StingrayHawaii

option is to unbolt the cow catcher and leave the bracket and mount some driving lights. Pretty simple and doesn’t require and frame/bracket rework.

1157 sockets are available on eBay and a number of vendors, it should be easier to adapt one of those sockets to the housing.

I felt the stock tire sizing was too narrow and also wanted to lower the front end a little to get some avanti rake. I went to BFG t/as with white letters and a 235x60 on the front and 255/60 on the rear. That added some meat on the road, lowered the front a little and I have not had any clearance problems. 245/70 on the back might raise the back a little more if that was desired. Anything bigger than these sizes really needs a wider rim and correct back offset, I wanted to keep my stock magnum wheels so these are about as wide as you should go on those rims. For everyday regular road driving they should be fine.

Seems like an adjustable proportioning valve would be my first item to improve braking. My rears lock up first in a hard stop!

In a solid well restored Avanti II the only real component that show it 50s - 60s heairitge is the front steering. The fiberglass body, engine drive line and accessories are on par with many modern restoration vehicles. The vehicle is light, has good power and performance and relates very similar to mid 70s Corvettes except for the steering. (Which is very similar in the C3 Corvettes) A Restored front suspension at best is just an acceptable feel when compared to modern cars with rack and pinion steering. The vehicle handles well, rides well, and is reasonably fast. And it looks fabulous! I share your concerns about the front suspension and may eventually look at converting to a modern steering rack, but otherwise most of the components are serviceable as they are. My vehicle already has has a SBC with a 700R4 overdrive, working air and heater, chrome bumpers, and well restored components and really nice paint. So it did not need much and was very drivable when purchased. A tire upgrade was my first improvement and next comes an alignment and tweaking the electrics and maybe some day upgrading the steering. As is, it’s a really very drivable and usable and a comfortable vehicle. Eventually a redo of the vinyl interior to a custom leather might really spice her up! As a Corvette guy, I have always admired the Avanti as a 4 seat Corvette. It pretty much fills that bill for me, I love my Avanti II. I am not a purist, and a mid 70s Avanti is not as collectible as an early Studebaker Avanti, so doing a little retr- mod is acceptable to me, but I would not do that to an early Avanti, those I would want to restore and keep stock. The later models Avanti IIs with the SBC are semi custom cars to start with, so a little upgrade and customizing seems acceptable to me! Buy a good one and do your thing!

Thanks for the info! I looked up a couple of the AMC mirrors and they do look like them, will remove one and see if I can get a number. I have also been looking at some larger aftermarket ones at Summit. They would be larger and less expensive but the stock AMC ones do look good. Decisions, decisions .... thanks for the help!

Looking to replace the side mirrors on my recently purchased 74 Avanti. The left manual remote is missing a knob and both show some corrosion and chrome deterioration. They apperar to be a MOPAR cuda or 70’s b model dodge mirror but not sure of the exact Replacement. Does anyone know the correct interchange mirror model? Also, since they are small diameter mirrors has anyone replaced them with a larger square or rectangle manual remote mirror with a larger mirror head? Better rear view mirrors would be a plus!

Did some research and sizing and finally figured out a good mix of tire sizes to upgrade from the skinny 205 x75x 15 that were on my 74 AvantiII. The tires that were on it were in excellent condition and looked fine, but the DOT code showed the were 2012 tires and 6 years old. And they were the standard narrow 205 x 75 x 15 on the magnum 500 wheels. Time to upgrade, up size and get some grip! I went with BFG T/As because they are a good quality tire with modern profiles for 15 “ muscle cars. Not many tires today with 15 rims! My narrow 205 would rub the top zerk fitting when at full lock so I was concerned about front tire clearance. The rears will accept quit a larger tire without much of a concern. My aim was to upgrade the tires, improve the ride and traction and not be major clearance problems. I also wanted to lower the vehicle a little and restore some of the Avanti rake look. I settled on the 215x 60x 15 on the front and larger and taller 255x60x 15 on the rear. That was very near the original hight on the rear and significantly shorter on the front. Both front and rear were significantly larger tread width! As it ended up the fronts are a little wider trend and sidewall and the fronts just barely rub the frame/ suspension on the inside before they can rub on the zerk fitting. And that is only sat full lock. So this was actually better than the narrow tire and very acceptable. My turning radius may have decreased but not enough to be a concern. The rears were just a tad shorter than the 205s and had no clearance problems at all. They might rub the fender well lip if the suspension was fully bottomed out but in normal driving I don’t see any issues. The new tires ride and drive much better and put a lot more rubber on the road. Bear in mind my vehicle has Magnum 500 wheels which are a full 6 “ wide rim (7”s lip tp lip) and standard Wheels may have different results. I decided to leave the raised white letter on the outside but the blackwall could be left outside if that is your preference. i think this is a nice upgrade and appears to be a plus all around. Better tires, better ride, better traction and look great too. I think a 245x 70 x 15 might also be a good choice on the rear if you wanted a taller than standard rear tire. the 255 x60x 15 on the rears are about as wide as you might normally want to put on the 6” rim and need to be carefully seated to make sure they seal properly. Otherwise a pretty straightforward upgrade.

Might be, when I blow up the photo it looks like it says “Fasten Seat Belt”. , probably have a light out! Thanks, I bet that’s it!

Maybe an Avanti emblem? No light just a black plastic disc!

New to me 1974 still discovering things about her! I have figured out most of the switches and some minor wiring items to work on, but there is a small plastic circle on the front of the console below the a/c vents and above the lever controls. Just above the defroster center lever. Does anyone know the purpose? Maybe a sensor for the a/c ? I have seen it in a couple of other Avantii II pictures but not on the earlier Stude versions with round a/c vents. Just wondering?

Interesting, maybe I should go by Charles, my first name! Ha! Or better yet, StingrayHawaii my usual handle on my Corvette forums! Glad to be part of the community!!

Recently picked up a nice 74 Avanti II with very nice restore/ update done by Dion Sanders in Florence Al. RQB 2092 Nice paint, replacement engine and transmission with a TBI 350 and 700r4 transmission. New tires, radiator upgrade, ac restore, new/ recent paint, good chrome. May need to replace windshield eventually. Replaced a door latch to solve a stubborn door closure. Have already started the removal of the cow catcher and tweaking a few things. Runs good, drives good, ac and gauges all work, new tires and overall excellent original interior. Tweaking lights and going over everything, but so far it is a very nice restoration and mechanical upgrade job by Dion. Always wanted an Avanti and this one fits the bill for my needs. Plan to keep it mostly stock with stock with some mild retro mods to make it more efficient and comfortable. Very proud to be an Avanti owner and member of the Avanti community’s! Gary Johnson 770 630-7375

This is similar or the same as the gm clips that they use on Corvettes and other gm cars. If the tool doesn’t seem to work, you can locate the top of the clip and use a paint can opener or a “J” bent strong wire to snag the top of the clip and pull it off! Be careful to not jerk or pull out hard or it will fly and you may never find it! This works as well as the tool because the clip often is installed 180 degrees and the tool is working on the wrong side of the clip. Used this approach for years on Corvettes, and recently on my 1974 Avanti door handle.