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David Blackmer interview in July TW

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  • David Blackmer interview in July TW

    I enjoyed reading the interview with David Blackmer in the July issue of TW, and I have a question. He said that his favorite demo car was an Avanti with 2 blowers. Did that option ever make it to production? Were others made? Does anyone know what happened to that car? Is it possible to do that with an Avanti today, or was a special manifold used?

  • #2
    No, never a production item. I don't see how that could be a "demo".
    Yes, that has been done as an aftermarket installation.

    Gary L.
    Wappinger, NY

    SDC member since 1968
    Studebaker enthusiast much longer
    Gary L.
    Wappinger, NY

    SDC member since 1968
    Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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    • #3
      Or was it the experimental R5?

      Dylan Wills

      '61 lark deluxe 4 door wagon
      Dylan Wills
      Everett, Wa.


      1961 Lark 4 door wagon
      1961 Lark 4 door wagon #2 (Wife's car!)
      1955 VW Beetle (Went to the dark side)
      1914 Ford Model T

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      • #4
        Jerry: 'Glad you enjoyed the interview.

        You have to keep in mind, David Blackmer and Andy Granatelli were good friends and interacted frequently, being in the same location (Los Angeles area) and working to promote Studebakers at the same time.

        Andy and the other Granatellis were "building" all manner of special high-performance Studebakers and experimenting with various high-po parts that were being developed, going back and forth between South Bend's official engineering and Santa Monica's let's see what happens when we do this engineering.

        Consider that virtually all the Bonneville record-setting '64s were hand-built in Santa Monica. Little documentation was recorded, much less saved, as to what went where, when. While many of the Bonneville cars exist, few are still equipped with the engines actually used for the Bonneville runs.

        Whether or not David Blackmer's dual-supercharged Avanti "demo" was later sold with two superchargers intact could be questioned. It could have been returned to an R2 or ??? There's just no way to know for sure. Quite a few cars went through David Blackmer's hands, and he kept no records as to which was which, or their ultimate disposition.

        In reality, dynamic promotional men like David Blackmer were interested in getting exposure for the cars any way they could. While we are fascinated with specifics of a given car, it wasn't their nature to record details of each car (such as serial numbers) and to whom the cars were sold; the nuts and bolts we relish today.

        (BTW, I sent David and Ann Blackmer two fresh copies of the July Turning Wheels with the interview. He was very pleased with the results and said he "really enjoyed" the article. He specifically complimented Ann Turner on the layout....and this from a man who has designed and supervised thousands of promotional pieces in his lifetime, so he knows of what he speaks.) BP



        We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

        G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

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