Keep It Quiet

[murph the surf]

What state or states was/were the trigger for the Quiet Exhaust System on the Studebaker Avanti???

[1963r2]

California

[murph the surf]

That was one of the states...

[64studeavanti]

I believe New York was the other.

[murph the surf]

California and New York would be the usual suspects, but New York wasn't one in this case...

Edited Saturday at 02:34 PM by murph the surf

[Mark63Avanti]

The other was New Jersey.

[Mark63Avanti]

And I believe the first quiet tone muffler was installed on 63R 1423. My Avanti was built before the quiet tone was introduced so I tell my wife that I can't install them. The excuse has worked so far.

[mfg]

Just now, Mark63Avanti said:

And I believe the first quiet tone muffler was installed on 63R 1423. My Avanti was built before the quiet tone was introduced so I tell my wife that I can't install them. The excuse has worked so far.

Have to remember that one!!

[murph the surf]

11 minutes ago, Mark63Avanti said:

The other was New Jersey.

Correct

[murph the surf]

8 minutes ago, Mark63Avanti said:

And I believe the first quiet tone muffler was installed on 63R 1423. My Avanti was built before the quiet tone was introduced so I tell my wife that I can't install them. The excuse has worked so far.

I like your thinking...

[bob caser]

We purchased R5051 new in New Jersey in October of 1963. It was dealer traded from New York to our dealer in New Jersey with a loud exhaust system. It was never a problem to pass the New Jersey mandatory vehicle inspection for safety. I moved to California in 1965 and accumulated many  " exhaust to loud tickets " from the CHP. Also being a 1964 it was delivered with clear turn signals with amber bulbs.

Possibly something was written regarding the exhaust, but I never received or saw anything from the factory on this issue.

[64studeavanti]

There was this service letter:

M-1963-1, dated Feb 11, 1963.

 

the forum will not let me post image. will keep trying.

[64studeavanti]

Painfully deleted some of my attachments. There has to be a better way!

 

[mfg]

Well done!

[bob caser]

So , a parts and service letter was written on February,11,1963, how did this affect future cars being produced for sale. Was there a letter written by the states of California and New Jersey to Studebaker regarding the loud exhaust. I'm sure that in my stack of old documents that I still have a copy of a ticket issued by the CHP in 1965 for a loud exhaust on my Avanti.

[murph the surf]

4 hours ago, bob caser said:

So , a parts and service letter was written on February,11,1963, how did this affect future cars being produced for sale. Was there a letter written by the states of California and New Jersey to Studebaker regarding the loud exhaust. I'm sure that in my stack of old documents that I still have a copy of a ticket issued by the CHP in 1965 for a loud exhaust on my Avanti.

Bob, 

Here's direct discussion of the muffler issue from the minutes of the 5/21/63 weekly staff meeting of Studebaker department heads:

"Item #5. Quiet Exhaust System – Avanti

A letter was received from AMA concerning setting up a panel discussion on the Avanti and one of the models in the Chrysler line which the States of New Jersey and California are also refusing because of the noisy muffler. Mr. Minkel stated that the quiet muffler is installed – and the customer is charged for it – on all the California and New Jersey orders, plus all other orders unless specified otherwise. Mr. Dredge asked what the proposal is for the muffler in the ’64 line. Mr. Minkel answered that the quiet muffler will be made standard on the Avanti at new model time, and the price will be changed to include it. Mr. Feuer suggested the change be made at a time other than new model introduction time to avoid the look of a new model change and the resultant rebate."

Sounds like your car somehow escaped the scrutiny of the NJ authorities for the time you were there..

[mfg]

These days a Studebaker Avanti’s original straight thru exhaust system would probably be considered quiet compared to the racket some of the current hi-po cars (and motorcycles) make!!

[wdaly]

8 hours ago, mfg said:

These days a Studebaker Avanti’s original straight thru exhaust system would probably be considered quiet compared to the racket some of the current hi-po cars (and motorcycles) make!!

True, or maybe you need to turn your Hearing Aide down!😳

[Mark63Avanti]

From Production Data for the Avanti from the Studebaker National Museum Archives.

First Avanti with the quiet tone muffler: 63R 1428

 

[mfg]

2 hours ago, Mark63Avanti said:

From Production Data for the Avanti from the Studebaker National Museum Archives.

First Avanti with the quiet tone muffler: 63R 1428

 

Quite a list of ‘firsts’ here… Thank you!… Good trivia material!!

[mfg]

2 hours ago, wdaly said:

True, or maybe you need to turn your Hearing Aide down!😳

Huh????????

[mfg]

Kind of surprise R4892 isn’t on George Krem’s ‘first’ list! 

[Mark63Avanti]

17 minutes ago, mfg said:

Kind of surprise R4892 isn’t on George Krem’s ‘first’ list! 

This again is from the Avanti production data produced by the Studebaker Museum archives.

R4892 is listed in a separate section titled "Selected Running Changes".

George Krem has another list of "Notable Avanti's" and no list would be complete without the factory produced R3's.

It's a nice piece of gathered documentation and of course, the Museum has a production packet for most all models.

[Geoff]

On 1/21/2025 at 12:12 AM, mfg said:

These days a Studebaker Avanti’s original straight thru exhaust system would probably be considered quiet compared to the racket some of the current hi-po cars (and motorcycles) make!!

Oh I don't know about that. I hit 113.1 dB about six feet away and, eh three feet off the floor, upon changing 1025 from single baffle glasspacks that were on the car from sometime in the '80s until I personally removed'em for Silvertone's loud option, August 2021. I would have loved to have the loudest option under the car while I was in high school … although if the housing development hated 1025 as it was, they would have really hated it to have been louder.

I heard it as a toddler with the loud pipes, and my name for it was "Blue Noisy." So I also saw it as turquoise for a short time. Then I saw it in that Native American skin tone red primer stuff for years.

These days the tuners like to purposefully screw with the engine timing so raw fuel shoots into the exhaust manifold/header causing explosions downrange of the combustion chamber; heard as pops and bangs at the exhaust tip.

1025 had quite the valve overlap, causing boost pressure and raw fuel to shoot out the open exhaust valve. It was fantastic sounding if I had to take my step-monster to SF from the east bay. Crossing the lower deck of the bay bridge (the solo trip returning home), I'd position the car against one of the steel side barriers (the fast lane or slow lane) and just hit WOT … repeatedly. The radio didn't work at times in that car and I … did … not … care.



*I wasn't done with it.
So I got done with him.