67AvantiTom
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Posts posted by 67AvantiTom
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6 minutes ago, PackardV8 said:
Congrats on keeping up with the little stuff. That makes for a much more pleasant ride and a better sell when that time comes. FWIW, I'm always put off when a seller excuses a myriad of problems with "Easy fixes" or "Easy restoration" If it's so easy, WTF didn't he do it? Answer: It's not easy. It's time-consuming if the the owner does the fixing and very expensive if a shop does the fixing.
jack vines
Thank you Jack! Yes, I agree. Overall the car was really nice just needed some TLC to bring it back to being a nice driver. Already had a pretty nice paint job, nice redone interior, new crate engine and 700R4 transmission, but suffered from a TON of small nagging problems that I've been addressing one by one over the winter. I've actually only driven the car about 20 miles since I've owned it. Getting pretty anxious to get it out on the road and see how it behaves.
This car had fallen victim to a shop that was in my estimation a 'hack'. I have a stack of receipts from a shop in So. Cal that worked on this car for the owner. They totally ripped the PO off. Just about everything I've gone and fixed are mentioned on his receipts. A real eye opener.
Regards,
Tom
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12 hours ago, Mike Sal said:
I've seen mention of this headlight relay project before.....where can I get the details so I can do the same thing to my '70?
thanks,
Mike S
Hi Mike, Here's a link to the kit I bought:
or just search "Headlight Relay Kit" on ebay. Kit was pretty nice. Had to splice the length to the passenger side light - kit wasn't quite long enough the way I routed the wires. Overall a pretty nice kit. My only complaint was I thought the wire was a bit on the 'light' side but it seems to work well so far.
Tom
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Hello all, since the forum is pretty slow, I thought I'd post what's been going on with my Avanti!
Been pretty busy on it since I picked it up late last year. Last weekend a friend of mine - another car nut too - came up to lend a hand with my last few remaining projects / issues. Together we got done.....
Discovered rear wheel scraping while cornering sound - backing plate on right rear wheel was slightly bent, rubbing on the brake drum
Installed replacement power window riser mech I picked up from a good soul here on this forum. Had some issues getting it all together and working but got it all done. Worked 3 hours on it Saturday, and 1 hour on Sunday - don't ask. It was a job I hope I never have to do again, but now I have two working power windows. Cleaned and lubed the passenger door window as well so it's a bit smoother now too.
Reinstalled the door panels that have been off since last October!
Changed the 700R4 pan to a aluminum unit with a drain plug. In process of flushing the old fluid out and replacing with Redline ATF.
Pulled out 2 of the 4 coil spring expanders to get that front end down a bit lower. Has a very nice front downward rake to it. I LIKE it!
Lubed all of the door latches, hinges, etc that had been neglected for 20 years.
Installed a headlight relay kit to power the lights from the battery directly. So now, the overhead switch has very little load on it, using it to switch the relays only, not power the lights. Nice kit.
A couple weeks ago, I flushed the cooling system. It was NASTY! Took a dozen fill and flushes before it finally ran clear. Got lots of old muck and rust out. Car runs nice and cool now - so far.
Installed a new 700R4 TV cable bracket and kit. Prior bracket had the cable geometry off so far it resembled a lazy Z. Still adjusting it all. Still have some shifting issues but I'm sure they'll get worked out. It's slowly getting better.
Put new emblems on the car.
Things left to do:
Reinstall radio and make sure that works still.
Want to replace the Dynaflo mufflers with some Flowmaster 40's. Love the sound of those things. Also replace the exhaust tips. Old ones are pretty ratty.
Continue to adjust the transmission shifting.
Someday I'd like to replace the carb with a FITech TBI Fuel injection kit. Those setups look pretty awesome. That might be a new winter project late this year.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. A very busy, and productive weekend! Looking forward to being able to cruz and show it this year at:
www.koolaprilnites.com
Thanks for the help and advice:
Tom
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14 out of 19 - 74% right. I'm good with that. Some of them I've never seen before.
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Hello all, another issue I have to deal with on my Avanti, my passenger door will not lock. Neither the inside lever, or the outside key will lock the door. When you attempt to lock it, it goes about half way then feels like it's hitting something.
Anyone have any thoughts on where to start debugging this? Even if I can pull the outside door handle, where do I look for possible problems?
Thanks in advance!
Tom
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Thanks for the tips. I'll give them a try.
Tom
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Hello all, I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to remove and replace the round A/C vents in the center console?
The plating on mine is completely gone and they're pretty shabby looking. I see the parts vendors have nice looking replacements available so I'd like to change them out.
Any info would be appreciated!
Thx
Tom
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I know that for most cars, 1974 was the last year you could run leaded fuel in a car. Here in Kalifornia, 1975 was the first year for cat converters so you had to use unleaded fuel - so I'll say 1975.
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Yeah, I'm learning that, but I did find the light fixture in the trunk, on the driver side top of the trunk.
If I can find a full time 12vt source, I'd put it all back in and use LED strips instead of a single bulb.
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Thanks Gunslinger. Well, I guess mine has been removed. It's nowhere on either trunk hinge. I haven't even found any wiring.
Thx
Tom
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Hello all, I just about have all of my electrical, lighting and signal issues worked out on the Avanti. One last nagging one is the rear trunk light.
I understand there is a mercury switch that turns the trunk light on when the trunk is opened. Can anyone tell me where that switch is located? I can't find it in my car and the diagrams I've found are hard to make out. I think someone removed it at some point.
Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Tom
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On 1/4/2017 at 0:06 PM, dogkiller said:
hey, guy's I guess I'm the "new guy" my names Daryl, just bought a 75 from a salvage auction site
not a wreck but a donation (fairly common this time of year) had to buy it by just looking at pix
covered with dust, sheepskin seat covers,83k miles,drivers door 1/2 way down, bad paint, note on window stating starter stuck last tags 1996
got it home, paperwork shows second owner purchased 1979, found a clip board with maintenance records showing recent (1984, 76k miles) engine/trans/front end rebuild
drivers door motor missing, radiator leaking
found that the starter was hot wired with a toggle switch (bad idea) but had it running good in a couple hours, replaced the window motor with f150 style and ordered the turner brake kit for the front & new cyl's for the back (yes I've had one of these before) got an alum radiator on e-bay $75. shipped
removed the seat covers (stanky) & found good looking seats underneath, removed the orig. carpet (shag & stanky) smells much better now..
sorry for the verbose 1st post but I had to vent.. also thanks for all the great info on this fourm..
yes I know this needs pix but I'm not very computer literate ( I'll try)
d.
Hi there dogkiller,
So can you elaborate on this a bit? I have a jammed driver door window and am looking at working on it here any day. Has been jammed since before I bought my Avanti.
Regards,
Tom
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Parking lights are working again! What a job working up there with stiff 50 year old wire. That wire was so stiff, when I went to put the console up in place I had a hard time getting it to go all the way up. Pulled it back down a bit to try and see why it was so tough, and found the parking light lead on my new replacement switch had BROKEN OFF! Great. Not willing to toss my new but broken switch I thought about it for a few days and had an idea.
I soldered a wire directly to the switch, put a bullet connector on each end of the wire and that worked. I now have a fully restored and working over head console. Here is a before (where the padding of the console had been ripped off and upholstered by a shop - didn't look anything like it should've) and the after with it mounted in place.
Tom
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My 'new' to me Avanti has it's share of electrical issues. I finished getting the console dome light back and working so I've moved on to the next issue... no front parking lights.
Yes, I checked the fuse first, it's fine. Took the lenses off, pulled and tested the bulbs, ok. Cleaned out some 40 odd year old grease / gunk out of the sockets, cleaned the contacts. No joy. So up went the front of the car on jackstands so the wheels come off for some room to work. Front harness looks ok for it's age, the side marker lights work, but are hacked into the harness - I'll clean that up afterwards.
Test light shows no power at all to the front parking light harness - tracing it through the schematic shows it to be a pretty straight shot from the switch to the lights. Inside the car I go to pull down the parking light switch. I have to do it anyway since I have to replace the console piece due to an upholstery shop ruined to original one. Shining a light up in there as I pull it down (I've never done this before...) I see - electrical tape. Someone has been in here already.
What a hack job. I hope I have enough original wire to fix this! Bent and broken tabs on the switch, incorrectly connected wires, sheesh. I think I found my issue since the green parking light wire is not connected, and other posts are snapped off. Here for your viewing pleasure...
Anyone have a nice shape working light switch?
Tom
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Thx for the info Adam.. I'll see if I can figure it out with your directions one weekend.
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Greetings!
I've been plugging away at getting all of the interior lighting working in my Avanti.
I'm having an issue with my automatic gear selector indicator light. It's dead. It's not the bulb, no power to it.
What would be the best way to access it? Remove the console piece, or from under the car? How is it attached to the shift lever?
T.IA.
Tom
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I looked at my car last night, and to my surprise, I don't have any underhood weather strip! Can't see any marks of where it might've been originally either.
Add it to the list.
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How did you remove the sticker? Just peeled it up carefully, or did you use something to loosen it. I'm on the fence about the sticker on mine....
Mike S
RQA0330
Mike, it was very easy for me. I found a small corner that had already come loose and began to gently pull it up at it with a back and forth angle / motion. To my surprise the sticker did not rip or tear, it's pretty tough. It did leave a lot of glue residue on the button so I took a bit of brake fluid on a rag and dobbed a light amount on the glue, staying clear of the fine black painted ring, and let it set for about 30 mins. Came back with a clean rag and wiped most of the remaining glue off. Took some alcohol to the remaining but now soft glue and off it came.
Finished up with some Turtle Wax Chrome polish and it looks great!
Tom
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I removed that faux wood sticker from RQA-271 a couple of years ago and yep, it says Studebaker. Looks like a showroom new Studebaker Avanti horn button now.
Thanks for the advise guys. I took a break the other night from my electrical escapades with the car and tried this. I too now have a hornbutton that looks showroom new and also says Studebaker. Double win!
Thx
Tom
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Hello all, well, I got the drivers side door panel off and here's what I found... <sigh>
First, the yellow wire on the driver side power window switch had been disconnected.
Looking further, the power window motor was off of the window mech and laying in the bottom of the door!
The white (I believe it is the ground wire from the factory harness) wire from the harness was connected to nothing. The black ground on the window motor was connected to nothing.
After pondering this for a bit I took the passenger side door panel off so I could compare wiring. I determined that the black wire and the white wire should be connected together.
I did this on the driver side and tested the motor after I reconnected the yellow wire on the switch - the window motor worked!
I cleaned and lubed everything on the driver side motor and reinstalled the motor. Trying the switch, the motor just skipped gears and the window did not move.
I'm thinking the window riser mech is jammed. I love how some hack, just took the window motor off when the window wouldn't move, then so the motor wouldn't run the power was disconnected to make no sound. sheesh.
So now I have to take the window glass off of the riser and pull the riser mech out and have a look at it to try and figure out what's up with it.
Anyone have any tips or tricks about the window glass and so forth? If the window won't roll down how do I take it off of the riser?
I guess if it was easy, everyone would be doing it...
Thanks
Tom
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Mine has an aftermarket Edelbrock chrome air cleaner (that I don't like) so I can't help you. But you've given me something to look for since I like the look of the original one much better. Not sure what originally came on my car - a Studebaker styled low profile one, or a chevy one like your picture.
Sorry I can't be more help.
Tom
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Welcome! You've come to the right place. We can help with most, if not all your questions.
First...tackle the safety related items. You should have the brakes serviced...flush and fill the entire brake system and have the hoses closely inspected. If any hoses seem soft...replace them. If you don't know how old the hoses are...replace them for general principles. The same goes for radiator hoses, the cooling system and belts.
Good Suggestions - I have planned on checking the hoses and belts, flushing the radiator, change oil, plugs, possibly plug wires, air cleaner....
Tires...you shouldn't have much problem finding quality replacements. The closest sizes you can easily come by are P205/75R15 or P215/70R15.
Tires - I'm replacing the ugly 17" wheels that are on it with either Cragar SS or Magnum wheels. I"ve been studying the back spacing and offset stuff to be sure what I get will fit and not rub.
Driver side pover window...it could be a couple of things...as simple as a wire popped off the switch to a defective motor. It could be a kinked track or dried lube in the mechanism. Does the ammeter move when you try to raise or lower the window? If the ammeter shows no movement then theres no power to or from the switch. If the ammeter moves then there is power.
The Ammeter gauge has been switched out for a volt meter so I can't look at that. All I know, it appears to be stone cold dead. No movement, no sounds, nothing. I'll try to get into it this weekend, trying what you said in your door panel removal comment below. Thx for that.
There are one or two screws down inside the cup of the armrest...remove them. The armrest itself is part of the door panel. Remove the door handle and lock lever and all the screws the the panel should come off.
Vacuum gauge...it could be disconnected, the vacuum line at the intake could be pinched off from when the engine was installed. The gauge itself could need to be removed and a drop of light oil added down the tube.
Initially it was disconnected - and I heard a hissing sound when the car was running. I connected it back up and no movement from it. I pulled a vacuum on it from my handheld 'Mitypump' vacuum pump and even up to a 20" vacuum, it doesn't move. Stuck somehow. Never seen a stuck vacuum gauge.
Tach...could be a bad sending unit which isn't uncommon at all. It could also not be compatible with the HEI. The sending unit is a squarish plastic box mounted under the dash on the steering wheel bracket. It has several wires going to and from it.
Dome and courtesy lights...the dome lights only work manually by way of the switches mounted on them. If they still don't light maybe the bulbs are bad or a fuse is popped. The courtesy light (map light) under the dash works by its own switch or by the door switches...it's also not uncommon for a door switch to be bad or become ungrounded.
I'm missing the light for the center console - it's completely gone so I'll be finding one of those somewhere and re-installing it. After that I'll start to track this down.
The power antenna may be aftermarket...I'm not sure if Avanti Motors was installing them that early. It may require a switch or if your radio is a modern unit, there might be an automatic up/down function that activates when the radio is turned on. There would be an extra wire on the radio harness for that.
There appears to be a 3 wire harness for the antenna in the trunk. I've been able to get the antenna to go up and down so I know it's working so I guess it's just a matter of trial and error with it. I really dislike electrical issues and this car seems to have a bunch of them!
There are several Studebaker and Avanti vendors you should be able to obtain outside emblems from...Myer's Studebaker, Studebaker International, Nostalgic Motors and a few others. You can often find them on eBay as well.
I'll be ordering some from Studebaker International - they seem to have everything I need.
No right turn signals is likely bad bulbs.
Not sure about this. That's probably too simple, but I'll check them first just in case. There is no flasher clicking on the right side. I'm thinking turn signal switch at the bottom of the steering column. Have to figure out how to test it, preferably off the column so I'm not in the foot well for hours on my knees.
If the car did't come with them, get copies..original or reprints...of the Studebaker Avanti parts and shop manuals. They're invaluable for working on your car. An early Avanti II is still mostly Studebaker.
Have a workshop manual on the way! Anxious to dig into it to find some answers!
Best of luck with your Avanti. Never be afraid to ask questions here. Many here have figured out workarounds and alternative fixes for problems we've run into.
Thanks for the replies all. I've put my comments / answers to Gunslingers info in this post above.
Thanks!
Tom
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Hello all, something I'm wondering about with my newly acquired Avanti - The steering wheel is the same one as the original Avanti's except for a cheesy looking wood grain sticker that is on the outside center of what would normally be the horn button on a 'normal' car.
On the original steering wheels, that area would say 'Studebaker Corporation'. Does anyone know if it still says Studebaker Corporation under that sticker on my steering wheel?
Thanks!
Tom
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1978 Avanti window motor
in 1965-83 Avanti
Posted
I was talking with Jon Myer @ Myer's Studebaker Parts about my power window I just got working last weekend. He may have a new, reproduced, motor for you. I believe he said he has them in stock. They're about 200.00 or so.
Tom