Avanti Heads!

[mfg]

All R3-R4 Studebaker Avanti engines were 'built' at Paxton in California, there a local iron foundry  cast the special big valve cylinder heads used on those engines.........True?

[mfg]

No thoughts on this one?

[r1lark]

We know that the engines were assembled at Paxton, but Nels Bove has stated that the heads were cast and machined in South Bend. He certainly knows more about those heads than I do, so I'll say this statement is FALSE due to the 'where the heads were cast' part.

[mfg]

20 hours ago, r1lark said:

We know that the engines were assembled at Paxton, but Nels Bove has stated that the heads were cast and machined in South Bend. He certainly knows more about those heads than I do, so I'll say this statement is FALSE due to the 'where the heads were cast' part.

And false is CORRECT!

[VtMike]

How much more did the R3 Avanti cost than the R2?  Seems like the super engine coupled with beefing of the suspension could have easily added a couple of thousand?  But somehow I doubt it would have been that much in 1964 dollars.

[mfg]

14 minutes ago, VtMike said:

How much more did the R3 Avanti cost than the R2?  Seems like the super engine coupled with beefing of the suspension could have easily added a couple of thousand?  But somehow I doubt it would have been that much in 1964 dollars.

Good question!...I think the R3 option was somewhere around $1,000......Maybe Studegary has the exact cost of that option.

[studegary]

6 hours ago, mfg said:

Good question!...I think the R3 option was somewhere around $1,000......Maybe Studegary has the exact cost of that option.

The R3 was $1031 over the standard R1.

[VtMike]

I don't know if it is correct, but here is what I got when I googled the question on the 'net:

R-1 -  $ 4,445 ;  R-2 - $ 4, 655;  & R-3 - $ 5, 665.  

Sometimes someone buys a special car and just stores it for 30+ yrs.  Did that happen with any of the original 9 R-3s?  That would have been a pretty fair investment, eh?   

[studegary]

7 minutes ago, VtMike said:

I don't know if it is correct, but here is what I got when I googled the question on the 'net:

R-1 -  $ 4,445 ;  R-2 - $ 4, 655;  & R-3 - $ 5, 665.  

Sometimes someone buys a special car and just stores it for 30+ yrs.  Did that happen with any of the original 9 R-3s?  That would have been a pretty fair investment, eh?   

The last one was stored with 6K miles on it and that is what it still has.

[studegary]

15 hours ago, studegary said:

The R3 was $1031 over the standard R1.

This $1031 price is from Studebaker Sales Letter 161, 6/10/63 (not Google).  This price includes more than the different engine (when the R3 was ordered).