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Had mine ready, drove to the show, decided to check it out first. Sparse attendance, obnoxious music, only 4 or 5 cars of interest. Not worth the $20 fee, on to the next. I can rattle off the Avanti story with the best of them!

So how many folks have their cars all cleaned up and taking them to a show this weekend? Do you all have the Avanti story down for the questions you will be asked? The local SDC is hosting a show in Spokane next Saturday and if the weather holds our coffee group will swing in. Hope everyone has a good spring. Mike

shifter and center "glove box" lifted strait from Monte Carlo

Thanks for the feedback everybody- Question for Ronmanfredi and Geoff.... How does the roof Headliner come off? I have no Idea how to remove that and I'm wary of spoiling it. 🤨 My Sunroof is already well corroded and I reckon it will need removal for any repair/restoration.

That's what I've heard from J. Pepper, that the heads put on the last of the performance Studebakers would have been more at home with the 3.875" or 4" bore blocks. Oh if only Studebaker could have been in business exactly 10 more years, and bowed out with the oil crisis, Dec. '73. Due Cento could have returned to Bonneville on dry salt and recorded 200 MPH. Maybe ... possibly ... a privateer team campaigning a 5L Challenger in 1966-1972 SCCA Trans-Am?

Thank you for that suggestion. My current plans involve some research to find another vehicle's spoiler style moonroof to install in my car. The spoiler style slides over the top of the car when fully opened. I was advised by a sunroof company this gains as much as 1.5" more headroom over the inbuilt type. If I become extremely anal retentive adhering to Colin Chapman's, "Simplify, and add lightness" another alternative is to buy the least expensive sunroof type which either pops open at rear, or gets removed and stowed to be opened. Two other choices I have involve closing the hole. I could DIY that with either fiberglass/FRP, or maybe some tinted polycarbonate/Plexiglass and seal out the air but let sunlight in.

Friend.. Ya got too much time on your hands... but the result is very good.

Remarkable… very nicely done!

Shifter is Monte Carlo. I remember something about Oldsmobile parts for the shift gear positioning slider in the console. Good luck, Jim

Question regarding the automatic shifter mechanism for an 87. I know the original car was a Monte Carlo. My mechanic thinks the 87 Monte Carlos had shift mechanism on steering wheel shaft. He believes the shifter is actually from a Regal. Anyone know? Many thanks. Jim L

I would imagine the rare R3-R4 type cylinder heads would bolt right on to the prototype 340… without the needed cylinder chamfering found in the smaller 305 CI blocks.

Nostalgic Motors sells a complete sunroof delete roof skin in case you want to just reskin the entire roof.

No they didn’t number them. Even the standard casting number was on them. They were cast on Veterans Day 1963 by the date code. There is a V or N (?) cast into the side of the block. This block was discussed in an old SDC thread.

No problem. I shall be removing that moonroof as these next seasons progress. 4174 is getting torn down to bare minimal levels, as I have a massive build in mind.

Geoff- I applaud your pioneering work and the photos help tremendously. I cannot help but think repairing my sunroof might be folly given I have extricated some really rusty metal pieces so far. In any case your pictures paint a very good picture of what is in store- thank you and keep 'em coming ! 👍

Update- I have managed to remove the outermost screw easily, however the innermost one is rotating without releasing. We have pushed wedges under the base of the bottle and rotated the screw in an attempt to raise it, but no go so far. I don't wish to resort to butchery so if this won't come out I think I'll have to very carefully grind off the head of the Screw using a finger belt grinder or similar. Going overseas for a month shortly so this might be a dead thread until I get back....

Here is more vinyl work, the wrap on seat back edge, the sail panels, and side panel.

I took the car cover off today, it was finally warm enough for that. Here are some behind the scenes peeks at what lies beneath (above) the headliner. My poor basket case was left outdoors 24-ish years, uncovered with a leaky moonroof, so um, rust happened. But besides that, this is how the moonroof is in the car. I'll be taking this one out of the car in my quest to build her back to my specifications. My post above this one goes into that. The first image is looking back from the windshield The second is at the rear, the rear glass is to image's left. Last pic. is along the left side, looking toward interior's rear.

very nice job. excellent work

I wonder if the one or two experimental 340 CI Studebaker engine blocks, that made it out of the factory, had any type of numbering I.D. on them?

Nice job. Thanks for posting. This will help others. --Dwight

Looks like it was built that eay, nice work.

Nice job!

For lack of input and a desire to move along I went for it and it came out quite well. Weldwood contact cement worked out, it seemed to soften the vinyl and it went around contours without problem, I hope someone finds this helpful

What is fishy about it? I bought my Avanti from the same seller, but not through Bring-a-Trailer. I inspected my Avanti in the seller's driveway so I knew what I was getting, where the photographs for this car were taken. Everything was smooth and legitimate.