Interesting Ebay listing and R-1 question

[TMA62]

See this item on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-Studebaker-Hawk-and-Lark-Avanti-R-1-Fender-Emblem-/271127715128?ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:1123

Did these fender emblem ever go on an Avanti? I've never seen one before.

Which leads to my next question. Why did Studebaker refer their 289 cu V-8's as R-1,2,3, etc.? Was "R" the class designation for the 289?

TIA!

[1963r2]

From memory they were only used on Larks and Hawks to identify the engine that was installed and link it back to the Avanti.

As "P" was the designation for the 289, "R" was the designation for the high performance engine. Depending on the number ie 1,2,3,or 4 the configuration and the output changed.

pb

[Guest dapy]

Isn't the "R" designation for the 289 with and without the supercharger? And then R3 and R4 were further (limited) Avanti engine modifications?

[Gunslinger]

Yes...

R1...289 cubic inches, 240hp, 10.25:1 compression ratio

R2...289 cubic inches, 289hp, Paxton supercharger, 9:1 compression ratio

R3...304.5 cubic inches, 335hp, Paxton supercharger, 9.75:1 compression ratio

R4...304.5 cubic inches, 280hp, 2 Carter AFB 4-barrel carbs, 12:1 compression ratio

R3 and R4 engines were Paxton prepped and sent to South Bend. Only nine R3 and no R4 engines were factory installed in production Avantis, though some have been retrofitted...by Paxton, owners or Studebaker engineering for various purposes. There are also some R2 engines dressed up to look like R3's so the only way to tell for sure is by engine numbers on the blocks. There is far more to an R3 or R4 than simply the compression ratios...they have different heads, intakes, ignition, exhaust headers, etc.

The published horsepower ratings for the R3 and R4 are a joke...they were capable of far more.

[PackardV8]

The R-series engines were the high-performance models available 1963-64 only.

"The published horsepower ratings for the R3 and R4 are a joke...they were capable of far more."

From my experience, the published horsepower ratings were very accurate for all four of the as-delivered R-series engines.

Yes, the first three of the R-series engines can be race-prepared and can produce much more than the rated horsepower. Even Ted Harbit's R2, given his sixty years of Studebaker tuning, is producing far more than 289 hp. He's quicker and faster in the 1/4-mile than all but one R3 ever taken to the strip. Richard Poe's R1 is quicker and as fast as most R2s.

On the other hand, I'd argue the R4 is a hand grenade. This is based upon the two attempts I've ever seen to race them which resulted in disaster. One was a Paxton-built R4 in an Avanti raced in SoCal in the '60s. The R4 only makes any horsepower at 7,000+ RPMs, but at high RPMs it exploded three times in short order. Your results may vary.

jack vines