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Carburetor choke thermostatic springs & housings are not the same on R1 and the R2 Studebaker Avanti engines…..True?

I would add that the evaluation of this poster’s choke problem, and my thoughts on how to properly correct that problem, are based on the assumption that the carb itself is in good adjustable condition…… If the carb is ‘worn out’ (sixty+ years old!), and the throttle shafts are loose in their bores, etc., it would be better, in my opinion, to ship the carb to a qualified rebuilder… or, go the modern Edelbrock route.

As most of us Stude Avanti (and early Avanti ll) owners already know, many of the Carter AFB carbs on these cars have been ‘tinkered’ with over the years. That fact is why some owners replace these factory carbs with new production Edelbrock versions… and call it good. However, for those of us who prefer to keep the original carb on our Avanti’s, it’s a good idea to obtain a relevant shop manual, and adjust that carb back to spec… Pay careful attention to the side linkage rods, as some folks tend to bend them when attempting to make adjustments, throwing everything off. In colder climates, make sure you have an exhaust heat riser valve in place and working… and that the proper intake manifold gaskets are installed…. Also, internal vacuum passage in these AFB’s must be open for heat to be drawn up into the choke housing.. normally happening rather quickly.

I’m all for mods that truly improve the function and drive ability of our Avantis. However, in this case I hate to see folks misled in thinking that a vacuum choke pull off is a good idea, when what’s actually going on is simply a misadjusted carb, or defective peripheral controls…. I understand these early AFB’s “pretty good”! Your vacuum choke pull off adaption does look well thought out though…. and I complement you on that….Ed

Over the years I’ve worked on ‘a few’ Studebaker Avantis both R1 and R2. Living here in the rather cold northeast, carburetor choke issues (back when cars had carburetors) were quite common… so I do understand what over choking an engine looks, sounds, and smells like! The only time I’ve had choke issues with those early Carter AFB’s (going back to a 1958 Imperial I maintained) was when a component in the system (as I described previously) was misadjusted or not working properly….. Those carburetors were not designed for and DO NOT NEED a vacuum choke pull off. However, the bottom line here is that it’s your car, your carb, and if you’re happy with the modifications you’ve made… that’s all that really counts. Keep swinging!!!…. Ed

Also…. It’s important that the Carter AFB’s internal vacuum passage is clear and pulling warm intake manifold air up the choke tube and into the choke housing… This is critical on AFB’s for the choke valve to open in a timely fashion! If a Carter AFB carburetor, as used on a Studebaker Avanti, is set up properly, ‘band aids’ such as choke pull offs or electric choke conversions are completely unnecessary.

The idle speed ‘kick up’ is a good idea… Studebaker offered a retrofit kit for Avantis with A/C that accomplished the same thing….. However, the GM choke pull off shouldn’t be necessary if an R2 carb is adjusted and working properly, the intake manifold crossover passage is clear, the correct intake manifold gaskets are installed, and the heat riser valve is in place and working properly.

My ‘85 Avanti has an air filter assy similar to what you describe…It has a standard GM dual snorkel filter housing, which has twin flexible hoses attached, that pass through the L&R inner fender skirts down to holes in the lower valance… which have screens at their front keeping “rocks” out!

Your Avanti is AWESOME!!!!

I’ll bet Nelson Bove may know something about this… Hope he sees this thread!

If nothing else it’s very interesting information! Anyone else out there hear of this ‘64 electric fuel pump option?

I’ve never heard of that option… and I definitely question it. Additional info would be nice about this.

Thanks Nelson…. A factory tilt steering column is a complication I would never add to my ‘63…. If I happened to stumble upon one, I’d definitely pass it on to a ‘64 Avanti owner who felt the need for one…… As I mentioned in another thread under ‘Avanti Parts’, factory Stude Avanti tilt steering columns have much in common with early to mid sixties GM columns (same internals), and it occurred to me that a crafty person may be able to combine the GM tilt column with a standard Stude Avanti column, and create a ‘hybrid’. (or would it be a ‘Frankenstein’ ???)

Ha ha…… PLEASE don’t cut up your beautiful Avanti to find out for sure!!!!

Yes, with the complete Hawk drum brake system which a prior owner had installed, coupled with a stock Stude Avanti brake booster, allowed that Avanti to stop on dime, with light pedal pressure. (11” front drums, 10” rear — all self energizing.)

Sounds good AG-R3…. But I’m thinking your Avanti is s ‘B’ series, with ignition key on column ?

There’s another thread on this forum from someone who wants to find a Stude Avanti ‘tilt’ steering column. This reminds me of an acquaintance who, years ago, purchased a ‘67 Avanti ll just to obtain a tilt column which he removed and installed into his ‘ultra mint’ ‘64 Stude Avanti! The conventional column from his ‘64 went into the Avanti ll…. which he promptly resold!! PS… There’s a YouTube video (My Car Story) featuring this ‘64 Avanti named (something like) ‘64 Studebaker Avanti, supercharged and Turquoise.

Yes… you are definitely on the right track now… Best of luck!! PS…. If anyone simply HAS to have the earlier tilt steering column used by Studebaker, try to find a ‘61-‘66 GM tilt column as used in Buick, Olds, Chev, Pontiac….. I’ll bet a ‘crafty’ person may be able to combine a non- tilt Stude Avanti column with a tilt GM column and create a ‘hybrid’… an interesting project!

If you have a ‘72, and the ignition key is on the column, it’s a generic Saginaw. (Hard to believe steering wheel adapters for that column are hard to find)

Yes … definitely collapsible column. In a front collision, steering shaft will ‘telescope’ into itself.

Gee… if this Avanti is “decent”, I wonder what a really nice one looks like????

Hello Bobcat!…. The tilt steering column Studebaker used in Avantis, as well as the tilt column used in early ‘A’ series Avanti ll’s, was a tilt column common to mid sixties GM vehicles ( Buick, Olds ) and although replacement parts from those GM tilt columns will interchange with the tilt column Studebaker used, the columns themselves are not directly interchangeable. Around ‘70- ‘71, when the ‘B’ series Avanti ll’s came to be, an entirely different tilt steering column was used. This later (Saginaw) column had the ignition switch mounted in the column, and is still very common these days, as it was used in ‘B’ series Avanti’s at least thru ‘85, and also used in ‘70-‘90+ GM, Chrysler, and AMC vehicles.

For $32K I would hope it would be “decent”!!!

That makes good sense!

Look for an early ‘A’ series Avanti ll being parted out… Several of those used that same column.