Register an Avanti Registry Overview 1963 Studebaker 1964 Studebaker 1960's Avanti II 1970's Avanti II 1980's Avanti II 20th Anniversary 1984 Touring Coupe 1980's Avanti Luxury Sport Coupe Silver Anniversary 4-Door Avanti 1990's Avanti 2001-2007 Avanti

Technical Specifications–R3 Engines

The chances of finding and buying an Avanti with an R3 engine are minuscule at best. Only nine were built. Placing these engines in the radically beautiful Avanti design was the brainchild of Sherwood Egbert, who took over Studebaker in 1961 and immediately gave the go-ahead to Raymond Loewy for the Avanti design project. Chassis and bodies built for R3-powered cars were also modified. Chassis had heavy-duty spring and strengthened control arm bushings. Bodies were shimmed to clear the carburetor pressure box fed by the supercharger. The R3 and R4 Avantis used a larger rearend housing with heavy duty flanged axles rather than the standard Avanti tapered axle. The rearends were Dana Spicer Model 44's. The Granatelli brothers took the first R3, completed in April 1962, to the Nevada desert where a timed top speed of 171.10 was recorded. Not bad for an unproven prototype; and for a time, Studebaker could boast of having produced what Egbert proclaimed as "the world's fastest production car." In everything but name, the R3 was a heavy-duty competition engine that would be equally at home on the dragstrip or the freeway. In September 1963, the brothers took an R3 to Bonneville where the car did a two-way flying mile at an average of 170.75 mph. Vince Granatelli claims the engines tested on the dyno at 400 gross horsepower, but even a more realistic 300 horses would make this the fastest production Studebaker ever available! Andy Granatelli's work included punching out the Studebaker 289 V-8 to 304.5 cubes. Specially cast heads with much larger valves were fitted and Iskenderian dual valve springs were optional. A hotter cam was added and heavy-duty bearings installed. Major moving parts were balanced and magna-fluxed. The top edges of the cylinder head bores were chamfered to match the cylinder head combustion chambers, and special flattop forged aluminum pistons filled the holes. Custom exhaust headers were used on all R3's as was a Prestolite transistor ignition system. A Paxton supercharger provided the induction to make all this hop-up work. After final testing at Grancor, the engines — whose blocks were painted red unlike any other Stude powerplant — were shipped back to South Bend for installation at Studebaker. 1964 Studebaker R3 Avanti Base price Base price: $ 5,980 (includes R3 performance package) Base weight 195 lbs Body Reinforced fiberglass with steel roll bar Frame Ladder type with X-member and four Wheelbase 109 inches Length 192.4 inches Track (f/r) 57.4/56.6 Suspension Independent coil springs, tubular Suspension (rear) Semi-elliptic springs, tubular shocks and anti-sway bar Brakes Hydraulic disc Brakes Rear Hydraulic finned drum, power-assisted Engine Overhead valve V-8, 304.5-cu .in., 400 hp @ 6000 rpm Compression Ratio 9.75:1 Transmission 3-speed Warner power-shift automatic Studebaker Avanti R-Series Comparison Table series cu. in. carb super charged comp ratio distributor cam springs heads pistons exhaust manifolds ignition tach R1 289 single 4 brl non-super charged 10.25:1 dual point 260 deg single valve springs           R2 289 single 4 brl super charged 9.0:1 dual point 260 deg single valve springs           R3 304.5 single 4 brl super charged 9.5:1 dual point/ mechanical advance 276 or 288 deg single or dual valve springs special forged tuned port transigniter (transistor ignition) 8000 rpm scale R4 304.5 dual 4 brl non-super charged 12:1 dual point/ mechanical advance 276 or 288 deg single or dual valve springs special forged tuned port transigniter (transistor ignition) R5 (Paxton)     dual-super charged                   1964 Studebaker Avanti R3 Profile serial number original locations paint color transmission 5089 Downers Grove, Illinois turquoise 4-speed 5237 Seattle, Washington black 4-speed 5394 Kingston, Pennsylvania white 4-speed 5532 Vauxhall, New Jersey turquoise 4-speed 5546 Fort Wayne, Indiana gold 4-speed 5593 Yuma, Arizona gray automatic 5625 Toledo, Ohio black automatic 5642 Moline, Illinois white automatic 5643* Jackson, Mississippi white automatic *Last Studebaker Avanti       Avanti Awards Article Avanti in Soul Snatcher Avanti Hood Emblem Avanti Disk Brakes Video 1963 Life Magazine Ad

Technical Specifications Chassis Disc Brakes Engine Exterior Styling Fiberglass Hog Troughs Interior Appointments Lubrication Optional Equipment Paint Colors Performance Production Statistics R-Series Engines R3 Engines Rear Axle Shock Absorbers Standard Equipment Supercharger Technical Overview Transmission Upholstery & Carpet Weights and Dimensions Stock Racing Dave Bloomberg Andy Granatelli Ron Hall Jim Lange R3 Engines Stephen Blake Racing Stock Racing Overview