------------------------- Ad from www.carsonline-ads.com/ Avanti II . Great driver, good dark blue metallic paint. 350 Chev. auto, cold air, pwr.roof, windows, trunk. Great radials/wires. CD. May take trade. Price - $ 11,750 Englewood, Ohio --------------------------- Dec 2005 Bob, I bought it up in Ohio from a guy named David Corbin,., Englewood, Ohio [http://www.yipesgraphics.com] (near Dayton). That is where the pics you saw were taken (at my friends house, north of Dayton, corn field country...) Here is the ad I bought if off of: He (Corbin) said it probably would not need hog troughs, unfortunately he was either mistruthing or did not know. They are very rusted and causing the car to go out of alignment at the doors and trunk [it leaks water (when it is raining or being washed) like a sieve at the doors and trunk]. It has also caused a small stress crack on the right front body near the windshield. I want to head all that off of course. The other information I have on ownership of the car is: 1. Previous owner to Corbin was: "Bob Lemley, 2918 St. Andrews Drive, Findlay, OH" 2. Information from 'avanti.net': "CAR WAS ORDERED TH EARLY PART OF 1978 BY A DEALER IN iLLINOIS. BETTY" That's all I got at the moment. I am bringing the car to "Realistic Auto Restorations, Inc." in St. Petersburg, FL tomorrow (Mon.) to get and estimate to get him fixed up. Wish me luck!Matt G. P.S. The car runs and looks great, I drove it to Florida from Ohio. It has 83K miles. It looks fantastic. Of course I wax it several times per week! P.P.S. Do you know where I could get a replacement spring for the trunk hatch? One of them broke on me recently. P.P.P.S. Thanks a mil for sending those PDFs!! Mr. Lemley, I am attempting to trace the history of my 1978 Avanti that I recently purchased. If you could send me any information about that car (are you the original owner?, where did your purchase it?, when was it painted?, what color is the paint on the car?, etc.), I would greatly appreciate it. I got your email address from The Potomac Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. Matt Grim Tampa, FL 813.315.6213 Matt, I was then, and still am, located in Findlay, Ohio(45 Minutes south of Toledo, in Northwest Ohio) I bought it from a lady in Middletown, Ohio(North side of Cincinnati)I'm thinking in the fall of 1999 or 2000, After many, many months of searching for one. Her Boyfriend had bought it for her, some years prior, and fixed it up, It had been wrecked somewhere in the front end(Fiberglass parts, and the bumper only, was needed, I was told, no frame structural damage, according to her, I'm thinking she stated that he chose to replace the radiator at that time as well, but that it wasn't damaged in the accident) during the time she owned it. It was painted the current color(If it's still that color, a dark blue metallic) as well, before I got it.(Something in my memory says is a ford color, but I can't confirm that, or any other details concerning the paint, but I'm thinking I gave my buyer a left over paint can of it, that she had given me) The boyfriend died, was the reason given for the sale(She was in her late 50's, early 60's, I'm guessing at that time) He was also the one that had the interior done, somewhere local. It was never a daily driver, just a weekend car, for her she stated, and I bought it out of a warehouse where I assume it was always stored. He had owned a Car Lot, and had a lot of rental property, and many other toys in this warehouse. While looking pretty decent, I had a ton of mechanical work to do, Suspension, Shocks, steering, carb,A very complete tuneup with many electronic parts replaced, New P/S hoses, radiator hoses, etc. A/C compressor and clutch assy. was replaced along with the A/C Dryer, New Shocks(Air shocks were put in the rear I think)and many other assorted parts/repairs to make it roadworthy to make it to the Avanti Show at the then, brand New Avanti Motors plant in Villa Rica, Ga for the Avanti Nationals(The first one to be held there, in 2001). It was also in the Findlay Area's big show, called Cruise Night, that is put on every year here, we could only participate in one night of it, as we had to leave for the Villa Rica Avanti show before it was over. It had a recent, OEM style, complete aluminized exhaust on it. I had a set of Dayton Wire wheels w/Pirelli radials that went with it(that were on it when I got it), She said she had just had the brakes totally rebuilt just before he died, and I had put a new set of Polished American Racing AR136 wheels on it, with radials. I had overheating problems on my trip to Ga., (I hastily added a radiator fan) while down there, (due to the temps and using the A/C) and a transmission Modulator went bad on the way down, But otherwise it ran perfectly. My buyer had drastic plans for it, Said he was going to put a through the hood supercharger motor in it, and hot rod it up some. I have no idea what he did, or did not do, to it. The car, short of the Wheels, Color, Radio, speakers and some of the molding/modifying of the interior door panels and dash pad and such, was otherwise entirely original when I had it. My buyer was from the Dayton, Ohio area,(Memory says he was in the sign business I'm thinking ) so the car almost went back to where I bought it.(Within 30 miles) The paint, at the time, showed a lot of sanding scratches behind it, But my buyer stated later, that they all buffed out really well. I bought it, wanting to go to that Avanti show mainly,(It it shown in some of the pictures from that show, but just in the mix of others in a frontal shot, it's hard to distinguish it in their pictures) as I hadn't, and still haven't, started work on my White 1970 model Avanti . (Major frame rust repair, and Hog throughs needed) I had hopes of keeping this 1978 one, But the 305 engine was pretty lackluster in performance, and I just had to do, too much, too quickly on it, to make the show, and that kind of wore me down. We took the long way back home to take my son to some sites in Alabama and other places on the way back. I also took it to South Bend on a weekend vacation trip once, to visit the Studebaker history there, but otherwise it was used locally only, while I had it. That, and the inevitable next project, which required money, is what made it necessary to sell it. I'm thinking I sold it in the winter of 2002. At the time it was going to need replacement of the Hog Throughs sometime in the future, so I went ahead with the sale. At the point of sale, it was very dependable, and usable. The wheels were a big draw for it, they really made the car stand out locally and down there. If memory serves me, the tach was the only thing that comes to mind, that wasn't working, and the cruise control worked when it chose to, when I sold it. I'm thinking that the Power Steering control valve leaked a little, but I can't remember whether that was fixed before the sale or not. I really enjoyed the car, and wish I could have kept it, as at least I'd still have a drivable, good looking one. If it's changed any, I'd love to have a picture of it, and like to ask what condition it's in now, and what you paid for it, just for memory sake. I paid $8500.00 for it, and sold it for 11,500.00 or 12,000.00 if I remember right. My buyer was the very first guy to look at it, and bought it after a few minutes of haggling. Anything I got with it, or took off of it, or bought for it, that had any value, was given to my buyer.(I had a New OEM Tach, that I bought in Villa Rica, that I don't think he ever got because I have never found it still to the day) It drew a lot of attention at local shows and events. Feel free to email for any questions, as my memory isn't the best(Especially with dates), but this is what I remember of it, right off. I hope it's of some help. Thanks, Bob Lemley