Wrong Year? 1964 Studebaker Avanti
It is unusual for a passionate enthusiast to miss even the slightest detail about their beloved classic, making this Studebaker Avanti a genuine mystery machine. The seller lists it as a 1964 model, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Even The Avanti Registry is unclear about its year model designation, meaning a new owner may need to don their “deer stalker” hat and play Sherlock Holmes to learn the truth. The Avanti is listed here on eBay in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The seller set their auction to open at $21,000 but has received no bids.
Studebaker was somewhat financially embarrassed by 1963, which is a polite way of saying the company was effectively broke. It launched the Avanti as a halo model to draw potential customers into showrooms, but history shows it was not only too little, but it was far too late. Our feature car is a mystery machine, with the seller listing it as a 1964 model. That doesn’t gel with my resources because the VIN confirms it rolled off the line in March 1963. I checked The Avanti Registry, and it also notes this discrepancy. The Registry administrators offer no insight, confirming it is also a mystery to them. The car presents nicely in Avanti Red, with only minor bubbles and imperfections on the hood. The paint shines impressively, while the fiberglass looks flawless. There is no visible corrosion in the supplied images, and if the hog troughs are solid, this Avanti should be structurally sound. It rolls on its original steel wheels, and like the remaining trim and glass, its hubcaps look perfect.
The interior deepens the mystery with this Avanti. This is the first I’ve seen with the gauge fascia and console control panel finished in Red. I suspect somebody performed a cosmetic refresh because the carpet isn’t original. The overall presentation is tidy, with no significant flaws or imperfections. The dash and pad are excellent, and the upholstered surfaces are free from wear and other issues. Its condition is comfortably acceptable for a driver-grade classic, and the AM radio is the only other non-original item. It should also be pretty comfortable, with this interior featuring air conditioning and power windows.
The listing confirms this numbers-matching Avanti features the R1 version of the company’s 289ci V8. That means it doesn’t sport a supercharger but still sends a healthy 240hp to the rear wheels via a three-speed automatic transmission. The car’s luxury credentials are cemented by power assistance for the steering and brakes. The current owner purchased the Avanti approximately a decade ago and has not tried to wear it out. It has only clocked fifty miles since, leading them to believe the odometer reading of 17,878 miles is genuine. We must take that claim at face value due to a lack of evidence, although the years spent in a climate-controlled warehouse make it plausible. The mystery of this car deepens because the seller fails to provide information on how it runs or drives. The visual indications are positive, but I suspect interested parties may have many questions requiring answers with this classic.
The Studebaker Avanti is an acquired taste because some people can’t warm to its quirky styling. However, the car has gained traction in the classic world, and while bidding generally isn’t frantic, it is typically relatively healthy. That may initially make the lack of activity surprising in this case, but I believe it is understandable. The question mark hanging over the year model is one potential obstacle, while the lack of information surrounding its mechanical health is another. I believe those factors are the sticking point because the auction’s opening figure is realistic in the current market. Would you consider pursuing it further, or will you throw this Avanti in the “too hard” basket?
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Comments
This exact car sold at auction a few years ago, see here:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1964-studebaker-avanti-4/
The production record showing it is a round-headlight ’64 is included in that listing. The factory had a few challenges in ’63 including a flood of orders it could not fill and a shut-down in the summer. Deliveries were late.
Owner has driven it 23 miles in the 4 and a half years they have owned it. I wonder what the reserve is and if they plan on making a killing on this, all I can say is good luck.
His “reserve” is the opening bid, which is $1000 more than he paid for it 4.5 years ago. Supposedly was a screaming deal back then if you read the comments on BaT, but the non-standard paint turns a lot of Studie purists off.
1963 was the only year with round headlights.
Look at pic’s of both odometers. It is working and shows about 150 miles since last sold. At least works and wasn’t clocked. But previous sale was still TMU. Wonder what the title and any service records show.
Very common for the title clerks to get the year wrong, may be what happened here. With little demand could be a ’63 titled as a ’64
Given the lack of a grill, you will be asked, “What kind of electric car is this?”
this channel often gets on the-same-model-kick perodically. Now avanti.
Thought I’d bring back a fav of mine:
https://barnfinds.com/rare-4-door-luxury-sedan-1990-avanti-ii/
I also own a round headlight 64 Avanti there were 50 transition cars where they were making changes to small items, interior wise and to the rectangular headlight bezels but yes, it can be a round headlights 64 not a tyographical error. What is the Vin number on the vehicle
4837 was the first running change car. 4892 is the first full 64. This car 3593 is a 63. It was probably was not sold till 64. The pictures look much better than when I saw it. At that time it was not worth what it has been bid to.
Studebaker was still in business in 1964 . The ’64 models , as with other automakers always came out late the year prior . The Avante was only in it’s 2nd year of production , so its either a late ’63 , or an early ’64 model. That year all Studebakers were made in Canada until they closed their doors in 1966 . Happy Motoring !
Yep…agree….looks like they ground off a lot on that factory plate…..and what no engine pics or did I miss something….
With just a little research, in the history of the avanti, it’s commom knowledge that the bodies of the avanti had body quality problems from the company that made the bodies, same company that produced the corvette bodies but the bodies received from that company didn’t meet Studebaker standards, High demand for the cars, forced Studebaker set up a rework department to fix the bodies that didn’t meet there standards, so alot of Avanti’s spent time in rework areas that delayed there completion thus the car was probably finished in the 64 model year. Meaning September of 63 is start for 64 model year. !
That’s a plausible scenario. Studebaker actually changed factories mid-stream to South Bend due to quality control issues. Can’t have been an easy process, especially for a company limping financially.
I used to love these. Then my cousin bought one, and I dunno, having really nothing to do with his acquisition, my eyes changed or something and I liked them less. It’s the opposite of what’s happened to me with other cars – where I wouldn’t give them a second look, and now I think they’re cool.
The only things I liked about these cars were the dash. The gauge layout was beautiful. The little control levers were very cool too. It does look like the clock was added as it does not fit the hole. I think there was an A/C vent there originally.
Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids. Rock and Roll Band.
They had a couple of songs on the American Graffiti soundtrack.
Checking pics of other Avanti dashes, never any HVAC vent in the gauge cluster anywhere, until the mid-80s when they switched to Chevy chassis and changed the entire dashboard and interior.
Did see numerous pics of that style of clock in that position however, so I think it’s original, and all that’s wrong here is the way it’s sitting kinda loose and cockeyed in there, leaving a gap. Not sure if it’s just missing a trim ring, or missing something else behind that would hold it flush against the gauge panel.
I remember seeing my first one parked on the street in downtown Minneapolis in the spring of 1963. There was a crowd of people around the car. In 1964 our nextdoor neighbor had a friend who owned a gold Avanti with the squared off headlights. They parked it in their driveway quite a few times.The crazy thing was I lived in a small town in northern Minnesota. We still had one Studebaker dealership on First Avenue. I vaguely remember that same ’64 Avanti was for sale in the front window of that downtown dealership.
They still look as good as they did 60 years ago. This one looks to be a nice example.
In today’s market, it would be a buy even in the mid $20K range. Good luck to the seller, and the buyer.
That is a ’63, despite what any authorities may say to the contrary. One could argue that the front clip could have been swapped out, but the article does state a confirmed completion date of March 1963, well within the M-Y ’63 production.
I really think the Avanti could have had great historical impact, but it lacked something Ford had for its Mustang: A crackin’ sales manager in the form of Lee Iacocca. Maybe if they had their own Lee Iacocca, along with some better financial resources, Studebaker would have cornered the historical status of the first pony-car to be marketed.
No. It’s a ’64. The Avanti’s design was being tweaked throughout its entire production and at one point a very small amount of ’64s came from the factory with headlights like a ’63 instead of having the square bezels around them like the rest of the ’64s and damn near all of the Avanti IIs that were made.
When newan altmen bought they fixed wrecked Avanti cars there was floors of clips body parts they worked all week including weekends I did the chasis converting to gm drive train those chasis came from lake ere ship wreck frames sent to white Oliver for sand blasting to clean them up bill
For the record, Newman and Altman bought out ALL the spare parts inventory in South Bend as well as remaining parts on the production line. There were frames stacked up like cord wood. It was only in the early 80’s that the inventory of frame components was getting low and that resulted in the conversion to using GM chassis in ‘86 with production resuming in ‘87.
Did the original frame not meeting the then-new crash standards have anything to do with them moving to GM frames?
@Poppy,
The choice to use the GM mid-size frame was based upon the fact that the Monte Carlo and El Camino used the same wheel base and track. Changing frames did require a full redesign of the floor pan. With that work being done, Avanti Motors also took the time and effort to upgrade the dash and HVAC by using the unit in the dash of the Monte/El-Cam. Literally what was done was base versions of the GM cars were bought optioned with A/C, V8 and cruise control. The bodies were removed as were the desirred accesories and the Avanti body was then installed. As delivered, the new ccars came with a full GM waranty on the power/drive train, brakes and HVAC.
Just a comment Ken, I believe the gm frame used in the later Avanti 2 is the GM G- body frame of 108 inches. Monte Carlo, Olds Cutlass, Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix. But Not the El Camino !! Wheelbase for the El Camino was 117.1 inches.
Not all round light bezel Avantis are 1963. Some were 1964’s. Studebaker changed out parts when they ran out of them and not by model year. If they showed a picture of the battery most of the 1963 models had a long, narrow battery but the 1964 had a conventional one. There are a lot of other indicators by parts that indicate when it was produced. To add to the confusion, when the car was sold and titled was what year they called out the model year in some states. The red steering column and dash inlay are definitely not stock either.
According to the Standard Catalog of American Cars, about 750 of the 809 Avantis produced for the 1964 production year, had square headlight enclosures. The last Avanti was built in December of 1963. On a somewhat related note, the very first production Avanti is now displayed at the LeMay-America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, WA. It was donated years ago, in bad need of restoration, with a second Avanti. According to the paperwork that came with the cars, the second Avanti wasn’t suppose to exist and it had no VIN tag. The appraisal paperwork that came with the cars noted that the second Avanti was actually worth more than the very first one. It was finally revealed, not that long ago, that the second Avanti was more of a concept car for the future 1964 Avanti. It was sold at auction a few years ago to a private collector.
Just for the record…for what it’s worth. A friend. of my father and big Studebaker fan ordered an Avanti the moment the dealer opened the order book. He didn’t accept delivery until the summer of 1963. As I understand it he checked it out and found it so filled with issues
he wouldn’t take it home until they were all solved.
The dealer took care of them and the man owned the Avanti another 30 plus years and sold it only because he gave up driving.