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Hello Dwight, let’s first wait for Jim’s reaction. / Thanks, Paul

Hi, Paul, For some unknown reason I never thought to look under the rubber boot. I have sent pictures of my second Avanti booster to Jim Lime and am waiting to hear back from him. The pix of the second booster are below. --Dwight

Supposedly in the same family since new - Logan WV https://www.facebook.com/share/18LBY5RLcj/ ....passed down in 2014 and in Clearwater Fl since... 55K R2, 4 speed

Pull the wire from the coil (the wire leading to the distributor) -- you don't want the engine running when doing this. The post on the coil which has the wire attached which leads from the ignition switch should have two wires attached. Put the ignition switch in the ON position and measure the voltage at this terminal. You may read 7-9 volts. If so, you probably have a resistor wire leading from the switch to the coil and would not need the ballast resistor. If you have full voltage, you probably have regular (non resistor) wire in place and may have a bad resistor, which you apparently suspect. (The wiring diagram shows an inline ballast resistor; my '66 has the resistor wire leading from the ignition and does not need the ballast.) A separate wire from the starter solenoid passes full voltage to the coil when the switch is in the START position. Have a helper hold the ignition switch in the START position; the voltage at this same terminal should now be 13 volts or so and revert to 7-9 volts when the key is released. If you have full voltage in the ON position without the ballast resistor in the line but the car won't run with the resistor in line, you may have a weak coil. If you don't know the condition of the ignition system, I'd probably replace ignition components, at least for now. Coils of that era are not designed to operate at full voltage.. As I understand it, the electronic ignition requires full battery voltage continuously; hence, you'd have to put in a relay to pass full voltage IF, IF you don't have full battery voltage with the ignition in the ON position which, again, would indicate resistor wire from the ignition switch. Welcome to the club. Come back here often. Lots of owners chiming in with tips, how to's, etc. Good luck and keep us informed.

As we start getting closer to the AOAI national meet at Palm Springs, I have 4 upgrades to do before then. The first was to figure out how to install a belly pan under the front end of the car. To start with, I ordered a factory Mustang plastic pan from CJ Pony Parts of California. When I initially laid it on the floor and looked up at the car, I could see why Avanti Motors had just taken it off when building the car and disposing it. The pan is fairly flat in design and the front lower panel of the Avanti curves upwards at both ends. However, once I put the car on stands and took a hard look at it, I figured out how to mount it. The back side of it has a couple of locator push in pins and 3 holes to place screws into the support. My 06 still had the screws in the support. The front side has some recesses, angled and straight, it form-fits around the A/C condenser base, radiator drain, etc. As it turns out, the front angled section, which at first seemed to be a real problem, became the mounting solution for the front since the angle Matches the Avanti lower piece fairly closely. Follow along with the photos and it should make sense:

New member, new owner. Recently purchased a 63 R2 automatic. Currently working on replacing most suspension components (bushings and shocks) rebuilding the power steering pump and hydraulic cylinder. After experiencing difficulties in starting the engine the ignition resistor was bypassed and it fired right up. My plan is to install the transistorized ignition, which I understand, bypasses/eliminates the resistor. I was unable to source a resistor. Thoughts on the above? Second issue was high idle. Current solution was removing the throttle kicker and plugging the vacuum hose. Idles perfectly now. Currently unable to source a kicker. Any ideas? Is the kicker serviceable? The action seems very stiff, IMO too stiff for the vacuum to operate properly, if at all. On a side note, there was initially considerable smoke, particularly from the drivers side which has now almost completely cleared since removing the kicker. My brother in law commented that he thought the smoke was fuel related rather than oil/piston ring related. I’m sure I’ll have a few more questions. Thanks in advance.

RQB3263/81/305 .... I just found a couple questions from October ?? the paint color is "diamond blue metallic ..original .... now thats the good news ..Suberu code 80 ...is a perfect match and no special mixing req... perrrfect been on there 10+ yrs now... the electric fan is 16" 12 volt off the shelf and is wired into the A/C compressor... on when a/c is on .... HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE FROM BILL IN SUNNY FLORIDA ...drive carefully and keep in touch

Hello Dwight, the pictures. Is there something you can undertake?

The story that has been told over the years, is that the California DMV established a new digital registration system around the time the 63's came out. The minimum number of characters accepted for a registration was eight. The Avantis only had seven ( 63Rnnnn), so the "A" or "B" was appended to make up the difference. The reasoning for one or the other, has never been revealed.... but someone knows... Nor is it known how far into the 60's that this process was continued. Any 64's with an A or a B... It was in mid 63 that the mandate to remove the 63 from the serial numbers was issued and to only use the Rnnnn. Any 63's or 64's with RnnnnAAA. Probably was a lot of sausage made in the DMV in those days.

From Avanti Magazine Fall/Winter 2025. RIP Jim Lange and Ted Harbit.

I have seen B as well. maybe to distinguish 63 vs 64? I have R4551A, sold in Los Angeles.

We've been selling quite a few 2026 calendars in recent days.... get yours before they're gone. https://aoai.org/shop/2026-avanti-calendar/

Originally sold in California. Something about California requiring an extra digit or letter.

For those who know, what does the suffix "A" mean on a 1963 serial number, such as R-1234A?

Rebuilt original Auto. Twin Traction.

It's been many years since I owned a '63 but I know that while the dash is out makes it the right time to do anything with the radio. I don't remember what size the front speaker is...whether it's a 5"x7" or a 4"x10" but either should be easily sourced. The bigger issue is making sure the speaker is of the proper impedance or the sound will be bad. With an original radio which is quite large compared to modern units the selection of speakers isn't good as a speaker with a larger magnet will not work as it won't fit against the top of the radio. There may be some decent speakers available today but you need to check the impedance and vertical dimensions for clearance.

Thank You regnalbob, That's awesome, Looking at the wire, I knew it had to be factory supplied and figured dealer installed. Only thing that made sense was that it was a bypass for the resistor, but I didn't want to take a chance. What I still don't understand is why it's so long. I wrapped many wraps around the harness. I guess what I can do is just run it along the harness and then wrap it and zip tie it under the shielding. Those service letters are fantastic. Thank you again

Gunslinger, Sorry, I was just kidding about static, talk shows because there is nothing on AM that I would listen to. Had been going back in forth about upgrading the radio. I like my car original, It still has the original Stereo magic Reverb in it the dealer installed when it was new. and as I mentioned in post, it's not going to be a daily driver. I overhauled the original radio and it works fine. I just thought that now is the time if I am going to upgrade or it won't get done. Once I drop the dash back in, I don't want to go in there again. I also don't want or need to spend a lot of money on a head unit if I don't need to. My hearing is so bad, I don't need really good equipment. I am not cutting anything out to add speakers. If I could find a rear deck, I would, I did find one but they want $150 shipping. I would probably be better off to use mine for a templet and make one. I have a roll of the original viny that's doing nothing but collecting dust and making a home for mice. Any speaker that you know of that fits the front. Thanks

Something else...does your car still have the RFI shielding over the distributor and spark plug wires? If not that could be the source of the noise. Fiberglass has no natural RFI properties and shielding is needed. Spark plug wires could be the cause as spark plugs could be as well if not shielded or resistance rated.

Is the static you hear a constant tone or does it go up and down with engine rpm's? If it stays constant it's ignition noise. If it increases and decreases with rpm's it alternator whine. A condenser in the proper place may take care of it...just need to know where. You can also mount a noise filter in the power lead to the radio. Other possibilities...the antenna itself may have lost ground...make sure it's properly grounded. There's usually a wire from the antenna to a bolt under trunk carpet that's grounded. Also the radio may need the antenna "trimmed"...a lost art few today are aware of. To trim the antenna...remove the right knob on the radio and you'll see a screw above the shaft. Tune the radio to a station...fairly strong...around 1400. Then using a small screwdriver turn the screw until the radio gives best reception. Once you get best reception and sound the antenna is trimmed. You can also spray some electronics cleaner inside the radio...I've seen that clear up noise problems before. If this fixes things you're good to go without buying a new radio. If you feel it necessary to replace the radio...look at Custom Auto Sound. They should have something that's drop-in for the car.

Here is the Studebaker Service Letter.

I have a green wire with black tracer that I had bagged years ago when I took the car apart. I wrote on bag, goes from starter solenoid across fire wall and for whatever reason I didn't say where it went. It's a lot longer than needed to go to coil. I wrapped it around the harness along the run. I don't like how it looks if it does go to coil. I think maybe when I was taking the car apart, I wasn't concerned as everything is in a harness. It's a factory wire as it has the 90 degree push on terminal for the solenoid. The other end has an open connector. My R2 doesn't have it. I have seen on a few cars on BAT the wire but can't see where it goes. No mention in shop manual of it. I was thinking maybe it would go to coil, bypassing the resistor for start-up but don't want to assume that. That would only be possible if That terminal on solenoid is momentary, energized when key is in start position. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks

Getting ready to drop my dash back in and though I was going to keep original radio in it, I thought last night of changing it out. I don't want to go crazy as car is not going to be a daily driver but it would be nice to be able to listen to something other than talk radio over static. Any suggestions on make, model #. I'm not going to install anything that would require modifying the dash. Also speakers that mate up to existing mounting holes. Thanks

Ron... Sounds like Your buying them right and bringing them back.