Why is there an Avanti in the Corvette museum?

When the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, reopens to the public, one of the exhibits will be a 1977 Studebaker Avanti II.

What they say. [In 1962, Bernard "Mike" Hammer's father-in-law took him shopping for a new car. [Because he didn't know the difference between a crankshaft and a camshaft. I just put a small block in my Sprite, and the thing was fast."

Hammer and his stepfather ended up at a Studebaker dealer. Mike told his stepfather that the Studebaker Lark had been the pacesetter at the Indianapolis 500 race that year. However, while the stepfather was looking at the Lark, the young Hammer's eye was caught by a gold-colored Avanti car parked in front of the showroom.

Although the Lark was an Indy pace car, it was the Avanti that was given to Roger Ward, who won the 500 that year in the Leader Card Watson-Offie car. Mike also knew that Andy Granatelli had run a record-breaking Avanti race at Bonneville.

"I was here, standing next to the gold Avanti. I saw Andy get out of the Avanti and say: 'It's your turn, kid,'" Hammer recalled."

"I did everything I could to tell him it was the right car," Hammer recalled of the conversation with his father-in-law. No, he ended up buying a Buick Special Station Wagon."

And a gold Avanti was at the top of Hammer's wish list.

After the death of his wife of 40 years, Hammer decided to "drive around and see the countryside". In San Jose, California, he spotted a gold-colored 1977 Avanti II parked outside a speed store.

"The store was the kind of store where race car owners and racers congregate, and the owner had parked this car outside as a business card," Hammer recalled. "When I asked him, 'Have you ever driven that car?" he said, "Rarely."' I took it home, repaired it, and took first place at the only show I put the car in."

Hammer also recalls that "I had a car I had never driven before, and it was a great car".

Before traveling to the Studebaker show in Southern California, the Hummer had its engine rebuilt and the car cleaned up.

"When the Avanti IIs came out, they were basically handmade, customized. You tell them what you want and you get it. The original owner wanted gold, so he had gold shaggy carpets, and gold shaggy carpets in the trunk. The gold leather seats had velour inserts, and Avanti even provided cushions for the back seat."

According to the museum, "Mike had only owned the Avanti for about two years when he came to the decision to do something different with the car."

"Vietnam gave me two Bronze Stars for bravery, a Purple Heart for combat wounds and Parkinson's Disease," Hammer says. My wife put the medals on my forehead and left them alone. I wish it were that simple with Parkinson's disease." Parkinson's disease is slowly progressing, and I don't like fixing cars anymore."

"With Parkinson's disease, I shake a lot. I was washing my car on the street and broke the radio antenna. I happened to get a museum magazine that was looking for cars with Corvette components that were built with Corvette engines, so I contacted [curator] Derek Moore, and he said: 'Yeah, I'll take it.'"

"Not only does the Avanti have a Corvette engine," the museum notes, "but it also has a fiberglass body made by the same company that has been making Corvette bodies since 1953.

"Mike is not only an Avanti fan, but also a Corvette enthusiast; he owns three Corvettes and in 2020 has ordered a Torch Red Corvette as well."

"The Corvette I had when I married my wife was a 1971 C3 convertible. We had kids and they didn't want to be tied to the roof, so we opted for a four-door. When my youngest got married and left home, we went out and bought a car." I decided to look at a Pontiac GTO that had just come out. The guy opened the hood and said: "It's got a Corvette engine in it.""

"My wife said: "It's beautiful, but it's not pretty." Then I looked at the Cadillac. The guy opened the hood and said: 'That's a Corvette engine. ' My wife looked at me and said: "If everything has a Corvette engine, let's buy another Corvette."

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They did. It was a 2004 model in the color Magnetic Red. And in 2013, they ordered a new C7 in Crystal Red color. And now the C8 is in production, and it's scheduled to take museum delivery later this year.

In the meantime, its gold Avanti II will be admired by thousands at the Corvette Museum.

This article, written by Larry Edsall, originally appeared on ClassicCars.com, an editorial partner of Motor Authority.