Two Egbert Avantis?

[murph the surf]

In a summer,1977 Avanti magazine,there is an article "Father of Them All" (attached) ,written by a Stan Briggs, who had been a tennis pro at the Bel Air Country Club,as well as a member of AOAI at the time the article was written.Briggs wrote that in the spring of 1965 Mr. Egbert had been advised by his doctor to play tennis for exercise. Briggs,the Pro at the club, played tennis with Mr. Egbert for a period of about three months,until the pressure of Mr. Egbert's consulting firm left him no time to play, Briggs  subsequently gave lessons to Mr. Egbert's wife Diana,and two of their sons.Briggs was also an Avanti owner and enthusiast,owning a turquoise 1963 Avanti,. Briggs tells the story of Mr.Egbert,in early 1969, looking tired and having lost weight,pulling up in his supercharged BLACK Avanti that was equipped with a tape recorder and a tape deck, and asking Briggs "would you like to buy my Avanti?".Briggs,already owning an Avanti,and his wife owning a Mustang,politely declined the offer, to his regret later.

I'm pretty familiar with R4130,the red (red,per production order) Avanti known as the Egbert car that was sold at Mecum a few years back.But Briggs description of Mr. Egbert's  car being black,as well as having the other features he describes ,begs the question,were there two Egbert Avantis?..Any thoughts????       

 

image_20171112_171659.pdf

Edited November 13, 2017 by murph the surf
correction

[mfg]

There definitely were two Egbert Avantis.....R4130 was the second (and more interesting ) of the two.

I don't have the serial number of his first one right now, however, it's number listed in one of my Avanti Trivia questions which I posted a few months back.

[murph the surf]

MFG-I found your post,and see that a relatively early production R2 ,63R-1252, is listed as an Avanti owned by Mr. Egbert.The red 1964 Avanti,R4130 ,is a much later car,and is generally known as the car that Mr. Egbert sold just before his passing-yet the R2 car described by Briggs as being offered to him by Mr. Egbert just before his passing  was stated to be  black in color.Adding to the confusion,there were actually TWO build sheets prepared by Studebaker for serial number R4130-one build sheet describes a red car,yet the other that was also listed as R4130,but "penciled in" as R4131 (over the typed R4130 number)  sheets is BLACK in color.(build sheets attached)..Just wondering what the story is!!!!

Edited November 14, 2017 by murph the surf
correction

[regnalbob]

1 hour ago, murph the surf said:

MFG-I found your post,and see that a relatively early production R2 ,63R-1252, is listed as an Avanti owned by Mr. Egbert.The red 1964 Avanti,R4130 ,is a much later car,and is generally known as the car that Mr. Egbert sold just before his passing-yet the R2 car described by Briggs as being offered to him by Mr. Egbert just before his passing  was stated to be  black in color.Adding to the confusion,there were actually TWO build sheets prepared by Studebaker for serial number R4130-one build sheet describes a red car,yet the other that was also listed as R4130,but "penciled in" as R4131 (over the typed R4130 number)  sheets is BLACK in color.(build sheets attached)..Just wondering what the story is!!!!

 

No confusion.

There is only one build sheet for R-4130. That is a typo for R-4131. Look closely at the build sheets and you will see they are different cars.

R-4131 was a sold car and shipped to San Francisco and R-4130 was sent to engineering.

Body numbers and engine numbers are different as well as the date they were built.

They both have South Bend built bodies.

[murph the surf]

Thanks,Regnalbob-just still curious why Briggs stated that Mr. Egbert's car was black,not red.- Briggs seemed to have a pretty good recollection of events,and was also an Avanti owner,so he was a "car guy",and car guys usually have a pretty clear picture or vivid recollection of a special (to them!) car. Indeed,in Bob Johnstone's Avanti database,a previous owner listed the Egbert car as R4131,which,coincidentally ,was a black supercharged car.Assumedly R4130 would have replaced the previously mentioned 63R 1252 for Mr. Egbert, R4130 being a later car. Perhaps the build sheet of 63R 1252 (the "original" Egbert Avanti) giving it's specifics might clear up the mystery,and it might be that Mr. Egbert kept the first,and owned two Avantis,simultaneously,and the black Avanti that Briggs describes in his article was NOT R4130.... if the 63R 1252 build sheet does not match Briggs' description of the black supercharged Avanti he was offered just before Mr. Egbert's passing,does anyone have any thoughts as to the color discrepancy ????????

Edited November 23, 2017 by murph the surf
correction

[Gunslinger]

R4130 was the "test mule" for all the 1964 upgrades to the Avanti...and not all the changes were the same as those finally adopted for '64...there are a few distinct differences.  After all the changes were done and engineering and marketing (it was used for promotional photography) were finished with the car it was sold to Mr. Egbert.  

Who's not to say that Mr. Egbert maintained both cars and sold them both before he passed.  That could explain the color discrepancies.  

[murph the surf]

That's certainly a possibility-and R4130 is indeed a fascinating car..thanks for the input,Gunslinger

[mfg]

Very interesting stuff guys!!

[lschuc]

63R-1252 is just two cars past my own, R1250.   and 1252 is owned by a member in Georgia.   You'll find it in the new 2018/2019 AOAI roster that will arrive in a week or two with your new Issue #180 magazine, just mailed yesterday.

 

[mfg]

A new AOAI roster...That's GREAT!

[murph the surf]

And hopefully, it will shed some light on the color discrepancy of R4130-as well as being accompanied by an always- enjoyable new issue of the AOAI magazine!

[Gunslinger]

R4130 is located not far from me.  The guy who bought it at auction has several Avantis...including a pretty outrageous '63 outfitted with an R3 engine.  

[murph the surf]

It is quite a custom,if this is the car-if so,pretty sure it went to auction a couple years back...

[Gunslinger]

That's the car!

[lschuc]

I looked up the sale history of this car, and it was a no-sale in 2010 Mecum Indy auction at $60,000: 
https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0510-91214/1963-studebaker-avanti-coupe/

Last year's Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona sold this car at no reserve for $33,000..... someone got a great deal! 
https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1963-STUDEBAKER-AVANTI-CUSTOM-COUPE-189719

Before this car was sold, it was owned by a guy in Maryland who also owns the Egbert Avanti.   Where is this custom Avanti now?