cmholm

Thanks, @mfg, that looks good.

While I have my dash disassembled for a pad replacement, I'm looking at the instrument panel overlay finish with a more critical eye. A previous owner didn't do a bad job with some fawn paint touchups along the edges, but I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with a stripping/repainting. If so, what did you do?

Glue: I ponied up the money for Nostalgic's pad. Which vinyl glue seems to work best? I was considering RH Adhesives HH-66. I'll ask Dan Booth, but figured I'd make this a place holder in case he was hit by a bus. [answer: weldwood contact cement]

While installing new intake manifold and carburetor gaskets on my '63 R1, I briefly turned the carb upside down. A small (1/2") white plastic barrel with a brass pin fell out. I've reviewed the Carter AFB parts in the parts and shop manuals, on-line diagrams, and watched a Carter/Edelbrock carb rebuild video, but have no clue where this bugger goes. Can anyone purchase me a clue? On reflection, I recall hauling parts from a disassembled laptop passed my workbench on the way to the rubbish, so it's possible that this is a bit of wayward electronics. But, I thought I'd double check before I hooked the carb up.

Yup, I woulda/shoulda/coulda checked for more responses to read this valuable tip before I found out the hard way. 🙂 As it was, I needed to hunt down a longer 9/16" spanner to get enough leverage to start with.

I'm in the midst of replacing a '63 fuel tank, at the stage of disconnecting the various connections before pulling it from the inside the car. As Stan Gundry notes in "What The Shop Manual Won't Tell You", the tank isn't going to come out (neatly) without removing the fuel line elbow from the bottom. I'd just as soon not break anything in the process. So, will it unscrew lefty-loosey? Or, is there another motion?

@Stacey, @1inxs, thanks for your responses. I think I'll start by checking for anyone in Tucson who might be able to do a soft blast, and regardless follow up with a DIY application of oxalic acid.

Abstract: Is walnut or other "soft" blasting media fiberglass-safe when cleaning surface rust underneath? Mea cupla: When I bought my Avanti in Oz, it appeared free of visible rust when I crawled under the car. Driving it on salted roads maybe four times one winter in Yorkshire, UK earned me a patina of rust over most of the exposed steel. Now that I'm in Arizona, I'm not likely to make my boo-boo worse, but I'd like to get the rust off. Short of having someone lift the body and go to town on the chassis, I'm wondering if anyone has experience getting their car blasted with a soft media to clean things up. In the post Undercoating removal, @Stacey mentioned using walnuts and plastic beads on Corvettes back in the day. Question: Has anyone had success blasting light rust off the bottom of their their Avanti?

Abstract: my '63 AFB carb's automatic choke heater pipe is clogged. Gas tank has interior rust. Best path to clean/replace? My '63's R-1 engine had recently been having a dickens of a time lighting up and staying lit. The vacuum seemed ok, so I took the car to a carb shop that advertises in the local SDC chapter's newsletter. They noticed a couple of things: 1) rust coming in through the fuel system, and 2) the heater tube for the automatic choke was blocked. The choke thermostatic spring was apparently incorrect, and replaced. Issue #1 rust in fuel: I'm going to address it with a replacement tank, and a new fuel sender while I'm at it, the gas gauge never having read more than half full on my watch. I'll test the gauge too. Studebaker Intl's replacement tank is apparently aluminum, which even if not coated inside I'm thinking will do better with current fuel than steel. Based on my experience cleaning rust from surfaces I have full access to, I don't see any value in attempting to clean and re-seal the current steel tank. Issue #2 clogged choke heater: The '63 parts catalog (page 29) shows p/n 1557420 Pipe, Automatic choke heater. As you'll likely know, the bugger is a metal loop plugged into the intake manifold. The part isn't in stock with either Studebaker International or Stephen Allen's (mystudebaker dot com). Unless I can run a pipe cleaning brush through both the rubbish in the pipe and the sharp bend in the loop (not likely), I'm going to have to remove the manifold and tap the thing out from behind to remove and deal with. I pray the crap in the pipe isn't due to a hole. Questions: How have you cleaned or obtained a replacement choke heater pipe? Or, do most people ditch the original automatic choke for an electric? Should I bother sealing the aluminum gas tank? I was considering Caswell's gas tank sealer.