An absolutely gorgeous 1963 Studebaker Avanti, with Black California License plates and single family ownership history to 1971 ! Beautifully finished in Saturn Bronze, with eye-popping factory orange and fawn 2 tone interior! If ever there was a car that evoked the mid-century modern design ethos, the ’63 Avanti is it!
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Designed in a few short weeks in Palm Springs, California by the famous Raymond Loewy and his team, this car was legitimately ahead of it’s time in styling. The Palm Springs location for the design was partially because Loewy had a place there, and partly because Sherwood Egbert, president of Studebaker, wanted to get the design team away from corporate interference in South Bend Headquarters! The fact that the designers were able to take an off the shelf Studebaker chassis and make this gorgeous thing from it is just amazing!
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This car is very nicely equipped, with the R-1 Studebaker V-8, Borg Warner Automatic Transmission, Air Conditioning, Power Steering, Power front disc brakes, Power windows, Radio, and heater/defroster.
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Beautiful paint, Saturn Bronze, and lovely chrome plating. And through the windshield we can see the fabulous orange interior!
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Spectacular!
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And a Video of the car in operation
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There’s the original California Black License plate, and it’s the original plate issued to this car – it shows up on all of the old registration slips going back to 1971! It’s been in the same family since then, passed down by the father-in-law to the daughter and son-in-law back in the early 1990’s.
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Avanti Owners Association Charter member 1965 !
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And the Avanti Owner’s association windshield sticker from 1968!
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Even the Avanti rear view is gorgeous, with lots of curves and surface development.
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A photographic tribute to the non-symmetric hood , which actually integrates with the dashboard and steering wheel. It looks great both from the outside, and the inside when you’re looking out.
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Beautiful!
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I love this orange interior! It’s a direct tribute to the mid-century modernism of the times – orange was a very popular color for modern furniture then. It is visually striking and in excellent condition!
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Excellent interior and dashboard. The dashboard is especially nice, it’s original to the car, and in great shape!
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Beautiful!
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You can see the “salt & Pepper” color of the carpeting, a wonderful visual treat!
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The great Avanti feature of a pull-out make-up tray and mirror for the passenger.
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Excellent back seat too! Done in the correct Avanti Orange vinyl, color and pattern!
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Nice clean and correct engine bay, with 289 Studebaker V-8, Carter 4 barrel carburetor, and factory Air conditioning compressor, and full ignition shielding. Orange fan blades and yellow transmission dipstick are the correct colors. The A/C is all hooked up but not cold.
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Nice! It runs great, too!
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This car is a very late 1963, with serial number R4541. Avanti numbering started with R1002. This car is titled as a 1964, but the title notes it was first sold in 1963. So the Contract of sale will call it a 1964.
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Power front disc brakes were licensed by Studebaker from Dunlop. They Beat the Corvette to disc brakes by 2 years!
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Nice waffleboard headliner, and the padded “Roll Bar” a safety item of the era.
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Another great Avanti Feature, headlight and accessory switches in the windshield header! Just like an aircraft! It was the height of the Jet Age, and reaching up to turn on your headlights was just cool!
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Solid California frame and body supports, commonly called the “Hog-Troughs”.
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Here’s the driver’s side – more solid California frame & body supports!
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