It was in the Spring of 1991 when I went insane… or so everybody told me. That was when I bought my first Avanti. You don’t just wake up one day and say, “I have to own an old car made by a company that doesn’t exist anymore. ” You kind of build up to it. My father started it all in the summer of 1969 when he gave me a rusty old 1962 Lark. (See that story here) I had it made… I was a nine year old with a car! So what if I only got to drive in the field beside our house, I had wheels. My mother didn’t help matters when she took a friend and I to a local car show. It turned out that it was put on by a local chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. I was hooked, at 13 the Avanti became my “dream car.” I didn’t know how or when at the time but I knew someday I would own one.
As I said, this kind of insanity doesn’t happen overnight, it just sneaks up on you slowly. Finally I was ready, I had money saved up from a couple of “brand X” collectors cars I had sold and it was earmarked for an Avanti. The search could now begin. I looked at a few Avantis in my area but the northern winters aren’t kind to Avanti frames. I also looked at a couple of Avanti IIs but I am first and foremost a Studebaker guy so I wanted the original, the real deal… a Studebaker Avanti. Looking through the Turning Wheels magazine I spotted an Avanti in the Orlando Florida area. I called, photos were sent, the car seemed right and that’s when the insanity kicked in full force. Armed with a cashier’s check and a one way plane ticket I took a long weekend and headed south.
A one way ticket? Yes, I intended to come home with an Avanti. I figured if the car wasn’t as good as I had hoped I would buy something else, even if it was just to drive home and resell. I arrived in Orlando about 9:30 in the evening and got a hotel room. The next day I was up early and with my rental car I went to find my Avanti. The car turned out to be everything the seller promised and we struck a deal. I went to the local DMV to get the Avanti registered, (I had already insured it before I left home). It was now time to head home in my very own “dream car”, but it needed gas and I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast the previous day so a stop at a neighborhood gas station / convenience store was in order. OK, now armed with considerably less money, an Avanti, a corn dog and a can of Mountain Dew I was ready for a road trip.
As anyone who owns an Avanti knows traveling in one is an experience that you shouldn’t miss. The curious looks from everyone you go past. As cars carrying families passed by you could see the puzzled looks on the faces of the children and their father pointing and explaining to them what kind of car it was. You can only guess how accurate his information was…
You hear the same questions every time you stop for gas, here’s a typical conversation.
“Hey, what kind of car is that?”
“It’s a Studebaker Avanti.”
“Studebaker? Who made those?”
“Nobody made them, Studebaker was an independent company.”
“What’s it got under the hood?”
“A 289.”
“Oh, a Ford.”
“No, it’s a Studebaker engine.”
“Huh, I always thought they used Rambler engines.”
It seemed to be the same conversation every place I stopped, but that’s just part of owning an Avanti.
The trip went pretty smooth with a few minor exceptions. I was about halfway through Georgia when a semi passed me, I noticed the recap on the right rear trailer tire was coming off and I began praying that it stay in place just a little longer. No such luck… it came off and rolled into my lane, flattening out just in time for the Avanti to pass over it with a very loud bang. Nothing seemed to be damaged but it hit the oil pan hard enough to start it leaking badly around the gasket. I was leaving some good sized puddles and using a quart of oil with every tank of gas.
Speaking of gas, I think I was in North Carolina when the gas gauge decided to quit working. This was about the same time it started to rain. The Avanti had just had a new dash pad put in and all the parts for the heater were in a box in the trunk. Luckily the windows didn’t fog up but it was getting cold. After all it was only April and we still had snow on the ground back in Pennsylvania.
It was 3 AM and I was getting very tired and figured I had better stop to rest. I didn’t want to get a hotel room because I would probably be up and on the road again in just a few hours. I stopped at a rest area in West Virginia and took a two hour nap in the back seat. If you’ve never tried sleeping in the back of an Avanti, just imagine trying to get comfortable sleeping in your hat. These were not made for sleeping comfort. Well, it was 5 AM so back on the road…it was in the upper thirties and I had my jacket on and a towel spread out over my lap trying to keep warm.
The trip home was over 1500 miles spent with one sunburned arm from the Florida sun, watching oil leaks, guessing gas mileage and trying to keep warm in the frozen north. So now you know why everyone thought I was insane. They were probably right… but I would do it all over again. After all, it was an Avanti!
I had this Avanti for 11 years before selling it. It was an R1 Automatic and during the time I had it I repainted it, did needed mechanical work and upgraded the interior. I drove it to the 30th Anniversary Avanti meet in South Bend in 1993, the 1995 International Meet in Dearborn as well as to many local meets and car shows.
I’ve had another Avanti as well as other Studebakers and still have three at this time. Many of my friends came to appreciate the Avanti although they still aren’t sure if I’m sane or not.
Here’s my Avanti as it appeared on the cover of Turning Wheels magazine in January 1997. See the story of this photo here.
FOLLOW UP: As of fall 2012 I now have another Avanti, This time a later one, a 1980 Avanti II.
