This wonderful vehicle was donated to our non-profit agency by a local benefactor.  It was 
previously garaged for 14 years and has been since in our possession.  We asked a local
 collector to check out the vehicle for us and here is his assessment:

"The vehicle is a 1963 Studebaker Avanti, and appears to have most of the original engine
 and interior intact.  The engine is the R-1 version, which is the base engine for the model.
  The trasmission is automatic.  There are old service manuals and parts catalogs in the 
glove box, which is a nice bonus.

The vehicle is in fair condition, and would require an extensive frame-off restoration to
 bring it back to very good or excellent condition.  The interior appears to be mostly 
original, with the exception of the carpet, and much of the original interior hardware is 
in place.  The driver-side door lock was not functioning, but windows, glove box, etc. are
 in good working order.  The glass on the vehicle is good.

The exterior body is rough.  The vehicle does not appear to have been involved in a major 
accident when veiwed from the outside, but in order to verify this we'd have to put the 
vehicle up on a rack and look at it from the underside, which I have not done.  There has 
been some damage at the driver-side front fender just above the wheel and the patching of 
the fiberglass at this location is poor.  There also appears to have been some damage to 
the passenger-side front fender at roughly the same location.  It's possible the vehicle 
was involved in a minor front-endc collision at some point in the past.  There are starbursts
 in the fiberglass at various places, which is a minor cosmetic problem that can be repaired.
  The paint is not original and is in relatively poor condition.  The wheels and hubcaps 
appear to be original.

I did not drive or start the vehicle.  It is my understanding that the vehicle runs, which 
is all that is required for one of this age and in this condition.  Frankly, the cosmetics 
are a bigger issue and expense, as engine and drive train replacement parts are readily 
available for the Avanti and it is not a difficult vehicle to service".

I drove the car earlier this week after it being garaged for over a month.  It stalled 3 
times but ran smoothly after that.  There is an oil leak as there is a spot under the
 vehicle in the garage.  The previous owner had over $2000 of work performed before donating. 
 It has been driven on the interstate and in town.  It runs very smooth at 60--this baby wants
 to go fast!