1963-64 Avanti Latest Topics

Interior parts wanted

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:38:23 +0000

With the chassis completed, body finish painted, and body remounted on the chassis, it is now time to organize the rest of the needed parts and put my car back together. Today's problem is that when I sent the interior parts out to be recovered the upholstery shop "lost" the cores for the two front and two rear armrests, so I need to track down replacements. I'm hoping some of the members on this forum have a '63 parts car that has "salvageable" cores that I can talk them out of. I'm going to have them recovered so I don't care what color they are, but I hope to find cores that are not so water damaged that they have to be rebuilt. I live in Mass, so if I could find them close I could hopefully pick them up to avoid problems with shipping (a guy can hope can't he??).

'63 Avanti

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 22:23:19 +0000

My '63 R2 has an air cleaner that only has an opening on the bottom. All the other ones that I have seen have a fully enclosed cylinder with the air cleaner partially sticking out from the rear. Why is mine different?

64 order form

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 20:04:25 +0000

In the 64 Avanti order form it lists an auxiliary electric fuel pump as an option for R3 and R4 engines. Any idea who made the fuel pump that's listed?

Is there a FORUM member in the Olympia Washington area that would help me with a parts purchase?

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 10:33:32 +0000

I'd like to find a FORUM member in the Olympia Washington area to help me with making a possible parts purchase, in the Olympia area. The seller of the parts is not exactly sure about what he is selling, and I'd like to find someone in the Olympia area that could look at the parts. I'll pay for your time etc.

Thanks , John

54 year member of AOAI and SDC

Frame off restoration

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 18:05:04 +0000

I have started a restoration on a 63 that has been passed down I originally pulled the body to weld in a new rear crossmember. One thing led to another and now in the process of a full restoration. Things i have done so far. Striped the frame down painted it. All new suspension bushing front and rear new hardware rebuilt rear end

My plan is to run new break/fuel lines finish up the steering tuner disk breaks front and rear new exhaust.

Looking for some advice on things to do before putting the body on. Also what should I use for rubber between the body and frame? Any advice is greatly appreciated thank you here are some photos of the progress

'63 Avanti R2

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:08:00 +0000

In response to my former post concerning the R2 air filter box & the opening on the bottom, I'm posting a pic. I need help identifying which model this filter would have been on.

'63 Avanti R2

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:11:05 +0000

In response to my previous post concerning the red light on the top of the console, I'm posting a pic. Does anyone know what this light would be used for?

Exhaust pipe from exhaust manifold touches the Tie Rod

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:37:37 +0000

I wondered for a long time what the rubbing sound is when turning the car. Now the matter is clear. The left exhaust pipe hits the tie rod clamps when turning the car and when the front sinks lower. I made sure that the exhaust pipe is correctly attached to the exhaust manifold. The engine is also supported with new and correct rubber. I think the exhaust pipe is bent incorrectly.

Is there any problem if I turn the short tie rods ends towards the wheels? (long ones towards center)? This would give a little more space between the exhaust pipe and the rod.

1963 Avanti

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 22:18:53 +0000

My '63 Avanti R2 has a small red light on the upper part of the console (below the dash). I've never seen one on a '63 R2. Does anyone know its purpose?

1963 Avanti

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 22:17:31 +0000

My '

63 Avanti R2 has a small red light on the upper part of the console (below the dash). I've never seen one on a '63 R2. Does anyone know its purpose?

Exhaust Manifold removal

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 16:21:56 +0000

Any tips/tricks to remove R3 headers with engine in car. These are on a 63 R2

Manual says it can be done from above but doesn’t give much detail (remove ignition shielding, remove manifold bolts, lift manifold out). Does look like there is much room to access bolts. Any tips/tricks?

Looking for a good Avanti mechanic in Kansas area

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:30:10 +0000

Just moved to Kansas City and have a couple 63 R2 Avanti's and looking for a good mechanic that understands them.

I'm willing to trailer to wherever I need to go within a 500 mi radius, any suggestions?

colors

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 06:50:55 +0000

How many cars in each of the colors that were available for 1964 models were produced?

R3 Header question

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 20:11:29 +0000

I have what I think is a pair of unused R3 headers. Three pictures are attached. Please help to answer a few questions.

-The left and right look exactly the same.

-These don't have the alternator bracket sticking out of the front of the passenger side.

-There is a part number 1558353 cast on the right horizontal face on each. On the other front face is cast 206-86.

-Pictures of the reproductions don't seem to have a number.

What do I have? What models do these fit?

Thanks

1963 Avanti heater set-up

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 20:08:13 +0000

Hi everyone,

I’m working on a 1963 Avanti I bought this previous summer and it is, of course, missing various bits and pieces. In the interests of having a defogger and even cabin heat, I am trying to find out if the heating system was used in other vehicles or if there is such a thing as a generic system I can buy and bolt in. Thanks in advance for your expertise and knowledge,

Tim

SDC Forum is back

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 19:14:50 +0000

I've seen announcements over the past week that phone users were seeing it, but today is the first it's been back online to me

Exhaust Tips

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:09:33 +0000

I just bought a new condo with a 2-car garage, which is great. But the driveway is sloped and pretty steep up to the garage. When I brought my Avanti over for the first time today, I found that backing out to the street, my tailpipes hit the pavement. I managed to pull out with some minor scraping sounds at the end of the pipe. I tried backing out straight, and at various angles, but it just barely scrapes the ground each time. I’m wondering about replacing the pipe tips with something less round, more narrow. See the attached photo. Or are there other options I'm not thinking about?

Nice Try But..?

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:54:59 +0000

As an experiment several years ago, I removed the power steering system from my ‘63 Avanti (leaving the 16-1 power steering box in place). This basically would be the same as if the car had been ordered with ‘quick ratio’ steering…

The front suspension was in good shape & well greased…

I was running 20575R-15 radial tires all around at 30 psi….

BAD IDEA!!……My Avanti steered like a truck at low speeds…. (No offense you truck owners out there!!)

Serpentine belt on R2 with AC

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 15:42:51 +0000

Has anyone installed a serpentine belt system on an R2 with AC yet?

Wanted to see if it was worth the trouble or not.

Wiper switch recondition

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 00:22:28 +0000

Didnt like the way it felt so I decided to take it apart, bend tabs out of way and it comes apart easily, pull apart remove insulator, cleaned traces and contacts with 400 grit and back together

Hydroboost

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 18:38:14 +0000

Has anyone installed a hydroboost system on their Avanti? If so, any recommendations?

Tilt wheel cable

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 03:56:57 +0000

Folks,

I’m working on a 64 Avanti with tilt wheel. The cable from the turn signal mechanism to the switch is broken. I can get a new cable, but there is no where in the shop manual, that I can find that gives a description of how to replace it. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tom

Steering knuckle

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 19:11:20 +0000

Does removal and replacement of the bushing and bearing in the steering knuckle require the specific tools mentioned in the workshop manual or will brute strength and awkwardness suffice? Thanks.

Glove box markings

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 18:01:32 +0000

Someone posted a photo of markings in glove box vanity, I found these markings on glove box door.

Throttle Kicker

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 23:52:44 +0000

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.