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What’s a car show unless you can dissect the car! Here are some pictures of mine showing stages of how it evolved. I bought my 4-door from Jim Baize in San Diego in IIRC 2001. I drove it for years while only maintaining it. When the original 305 started showing signs of wear, I decided to build a 383 SBC for it. On the dyno, it showed a 405hp and about 440 Ft Lbs of torque. As you could imagine, with that increase in HP bad things started happening - transmission needed rebuilt (which I did to Buick Grand National specs and same torque coverter and a HD crossover member). Then the rear end weakened, so I installed a Eaton locker and had special HD axles made and a HD aluminum driveline. One thing lead to another…HD Impala SS control arms up front with 5/8” ball joints, Global West rear Suspension with a hand fabricated lower control arm; Hotchkis Impala SS Springs front & rear with Hotchkis front & rear sway arms; Corvette Z06 brake kit, removed the hand emergency brake and installed a hydraulic push button E-brake; all new front wiring along either F.A.S.T. Ezi-2.0 self learning ECU; 4” cold air intake. Removed the stock seat belts and fabricated upper & lower plates for new seat belts, rebuilt the power seat controls and used 6 specially dyed and tanned cow skins to recover new front seats (with much better bolsters), door skins, console; 4 layers of sound deadening inside and underneath, padding, new blue carpet; built a special woofer box under the rear package tray; installed the battery in the trunk, all new JBL speakers and two amps, new head unit with bluetooth, custom fabricated steering wheel (from a Cadillac CTS-V with matching wood grain and blue leather with an “Avanti” logo sewn in (and on the seats); removed the rear RV and hooked up the speakers in the rear console; ceramic coated inside & outside headers; custom dual exhaust with “x” crossover and mufflers hooked up the accelerator (past 1/2 throttle, a bypass is opened for direct exhaust). Oh yeah, had the car sanded; wheel flares similar to the original clay model of Lowey”s design fabricated; painted with House of Kolors “Celestial White” with Blue Pearlesence and Crushed Glass in the clearcoat. I installed Lorenza 20 inch 5-spoke wheels with the spokes painted in Celestial While with the Blue Pearlesence. I guess when you get started trying to make the car you want, one can get carried away and spend way more than the car will ever be worth. I remember taking the OEM car to the autocross track and embarrassing myself on the course. I literally slid from one side to the other and tried to keep the rear end from coming around. It was pathetic; but with the modifications, I found the car is now setup better for the Drifting Course than Autocross (although I did run it through the Autocross!). The car currently has 200,000 miles. I feel like I’ve touched every part on this car a time or two. Cheers, Rich

Anybody found a crossover part for the radiator to automatic transmission flexible cooler lines?

John Hulls 1987 Coupe.

If you rummage thru here, you can find your fit https://studebaker-info.org/rjtechjan2026p2.html#shock

Meet "Big Red". She is a South Bend baby. Born in 1980. "An Avanti is not just a car. It's a member of the family!

1984 Touring Coupe one of the 15 Silver ones of the 50 Total Touring Coupes

There where no gotchas once I realized that the "nose" could come off the case.

The heat/defrost diverter is inside the heater box itself.

1964 R5586 at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA

An announcement has been made on most of the Avanti Facebook groups that the current Virtual Car Show Photos are now becoming part of a Photo Contest. Jim, at Studebaker International has sponsored the award prizes for the top 3 winners which include an Avanti Fender Cover, the book Studebaker Avanti Operation Airlift Book and a Fawn hat with an embroidered Avanti Logo on it. I have the awards and will cover the shipping to the winners. Judging should take place towards the end of June and the results provided to me by end of June. I think it would be best to have a few members who want to be part of the judging team. We can decide together the best way to do this, whether it is by each of the 4 year model groups or all together. If you are interested in being a judge, then please send me a message so we can discuss this further. This is the Facebook Post that happened today: The Virtual Avanti Car Show continues for all year models on the AOAI Forums. The Car Show photos will become a CONTEST by the end of the month, with Prizes sponsored by Jim at Studebaker International being awarded to the top 3 Photos. If you haven’t uploaded your Avanti Car photos, then now would be a good time to show off your pride and joy! The link provided below is to the Forums and you will see the 4 categories organized by year in which to add your photos. If you are not a member, you will need to register yourself once you access the Forum before you can post any photos. This helps us eliminate spam and bots from accessing the site. You will receive an email at the email address you provide letting you know you can now use the forum site. We do not share your information with anyone, nor is there any cost to use the Forum. Once you upload your photos, take a look at all of the information that is available for you to read and ask questions about. There is a wealth of information there for you and members who love to help others. With the car show, you can share as many Avanti photos as you want. Come back often to see all of the other car photos that others post. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Link: https://aoai.org/forums/

1987 Covertible in Sweden

Oh, I thought that was pre blower. Should there be a flap there? It is the 'Heat'/'Defrost' diverter elsewhere? And since I don't drive the car in the Michigan winters, would it be safe to cover it?

That is where the heated air comes into the floorboard foot area.

That was the claim!!

Hello all. I'm trying to cool off the cabin. I checked the butterfly vents and they are fine. But as I was under the passenger side dash I was looking at the heater box/core area. To the left side is a hole, 2" x 1.25-ish inches and about 4 inches deep. The hole looks intensional, but not factory (super smooth edges, etc.). Was it the place for the filter?

Maybe too late to the plate, but this may help https://studebaker-info.org/Tech/PDF/Acme_al.pdf

140%

I see one difference... Yours has 2 vertical running rubber lines.. Mine has 1. Thanks for the info.

Howard- Sorry, for some reason I missed your post above -- and now I'm away for a couple of days. Yes, it is for sale. I will post more pix no later than Tuesday when I can get back to the computer on which they are stored. Sorry for the screwup. Skip PS: One more picture already posted in the Virtual Car Show section above.

I remember Lou Carini. (the fellow that wrote the above article on Avanti mirror repair) Lou was a real ‘spark plug’ for the (then) Mass-RI Chapter of SDC (now called Ocean Bay Chapter) Lou was very proud of his beautiful Studebaker Avanti, which he had installed real wire wheels and ‘Vogue type’ tires on. Lou’s sadly missed!

Your 73 is probably the same as my 74. As stated, there is an elbow screwed into the bottom of the tank to which the rubber hose attaches. That elbow must be removed to remove the tank. It's been a few years since I pulled my tank and replaced the hoses, but I don't remember a drain plug or valve. My car had a return line from the fuel pump which makes a circuitous turn around the top of the tank.

My 74 (need to close the hood the next time , , , ,).

My Bad..