R2 Avanti..OR IS IT?

[SN-60]

I always do a double take when I eyeball the engine of My friend Tom's Avanti. Someone did a REALLY NICE JOB of R2-izing a small block Chevy. (327 I believe) This is a really nice '63 Stude Avanti....Disc brakes all around, stainless exhaust, improved gauges,....a REAL head turner, displayed at the Ocean Bay Chapter 'Octoberfest'!

[SN-60]

Wanted to mention that Tom's Avanti may be a transition model ...or a '64 ordered with round lights......The body tag # is RQ 3759...what do You folks think?

[Gunslinger]

What's the serial number? That would determine whether it's a transition model or simply a '63 with '64 trim retrofitted.

[JBOYLE]

A Chevy motor in a Studebaker?
Maybe we ought to call it an "Avanti I.5"?

[SN-60]

What's the serial number? That would determine whether it's a transition model or simply a '63 with '64 trim retrofitted.

I haven't the slightest idea on the serial....when I see Tom again I'll ask. Big discussion on Avanti body numbers in latest AOAI Magazine though!

[SN-60]

I believe that when Studebaker changed the Avanti body tags from '63-RQ' to just 'RQ' it indicated a '64 model.....Didn't it?

[Gunslinger]

I believe from past discussions that body number is not a reliable indicator as Studebaker simply used whatever body was available in the desired color. Besides...the '63 I used to own (R4341) has a body number of RQ-3011...I have the build sheet in front of me. It was written on April 25, 1963...definitely a '63 model year car.

I would believe that body numbers were a somewhat reliable indicator only at the very beginning of production. Once they started getting further along in production the divergence in body numbers to serial numbers got larger and larger.

[SN-60]

I believe from past discussions that body number is not a reliable indicator as Studebaker simply used whatever body was available in the desired color. Besides...the '63 I used to own (R4341) has a body number of RQ-3011...I have the build sheet in front of me. It was written on April 25, 1963...definitely a '63 model year car.

I would believe that body numbers were a somewhat reliable indicator only at the very beginning of production. Once they started getting further along in production the divergence in body numbers to serial numbers got larger and larger.

Understood......that makes sense.

[Flashback]

A really nice car. I am not up on Avanti's, so I want to ask a stupid question. Is the heading: R2 AVANTI..OR IS IT?, refering to the chevy engine? I am right in asuming there were no 63 and 64 cars with chevy engines?

[SN-60]

A really nice car. I am not up on Avanti's, so I want to ask a stupid question. Is the heading: R2 AVANTI..OR IS IT?, refering to the chevy engine? I am right in asuming there were no 63 and 64 cars with chevy engines?

Yes, that's what I meant. It's like ..Hey..an R2 Studebaker V8!....Wait a second...THAT'S NOT A STUDEBAKER V8!!

[Gunslinger]

It's a much cleaner supercharger installation than Avanti Motors did in the later '60s when they built a blown Avanti II. The hump for supercharger clearance they installed on that car's hood ruined the lines of the car.