GeoffC312

I am contemplating installing hood pins on my build. I prefer the AeroCatch design, as they offer flush or surface mount, and either are available in locking or non-locking. https://aerocatch.com/ There's also the original design, a metal dowel protruding through a hole in the hood, with a metal disc fastened atop the hood, all secured with a clevis pin, linch pin, or wire lock pin. The most difficult part I see is: how does one anchor the dowel pin? It needs a strong support system to hold it vertical and remain stable. One thought I had was to convert/repurpose some of the existing hood latch mounting hardware on the body for support.

Just got it opened today. It was one stuck buggar, and I might have broke the latch housing in the process. Oh well, this thing is my basket case.

I don't know about anybody else, but the very instant I saw this picture, I thought: "Panoramic roof candidate!" As seen on new cars like some Benzes. Just lay in a large curved piece of Lexan / Plexiglass / Polycarbonate, tinted if you like, and let the light shine through.

Who sells, or is there a good source for getting the center console as seen in Studebaker and early Avanti II? I will be relocating my parking brake and power window switches, and would like to replace those with that shallow locking center console.

Oh humans knew about streamlining. Lots was discovered in the 1940s via the Germans and then WWII and all those fun times. In the 1930s Wunibald Kamm discovered that if you design a vehicle with a teardrop rear (all the way to the tip), and then truncate the rear before the tip [usually on an angle but some cut vertical], that the effect to the air is similar to leaving the tip. Today we say cars with this style have a Kammback, Kamm tail, or k-tail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback I concede the Studebaker budget and the stress of the timing in getting a new halo car to market would have pushed anything extravagant to the back burner or off the table. That part is unfortunate because, damn! What if, right?

I've come to the conclusion that every Avanti has an overheating problem to a varying degree. Whether you encounter it or not depends upon how hard one runs the car. The more demanding the performance, the more exacerbating the issue. Mr. Loewy really needed to design something into the car's shape to release air from the engine bay. A fender louver, one or multiple hood louvers, some combination thereof. If he had, the car's shape [factory stock and in whatever class it was] would have performed better. Due Cento, even on the wet salt, may have officially recorded 200 the first time out. Ron Hall would not have needed the muffler designed airdam. Top speed racers wouldn't need to chafe the shark's mouth against Mother Earth. The car's already good Cd would be better Cd. And heated aero eddy air would be removed from the engine bay. Also, people who don't understand the real problem would not have punched extra holes in the car's fascia thinking they were doing a lick of good.

I went Friday to work on my car and poked around. I did not see any of the collision impact system on my car. Which opens this quandary, are they really necessary? I mean except to appease some DOT or NHTSA standard. My car looks as it does ⬆️ (okay in those pictures she's dirty) but the bumper remains in place. I even sat on it, centered with the fascia, and no creaking or sagging occurred. I would think the components extending the bumper could be shortened (or removed as necessary) if an owner wanted to do so. This would require trimming of the front bumper's rear most side pieces so it's not easy to revert … although with plastic welding as a possibility, maybe so?

Yes, that little opening at the door catch I may access. Are the door lock 'hook' and the door catch 'hook' two separate pieces? Does the lock just have an extra hold on the door catch 'hook'? How does that whole area operate? I'd love to be able to open the passenger side door prior to removing the door panel just so I may sit on the rocker panel and work into the open air. The inside is getting gutted though I'd prefer removing the RF seat with that door open.

1985. No battery. Passenger door. No lock rod topper. I can’t even see the rod up at the hole. No door key, just two ignition keys. What I have is access to the interior at the lock escutcheon. Do I get a long and burly common screwdriver and then … handle low, pry up? Handle high pry down? What’s the scoop for this? I suppose I could remove the driver’s side and have a locksmith key the lock, especially since I need this anyway.

I know of a way to make the car's standing windshield more aerodynamic but purists won't like it. Take a strong look at the Cobra Daytona Coupe. Slightly in front of and outboard of its A-pillars are fences (or strakes?) that redirect airflow. Air flows both inside and outside of those fences; they pull the stream closer to the body so the windshield doesn't throw off a wide wake. That car did what it did on the Mulsanne straight with a naturally aspirated 289. http://legendarygt.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/OVC-x-Shelby-Legendary-Cars-Caravan-Recreation-4-1024x683.jpg http://legendarygt.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/OVC-x-Shelby-Legendary-Cars-Caravan-Recreation-5-1024x683.jpg A-pillar fences might make an appearance on my '85 GT tribute.

-Paul Harvey I only caught him in his late years but I miss that guy.

I haven't been down to work on it yet but am poking my head in for a logistical update. I bought this car after it sat like this from 1998 until last August. There is nothing in great condition beneath it; the torque boxes are toast and several of the frame's eight side outrigging tabs are non-existent. The owner I bought it from had it for a handful of weeks and flipped it. At any rate, the shock absorber system mentioned may not have survived the prior owner tugging it out of being molested by plant life. The green picture is after it was already pulled. I got to thinking about that today. Somebody might mention, "But what about this part?" And I'm going to be like, "Uh … yeah. What about that part? It's not on my car." This is also why I am interested in taking the path of the Targa Tasmania Avanti where that owner 86'd the torque boxes and reinforced the rocker panels / door sills, just because f'k rust that's why.

I'll take a more detailed look at my car Thursday when I return to work on it. I had not seen those but if they're contained within the bumper cover I would chuck'em. At 5 or even 15 mph I'd accept whatever happens to the front. Especially if that removes weight. Alternatively there may be a way to modify them to set retracted. I'll look and update here.

Okay, open source spitballing session: I was looking intently at my 85's front bumper and started noticing things. The top flat panel behind the bumper, in front of the car's fascia could simply be removed. With that out of the way some other interesting modifications might be able to be made (unless I'm missing something). That bumper could be mounted back some. How much is some? I'm not sure, an inch? Three inches? Some other value? The bumper is attached with two frontal metal brackets (from what I saw). Okay, segment out [insert dimension here] and re-weld the pieces to be shorter which would pull the bumper rearward. Now the car's front fender pontoons become a point of interference. Okay, carefully remove material from the bumper's backside to match the body's profile. The last difficulty I saw in drawing the bumper rearward is the area where it blends with the front edge of each wheel well. The wheel well has a profile and the bumper would require trimming to match that profile, also presuming we need to cut off [insert dimension here] and maybe find a new rear attachment, because I see there is a fastener (bolt or otherwise) fairly close to what would be removed. *Oh yeah, two side metal brackets; I almost hit submit. I didn't see them though I recall those being in place from working on 1025. I presume they are on these cars so those brackets would require alterations. Would that do it? Did I miss another piece? Does the extended front bumper have to remain? I mean, I can pull up behind a WRX STI with the table rear wing, sit on my factory picnic bench bumper and eat lunch there, but other than that … could these Avantis reel in their front bumper? I know people convert to chrome bumpers though maybe there others who like the Euro-esque look of the Blake cars, and just want it mounted closer to flush?

It may be they were added later? In my 85 I would love to put in both the glove box vanity and the shallow, center console lockable storage bin. I plan on relocating my parking brake handle and the window switches.