Chevrolet Engines used in the Avanti II From 1966 to 1983

[rgallatin]

Recently I was asked, "What was the top speed of the Avanti II?" I was kind of surprised by the question because I never thought of the Avanti II as ever being raced. Were they legal for competitions? What were the GM engines used in the Avanti II besides the Chevrolet 327 cu in 300 bhp? And were Avanti IIs ever raced in competition?

[Gunslinger]

Steve Blake conducted a racing effort but that involved only two cars to the best of my knowledge...and those cars were not on stock chassis. If there were any other II's raced it was by private owners. Racing was definitely not the image and market segment Nate Altman was interested in.

Avanti II's used the 327, 350, 400 and 305 small block Chevy engines of various horsepower, torque and transmission combinations depending on the model year, emissions regulations and cost/availability.

[PackardV8]

Up until Avanti wimped out with the 305", the correct answer is:

"About the same top speed as the base engine Corvette of the same year."

jack vines

[dean pearson]

Up until Avanti wimped out with the 305", the correct answer is:

"About the same top speed as the base engine Corvette of the same year."

jack vines

Hehe,
Jack said they wimped out.

Dean.

Sorry, I must agree.

[rgallatin]

Seems to me that if Nate Altman's Avanti II had comparable Corvette engines then Altman missed out on a mighty big potential to sell his cars, especially with the performance legacy of the Studebaker Avanti to support that effort.

[Gunslinger]

Seems to me that if Nate Altman's Avanti II had comparable Corvette engines then Altman missed out on a mighty big potential to sell his cars, especially with the performance legacy of the Studebaker Avanti to support that effort.

Nate used the performance legacy of the Studebaker Avanti in early Avanti II ad brochures but it really wasn't the market he wanted to reach. Avanti Motors was a very conservatively run operation under the Altmans and getting involved in a racing effort or that market was out of character with his vision. Steve Blake tried the racing angle and, while it raised the profile some, it drained the company of badly needed capital.

[JBOYLE]

In the Altman era, Avanti was more about making a luxury GT car than a all out performance car. They knew what the car was...and who would be buying them...and sold them accordingly. By the early 70s (when the "can't stop or turn" /straight line speed period of muscle cars had passed) many performance-oriented buyers would not have bought a car with a 1953-era frame, no matter how large the engine.

[jimmijim8]

That's why I like driving my Studes. I like that old time feel. Feels a bit like the 64 Caddy I once owned [QUOTE=JBO many performance-oriented buyers would not have bought a car with a 1953-era frame, no matter how large the engine.[/QUOTE]

[SN-60]

Hehe,
Jack said they wimped out.

Dean.

Sorry, I must agree.

Funny, We talk about the 305 R3 Stude V8 and get all excited.....but the good old 305 Chevy engine...an EXCELLENT all around engine by the way, is a source of amusement.....Oh well!!!!

[plwindish]

SN-60, there's quite a few ponies separating those two same sized engines, as well as two very different purposes for those two engines. Its a big time comparison of apples and oranges.

[SN-60]

SN-60, there's quite a few ponies separating those two same sized engines, as well as two very different purposes for those two engines. Its a big time comparison of apples and oranges.

I just don't like to see a good engine trashed.....And I understand that they DO make performance parts for Chevrolet V8 engines...True?

[PlainBrownR2]

....to add to that, funny how they swoon over the GM 305, but never mention that GM had an emissions controlled 305. But if you like pedaling onto an interstate, and having some seriously emissions controlled, low compression heads, on an 80's engine with equally as much emissions controls on it, have at it. I found the engine to be a real dog in our '85 Blazer. Accelerate to freeway speed in that thing with its 305, turbo 350, and its 3.08 with a fully loaded car trailer in tow, and you had better luck pedaling faster on a Huffy! After a few years with that truck, and we went to Ford, there's few engines I'm not willing to use and would serve better as a doorstop, and that's one of them, but that's just me .........

[SN-60]

....to add to that, funny how they swoon over the GM 305, but never mention that GM had an emissions controlled 305. But if you like pedaling onto an interstate, and having some seriously emissions controlled, low compression heads, on an 80's engine with equally as much emissions controls on it, have at it. I found the engine to be a real dog in our '85 Blazer. Accelerate to freeway speed in that thing with its 305, turbo 350, and its 3.08 with a fully loaded car trailer in tow, and you had better luck pedaling faster on a Huffy! After a few years with that truck, and we went to Ford, there's few engines I'm not willing to use and would serve better as a doorstop, and that's one of them, but that's just me .........

FORDS??? In the immortal words of J.J....If there's a s***box to be built....Ford will build it!

[PlainBrownR2]

FORDS??? In the immortal words of J.J....If there's a s***box to be built....Ford will build it!

Yeah, after two K body Blazers that rusted out months after purchase, one with a 305 that couldn't get itself out of its own way, and an '85 Oldsmobile with the cheapest version of the Grand National's Buick V6 in it, and all three cars having 2-3 replacement or rebuilt engines that were needed sometime while we had them, I sarcastically have no idea why we finally switched to the Ford/Lincoln/Mercury products with their 5.0, 5.4, and 4.6L engines! I guess we had, had enough of rebuilding our commuter car's engines over a week or weekend so we could make our 80 mile round trip commute to work on Monday, and just wanted to get in and go! But if that didn't sell it, the 25+ mpg economy in those so called, big ol' "s***boxes" with 6 people and a trunk full of luggage probably did!

[sweetolbob]

I just don't like to see a good engine trashed.....And I understand that they DO make performance parts for Chevrolet V8 engines...True?

True

The 305's only suffer because it has the same stroke as the 350 but a smaller bore. So over all, with the cost to build the same, why not get the extra cubes for the same money. That said, I built a late 70's 305 with a decent Weiand cam, intake, a Mallory dual point dissy and the bigger valve heads for my 39 Ford coupe in the mid-80's.

With a reasonably light car and with the emissions crud gone, it would remind one of the early SBC's that just loved to sing as they climbed the rev band. It was just like the old days with the quick little devil bringing back the good memories.

They just never got out of emissions trim and were second fiddle to their bigger brother 350 but not deserving the reputation they got. They can be made to run but in the era of bigger inches they are still the 350's little brother.

Just the wrong place at the wrong time, Bob