mfg

Fitting & adjusting of the doors, hood, and deck lid of Studebaker Avanti bodies assembled in Ohio was done at the MFG plant…… True?

During Bill Carroll’s road test of a 1964 R3 powered Stude Daytona convertible in January of 1964, he complained of being somewhat uncomfortable driving the car….. What was the source of Mr. Carroll’s complaint?

And those wheels!!!!!!!!!!!

That color… That interior…That engine…. WOW!!!!!!!!!!! X2 !!!!!!!!!

As an aside… 400 CI small block Chevy engines are becoming quite valuable, with some folks considering the two bolt main cap version of the engine superior in strength to the four bolt version.

Your ‘91 Avanti Convertible was really never meant to be a ‘fast’ car… An LS swap would, in my opinion, increase the value of your car… but you’ll spend quite a bit doing it, and the huge increase in power may cause other issues (adequate brakes?) If the car were mine I’d probably overhaul the good old 305, if it’s getting tired, and enjoy the car for what it is…. Good luck! Ed

All depends on condition… check out frame for any serious rot and also reinforcement subfloor boxes for weakness… also, if the interior has damage from a leaky moonroof, which is quite common, you may want to pass… Best of luck!

Studebaker ‘proportioned’ the Avanti brake system, front to rear, in two ways…. 1) By using a non self energizing type of rear brake…. and…2) Dialing in the internal diameter of the rear brake cylinders.

Just to be clear … The distribution block (or brake line union) in the original Stude Avanti brake system simply directed the brake fluid into the (front / rear) brake lines… It did not in any way proportion the amount of brake pressure front to rear.

Good man!!

The extra weight of the power window assy seems to exasperate the broken door hinge area issue… which is unfortunately somewhat common on Studebaker Avantis…. Personally, I would attempt repair of the original door.. I have done this job before.. The trick is to cut away the fiberglass area with the access holes to put your socket wrench through to access hinge- to-door bolts… Then make the actual repair by roughing up the fiberglass and adding a layer of fiberglass cloth over damaged area… To make repair ‘bulletproof’, rivet a piece of thin sheet metal over repaired area….(holes drilled in metal)…Then fiberglass the outer piece back on.

Stude Avantis with power windows seem to develop this issue more often.

Probably worse case scenario is broken fiberglass mount area in door itself… Door would need to be removed from the car for a rebuild of the lower mount area… Upper mount area needs checking also.

Yes, hopefully whatever issues exist between the two clubs get resolved… and the annual meets are joined again!

Stude Int. is asking $8.00 a pair for the ‘63 keys… I guess prices are all over the place.

If you’re dealing with a broken original type key, Studebaker International would definitely have the blanks for both ‘63 & ‘64 styles. Any locksmith can cut them.

Your Avanti is beautiful…..Love the ‘stance’!

You’re having some tough luck with the car aard,….but hang in there, once you get your Avanti straightened out you will love it!!

I always thought Steve’s show was interesting and entertaining… He does a good job at the auctions also!

Steel spare wheel….2 3/4”

I’d go with P205/75R-15 …. The front suspension under your ‘63 Avanti first came out in ‘51, and was initially designed for narrower tires. Your Avanti will steer easier with the 205’s, and chance of tire rub against the fiberglass fenders will indeed be lessened!

Congratulations!… your’s is one of the most gorgeous Avantis I’ve ever seen…. R2 four speed to boot!!!!

There is a gorgeous white ‘63 round lite Avanti a fellow from New Hampshire used to own, which was restored to original condition a few years ago including its original t-86 three speed manual transmission….. However, I would bet the majority of Stude Avantis built with a three speed manual trans have been converted to a four speed trans over the years.

Good point…. Impressive job!

Wow!!!