3 speed Avanti Survival

[3speeder]

Hello All,

This is my first post and I'm truly an eager newby to the Studebaker world being a new owner of a rough but restorable R1 for a little over a week. I'll keep this brief...the barn-fresh Avanti that I just bought originally came with a 3 speed and after buying the build sheet from the museum Andy noticed that the total production of 3 speed Avantis was around 30 cars. Is there an Avanti registry that would show how many 3 speed cars have survived?

Curious.....

[Ernie]

Hello All,

This is my first post and I'm truly an eager newby to the Studebaker world being a new owner of a rough but restorable R1 for a little over a week. I'll keep this brief...the barn-fresh Avanti that I just bought originally came with a 3 speed and after buying the build sheet from the museum Andy noticed that the total production of 3 speed Avantis was around 30 cars. Is there an Avanti registry that would show how many 3 speed cars have survived?

Curious.....

I've owned Avanti's since 1976, and I never heard of a 3-speed manual transmission.

Live and learn ...

[SBCA96]

Mine was a 3 spd, but it isnt anymore. Quite frankly it was horrible to drive

so my guess is, of the 30 Avantis that came with 3 spds, only a few would

still have the 3 spd in it. The T-86 is a crappy trans, the gear spread is not

useful, and the non-syncro first gear makes life difficult. I just finished the

install of a TKO 5 speed manual trans and have NO regrets. Sure I thought

about how rare it must be, but I didnt want to drive it! It certainly would only

be worth money to someone that knew they came with 3 spds, and thats a

very few group of people. Even the experts were stumped when I showed

them the proof. Here is the detailed thread on SDC :

http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/sdc_f...?TOPIC_ID=13734

I will be rewriting it for an article in Avanti Magazine if Lew wants.

Tom

[NM dude]

I own a completely original 26,000 mile `63 with a 3-speed. Mine is also a radio delete, with the only options being white wall tires & front seat belts. the window sticker was $4,557.83, the invoice $3,554.57, and the invoice shows the original owner paid $3,650.00. So not only was he cheap, but he drove a hard bargain, just like me! The following information I got from George Krem, who researched all the Avanti production records: 3-speed transmission, 1963=67, 1964=11. Radio delete, 1963=140, 1964=25.

[Ernie]

3speeder and NM dude,

Do the Studebaker Avanti's have an overdrive with the 3-speed?

[NM dude]

No overdrive, was not an option

[rbk]

No overdrive, was not an option

I know of one 1964 car that had a three speed and was converted to overdrive with a T85 out of a 1958 Golden Hawk.This car belongs to the daughter of the late Hugh Studebaker in Elmhurst Illinois.

[Auggie]

And the original factory four speed was a wide ratio unit with a rather odd spread in ratios between 3rd and 4th gear which made 3rd rather a "short" ride and a little useless. But then other wide ratio fours I ve seen had the bad spread between 2nd and 3rd. Of the two the Stude is preferrable, in my estimation. I've always preferred a close ratio, but only if the back gears are 3.73 or "bigger". Overall the Stude ratio with 3.31 back gears is probably best, IMHO.

auggie

[mfg]

With the extra power R1 Avanti engines had over 'normal' 259 & 289 Studebaker V8's, I find it interesting Stude engineers felt comfortable that the 3 speed T-86 would stand up to the punishment it would likely receive!

[studegary]

Of all the Avantis that I have owned, worked on or known about (since the 1960s), I believe that only one was a factory three speed standard.

[Gunslinger]

The 3-speed was for all intents and purposes...a way to keep the MSRP down.  The marketing people knew few would be ordered that way.  The same goes for contemporary Corvettes...the 3-speed manual was standard to keep MSRP down.  Those cars are also few and far between today as few were ordered as such.  Many, if not most, were converted to better transmissions.

[PackardV8]

Live and learn, indeed.  I had been under the impression only the first few '63s got stuck with that POS 3-speed.  Now we learn they also used it in some '64s.

So the 4-speed was always an extra cost option?

jack vines

[studegary]

4 hours ago, PackardV8 said:

Live and learn, indeed.  I had been under the impression only the first few '63s got stuck with that POS 3-speed.  Now we learn they also used it in some '64s.

So the 4-speed was always an extra cost option?

jack vines

For 1963 model Avantis, the four speed was a $188.30 option and the automatic was a $210.00 option. I imagine the prices were slightly higher for the 1964 models.