mfg

Remarkable… very nicely done!

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.

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?

The Avanti factory installed a proportioning valve on their 1983 models… However, (I think) they used it because the rear drum brakes on the ‘83’s, although the same size as the rear brakes on Studebaker Avantis, were self-energizing and had more stopping power.

Those plugs are ‘oldies but goodies’….NICE!

Ha ha!!!!!!!!!!

45 lbs?….Whoa!!!!!

Paul, I have Magnums like yours on my Avanti…. however my center caps are much deeper, (or one could say ‘taller’ than yours) Too bad you can’t find a set of caps like mine, as they are retained by a cone shaped inner bracket, with two 1/4” short bolts passing through the cone and into the back of the center cap…. Bulletproof, and very easy to remove & install. ( sorry my comment doesn’t really help with your issue!)

A really good grease job on the front suspension may help some… paying particular attention to make sure the grease comes out both the bottom & top of the king pins… sometimes it’s a struggle to get the grease to come out the top around the needle bearing.. but it’s a MUST that it does.. rotating that needle bearing with vise grips will help to work the grease into it. Also… I wouldn’t mount a tire any wider than a 205 on an Avanti with manual steering.

It served a purpose… but truly was a monstrosity!!

Looks like 63R4223 went to an excellent home!!

Absolutely beautiful engine & installation!! Can you please post info on the aluminum radiator which you purchased?

Ditto….Great photo!

Fasten seat belt light used on earlier Avsntis, and then discontinued by ‘84 and left in harness?

Is there any supercharger bracketry still on the engine?

Kind of hard to believe it’s the same Avanti?

Years ago there was a white, mid seventies Avanti ll, once owned by Dr. Joyce Brothers, in my neck of the woods… It had the same red/white interior as in your photo… I remember it was quite breathtaking!!

That’s right… In the ‘85 model year.. the Avanti factory referred to their production (not prototype) convertibles as ‘RQC’s’.

What is the main difference between an RQB and an RQC Avanti?

Yes Nels, A physician who lived in Newburyport, Mass ordered the car in late ‘55… The purchase order notes ‘special order’, monochromatic velvet black, overdrive, power steering, and delete hood and fender top ornaments. Also, there’s a Speedster streamer attached at the body tag so, I guess, folks on production line would understand what was going on. The car was driven to 130K, then in 1965 its 259 engine spun a bearing and the car was put into storage for years. I purchased it in 1990, and gave it a fairly nice restoration, including complete rebuild of the original engine, repaint, new leather interior, etc. Back in 1990 I really wasn’t looking to purchase a Speedster, as I had owned one previously, and had moved on to Avantis, however, I felt this one was an oddity I couldn’t pass up. PS…. At local Stude meets I made up a little sign I place in front of this Stude… l refer to it as…’THE DOCTOR’S CAR’!

So, your Avanti is one of the twenty five or so that were built with a Paxton supercharger?…..Also, you feel a prior owner replaced the moonroof with a solid roof?….Interesting!

I was just thinking how fortunate Studebaker Avanti owners are to have access to original factory production orders for their cars….. I am not sure what’s available for Ford and General Motors vehicle collectors as far as factory build information goes, although I do know that Mopar lovers always check behind their rear seats for what’s known as the ‘broadcast sheet’, with similar information to Studebaker production orders….. I happen to own a late production Stude Speedster, which was built with a standard transmission, painted in a single color (black), and had the hood center spear and front fender top ornaments deleted at the factory…… I’m sure that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to convince modern day Studebaker show judges that my car is ‘legitimate’ without that factory production order!!

I’m amazed at some of the asking prices for used Paxton and the older McCulloch superchargers! For anyone new to this game, I’d like to point out that most, if not all of these 20 to 60 year old units will probably need an overhaul which, these days, is an expensive proposition over and above the initial purchase price… So buyer beware!

Just keep cranking regulator until that channel moves into place,, it should line itself up fairly closely… The holes in fiberglass are slotted to allow you to make final window adjustments.

I purchased gaskets for my 56J (Packard) from Best Gasket last year… high quality, perfect fit!