All Activity

I have noticed over the years of owning & working on Avantis, that quite often a person unfamiliar with the "pawl'" which locks the hood prop in the open position will try to close the hood without first rocking it forward to release the mechanism. The resulting leverage puts a lot of stress on the mount area. Since most cars for the last 30 or so years have hydraulic/ pneumatic cylinders on them the process of lifting forward before closing the hood may be alien to them.

Take a look in the AOAI Magazine Issue #211, Page 79 to see a photo and advert of Eric Johnson's 2003 Avanti Convertible for sale. Eric's car is low mileage and really sharp. I had contact with Eric about his car last year. He can share many great photos with you if you are interested. If I had not purchased my black 2002 car then I would have gone after Eric's car. It's worth a look.

Thank you everyone - Lately the car has been starting with no problem but I'm still afraid of that 1 time when it might not so I brought it to a shop and they're gonna put a new starter and solenoid in Because the starter did act up once When they tried it. Appreciate all the help and advice as always

Not sure how they rebonded it - the owner of the company has since passed away and there is a new company there. My car is in a shop for some other work And they informed me that it was starting to split so I haven't actually seen it myself - my guess is it's in the beginning stages whatever it is. Nothing looked that bad before I brought it in for the service.

If it has already been re-bonded, then either the work wasn't done right or the fiberglass is actually coming apart. Do you know how they re-bonded it?

Can you use a nutsert?

Yes. The frame in the picture is still available.

Hi mgf, This is great. Thanks to you and to whole AOAI members.👏

3.31 Ring & Pinion are off to Finland!!

Thanks I had it rebonded on a few years ago so will probably have to be done again I can’t imagine the hinge itself awakening cause it’s metal so I’m wondering if it’s the fiberglass around it Thank you very much for responding and for the advice and information

And that slight valve noise is part of the ‘charm’ of the Studebaker V8 !!!

Something I’ve seen on Avantis when the bond between the hood skin and its inner construction releases (at the front) …Water gets inside, and creates rust and corrosion between the hood bolts and their respective nuts…. Sometimes making it impossible to unbolt the hood from the hinge.

Although I’ve never done it, I don’t see why an identical hood support couldn’t be installed on the driver’s side, However, I think a better solution would be to remove hood from car and repair it with a good clean out & rebond.

Avantis are generally quite rare everywhere. Yes, there might be more in North America, but even in the United States and Canada, many people have never seen one.

True, but if the knock sensor is detecting a knock and the timing is retarded, doesn't that mean a knock has occurred and the engine is already toast? The answer is 'no', because if that was true, the computer would also set the check engine light and the owner's manual would tell you to have the engine checked. I believe most automotive gas engines are designed to withstand a certain amout of light detonation without being damaged. Severe detonation over a "long" period would be a bigger problem. That leads me back to my original thought. I was taught that an engine can have light detonation and a knock sensor will pick it up before a driver will hear it. The computer will retard the ignition to elimimate the detonation and the driver will probably never notice anything was amiss. If a simple circuit to drive a light on the dashboard could be created that was sensitive enough to detect the voltage created by the knock sensor, it seems that it would be a helpful addition to a high compression, non-computer classic car, at least to let the driver know detonation has been detected. I wonder, though, if all the valve noise on a properly adjusted Studebaker engine with solid lifters would create false positive detections. The fameous sewing machine ticking comes from the tiny valve lash being taken up by each moving valve train.

My hood is separating at the front for the second time in recent years. There is noticeable dip in the hood on the driver side when the hood is open as the hood support is on the passenger side. Could the hinge be weakening and cause this? Is there a way to install a support on the driver side? Thanks for any help and advice. Kevin A83

Thank you for the info! I had already a short call with him.

Well regnalbob, you asked politely this time, and it pleases me that your manners seem to be improving! The cost info concerning the ‘63 Avanti Shop manuals was provided by Dr. Bert Lamberti, in an expense review dated 12/11/62.

Please post the source of the correct answer.

Good deduction… and you are CORRECT!

John sold you a 1963 unit because 1964 units are impossible to find. I've been searching all avenues for a 1964 stylefor several years with no luck.

On my 72 there's a plate on the roll bar that is held in place by two 3/8" bolts. This plate is what the upper pivot of the shoulder strap attaches to. One of the bolts was stripped. I got it out, but apparantly there's a nut inside the roll bar and it fell down inside! Does anyone have and suggestions for a workaround to secure the bottom of this plate?

I have three chances to be wrong and one chance to be right, gulp. It's a big book with a lot of pages & many blurry black and white pictures. The had to have spent $14,337.00 if they spent a dime.

No ‘bookworms’ out there??

and another recent post with JPEG/JPG images in a different forum post here: