Its finally home! (Robert Andrews's 1971 Avanti)

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After one year, the mechanical restoration of my 1971 Avanti II is compete. Its included off-frame restoration, replaced hogtroughs, repaired frame and suspension, rebuilt engine and transmission. It runs awesome and looks great even though it needs to be repainted, something that will eventually be done.

This was my Dad's car, Robert F. Andrews, one of the designers of the Avanti project. This was his personal Avanti (he never owned a Studebaker Avanti). He bought it new in 1971 and has been in the family ever since. It has been stored in a garage since Dad's death in 1991 until last year when I took it to Avanti Restoration and Service in Greenfield. Mike Baker and Rick Moon did a fantastic job on the restoration.

I will be up in South Bend on May 3-4 at the Swap Meet; it will be the first showing of the car since the restoration and probably the first time its been at a meet since the late '80's. Dad was a regular at the SDC and AOAI meets in the Midwest in the '70's and '80's so for some of you, it will be seeing an old friend again.

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Here is a pic of the finished product taken earlier today.

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Is the car driving as good as it looks? I'll be on the look out for it when I'm in South Bend on Friday, May 3rd.

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Dad modified the car in the 1980's. Both mechanical and cosmetic. He put on stiffer anti-sway bars and the car rides on rails as a result.

Cosmetically, he shimmed the car to get more of the Studebaker "rake". He also re-cut the front wheel openings to approximate the Studebaker wheel wells. He removed the "II" script in both the front and back and he also filled in the turning indicator lights on a sides of the front quarter panels. Lastly, he re-painted the car gold which closely matches the Studebaker gold. I think he was trying to back- date his '71 to look like a '64. I put in the short bucket seats from my '63 Avanti and the car really looks like a Stude now!