Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

That is quite a rare engine, but I thought he R5 was even rarer...and I would suspect the seller is aware of this going by his ebay name.

Got a chuckle out of the disparity in the auction description which says that this engine will add value to your Studebaker but he indicates otherwise in his answer to a buyer's question, although I could see it going either way as well!

The owner knows of R5 has a first hand knowledge of them. The R4 motor was sold as a crate motor and later installed in his Avanti which is a near perfect restoration the car alone is worth a great deal seperating them for sale is a ideal way to get the maximum value for the engine and the car itself. The owner is quite well informed on collectible cars of many different makes and varied types, The other extreme is this

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Those corrugated tin outhouse French Fry-mobiles are almost as weird as the Isettas I've owned LOL!

Let me see if I have this correct. The development of the Avantis begat the "R" series of Studebaker V8s.

R1 = 289cid, normally-aspirated, single Carter AFB

R2 = 289cid, Paxton-supercharged, (modified) single Carter AFB ducted via a simple bonnet

R3 = 304cid, Paxton-supercharged, single Carter AFB enclosed in a pressure box

R4 = 304cid, normally-aspirated, dual-Carter AFB

While all four of those versions and their component parts are listed in the Avanti parts catalog, I don't think the R4 was ever installed in vehicle production - only available OTC.

R5 = 304cid, dual-supercharged, dual-Carter AFB...

...which I thought was a one-off built by Granatelli, specifically for installation in the Duo Cento Avanti, in an attempt to break 200MPH at Bonneville. I don't recall that it ever saw actual production beyond that.

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Very close, and my list may yet still have omissions/boo boos but here it goes:

R1 = 289cid, normally-aspirated, single Carter AFB, 10.25:1 compression, lumpy cam

R2 = 289cid, Paxton-supercharged, (modified) single Carter AFB ducted via a simple bonnet, 9.0:1 compression

R3 = 304cid, Paxton-supercharged, single Carter AFB enclosed in a pressure box, 9.5:1 compression

R4 = 304cid, normally-aspirated, dual-Carter AFB, special heads, special intake, 12:1 compression {factory installed in one 1964 Lark hardtop used in publicity and seen in many magazines of the time}

R5 = 304cid, dual-supercharged, mechanical fuel injection, magneto ignition

Predictor -

I just stuck to the basics of displacement and aspiration as distinguishing characteristics, as I did when I worked in their Service Parts Department of the New Avanti Motor Corporation in Youngstown, Ohio. Now, 20+ years later, further detail on those engine has has long escaped me.

As such, you'll get no challenge from me, but only thanks for the additional specs. I do recall the R3/R4 having a several other differences from the R1/R2 engine - even between the cars that used them (like flanged rear axles). I also remember a freind's R1-powered '63 Daytona as having a bit of a lumpy idle.

You are correct on the one Lark built with an R4, which escaped me; that must have been a bone they threw out to the media.

Not really a student of Bonneville racing or Studebaker history, I only ever had a passing awareness of the Duo Cento. I couldn't find much online, but it looks like it used a Bendix FI system.

You're more than welcome for the additional info. You're spot on regarding the flanged axles, the R cars also came with traction bars of sorts on the rear end along with sway bars and a myriad of small details...they were pretty much police package cars.

That's too cool having worked at the Youngstown Avanti plant. I always had a soft spot (in my hard head) for the sedans, yep, I'm a weirdo. After they moved to Villa Rica I tried to buy one of the remaining bodies but they'd never quote me a price...several years later I saw one for sale somewhere that I no longer recall (ebay?). Always wondered if that ever got completed and if any other bodies were sold or even remain...and if so, if they are now in the present "factory" down in Mexico.

Addendum:
Both the R3 and R4 had special heads and intakes (and exhausts). Check out this R3 rebuild here:youtube.com/watch?v=1DF4A2FFuXM
Sorry for "polluting" this forum with Studebaker nonsense!

The move to Youngstown was supposed to permit expansion to produce the sedan and even a limousine (if you can picture the latter), but they only built coupes and convertible there for the first three years. For 1990, the company curtailed production of those two models and put all their effort on production of the sedan, which was a flop. Worse yet, the first 25 cars had to be rebodied due to all sorts of problems with the initial design.

The company tried to take what they learned from building sedans and apply that to a redesign of the convertible. I had left by then, but what rolled off the end of the line looked ungainly. I think only a dozen or so of those convertibles were built, but they were titled with whatever year it was that the car was sold.

In later years, the Avanti became little more than a skin job done on Camaros and Firebirds. The next step was based on the Mustang, but there's a litle problem with a Federal investigation of a Ponzi scheme.

That's all the more I wanna get into that.

I now return you to Packards.

The Paxton supercharger was a $210.00 option

R1-240 hp
R2-289 hp
R3-335 hp
R4 280 hp

In 1964 nine Avantis and one two door Commander sedan came equipped with the R3 engine option.


John F. Shireman

Two sources in my library state the R5 was rated at 575 horsepower at 7000 rpm.

John F. Shireman