Some History:

You are looking at a 1975 Avanti II.  The Avanti first came out in 1963 as the Studebaker Avanti with a standard 289 cu. in. engine with an optional supercharger.  The Studebaker advertising stated that the supercharged Avanti would do 165 mph right off the showroom floor. Studebaker made a total of 4,647 Avantis before they went out of buisness in 1964.  The rights to build the Avanti were bought, and in 1965, production began on the Avanti II.  In 1975 there were 125 Avantis built.  This one has serial # RQB2226.

We bought this car in 1999 from a man in Arizona who had spared no expense on engine parts and paint.  Later in 1999 we installed a new, stronger transmission, better built to handle the output of the engine.  Then in 2000, it spun a rod bearing, so we overhauled the engine as well. At that time the engine received a new crankshaft, new pistons and rings, and one new rod.  There are about 7,000 miles on the rebuild.  The story of the paint is that the previous owner in Arizona took the car to the paint shop and told them he wanted it gold with red accents.  When he next saw the car, there was a loud, gaudy red design painted all over the car.  He imediately hated it and had them re do it.  The result is that the body of this car is gold with a subtle red highlight along the body lines - beautiful and classy!  However, if you look on the inside of the hood, the door jams, or the inside of the trunk lid you can still see the original red "accents" that were, thankfully, not allowed to be left all along the car.

Overall details:

The dash in this car reminds you of an airplane cock pit.  The sunroof is electric.  The spedometer and tachometer have digital displays.  The interior of the car is red, and is in good condition, including the vanity tray in the glove box.  The air conditioner works, but needs to be re-charged.  There is a 10 disk CD changer and an amp in the trunk.  I have to admit that I don't know much about the sound system, but I have all the paperwork that the previous owner passed on to me.

The car will come with two extra rear wheels painted to match the body.  The rear tires that are on the car are Goodrich Comp TAs while the tires that are on the extra set of rear wheels are Comp TA Drag Radials.  The car will also come with all relavent paperwork and receipts for all work done, both by us and by the previous owner.

This car is a blast to drive!  It sounds tough, it runs great, and when people see you on the road they nearly break thier necks watching you drive by.  We got a first place award with this car in a car show a couple of years ago.  

Engine Specs:

This car has a 400 cu.in. GM Rocket Block.  It is a severe duty race block offered by GM performance. It is based on the small block chevy, but is much stronger. Technical features of this engine block include steel billet splayed main bearing caps, a tall deck height (.300" taller than the standard small block chevy), siamesed cylinder walls, relocated camshaft, big-block cam bearings, relocated pan rails, priority main oiling, dual starter mounts, etc. A few years ago, the bare block alone sold for $2349.95.  The lifter valley is polished to allow better oil drainage.  The oil pan is a Milodon with a 7 quart capacity.  The rods are 6.2" long Carillos with ARP hardened bolts.  The Cola crankshaft is 4340 steel with enlarged oil passages.  The crankshaft was radius ground and indexed.  The rotating assembly was also balanced.  The pistons are forged JE with 10.40 :1 compression ratio.  The heads are 64cc, angle plug Dart Sportsmans ported and polished for improved flow. The block is zero decked, and the block is o-ringed using copper head gaskets. The valves are Manley Severe Duty SS with 2.02" intakes and 1.6" exhaust.  The block has ARP head and main studs installed.  The harmonic balancer is an 8" Fluidampr.  The oil pump is a big block GM.  The timing chain is a true roller chain.  The lifters are Crane solid rollers with Crane roller rocker arms and Crane hardened push rods.  The springs are Crane double springs.  The cam is a Competition cam with 0.562" intake lift and 0.585" exhaust lift with a duration of 302 degrees intake and 312 degrees exhaust.  Lobe separation is 108.  Engine overhaul performed in 2000.

One of the coolest details (even if it dosen't add horsepower) is that the valve covers have a clear window in the top so you can watch the rocker ams. This was a very expensive engine, it would be hard to duplicate the engine for the price that's being asked for the entire car.

Other specs:

The distributor and ignition system are MSD with the 6 AL rev limiter and a 16 degree adjustable timing control on the intrument panel.  The coil is an MSD Blaster high performance coil.  The intake manifold is an Edlebrock Performer RPM.  Carburation is through a Holley 850 double pumper.  The tuned exhaust headers are ceramic coated.  The exhaust pipes are 2.5".  The mufflers on each side are 2" strait through.  The polished aluminum AC compressor, alternator, high volume water pump, and crank pulleys along with the gold plated power steering pump have been converted over to a single serpentine belt drive system.  The fan is an 8000 rpm flex fan.  The tourque converter is a TCI 3500 stall Super Street Fighter.  The differential is a Dana 44 with a Detroit Locker with 3.73:1 gears.  Transmission is a 350 turbo. 

GM disc brakes are on all four wheels with a proportioning valve for the rear brakes.  The stock steering has been replaced with a new rack and pinion system.  A new 5 core radiator replaced the stock 3 core radiator keeping the engine and transmission cool.   Because the cam is so radical, an electric vacuum booster was added for the power brake system.  The instrument panel has all analog Stewart Warner gauges including fuel pressure.  Speedometer and tachometer are Cyberdyne electronic units.  A complete set of gold plated Craftsman tools are displayed in the trunk.  Avanits have built-in roll bars.  Universal traction bars and air adjustable shocks have also been added.

The Flaw:

The paint on this car is amazing!  You will not find waves or other flaws in this fiberglass body.  However, while driving the car about a year ago (at about 120 mph) , a rock was thrown up inside the front driver's side wheel well.  The rock hit the inside of the fender hard enough to damage the paint and the fiberglass.  You can see the damage in one of the pictures of the front driver's side fender.   It is a crying shame.  We would have rmuch rather gotten the speeding ticket that we deserved.  The price of the car has been discounted to compensate for repairs.

A little about us:

I am listing this car for my father.  He turned 70 this year and as you can imagine, he doesnt "do" the internet, I not sure if he even knows how to work the mouse.  So because there is no feedback on his ID, I wanted to vouch for him.  My ebay ID is "88redmax" you can look at my feed back.  I'm not a real ebay jockey either, but I do have 100% positive feedback.  For the last seven years this car has belonged to my parents who have always taken good care of the car.  Kept it in the garage and kept it clean.  It has been driven mostly on the highway during this time by my father who is retired  and would get it out on nice afternoons and drive it out on the highway.  In other words, it has not spent the last seven years being "ragged out" by a 18 year old.