1963 Studebaker Avanti R2. Dave Kinney was happy when he found his 1963 Studebaker Avanti. It might have been in horrible condition, but it was the second one ever produced and the oldest in private hands. Kinney knew he couldn’t begin the restoration immediately, so he made arrangements for the car to be stored for a few years.
Kinney was shocked when his first storage payment came back because there was no one at the billing address. The owner of the lockup had dis-appeared without a trace-along with the Avanti.
Kinney is well connected in the car community, both as a journalist and a valuation expert.
He put the word out to friends, hired a private detective, and even put a bounty out for his car. Years would pass before a friend caught wind of someone trying to sell an Avanti parts car.
It didn’t take long to verify it as Kinney’s car.
The problem was that the person selling his Avanti was not the same person who car-napped it. This degree of separation meant that no matter how much paperwork Kinney had proving his
ownership, it would be a legal nightmare trying to take it back. Fortunately, the seller’s asking price for the “parts” car was far below what his lawyer would have charged just for answering the phone. Kinney purchased Avanti No. 2 again for less than what it would have cost him to store it for the years the car was missing.
The Avanti went through a full restoration and made its re-debut at Amelia Island. The car that Kenney never sold but bought twice won the American Production class .
