R3 Air Cleaner?

[Studemichael]

Is this an Avanti R3 air cleaner that would mount behind the grille?

[AG-R3]

  This is an original R3 air cleaner    ( edited)   There is no PCV hose attach point..

Edited November 4 by AG-R3

[mfg]

2 hours ago, AG-R3 said:

  This is an original R3 air cleaner    ( edited)   There is no PCV hose attach point..

Back in the day the stainless steel grille would need to be removed to service the air filters?

[Studemichael]

3 hours ago, AG-R3 said:

  This is an original R3 air cleaner    ( edited)   There is no PCV hose attach point..

Thank you!

[Studemichael]

3 hours ago, AG-R3 said:

  This is an original R3 air cleaner    ( edited)   There is no PCV hose attach point..

Yes, that is correct 

[Geoff]

2 hours ago, mfg said:

Back in the day the stainless steel grille would need to be removed to service the air filters?

Yes if your car had one, 25 did not have a grille. I think I replaced air filters twice in the span I drove it. In other instances I'd just remove the filters and blow them out with a blow nozzle on an air hose. I had auto shop my junior & senior HS years, so I [and whomever helped me] got credit for working on the car, that made it super convenient.

Auto shop side note: My shop classmates loved the 5 breather caps, they make oil changes go quick. We always added 5 qts. of oil simultaneously.

[Nelson]

That appears to be a 63/64 GT Hawk R2 air cleaner. It is the same as R3 Avanti. The difference is the size of the air hose. Naturally it is larger on the R3. The crankcase ventilation hose would be correct in New York and California even on R3.

[Nelson]

AG-R3, is that photo you posted the Prestolite R3 that Booth owns?

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I believe that photo is from the Greg Cone car, R-5054.  Two pix from that set:

--Dwight

 

[Nelson]

I bet you are right on that. I didn’t remember which trans he had but always assumed it was a four speed. His car was one of the first body off frame restorations I remember. Looks like it needs some attention again,

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I believe it still looks like this:

--Dwight

 

[mfg]

That R3 air cleaner location… I realize there  probably wasn’t other practical options.. but what a terrible place to locate that filter!!

[DWR46]

Not trying to disagree with anybody, but air filter removal is easy. Just unscrew the front grille and the filter is right in front of you. I realize it is not 30 seconds like many cars, but basically no problem at all.

[mfg]

2 hours ago, DWR46 said:

Not trying to disagree with anybody, but air filter removal is easy. Just unscrew the front grille and the filter is right in front of you. I realize it is not 30 seconds like many cars, but basically no problem at all.

I hear you… on some  ‘modern’ cars the front bumper cover has to be removed to change a headlight bulb!……

However, there’s more to it than just an access problem…. If ( back in the day) an R3 Avanti was actually used for everyday transportation, imagine what a mess that filter assy would be after zipping along slush covered streets… or even after driving through a torrential rain!….

Not to mention that the last thing a Studebaker Avanti needs is a sizable object, like that air cleaner housing, blocking air flow to the radiator…..

A proper air cleaner assy on the R3 Avantis, had production continued, would have required a complete rework of the passenger side front fender inner skirt panel.….

Of course, in the latter months of 1963 a better air cleaner location on R3 (and even R2) Avantis was about the last thing Studebaker Corporation was thinking about!…. Ed

[DWR46]

MFG: Absolutely great point regarding the location of the air cleaner vs. rain and snow. Also agree Studebaker had many more important things to worry about at that time.

[Nelson]

The air cleaner was not the easiest to access but it’s location was probably the best available spot. I doubt much rain could really get to it and the snorkel is turned up to only draw air from the top of that cavity. Cars with fresh air induction seem to take it from what always appears to be a bad location via a hose and then send it to the air cleaner. The only advantage to that over the factory R3 location is the easier maintenance of the air filter.