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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

As an aside, why did Avanti Motors switch from having a lock in the handle to a separate lock cylinder? It's ugly and you have the filler plate where the cylinders used to be.

I have a LSX motor being build but nothing fun to put it in. Would like Gm based late model or mustang based later car. Want to put a Procharger on a avanti. My last NA built LSX torque build for a H2

Coming home from a car show last week on a very hot day, I turned on the A/C. Worked fine and then I notice a 11 volt reading on dash volt meter. shut off A/c and it went back to 12 volts. Has always read 12 volts while normal operation. Noticed same with lights on. Did a reading on battery, with multi meter, not running, read 12.6 volts . Started car, read 14.2 on multimeter at idle. Gauge in car at 12 volts. Turned on lights and A/C while idling, gauge in car dropped to 11 volts, multimeter read 14.0. Appears charging system works fine, never had any starting issues, so probably bad gauge? If so I can ignore till I have a need to tear into dash which needs a few light bulbs. Opinions?? Dan

Please find here all specification about early Avanti with SBC 327 / 300 hp , it was in my Avanti glove boxe David RQA 0215

Good day Ron and Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it.

Well, this Brooks. after cleaning my tank, I have discovered 2 holes in the side of my tank... Repair time now I guess

On my 82 model, I ran American Racing Mono Cast 15 x 7 wheels with zero offset and 235/70R15 tires and didn't have any problem. zero offset on the 7" wheel is 3.5" backspace.

Not sure of the year of your beautiful Avanti… but pre ‘89 models have an emergency release in the fiberglass apron behind and over the right front tire… Latch can be released with long screwdriver.

Good day All. I'm planning on replacing my Dayton Wires & tires with a "mag" style(5-spoke) wheel and a little wider tire, both, front and rear or my 83. After doing some research on here and asking some folks, I'd like get some verification that what I want to do is Viable. Currently, I'm running the Factory Dayton Wires with a 235/78R15 tire. I want to switch those out with REV Wheels 100 Classic Series - 15x7 - 4 - 5x4.5 with BFG TA's 205/60R15(Front) and 235/70R15(Rear). I've read and heard that it should be a 15 x 6, but I see that quite a few are running 15 x 7's. I'm most concerned about the Fronts because of the possibility of rubbing when turning. Will a 15X7 cause rubbing issues? What backspacing would be recommended? I've read 3 7/8". Any and all comments & advise are welcome. BTW, the Dayton's will be for sale after I change over. Thank you

Hood won't open stuck on passenger side.

Often the "new" door strikers are a tad off in the teeth underneath, and dot engage the latch pawl correctly. It's often I have had to rotory file them to fit properly. Also if using old parts, the striker can get a notch worn into where it rubs on the lock interlock at the back of the latch, and you wont be able to lock the doors because the lever does not get depressed fully when the door is shut. You can remedy this by drilling a small hole, and installing a machine screw so it protrudes just enough to work the interlock. Then your doors will lock.

Mark L... This picture is before cleaning. Here you see dark fragile (frosty) area which has been there very long time.

The final fracture occurred suddenly in the small, "frosty" looking area. The crack spread gradually across the larger area where the "tree rings" are located.

Thank you… Good info!

Browsing Youtube today, I found an interesting instructional video on how the Avanti Door lock system works. It is worthy of a look.

Extremely interesting!