Rob Dudley
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Posts posted by Rob Dudley
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Yesterday I got to inspect an Avanti that was passed on through an inheritance. The original owner of the car wanted the best of all while living in southern California. He bought the car then through correspondence with Andy Granatelli he learned of the R3 options and bought an R3 engine ready to run less the alternator and starter. I never knew you could get the engine without the super charger but he had kept all the letters, price lists and receipts so there is no mistake that he bought the engine without the supercharger and installed it that way. I believe he wanted to keep the air conditioner because it is still in the car. It does now have a modern compressor. The original owner continued to make it his car, corresponding with Joe Granitelli about cams and ignition improvements. The question for the new owners is what to do with the car to keep the spirit that it was created in or move ahead with other possibilities. The original owner obviously knew what he had and loved it without worrying about other peoples opinions. The car itself is in nice condition and is mostly stock but the drive train is upgraded to work with that R3. The new owners are car people and will continue to respect the Avanti but what a great history!
I had never heard that you could buy the R3 without the supercharger but there it was on the price list from Granitelli's, the supercharger was $200.00 more than the $775 cost of the R3 engine. The engine has the R3 heads, the aluminum water manifold, intake and pullies and the R3 headers. I wonder if they have any left?
I am not posting any pictures yet out of respect for their privacy. I gave them an Avanti magazine and encouraged them to join AOAI and look into the advertisers. I brought along an authenticity guide which they plan to purchase as the photos tell so much.
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I'll take them.
Rob
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I suspect if you were to park on an angle with the right side high and a full tank then fuel could be forced out the gas cap without the vent on the other side.
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The clamps on the cross brace go around the tubular cross member on the frame and the arms bolt to the bottom of the bumper. I had to loosen the body to get the clamps over the tube.
not for sale.
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We have decided to sell 4935. It was originally r2 automatic but has been converted to A/C while retaining the r2 block and heads. It is white with red interior. We drive this car and have driven it to the international in Kansas City (1300 miles) receiving a third place award and to Tacome where we received a second. It is very original as I have tried to maintain it that way. We are asking $30K. We live in Moscow Idaho.
Rob Dudley
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The ball on the shifter threads on to the rod. Be sure it is screwed all the way down so the button can go all the way in.
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While chasing odd noises in my wife's '64 I found that the radius rod bracket was broken. The welds that hold the stud into the bracket had failed. I have searched here and Bob's Resource pages and haven't found any articles and wondered if anyone else has dealt with this? Is there an easier way to repair than to cut the bracket and rebuild? I replaced the bushings 2 years ago so this has occurred since, although it could easily have been cracked at the time. Because the bracket mounts to the top of the frame I can't remove it and find another without removing the body.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Rob
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I have a couple horn bars that we were looking into reproducing but there is so much hand labor in them they ended up needing to be $300 to the re-sellers. Very nice though.
Rob
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I have a couple that we cast and plated as test for reproduction but with all the handwork we have about $300 into each one. The need to use the contact that is isolated and riveted to the old bar. They are nice.
Rob
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loose belt?
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Dan Skidmore is my uncle. His car was the one used in the action shots. Another one was used for the stationary shots. His was repainted to match the first car which looked great but didn't run so well. My brother now owns his car and keeps it in Boise Idaho. I don't know much about the other one.
Rob
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Thank you, They are the 3/8-24. I had extrapolated the probable torque setting but couldn't find it listed. I know it could be different because they are threaded into a casting.
Rob
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I had a bolt back out and hit the rotor so I disassembled and cleaned it all. I bought new fine thread grade 8 bolts and lock washers as shown in the manual. The one thing I couldn't find in either the Avanti manual or the '59-'64 manual was the torque for these bolts. Is it listed somewhere else? These are the 3 bolts that mount the adapter that the caliper is mounted on to the spindle. I consider them very important.
Rob
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There is a spacer that is under the left rear engine mount. it looks like a 1/2 inch thick round flat washer. This lowers the front of the engine some. Make sure this is in place.
Rob
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Last I heard no one was reproducing it. The market is quite small and it wouldn't be possible to sell enough to make a run to keep the price reasonable. I have seen ads looking for even small amounts of NOS material for repairs.
Rob
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On 7/17/2019 at 7:57 AM, steve remick said:
So Rob, have you had this problem on your Avanti? And what you’re saying is just to put up with the seeping and keep a eye on it.
That is what I do. Others will tell you to replace the master cyl. with a dual and others will say to replace the whole system with a modern kit. All are good valid suggestions. Whatever you do remember that stopping is your most important system. It must be maintained no matter which way you go.
Rob
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I think it helps but I have never had one that didn't seep some. It would be nice if it were sealed but that wasn't the design.
Rob
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There is an exploded picture of the setup in the parts manual on plate # 11-2. Page 108
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When the brakes are released the fluid returns and squirts up against the top. There should be the gasket with a large flat washer below it held in place by an o-ring to deflect the fluid. The chamber is open to the atmosphere to prevent a vacuum condition in the reservoir, so there is an inherent tendency for a little seepage. Modern reservoirs use a rubber bellows to address this issue.
Rob
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I met the owner and saw the car several years ago when I bought the original R1 and powershift trans. that was taken out of it. I was very impressed with the car. He was someone who like cars and modified them to his liking. He said he just didn't like it in white. The car appeared well done and very striking. I believe he had just retired and seemed to know everyone in town. I am sorry to hear that he has passed.
Rob
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If you can't rebuild the old cylinder just get a new one. You're trying to save $150 dollars on your $20,000 dollar investment. The sleeves can and do slip and the time it will be tested is during an emergency stop. I just threw out a pile of sleeved cylinders that had slipped since the originals are available again. One of mine slipped just in normal use after being in use for a number of years. In new condition the originals do work very well although they won't dissipate heat as well as modern designs, allowing for fading during intense workouts.
Rob
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sounds like dirty points in the regulator or a loose wire.
Rob
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It was a kind of textured chrome. Kind of like a very fine wall spray-on texture that was chromed. Re-chroming it fills the low spots and is much more reflective than the original.
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it's the part number of the x member.
R3 engine
in 1963-64 Avanti
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If it hadn't been for the invoices and pricelists that they had I would have figured the supercharger had just been removed and tossed aside at some point but the documentation is there. Another interesting Studebaker story. I believe they are leaning toward getting the supercharger setup and moving the compressor to have both.
Rob