bobconant
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Posts posted by bobconant
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Thank you. In doing some other searching on the web I found a set of installation instructions for the Steelcraft brake system and they show the same part number for the hose as WayneC. Again, thanks to those who responded. Today I am off to my mechanic's and will find out if the above number works or I will be taking the pieces to a place that makes up hydraulic hoses.
Bob in Bradenton, FL
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Dear Avanti Folks,
I have an 82 Avanti with the Steeltech (Dave LaVesque) front disk brake conversion which was installed around 1993. Today I am needing to replace the flexible brake hoses and I'm not sure what to purchase. The calipers appear to be Chrysler from the 1970s and the hose screws directly into the caliper casting. There is NO banjo or passthrough bolt to connect them. The other end I think is standard Studebaker with a female thread that connects to the brake lines.
I'm sure there must be an existing hose that I could get from NAPA or other parts supplier if I knew what to ask for. The local NAPA outlets only know how to look up a vehicle on the computer, not like the old days when the counter person would look at a part and identify it on sight.
My current plan is to remove the hoses and take them to a place that makes up custom hydraulic hoses but that is likely to be more expensive and doesn't help if I have to replace them down the road sometime, hopefully not on the side of the road.
So, does anyone have this setup and know what hoses to use? Does anyone have any literature that would list the parts in the conversion and tells what hoses to use?
Thanks for your help.
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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Dear Avanti Friends,
As a follow up to the discussion about tire sizes, brands, etc, I ended up installing a set of TOYO Extensa A/S tires sized P205/75R15. They were available in a narrow whitewall, about 3/4 inch, and are very close to what was on my car when new in 1982. These tires look great and are performing very well. They cost 104.76 plus all the mount and balance, taxes, tire disposal fees etc. I was able to get them here locally in Bradenton, FL. My only regret is that they are not made in America (they are made in Japan) although the original Michelins weren't made in America either.
Thus ends my search for new tires. Thank you all for your help and suggestions.
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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My thanks to all who responded to my query, you have given me some good ideas. I do want to retain a "stock" look as seen in the Avanti II brochures which virtually all show a narrow whitewall. I do not race the car but we tour with it including interstate driving at 70-75 mph. We are in Florida so the roads get a bit warm in the summer.
I have two questions which maybe someone can answer that will help me in picking tires.
1. It was stated above that tires older than some age cannot legally be remounted. How do I know whether my tires are still good to use? They are about 7 years old and have some slight sidewall checking. Common wisdom has said that older tires should not be driven at high speed. Do I really need to replace them based on the above usage?
2. It has been suggested above that I consider 215/70R-15. Why not 215/75R-15? The 70R size is wider and seems to need a 7 inch wide rim. The 75R looks from the specifications to be very slightly bigger in circumference and would have less chance of rubbing suspension parts. The only downside is that this would upset the speedometer accuracy although mine is already off by about 5 mph because a previous owner changed the rear axle ratio. (That's a whole 'nother question that I'll ask at a later time.) So any thoughts about the 215/75R-15 as a tire size to use?
Again, thanks for all your responses.
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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Hello Avanti Folks,
My car is a 1982 Avanti #RQB3420. It has the standard steel wheels, 15x6 inches. I believe the correct tire size is P205/75R15. That is what is on the car and I want to replace them. My build sheet says it had Michelins but these tires are Firestone FR380. They have the narrow whitewall; about 3/4 inch. I searched but did not find any Michelins that meet these requirements. In fact I found very few tires of this size with the narrow whitewall. I couldn't even find the same Firestone tires that I have although I will go to a Firestone dealer next week with the car and ask them. So far only Coker tire has a P205/75R15 with a narrow whitewall at about $150 each and several suppliers have a Hankook tire at about half that price. I think Hankooks are an OK brand but I am a little reluctant to put them on a great American car. My current tires are 7 years old with lots of tread but starting some sidewall checking. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can get for my car?? Thanks for any help and advice.
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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Thanks folks.
I'm not going to spend big bucks to try to find Hellas as the Bosch units are in excellent condition and could be original.
Bob
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Dear Avanti Friends,
Mine is a 1982 Avanti II and the build sheet for my car call out "Hella" driving lights. What is actually on the car is a pair of Bosch driving lights. Did Avanti Motor Company use whatever they could get at the time or is there a specific brand of driving light that they used in each year? Do you think mine got changed sometime along the line or could the Bosch have been original?
Thanks,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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Again, Thanks to everyone who responded. I'll be performing this operation this week.
Cheers,
Bob Conant
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Thank you folks for your suggestions. May I ask those who cut a hole in the inner fender: how big a hole did you make and how did you fill the hole afterwards. Thank you again, you folks are great !!
Regards,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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Dear Folks,
I'm sure I seen this written up someplace but I have searched all over and can't come up with a source. The question is how do I get at the spark plugs on an Avanti II with the 350 GM engine to clean, check and change them ? A couple are fairly easy but most are very difficult to access. I do know that I need to work from the wheel wells as it is virtually impossible to get at them from the top. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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Dear Folks, Can anyone tell me the location of the horn relay on a 1982 Avanti II ? The Studebaker shop manual says on the left fender apron under the battery. That's a logical spot but there is nothing there. By the way, what does it look like? Most horn relays I've seen are a can about 2'x2'x3/4" but then I'm an old flathead Ford guy and I'm not that familiar with later cars of other brands. Thanks for any help. Bob
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Dear PLwindlish,
Thank you but this phone number returns an "out of service" response when I call it.
Bob
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Dear Avanti and Studebaker friends,
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This information, including the STD forum should answer my questions once I get all that information sorted out.
You folks rock!
Bob
RQB 3420
Bradenton, FL
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Dear Folks, I am at my wits end and I'm sure someone in the club knows the answer. I have a 1982 Avanti II and the front brakes have been upgraded. A previous owner said this was done around 1993 using a kit from Dave LeVesque. In order to be able to service this, I would like to know what parts were used. The previous owner thought it used Ford discs and Mopar calipers. I have tried to reach Dave LeVesque with no luck. The phone numbers in Johnstone's website are no longer active, a number from Whitepages is also inactive. I tried to call Turner Brake on the outside chance they might know what LeVesque supplied (Turner states GM calipers and Ford rotors for their kits). I get no answer at Turner Brake. So......what I would like to know is:
Front brake pads numbers
Front calipers and pistons
Brake disc rotor
Front wheel bearings
Front grease seals.
If anyone knows what make and model discs and calipers were used I might be able to look up the rest. Thank you in advance for any information anyone can supply.
Cheers,
Bob
RQB 3420
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Dear Skip and Gunslinger,
That makes sense to me. Back in the day I'm sure that most people didn't order a shop manual for their car yet now all the enthusiasts want one. All the ones I have seen have looked new, not shopworn. Also they have white covers and I have seen a few with black covers, probably the original ones. Thanks for taking time to chat about it with me.
Bob in Bradenton, FL RQB3420
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I don't know about the Studebaker name but my understanding is that the "Avanti" name is owned by the re-established Avanti Motor Corporation by John Seaton and Michael Kelly. Since the assets of this company were siezed by the Federal Government with Kelly's arrest, the name probably still resides with the company but is controlled by the courts.
I doubt that anyone except for a few enthusiasts would purchase a "new" Studebaker. GM couldn't sell enough Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles to keep them afloat and they had plenty of loyal former owners. I could envision being able to sell handfuls of custom made Avantis as was done in the 1990s and 2000s. The biggest problem with any new car built in today's environment is the government regulations regarding emissions and crashworthiness. For that reason, any new Avanti would likely be a rebodied something else that has already passed all the tests.
I'm still happy with my 1982 Avanti II
Bob from Bradenton, FL
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Dear folks, I have an Avanti shop manual by Studebaker and many of the images are rather dark and poorly defined. I have seen other books and manuals for other cars that looked like this and they were usually reprints of original materials. My manual doesn't have any statements or publication info that says it is a reprint but were they reprinted? Did Studebaker themselves reprint them? Or were the pictures and diagrams of poor quality in the original manuals? Thanks, Bob in Bradenton, FL
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I was reviewing this forum topic and I see that Devildog states that his battery holddown rods are too long and he is thinking of cutting them shorter and rethreading. When I bought my car there was a spacer on top of the battery so that the holddown apparatus did actually hold the battery in place. This spacer is an "H" shaped plastic piece that lays on top of the battery. I later replaced the battery with a Sears Diehard and found that the spacer was not needed. Apparently the new battery is about a half inch higher than the old one. I suggest that rather than cutting the rods shorter (you may need them longer later) look around to try to find one of these spacers. I originally thought it was an original Avanti part for my 82 but I suspect that it may be a generic piece available from a battery supplier or auto parts house that can be purchased. It isn't high tech and you could probaby make one. It just needs to be made from something that won't compress much and probably shouldn't be conductive. I hope these comments help.
Bob in Bradenton FL
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Warren,
Thank you for the offer. I did have a forum member send me a copy of the page as a JPEG file via email earlier today.
Regards,
Bob
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Dear Folks,
I am about to do some troubleshooting on my instrument panel (instrument illumination lights don't work) and when I went to the Studebaker Avanti shop manual, I find that the page I need is blank. This is page 20 in the Body section which describes how to remove the instrument panel. The page is there and page 19 is printed but page 20 which should be on the back side is blank. Would someone be kind enough to email me a scan of page 20 please? (or direct me to someplace where I can find it). Send to bobconant@aol.com
Thank you,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
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For completeness in case anyone does a search and finds this forum topic: I did purchase a group 24 Diehard battery and it is working fine in the car. AFTER THAT I read my owner's manual for the 1982 Avanti II and it states that the battery when new was a Delco maintenance free battery. Uff Da.
Bob
Bradenton
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Dear Folks,
I have a 1982 Avanti II. Does anyone know what brand and type battery was used in the late Altman Avanti's? Also the official size. I think it's a group 24 but I'm not positive. I'd like to replace the battery with one that is as authentic as possible. Failing any definitive answer, I can just go with a Die-Hard as they have been around forever. Thank you for any thoughts or advice.
Regards,
Bob Conant
Bradenton, FL
RQB3420
Engine Block Color
in 1965-83 Avanti
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Dear Experts,
I have a 1982 Avanti II which originally came with a GM 305 engine. In the intervening years, the engine has been changed to a crate 350 engine. The crate engine block appears to be black. What color were the original GM engines in the Avanti II cars ? What color were the valve covers?
Thanks,
Bob
Bradenton, FL