The Most Important Car the Year You Were Born

[dazzleman]

Probably the most successful Italian design by a domestic manufacturer.

I'm really pleased that my.year is represented by such a cool car.

[FoMoJo]

Oh, 169 is totally different. Still can't believe it.

Some interesting specs...https://www.theavanti.com/r3.html

Maybe you can do the math.

[Payman]

I'm really pleased that my.year is represented by such a cool car.

I can't believe they're still such a sleeper in the market. A quick check shows you can still get a really nice one for under $40k. And that's the original, not the later Avanti II.

[Payman]

https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1963/studebaker/avanti/101339988

https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1963/studebaker/avanti/101336609

https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1963/studebaker/avanti/101314626

[FoMoJo]

I can't believe they're still such a sleeper in the market. A quick check shows you can still get a really nice one for under $40k. And that's the original, not the later Avanti II.

Studebaker Packard was struggling even through the '50s.  They had beautiful designs thanks to Raymond Loewy, but the underpinnings were a bit ancient.  I had a '57 Silver Hawk with the 289 Studebaker V8 which was a pretty stout engine, but the front suspension was still king pins.  The Avanti was a last gasp for them and they ended on a high note.

The less said about the Avanti II, the better.

[Payman]

Studebaker Packard was struggling even through the '50s.  They had beautiful designs thanks to Raymond Loewy, but the underpinnings were a bit ancient.  I had a '57 Silver Hawk with the 289 Studebaker V8 which was a pretty stout engine, but the front suspension was still king pins.  The Avanti was a last gasp for them and they ended on a high note.

The less said about the Avanti II, the better.

Wasn't the Avanti II basically a C3 Corvette?

Edit: a quick Wiki shows it did use 'Vette engines, but it used a few different chassis, including Monte Carlo, Caprice, and in the end its own chassis and Mustang engines.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Some interesting specs...https://www.theavanti.com/r3.html

Maybe you can do the math.

Math is fun!

The supercharged, 400 gross horsepower, 170 mph R3 had a 3-speed automatic with a 1:1 3rd gear, a 3.73:1 rear end, and 6.70x15" tires.

I will be generous and say the 6.70x15 tire has a diameter of 27.5", and thusly a circumference of 86.4", or 7.2'.
5280' ÷ 7.2' = 733.3 revolutions per mile.

Let's say the R3 Avanti engine can somehow hit 7,000 RPM and not blow up. 7000 ÷ 3.73 rear end ratio = 1877 RPM at the wheels

1877 RPM ÷ 733.3 rev/mile = 2.56  miles/minute.
2.56 × 60 = 153.6 MPH. This is not fast enough.

In order to hit 170 MPH, 2.83 miles per minute, 2078 wheel RPM, the engine would have to hit 7751 RPM and make enough power at that RPM in order to make the car go.

[Raza]

Haha, I'm old but not that old.

I felt really old when I saw the car for my year - the Studebaker Avanti.  I never heard of it.  My mom had a Studebaker Lark when I was a baby but I don't remember it

I've heard of the Studebaker Avanti.  It was a weird one; kind of fresh and futuristic looking, but with some touches that were old school.

[FoMoJo]

Math is fun!

The supercharged, 400 gross horsepower, 170 mph R3 had a 3-speed automatic with a 1:1 3rd gear, a 3.73:1 rear end, and 6.70x15" tires.

I will be generous and say the 6.70x15 tire has a diameter of 27.5", and thusly a circumference of 86.4", or 7.2'.
5280' ÷ 7.2' = 733.3 revolutions per mile.

Let's say the R3 Avanti engine can somehow hit 7,000 RPM and not blow up. 7000 ÷ 3.73 rear end ratio = 1877 RPM at the wheels

1877 RPM ÷ 733.3 rev/mile = 2.56  miles/minute.
2.56 × 60 = 153.6 MPH. This is not fast enough.

In order to hit 170 MPH, 2.83 miles per minute, 2078 wheel RPM, the engine would have to hit 7751 RPM and make enough power at that RPM in order to make the car go.

Considering that the top speed of a production Avanti was given as 135 mph, there is some question whether the 2 way record at the Salt Flats was achieved by a purely "stock" Avanti.  Given that Andy Granatelli was a bit of a showman, it's conceivable that a few adjustments may have been made to the record setting Avanti.



That the car needed a push to get it going suggests that the differential ratio was not exactly stock, nor were the tires as stock tires would surely explode at that speed.

However, it was good publicity.

What is somewhat remarkable is that it did not become airborne. 

[FoMoJo]

Some more Avanti info...https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1963-64-studebaker-avanti-3

For 1964, the Granatelli brothers took Studebaker performance one step further with the development of their R-3 and R-4 engines; a commonly cited figure is roughly 120 combined units. Creating the R-3 began with enlarging the cylinder bores by .093 inch, yet retaining the 3.625-inch stroke, resulting in a 304 cubic-inch short-block. Intake and exhaust valves were enlarged from 1.65/1.53 inches to 1.875/1.625 inches. A new cam was installed, combustion chambers were matched to 64cc, and compression was increased to 9.75:1. Amongst other goodies, a Paxton SN supercharger provided 6 pounds of boost to a 650-CFM Carter four-barrel. Although Studebaker never really announced the R-3's output, in "factory" trim it pushed 335hp and 320-lb.ft. of torque; some reports claim that by increasing RPM from 5,350 to 6,000, horsepower could exceed 400.

[AutobahnSHO]

But, is he saying his first year of college was 1993, or the car was a '93?

LOL Sorry, college was 1993. Car was not.