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You’ll need a press and bearing adapters to change out the 4 bearings, plus a new crush sleeve. It’s not an easy task to do, especially knocking the pinion bearing races out and back in the housing. If the new bearings are too much different from the old, then you’ll more likely than not, introduce ring/pinion howl. If the you don’t have any noise now, then I’d change the seal, gasket and lube.

I'm wondering if I should change the bearing while I'm there? Is it pretty straight forward, or would I need to re-shim?

We will spend about right at $1000 for this week long vacation. Same as last year in Pennsylvania and the previous year in Detroit. For us it’s not just a car show, it’s a vacation with old and new friends, we love it. And next week we will go to Galveston Tx for 3 days to attend Mustang Week for the second year in a row. Our S197 based Avanti was a hit amongst the 1500 Mustangs that attended from all over the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. Just think, 1500 Mustangs of all years and One Avanti! Talk about fun! June 2027, AOAI meet in South Bend, Indiana. We are hoping to bring our 1963 R2 plus our 2006 show car.

Well, they must be able to afford it… and I’ve heard that caskets do not have pockets!!!!!

If you need a diff cover gasket, an RDS # 6629 will do the trick!

Oreillys auto parts sells the seal. It’s a Dana 44 and the part is shown under 1980 Avanti II in their software. You might as well get a cover gasket and do a full fluid change while you are there

A ‘National’ #5778 will do the trick!

Like all, I miss the old FLAPS who had the old guys that knew stuff, or had catalogs and not computers. I need a pinion seal for my 1980 Avanti II, and you all know the drill. Who made it? Is it a Ford? blah blah. I'm not sure if any year DANA 44 pinion seal is the same or not, so don't know whether to try to ask for a 1980 Jeep, a 1963 Studebaker, or something else. A part number would be nice as well, as I don't want to pull this one out until I have a new one in hand. Thanks!

True.. but many are attending from across Country..Many are spending to trailer out, and the choice of California is cash cow to start with.,

I think an events location (and your location) has much to do with the practicality of attending.

Said it before.. I'm in this for the profits (and I enjoy automobiles) When events like this happen, it might be a fantastic thing, but to spend a few $$thou. just to attend an event,...I'm just not in the position to afford that opulence...or want to if able. It eats into the bottom line hard. By the time , either I trailer a vehicle (or a shipping company does) eats up a half a $$thou+..Registraton and what not, Hotels, then California and everything there costing too damned much.... I can see $2000+ just to walk around and talk Avanti..I can do that for No Cost at the Free Shows Before I even gave the idea a thought, it got shut down in my cranium. This is NOT SEMA... it's just a show of like minds,

We will be taking measurements on a 63 R2 to see if the 8” wide wheel will work on the rear and what the offset would have to be. The same goes for a 7” wide on the front. This will tell us if we can offer the staggered width sets or just the 7” wide. We can also determine the maximum tire size that will work as well.

Good info… May work as long as front springs are up to snuff!

A 205/70-R17 tire would have the same 28.3 inch outside diameter as the original 670-15 tires on most Studebaker models. It would need to be checked for rubbing on the inner fender due to the 8 inch width compared to the 6.7 inch section width of the bias ply.

Sold 4/4/26

According to a well known vendor who I'm working with, there has been a large number of inquiries on larger diameter wheels. 17" wheels will easily fit with the right tire size. We just have to verify the correct wheel offset and maximum tire size/width on both the front and rear.

I like the idea of 17" halibrand style wheels, I would be interested. Guy

Thanks for the pics!…. Ixnay on the ‘17” wheels, which are a ‘fad’ thing (IMHO), which spoil the look of ‘60’s collector cars….. Also, I would think fender clearance up front would negate the idea anyway….. Kudos to you for being inventive though!! PS…. Your idea might work by using tires with a super low profile… I saw a ‘61 Corvette set up like that….. To each his own I guess!!

Dinner #1 at a car collectors location.

We are here and it's exciting to meet new friends and catch up with old. Soon I will have some new news to share once everything is cemented. Sold the 89 Dolenz car that I restored today also. On trailering, I know a few of these are show cars. The owners spent a ton of money restoring them and one brought his from the east coast. There is no way that I would risk driving a car like that across the country! Last year on the way back from Pennsylvania, in very busy traffic, a car in front of us ran over a shredded truck tire sidewall which slammed into the lower front of our 06 show car. It took 8 days for me to repair the fiberglass and repaint the area. So it happens. As far as the cost of attendance goes, the few hundred dollars is nothing compared to the relationships and information that we get out of it. On another front, do you like the Halibrand wheels put on many 60s-80s Avantis but don't care for 15" wheels? Well I'll be working on a project as of today to have that style wheel made in 17". Once I get my 63 measured out to verify clearance, then we'll work on getting a quote to make them. Hopefully in 7" and 8" widths. (Front and rear if there is enough room) Stay tuned!

I stopped by the HQ hotel this morning. Yes, there were many trailers parked in the Avanti area. I suppose that with a 60+ year old car, a trailer assures that the Avanti will get back home. As for the hotel cost, it was extremely inexpensive compared to what it had been a couple weeks ago during Modernism Week and what it will be starting Friday for the Coachella music festival. The Avanti event is actually in Cathedral City, not Palm Springs, so prices are a bit more reasonable than Palm Springs hotel prices. Prices for events were mostly reasonable (and optional) with a wonky exception or two. Can't be a CASO forever and still maintain an Avanti.

I won't attend. The whole Car Show thing is turning in to an Elegant Money Pit. Many are transporting via trailer and spending on costly Hotel's . Sorry, but for me, it's gotten out of hand. ..... We have a Maggie Valley NC Studie Show.. which costs nothing. I'll be attending that one.

My '66, apparently, originally had the heat riser tube setup but was replaced with the setup described above. A few years after owning the car, I suddenly kept hearing an exhaust noise with headers and exhaust pipes appearing intact. I found a hole in the bottom of the right exhaust header, just behind the outlet to the exhaust pipe. Apparently, this may have been the original heat riser setup and the 'plugged up' pipe let go?? I used the shank of various drill sizes to determine the size of this hole and tapped it to put in a threaded plug. I don't believe (??) the hole went completely through to the actual exhaust but just transferred heat from the heat of the exhaust manifold. (Hope this makes sense!) As such, I started the tap of the hole with a regular tap but ended with a bottoming tap. No problem since then. Good luck!

This makes some sense with what I have. There is a heat riser on the passenger side. The current holley 4777 has a manual choke but nothing ran inside the car to move it. But I can see where I think the heat tube probably ran into the passenger side heat riser. It's been capped off I think with something that 40 years of rust has made unidentifiable.

Thanks!