Mike Sal
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Posts posted by Mike Sal
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Gosh, who knew.......I put a bid in.
Mike S
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I didn't know anything about JB prior to him hosting one of the "last comic standing" shows a year or so ago. The thing I didn't understand is Jerry's lead in said that the Avanti was JB's favorite car.....but they spent zero amount of time talking to him about it & why he liked it.
Mike S
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While our RQA 0330 was in it's 27 year hybernation, the little bugs got into the vanity mirror & ate some holes into the felt. How hard is it peel the old out & can you get replacement felt at fabric stores?
thanks,
Mike Sal
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I liked the show. Ya, the facts were a little hazy but most of today's viewers don't know anything about Avantis or studebakers, so any info that gets out to the public is ok with me.
The only comment I had about the car itself was the closeup they did on the Avanti badge on the nose.....the paint sure looked orange peeled to me like it hadn't been color sanded.
Mike Sal
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Our car is Monterey Green, but it looks emerald to me. About half of the spots where the paint is gone shows primer & the other half shows fiberglass. I'm going to try to contact a guy in our area who also has an Avanti & used to run a body shop to get some advise on how to proceed.
How long would it take to razor blade the paint off of the primer? It sounds like a tedious long job.
thanks,
Mike & Sonya
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Hmmm...my car was built in Sept '69 & the antenna was identical to the replacement antenna, which came from a wrecked '64 Avanti. The "mast" is in 3 sections, with the lowest part fixed to the base, meaning it will not retract into the car body at all. Stretched out, the 3 sections are nearly 4 feet long. Section 2 will retract with only 2 inches exposed above section 3, and section 1 will retract completely into section 2.
I'm still curious as to how they installed them at the factory. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I did remove the "extension" from the bottom of the antenna base (attached via bayonet lugs) to help squirm the thing up into position.
I'll post a photo tonight if I can.
BTW......at least I found the Jack handle during this exercise!!!
Mike S
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No, it is an original retractable antenna. This is how I finally got it in......instead of collapsing it as short as possible (like my first attempt), I removed the spare tire then stretched the antenna to it's full length to make it as flexible as possible. I could then bow the smallest section enough to get it into the hole. From there I just kept bowing and shoving the other 2 sections up thru the hole. This does bend the antenna. I then carefully straightened it back out. You just have to be very careful to avoid a kink instead of a gentle bend. This is how they must have done it at the factory.....I don't see any other way to get the job done.
Mike S
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OK, I know some of you old timers have been waiting for this......just how do you reinstall the antenna??? There doesn't appear to be enough room between the trunk floor and the opening in the quarter panel to get the end of the antenna up thru the hole.
I sure hope you don't say that you have to bend it a little.....as I just spent some time getting it straight because it already had a bend in it.
thanks,
Mike S
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What type of primers did they use on the bodies? on our RQA 0330, the paint (Meridian Green I think) is worn thru and chipped in a lot of places. In some of the chipped areas you can see the glass fibers, but in a lot of places you can see what appears to be a paint or primer which is somewhere between brick and red in color. It looks shinier than I would expect primer to look.....but I don't know what the factory used originally. The car has not been re-painted since new.
thanks,
Mike S
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Holy cow...you sure brought back some memories with that radio advise....it's been years since I've done that. I've still got some tuner cleaner that I use on the old 8 track stereo out in the shop. Yes, the antenna does have a long strip of metal running under the carpet which I assume is a ground strip.
Mike S
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Thanks, the Chuck Collins instructions are going to be very helpful. As he mentioned, the manual completely forgot about addressing the radio. I hope that the antenna fixes the problem so I dont' have to deal with pulling the radio. At least all of my heater hoses are brand new & flexible in case I do need to remove it.
thanks,
Mike & Sonya
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The antenna is broken off of our RQA 0330, and the radio doesn't work (at least I was told it only makes harsh noises....I didn't try it). I have a replacement antenna & will install it soon to re-check the radio. If the antenna isn't the true issue, what is the best way to remove the radio from the dash (the radio is the original AM with the little shiny strip to hide the Studebaker name). The car has AC & it almost looks like removing the entire dash is the only way. Any advise is appreciated.
Mike & Sonya
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The build date on my B pillar is September '69, so that agrees with the build sheet.
The letters from Mr. Solliday included reprints from current magazines which did articles on the avanti and the company sales brochures.
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I've been sifting thru all the paperwork which came with my RQA 0330 1970 car. It's been fun learning the former owner's facination with the Avanti brand over the years. I have letters from Avanti Motors from 1974, 1975, 1979, 1983, and 1989....every time Art was thinking about buying another car. The sales guy, Charles Solliday, must have shook his head every time he saw Art's name on a letter.
in '79, Art came very close to trading RQA 0330 for a in a used '76 Avanti. I have the Avanti sales contracts which he filled out & signed, but must have got cold feet & didn't go thru with the deal. When Mr. Solliday sent Art the pricing information, he included a copy of the original build sheet for 0330.
The "date written" was typed 03 January, 1969. The "factory order No." has the date "Sept 1969" written in, and the "date shipped" box has 24 April, 1972 written in. The "destination" has "Ben Yokom" written in (the original owner).
Why would there have been such a lag between the build date and the ship date? This car is Monterey Green with a Green/ Souffle Cream interior with a "bright" Bigelow Lime green carpet. Is it possible that after the car was built, someone else got cold feet & didn't want it so it sat unsold for a while??
thanks,
Mike S
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I drove the '70 to work yesterday & when I was putting it back into the garage, I noticed the map light didn't come on when I opened the door. I wiggled the door switch & the light flickered, then stayed on. I'll pull it this weekend to clean the contacts (I assume I can take it apart....it's been a while since I've messed with a Studebaker switch).
Mike S
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Yes, they did put a fuel filter in the line. I'll duplicate the set up in steel, but I guess I could check to see if a pre-bent one is available to save the trouble (I do have all the tools for making fuel lines though).
I forgot that we still have a '78 chevy pickup on the farm for hauling rock & junk. I'll take a peak at it's fuel line (it has a 350 w/ Q-jet).
Mike S
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I finally got a chance to take a longer look around under the hood of RQA 0330 tonight & I saw something I didn't like. It's a piece of copper pipe being used between the fuel pump & carburator.
Can anyone share a photo of their engine which shows where the fuel line is routed. From back in my chevy days, I assume it curves back from the fuel pump & hugs the front of the block on it's way up & around the manifold. I wan't to make up a new line to get rid of the home made one. I don't know why he did this, but wonder if it was connected to when he put the new holly carb on it (the old Q-jet was worn out).
thanks,
Mike S
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It was low grade driver when I bought it. The exhaust system was shot & the front suspension sagged out. The motor runs strong & the transmission was rebuilt. I put a new exhaust system on it.
I currently have the entire front end off the car & have the new springs & A arm bushings to fix the suspension. I also have a NOS left front fender & I'm in the process of drilling out all the welds to swap it in. I have a California dry right front fender that I'm using as patch for the right front fender. I also have California rear fenders to swap onto it (although the fenders which are on it are pretty decent). Floor boards are good, but there are a couple rust holes in odd places I have to fix (like at the bottom of the B pillar on the passenger side).
The upholstery is useable, but has some water stains. Carpet isn't too bad either. I was going to replace the foam padding (the yellow foam is returning to mother nature as they all do) & use them as is. The car has a factory rear speaker too. I can't remember if it has a crank up antenna or not.
I have re-chromed end pieces for the grill, but the center section on the car had cracks. I bought another used one from Don Gay before he passed away, but it has some pitting.
Mike S
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It's a president state sedan, 2nd series. White over yellow. It has body tag #5555. Power windows, steering, brakes, tranny.
Mike S
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Always go for the new manufactured ones (w/ ribs). They have an improved pump seal that the originals didn't have. Original pumps (and rebuilt originals) use the body casting as one half of the seal. The seal cartridge has a molded carbon/phenolic ring which rubs against a polished surface of the pump body. Over time, corrosion attacks the cast iron surface & the "rust texture" starts to erode the phenolic ring, creating a leak path. This is particularly harmful to vehicles which do not get started or used much.
The newer seals are self contained & have their own pair of sealing rings which are not as susceptible to corrosion.
Mike Sal (24 years water pump engineer)
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My kids will have to worry about selling the cars....I typically don't sell the cars I like. I do plan to sell the 55 president (no big profit center there for sure...) & 63 lark, but the rest will be in the estate sale....
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Thanks for the reply. There was a NOS headliner set included with the parts I got with the car & I thought it would be nice to go ahead & get it replaced (the original is in poor condition & some of the "skin" already removed), but after reading how intensive it is to replace both parts, it looks like it will wait until we get the car painted, which will most likely be in the fall.
Since I've tinkered with cars my entire life I assume I can figure out about anything on this thing, but sometimes it helps to have some tribal knowledge from others who've been there & done it to save me from screwing something up.
Mike S
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Was looking at the shop manual that I got with the car we just purchased ('70 model) & it is an original Studebaker manual. Is there an "official" Avanti II manual?
I was reading up on how to replace the headliner & holy cow....seems you have to dismantle half the car to do it. No wonder Art had been putting it off. Looks like I won't do it either until I get the car painted. Are there any tricks to a successful replacement that the shop manual doesn't mention (the manual isn't overly informative)?
Mike S
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My car was built in September '69 (my freshman year of high school). What color paint did they use?
Body Tag Numbers
in 1965-83 Avanti
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Are the body tag numbers just as random, relative to VIN numbers, in Avanti's as they were in regular studebaker cars?