1964 Daytona R3 Engine

[mbstude]

Here's a question: All things being equal - what's worth more here - the R3 motor or the '64 ragtop???

And yes, I'm looking for answers with passion as much as calculation.

To the owner of the Avanti that the engine came out of.. That engine would nearly be priceless.

[Blue 15G]

To answer your original question about its value, I think the only answer is "Name your Price." You'll get it.

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

[studegary]

If I had to make a guesstimate, I would say $25K. That is $15K for the convertible, plus $10K added for a true R3.
To determine today's value, put it on eBay at a low starting bid and a reserve that you can live with and let the market establish the price.

[r1lark]

I can verify that it was my 1964 convertible. I owned it for many years and restored it along with the engine swap in the late seventies. I trailered it to Gettysburg, PA in 1980 for the SDC meet. It is a Canadian built car that came with a 289 engine and automatic trans. I originally was going to put an R-1 in it but then I found a rusty R-2 1963 Cruiser which I parted out. I rebuilt its engine and had it all detailed and ready to install in the convertible when I heard about the R-3. It is from one of the original R-3 Avantis. In about 1983 I sold the car to Roy Heckers in Chula Vista, CA and I lost track of the car after he sold it a couple of years later.

Ed Reynolds

Yep, I was thinking that Roy owned that convertible for a while but had not had a chance to verify it. Can remember that many times it was featured prominently in his full page Turning Wheels parts ads in the early to mid-eighties.

[PackardV8]

It's worth a minimum of $50,000.00

I think the only answer is "Name your Price." You'll get it.

To the owner of the Avanti that the engine came out of.. That engine would nearly be priceless.

Could some of us have had a bit too much coffee this morning????????

jack vines

[StudeMichael]

$5,000.00 for the Halibrands
$15,000.00 for the car
$25,000.00 for the original R3 engine that was in one of the 9 R3 Avantis. That means a lot. There should be a "B" number on the top front of the engine block. What is that number?

$45,000.00 total

[pdrnec]

Like someone said, put it on eBay with a high reserve and see what the market will bear. I don't think anyone is doing the OP any favors by throwing around astronomical numbers. He could easily wind up being buried in something because "he knows how much it's worth, those Studebaker guys said so"

$50,000? What's the highest price any Studebaker has ever brought? Anybody know?

I seem to remember an R4 crate motor having sold - how much did that go for?

If the car has been sitting for 10, 15, 20 years or more you're looking at a significant amount of work to make it more than cosmetically appealing. Maybe you get $50K for it AFTER all that has been done.

[SN-60]

The fact that that engine is sitting in a vehicle that it actually could have been ordered in is important. Also, the Convertible Daytona would always be worth more than any 'Lark Type' closed body style. I believe we're talking
about a one of a kind dream car here. If the body is sound, and the car is advertised correctly, $50,000.00 would definitely be the low end. A 'garden variety' (albeit perfect) '57 Golden sold for $145.000.00 recently.

[Bob Andrews]

If you're looking to maximize value, here's what I'd do: find a quality, running regular 289; detail it and put it in the car. Sell the car and the r3 engine separately.

Being that the engine isn't original to the car, this would make the most sense. A decent Daytona convertible is worth pretty good money. But even more desirable is that engine. There are probably a few who would buy that car just to rob the engine, put another engine in, and resell the car; or, buy it and do the swap because they want the car, and then sell the r3 hoping to recoup most of the cost for the car. Either way, there will be a lot more that would be interested in the engine by itself than the whole package.

If the car was born with that engine, then that would by far be the best way to sell. Maybe then it would be worth some of these crazy prices we've seen here. But it is my guess that your father could net a lot more by separating the car and engine, even after the cost/effort to put a different engine in the car. Food for thought anyway.

[mbstude]

An NOS in the crate R3 sold a few years ago for over $20K, and it had to be rebuilt. You simply can't build an R3 engine for $10,000. You're gonna spend more than that.

Since it isn't "just" a B block but is the original engine from one of the 9 Avantis, I personally think that the engine should go back with that Avanti, and would have more value to the owner of that car than anyone else. But that's just me.

[JimC]

That begs the question though, does that avanti still exist? If so, how did it get split from this engine in the first place?

[StudeMichael]

Yes, The car still exists. Roy Hecker's took the R3 engine out. Speaking of values Sherwood Egbert's Avanti went for $75,000.00 and it was not one of the 9 factory Avanti's.

[jlmccuan]

Possibly from Avanti 5532, the 4th production Avanti R3, as I have records of the remaining 8 wherabouts as of 2000

[SN-60]

It would also be nice to reunite the'Due Cento' engine with the Avanti it ran in at Bonneville, but since these things may or may not ever happen, the questions remains what the possible value might be of this
top of the line '64 Daytona Convertible, that happens to contain one of the rarest engines Studebaker ever built. (and how about those wheels?)

[mbstude]

It would also be nice to reunite the'Due Cento' engine with the Avanti it ran in at Bonneville, but since these things may or may not ever happen, the questions remains what the possible value might be of this
top of the line '64 Daytona Convertible, that happens to contain one of the rarest engines Studebaker ever built. (and how about those wheels?)

This is another story for another thread for another day... But the Due Cento engine has been found and there are plans to reunite it with the car later this year.