RQ 4886

[profaqualung]

After over 5 years of ownership of this car, and 2 engine changes, I have discovered a plate in the engine compartment I have never noticed before. About 4 inches above the passenger side hood support is a plate [partially covered] with this on it -

RQ

4886

Now, my cars number [according to the door plate and title] is RQA0346.

So what is this plate and what does it mean?

Thank You

Aqualung

Edited April 12, 2012 by profaqualung

[Gunslinger]

That's the body number ID plate. Studebaker used them (on all vehicle production I believe). Avanti Motors used them for some time before discontinuing its use. My car (RQB1574) doesn't have a body number plate so Avanti Motors must have discontinued using them between yours and mine.

Maybe your car has a leftover Studebaker Avanti body that had the plate attached. When Avanti Motors purchased everything Avanti from Studebaker there was a number of leftover car bodies plus something like 150 bodies at Molded Fiberglass alone. I've read that's why Bob Morrison of MFG was so willing to work with Nate Altman as he was stuck with those car bodies after Studebaker shut down Avanti production and cancelled the contract. Outside of the engine, the early Avantis were virtually all leftover Studebaker parts anyway.

[profaqualung]

That's the body number ID plate. Studebaker used them (on all vehicle production I believe). Avanti Motors used them for some time before discontinuing its use. My car (RQB1574) doesn't have a body number plate so Avanti Motors must have discontinued using them between yours and mine.

Maybe your car has a leftover Studebaker Avanti body that had the plate attached. When Avanti Motors purchased everything Avanti from Studebaker there was a number of leftover car bodies plus something like 150 bodies at Molded Fiberglass alone. I've read that's why Bob Morrison of MFG was so willing to work with Nate Altman as he was stuck with those car bodies after Studebaker shut down Avanti production and cancelled the contract. Outside of the engine, the early Avantis were virtually all leftover Studebaker parts anyway.

I figured it was something like that, glad to know for sure. Build date was 2-20-69, but it wasn't titled until Sept. 69, thus giving it a 1970 registration - at least that was the way they did it in Mississippi.

And thank you for not making any comment about my having overlooked this tag in the past 64 plus months of ownership.

Time for new bifocals.

[Gunslinger]

My experience with the '63 Avanti I bought in 1976 was similar to yours...the tag on the cowl didn't match my title. I didn't know enough then to do anything but register the car and hope for the best. I don't remember how much time it was before I learned where the VIN plate was...it had to be a couple of years anyway. Once I started reading more and more about Avantis I found that the VIN plate was on the frame rail. I took a rag and wiped all the oil and grease off the upper frame and lo and behold, there was the VIN plate and it matched my title! That was a big relief to me. Eventually I obtained a copy of the car's build sheet and the VIN and body numbers matched it. What I did find out from the build sheet that my car was originally gray when it left the factory...not turquoise as it was when I bought it.

Why Avanti Motors serialized their cars only on the body and not the frame always seemed a puzzle. I can see it being marked on both but not just the body. To be fair, it was quite common for many makes to have serial number plates just on the body before the Feds required otherwise.