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I used to own a ‘69 Corvette 427 435hp tri-carb…the intake manifold…instead of being raised was sunken for hood clearance…plus the hood itself was slightly raised compared to the small block hood.

Hi all. Looking for some help in getting a driveshaft. Will a Lark V8 automatic drive shaft work in a 63 Avanti? Any other ideas on what would work? Thanks in advance!

The only metal I’m aware of in those doors are the window regulators!!

The results of a hard side hit directly into a 1985 (and earlier) Avanti’s driver’s or passenger’s door would not be pretty!

No door side crash beams in Avanti doors that I’m aware of… at least thru 1985.

I haven’t… but my guess is there would probably be a hood clearance issue.

I did finish my suspension but have not finished the rebuild of the car so haven't had a chance to test it out. One day I hope to get this project done...

Has anybody put a Tri-power intake on the 400 CID SBC engine in the Avanti?

Sorry , i've forgot this one...😉

Tanda62, did you get your suspension rebuild done and were you happy with it? Zedman found a YouTube on the door latches, it would be nice if we had some knowledgable Avanti guys putting more on. Too bad Grant didn’t make a video when he did his new bushings. I’m sure folks would like having some how to videos to help them with their updates. Mike

Hi, First: I got my Avanti registered and on the road and it is great fun to drive it! (Last week two rides with a total of ~650 km) But there are still some things I need to improve. One is that the accelerator (gas) pedal is getting quite hot when driving for a longer time on the highway. I sometimes need to take the foot from the pedal for a few seconds to relax a bit from the heat. And my shoes have quite a good sole. Has anyone eperienced something similar and have you any recommendations for me how I can improve that?

Hi AG-R3- my apologies for hijacking the thread somewhat, but your post infers that Avanti Motor Corp placed 'Anti Intrusion 'Bars/ Barrier' within the doors of our cars. This is a query I had made a couple of years ago and nobody on this Forum could verify it. So, do our Avanti II doors have Intrusion Bars in 'em... ? As of what year? Can these be seen without removal of the door trims?.. The reason I'm asking this is that here in Australia, I know that when I have my car Inspected prior to roadworthy certification, the presence of Intrusion bars is mandated. I'd assumed I would have to install something there- hopefully I won't after all.

Wasn't it about that same time, they installed a safety (crash) bar at the mid door level almost in line with the new lock ?

A minor issue but still could not believe somebody did this.... I bought a 63 R2 about 2001, a bit warn but all original. A previous owner had painted the inside of the engine compartment with a paint brush using a red paint that did not even match the maroon color on the body. Pretty ugly. Have done a full restoration installed an R3 clone and everything looks better now.

About 30 years ago I purchased a '63 Avanti from its original owner in order to get its R3 engine. The car looked, and was, tired. No problem there, but it also had three bone-headed screw-ups done by the seller's garage. (The seller had praised that garage). 1) The car had been used as a daily driver summer & winter in Cincinnati (an R3 Avanti!), so by the 1980s it needed a new frame. One was purchased from Avanti Motors and installed. But the garage drilled the holes in the frame for the rear cross-member about 1/2" too far back. That set the engine/trans too far back & the accelerator bellcrank (?) rubbed on the firewall, rubbing a notch in the fiberglass. I re-drilled the holes correctly. 2) The garage had screwed up the wiring for the parking lights so that they worked oddly. I corrected the wiring. 3) The garage had cut off the flared end of the copper oil pressure line and used a compression fitting to connect it to a rubber hose made for another vehicle. My brother made an adapter for my flaring tool so that I could flare that tiny tube. On the second try I got the flare right and installed the correct flexible hose from head to copper line. There may have been more. --Dwight

Thanks for the heads up on rebuilts

Chevy rebuilt starters are plentiful and relatively inexpensive… Changing it will probably solve your problem… All terminals nice & clean!

Thanks I think I am going to replace the starter and solenoid but will check everything out first -appreciate the advice

This is a fun question! I don’t know if this could be considered idiotic, but years ago I went to look at a ‘64 Avanti that was for sale locally… The car needed work, however I had definitely seen worse… What I found strange was the entire disc brake system & the 11” rear drums had been replaced with a complete V8 Hawk/Lark drum brake system… I drove the car (the original Avanti brake booster was still in place) Funny thing is, that Avanti stopped BEAUTIFULLY, with very light pedal pressure!!

I posted a question years ago regarding something bizarre I'd found on my car and asked for thoughts/opinions. The first, of several replies I got, was from Gunslinger who started off the thread with something on the order of 'Welcome to the world of fixing things others have screwed up.' So, I was thinking, 'What's the most idiotic 'fix/patch' you've ever seen?' I'll start it off. When I first bought my '66 some 16 years ago, the car was off loaded from a semi at 2:00am in a strip mall parking lot. (The cop who floated through at that moment probably thought that, in that brightly lit setting, it was either legal or more paperwork than he wanted to deal with.) Anyway, drove it home bucking and kicking all the way. Quick compression check, all OK. Carb float levels, accelerator pump OK. Ignition, start with the easy: points, condenser, cap, rotor, plugs, all basically OK. Wiring: On each side, the plug wires for the front two cylinders was duct taped together, as was the wiring for the back two cylinders. Needless to say, the seller's report of the engine having been overhauled approx. 500 miles prior to my purchase was met with skepticism but, 15,000 miles later, it's doing OK. So, again, what's the most idiotic thing you've seen?

While I could be wrong on both counts...during the mid-'70s a lot was going on with Avanti Motors...the change in door locks could have been related to complying with federal safety standards or running out of original Studebaker parts and the need to substitute something different at the least cost. The death of Nate Altman in 1976 probably had an effect in decision making as well.

If your Avanti is like my 1987 Avanti it has several hot wires supplying the interior. I have seen problems with these wires having loose contacts at the firewall plug. I would start there. Good luck, Jim Wood