mfg

I believe that the lower crossbar on the shocks Dave Thibeault sells to fit ‘57 - ‘ 66 Studes have the correct ‘spread’.

I hear you… however, removing the original flange/rubber from old shock for a re- install into the new shock is easier said than done. (but not impossible!)

But, we need to remember that “ it’s just paint” can cost up to $800 per gallon for the good stuff, (plus catalyst & reducer. So it pays to get it right the first time in my book!

YES!….Kind of hard (for me) to believe … The info came from a 2012 for sale ad in TW… seller claiming his Avanti being one of 54 South Bend converts!

Sorry no… not 39.

I’ve wondered how much attention was paid to the occasional ‘streamer’ attached to a body tag screw….With the streamer, body tag, and firewall all painted the same color, and the bodies moving along on an assembly line,I’m sort of surprised those occasional steamer tags were noticed at all! Did the ‘64 R3 Commander sedan have a streamer? With all of its special equipment one would think it would have!

Congrats wdaly!…. A win is a win… and it’s always nice to have your Avanti ‘recognized’!

Yes Geoff… before Youngstown… but not 17! HINT…. The answer might surprise you…It surprised me!

Hmmm!…. I find this very interesting… Maybe I should have looked closer under Studebaker dashboards!!!

Re-read original question

Speaking of Avantis here.

Tell that to the judges at a national AOAI event (especially after you have spent $$$$ on a restoration of your Avanti)….COME ON MAN!!!!

Years ago, when original style PO’s were sold by Newman Altman, they came with several ‘carbon paper’ type duplicates … I can understand how, back in the day, an occasional copy might be tossed under the carpet at the factory.. however, I don’t believe it was a normal practice. (at least not compared to build sheets that can normally be found entwined into the rear seat cushion springs in Mopars)

“ Easily correctable?”… I don’t think so!… The Avanti nose panel script is very ‘thin’ and has no wiggle room if the holes are not drilled in correct location…An owner has to ignore the mistake (as you would apparently do) or rework the nose panel for a redo….. I believe a mistake like that would not be tolerated by Avanti owners who care about the appearance of their cars… We’re not speaking of “ dust in the glovebox” here! However, to each his own I guess!! Be well….Ed

No.. I completely disagree… if someone paid big dollars for a restoration, or even for a minor collision job on the nose panel of our favorite car, that “minor flaw” would drive a proud owner NUTS!

There were …..?…. ‘87 Avanti convertibles built in South Bend 1) 17…..2) 26…..3) 39….or….4) 54

The only major i.d.’s on a post WW2 Stude, beside the serial & body number plates, would be a paper tag glued to bottom of glove box with the exterior paint color code.

You might not say that if you just ponied up $10,000+ for professional body & paint work on a show car Avanti!!

It’s probably a copy of the production order.. it’s possible that it was left in the car at the factory.. however, that would be very unusual!

Bodywork was probably performed on the front panel… and the body man ‘goofed’ when drilling the nameplate holes

PS…. REALLY important to check condition of vacuum hose between manifold & booster.. If it appears to be deteriorating, replace it… Those hoses seem to fail more often than the boosters themselves!

Neither system will stop well with the brake booster out of action…. However, how often does that happen? I would not be concerned about it unless you suspect there actually is something wrong with the booster… if so, replace it now.

Well, I’m not implying that someone should ‘test’ their Studebaker Avanti brake system by disconnecting their brake booster… I’m simply stating that if the unthinkable happens and an Avanti’s brake booster fails, the car is still indeed stoppable… not well, and with much increased pedal effort… but still stoppable!… Ed

Agree on use of a quality paint stripper. Besides possibly rounding off edges that should be ‘sharp’, there are several ‘tight’ areas on a Paxton Supercharger that would be tough to access by hand or machine sanding…… For example… try and remove all the old paint from the back plate (scroll cover) of a Paxton by using sandpaper… GOOD LUCK!!

Wow! …I’m sure glad that I didn’t know my ‘83 Avanti was “IMPOSSIBLE TO STOP” after its booster failed several years ago….because I stood on the brake pedal and stopped it!! (I was driving in Fall River, Mass…. a city of hills, and yes, I was on my way down one!) A few years later I ditched the factory Dunlop front disc system and installed the ‘84-‘85 ‘Blake’ system on my car.