A 1963 Studebaker is a rare car, but a 1963 Studebaker Avanti is really rare.
This is a car with a lot of history and this particular one has its own special history.
It was Allie’s grandfather’s car and therefore is very special to them.
I think it would be safe to say Allie and her father, John, are best buds.
You can find them out enjoying their all original Avanti at one or more car shows every week.
Andy Granatelli had a speed shop in Chicago named Grancor. He sold half of his supercharger company to Studebaker
for use on the Avanti and in return received half of a Chemical company from Studebaker.
Granatelli changed the name of that company to STP and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Andy had a long standing relationship with Studebaker as a result.
Indy, speed, and innovations were Granatelli’s passions. In the sixties he built some very advanced Indy cars including
the all-wheel drive Novi powered cars and the famous turbine car. The turbine almost won the 1967 Indianapolis 500. It was leading
near the end of the race when a four dollar bearing in the transmission failed. A.J. Foyt went on to win the race, capturing
his third Indianapolis 500 win.
Granatelli was also the CEO of the STP Corporation in the sixties when STP became heavily involved in sponsoring race cars.
STP sponsored all of the cars Andy fielded at Indianapolis as well as Richard Petty in NASCAR.
The 1963 and 1964 Avanti's were all Studebaker, using a Studebaker 283 V-8 engine and a power shift transmission which was
designed for better traction in the snow. Remember, Studebaker’s home was in South Bend, Indiana.
Only the 1963 Avanti had round headlights.
In 1965 production was moved to Canada and a Chevrolet Corvette 327 engine was used in the car.
Avanti's also have many different land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
The final Avanti designed by the Granatelli brothers had twin superchargers and was nicknamed the “Due Centro”.
You can have a long visit with John about their Avanti and I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.
