to get the car into production while saving money to keep the auto division alive. Working smarter beats working harder every time!

Aside from aesthetics, it's gotta help the engine run cooler. I'd be interested in purchasing one when details are worked out.

I put one on my '71. N/A would build your Avanti II with just about anything your heart (and wallet) desired.

The YouTube video is a must see. In reality, it's more like a blog or podcast...but worth every 44 minutes to hear Geoff talk about the rebirth of Avanti after Studebaker stopped production. Without the foresight (and sheer determination) of Newman & Altman, our beloved automobiles would only be from production years '63 & '64. Avanti lived for an incredible four decades more! Back in the days of Kodachrome, we hoped the memories would last before the colors faded. But in today's digital world, the memories and colorful history are here for today and future generations. Thanks, Geoff...you left us one of the greatest stories in automotive history!