Just bought a '79 Avanti II

[Mathew Parker 0]

Hi all.

I'm new to this fascinating vehicle. Any tips?

[Gunslinger 0]

First...welcome!

The first and best thing you can do is buy copies of the Studebaker Avanti shop manual and parts manual.  While yours is an Avanti II much of the information in the manuals is still relevant.  Also...have the entire car gone over mechanically...brakes (especially brakes due their extreme importance)...brake hoses and metal lines...anything and everything mechanical.  It's essentially a 1953 chassis and requires a lot of maintenance...many lube points to hit.  Check the height of the front coil springs as it's very common for the coil springs to compress with age.  

If you don't know the history of the car or documentation of its maintenance then everything is suspect until shown otherwise.  It's a great car but it has its idiosyncrasies.  Any forty-one year old car is going to have issues...hopefully they've been addressed already but you need to make sure.

Others should check in and give advice and to welcome you as well.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  As a group we've learned workarounds or substitutions for unavailable parts or by-the-book repairs.