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Wow!!!… Really, really nice !!!!!

There were 2 gauges in the dash that were inoperative plus the lettering was a dirty yellow due to age when I bought the car. I had done a SW gauge upgrade on an 82 that I had and wasn't satisfied with the night illumination on those new gauges, so I decided to go with AutoMeter this time. They offer LED bulbs in several colors and I decided to add the Red ones to the new gauges as well. During this upgrade (which included a new dash pad among other improvements), I stripped the old paint off of the aluminum panel and installed a glossy carbon fiber wrap. (the wrap will be used in other dash/console related areas as well). In the 2 photos below, you will see 4 other changes. I replaced the amp meter with a volt meter. I added an A/C vent to the left side of the dash and replaced the ignition switch with a modern push button start button. The turn signal and high beam indicators are LED's too. To me, this modernized the dash yet also kept most of the original design elements. There will be a forth coming A/C article among others in the near future. We really like how the gauges turned out!

I am in the process of replacing the 305 in my 1983 Avanti with a 350 and am taking advantage of this effort to include the removal of the ECU. As I was pulling the wiring harness through the fire wall I found a handful of the wires making their way to a double ganged plug / connector vice making their way out to the engine compartment. This same connector set has wires using the same firewall pass through. Any clues??? As we know the wiring diagrams for the Avanti are somewhat lacking....

Hi everyone, here's a quick update. I've moved the leaf spring pivot point slightly forward and higher. This hasn't lowered the body, but the rear swing lever is no longer fully extended and the car has better suspension.

Good move on the surge tank replacement kit, too. I did that with my R2 almost 50 years ago and have no regrets, or leaks. Still have a couple of the kits on a shelf in the garage from when I used to sell them last century. A good upgrade.

Yes and eventually front and rear Turner disc brakes.

I installed that same Ford type power steering pump cover on my ‘63.. Very convenient! You’re probably thinking of updating to a dual brake master cylinder?

Looks good!!!

I will add that the carb I worked on had been rebuilt by a well known vendor, looks brand new and was installed prior to my purchase of the car. My post was to show a how to improve the function of the carb on cold starts. A small investment and a short amount of time created the performance gain that I was looking for. If I wanted to replace the carb, I would move to a Sniper or other brand of Fuel Injection. Since I am making some other serious modifications to the car as we speak, I wanted to retain some of the stock components on the car like the fuel system, at this time. Stay tuned for more upgrades.....

Exactly Correct!!

Hi Roy- I'm yet to get my Avanti II Body onto my new Frame so your story interests me. One query, though, where you mention using rubber in some Frame to Body. Where did you put these exactly- only steel shims should be used throughout the mounting points, so I don't think rubber should be in there. The only rubber I found were two on the top of the Crossmember above the Rear Axle 'kickup' and they were only taped in place at the factory (don't really know why they are even there). My photos in an earlier post on this thread show what came out immediately after the Body lift. Just askin' !

BTW, "RUSH SOLD" was an indicator to those in the factory that the car had been ordered by a customer through a dealer, as opposed to a dealer ordering a number of cars to have on the lot, or the corporation sending a pre-arranged shipment to the dealer under a franchise contract. It meant that a customer had been given an expected delivery date. If the car has not had a full restoration and body repaint, the word "RUSH" may also be written in grease pencil on the outside of the body tub under a fender or on the engine side of the firewall.

Go ahead and find em.

Hi Paul… someone more knowledgeable may chime in on this, but in my opinion ‘Avanti Black’ was a legitimate option from the ‘get go’…. only to be discontinued, and then brought back as an extra cost option. If you’re asking what was the serial # of the first production Stude Avanti painted black… I haven’t a clue! Paul S, by the way, owns a gorgeous ‘Avanti Black’ ‘63 Avanti R1

1500 to 2000 rpm

Studebaker engineers identified an occasional ‘flat spot’ when throttle pedal was floored on some of the supercharged (only) Avanti engines at engine speeds above …..?…… RPM. 1) 900……2) 1500……3) 2000….or….. 4) 2500

That is true

Carburetor choke thermostatic springs & housings are not the same on R1 and the R2 Studebaker Avanti engines…..True?

I have a flyer for 63 Avanti's and it list the five available colors. I have R-4499 and there is no final assy. date, it just says "RUSH SOLD". I was wondering when they started painting them black. I know they only painted 115 cars black.

sent you a pm. Update, when I pulled the car out the other day, FM was working again... but for how long? Need to hunt down a replacement before the long drive to Calgary in August.

Seeking 1985 Avanti diagram of placment of power steering lines for restoration project

I would add that the evaluation of this poster’s choke problem, and my thoughts on how to properly correct that problem, are based on the assumption that the carb itself is in good adjustable condition…… If the carb is ‘worn out’ (sixty+ years old!), and the throttle shafts are loose in their bores, etc., it would be better, in my opinion, to ship the carb to a qualified rebuilder… or, go the modern Edelbrock route.

As most of us Stude Avanti (and early Avanti ll) owners already know, many of the Carter AFB carbs on these cars have been ‘tinkered’ with over the years. That fact is why some owners replace these factory carbs with new production Edelbrock versions… and call it good. However, for those of us who prefer to keep the original carb on our Avanti’s, it’s a good idea to obtain a relevant shop manual, and adjust that carb back to spec… Pay careful attention to the side linkage rods, as some folks tend to bend them when attempting to make adjustments, throwing everything off. In colder climates, make sure you have an exhaust heat riser valve in place and working… and that the proper intake manifold gaskets are installed…. Also, internal vacuum passage in these AFB’s must be open for heat to be drawn up into the choke housing.. normally happening rather quickly.

I’m all for mods that truly improve the function and drive ability of our Avantis. However, in this case I hate to see folks misled in thinking that a vacuum choke pull off is a good idea, when what’s actually going on is simply a misadjusted carb, or defective peripheral controls…. I understand these early AFB’s “pretty good”! Your vacuum choke pull off adaption does look well thought out though…. and I complement you on that….Ed

Hagerty just put out a short list of affordable vehicles with 300hp. The Avanti II made the list. They included median prices for #2 and #3 cars.