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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.

I have a 35 page Carter Carb operation and user guide. In it, it states that if over choking occurs, then the operator needs to gun the throttle a few times until it clears out during warm up. So it seems like there was a known issue with this and for me, I'll always make the changes necessary to make improvements to my vehicle if possible and post the improvements to help others that are interested in the help. If you think that what I am doing is unnecessary or you don't agree, then you aren't going to like future posts on the evolution of my R2.

Over the years I’ve worked on ‘a few’ Studebaker Avantis both R1 and R2. Living here in the rather cold northeast, carburetor choke issues (back when cars had carburetors) were quite common… so I do understand what over choking an engine looks, sounds, and smells like! The only time I’ve had choke issues with those early Carter AFB’s (going back to a 1958 Imperial I maintained) was when a component in the system (as I described previously) was misadjusted or not working properly….. Those carburetors were not designed for and DO NOT NEED a vacuum choke pull off. However, the bottom line here is that it’s your car, your carb, and if you’re happy with the modifications you’ve made… that’s all that really counts. Keep swinging!!!…. Ed

I was a carb/fuel injection specialist in the 70s and early 80s. All carbs need a choke pull off to prevent over enrichment AFTER cold startup. The choke on the carb works great. It closes completely at start and the heat rises correctly and opens the choke all the way up. But the 1-2 minutes that it takes to warm up enough to open the choke is where the over enrichment becomes a problem. I solved it once and for all. BTW, most other Carter AFBs come with choke pull offs. The model carb on my R2 is listed as one that does not. It's a simple thing compared to tuning 3 solex side draft carbs, which I can do and still have the balance and jetting tools to do.

The front is to low, the rear looks good to me.

Also…. It’s important that the Carter AFB’s internal vacuum passage is clear and pulling warm intake manifold air up the choke tube and into the choke housing… This is critical on AFB’s for the choke valve to open in a timely fashion! If a Carter AFB carburetor, as used on a Studebaker Avanti, is set up properly, ‘band aids’ such as choke pull offs or electric choke conversions are completely unnecessary.

The idle speed ‘kick up’ is a good idea… Studebaker offered a retrofit kit for Avantis with A/C that accomplished the same thing….. However, the GM choke pull off shouldn’t be necessary if an R2 carb is adjusted and working properly, the intake manifold crossover passage is clear, the correct intake manifold gaskets are installed, and the heat riser valve is in place and working properly.

John ... Thanks for posting this. I understand Your scenario and relation to the Avanti Brand and I am extremely thankful for You filling me in on a few items in the past. Also Your Book is a Godsend to Us in the Avanti world... My frustrations are of minimal consequences but still frustrations..I would like info on the Build... maybe a Build Sheet or other such info. Is that required? NO! Coming up on age 72 I understand the age and frustration on complaints. If I've done so, forgive me.. So I own a ''02'' model and Love It.. It is my understanding that Ron Manfred has offered to help go thru Your paperwork. If He seems to be an upstanding individual maybe You Two can work on this info.. Thanks again for the Beautiful Vehicle. Dan O'

I used a 350ci truck motor from 1989; had it fully machine and built (with a striker kit) into a 388ci using Edelbrocks Tuned Port Injection intake (that I reworked) and a 93mm BBK Throttle Body controlled by F.A.S.T. EZI-2.0 self- learning CPU.