Zedman

Hi Brad thanks for your input.... "You could put a nut on it before you installed the end cap", ought to have read "Should Have" 😁- I feel silly missing this. now. Nutsert sounds like a good idea but there's a fairly large hole there already- I will check it just the same, thanks. Coincidentally, just yesterday somebody has put up a post on the Avanti II Owners facebook platform, a commentary of his completed HT installation- and it features a picture of this same area WITHOUT a captive nut there. with another picture showing a nut welded into place later. As Elmer Fudd said: " There's something scwewey going on here!"

'Hogtroughs' in stainless steel from Classic Enterprises have been installed in my Avanti II. The final riveting of the End Caps being completed only recently; this final job being completed by a friend, not me. As we are now looking at re-placing the Body back on the rejuvenated Frame I wanted to check the breed of the bolts that will secure the Frame to the Hogtroughs.... These are not UNF like the originals, but are in fact all 3/8" UNC. No Problem there, I just wanted to confirm. On checking from the front to the rear I come to the last hole- the one that rests on the little 'Tag' on the side of the Rear Spring mounting fixture and found NO CAPTIVE NUT in the Hogtrough. Thinking I might have a dud box I rolled over to the left side of the Avanti to check the same and once again- no captive nut welded in there. I checked my reference photos from waaay back when I shipped them here and sure 'nuff.... no nut. The solution is to drill rivets, remove the endcaps weld in a 3/8'UNC nut, of course, but I'd really like to figure out whether I've boobed or has somebody at the factory. Anybody got feedback on these issue 😕? See photos with red circles...

This topic interested me, especially when MFG chimed in with the suggestion to shim the Center Bearing lower with washers. I referred to some of my reference photos... The whole idea needs some very fine tuning because in my case if I lower the Centre Bearing much at all, I will end up rubbing the Steering Ram reach Rod on the back end of the Front Crossmember. I only have about 1/4" clearance. In my case I dare not lower anything because I would have to deform the Crossmember and that's just not gunna happen (My original Frame had a huge dent bashed into the Crossmember). I'm already afraid of what the roadworthy inspection will say about that clearance (they're nuts here). I have about 1/2" clearance between the Ram Tie Rod End and the bottom of the Engine Pulley- nuff, I reckon. I have all new Engine Mountings BTW. Interestingly, the Clearance under the Sump with my original SBC engine is good- possibly dealt with at the Avanti Factory, perhaps?

Hi Aardvark- I got a bit of a shock trying to remove Sparkplugs when I got my '1981. The Smog pump and AIR Tubes do get in the way- job took a full day. My strong suggestion would be to persevere and oil the bores. spin the motor with no compression to get some oil to fill the the galleries before starting. Just my humble opinion 😊.

Just my two cents for Avanti II's up to 1985, mind... 🫠.. Avanti II's front seats went to high-backed seats in 1970 and departed from the original Studebaker design. I believe the later seats were Recaro's and by all accounts, a definite comfort and safety improvement. Catalytic converters were introduced in 1975 which resulted in a departure from a true dual exhaust system; this may or may not be of issue to you because I know some owners will remove these if they are allowed to. I have removed this Cat system and installed a dual. Studebaker Frames were made of thicker metal in the 'Hat Sections'- meant for V8's, but resorted to utilizing left over 6 cylinder Frames of thinner material from RQB2596 in 1977- probably not a big issue in reality, but you have a choice I suppose. Chevy engines have their advantages- although in 1981 they went to a computerised engine control system and as such have an electronically controlled Carburetor, Distributor, and lockup Torque convertor for the TH350C. All these can be eliminated or gotten around if you are allowed to do so where you live- manual lockup switches/kits are often utilised for instance. I have an 1981 model (RQB3269) and given the knowledge I've mentioned here, I may well have chosen an earlier model If I knew then what I know now. Later 1981 models from mine had Automatic Overdrive transmissions- a worthy advantage in my opinion and a definite improvement over the venerable old Borg Warners. Finally- I believe the build quality of Avanti II's as a whole were very good and they continued to evolve throughout their lineage. I have absolutely no qualms with the original Studeys, but reckon the II's are an inherently better build and a lot cheaper to buy, and a lot more to choose from. I suppose it depends on whether you want to have your car wear a 'Studebaker' script or can live without it.

I checked my old parts stash (kept for reference !) and it appears to be the same as yours- I never checked this fit so I was also surprised. Because the actual bearing surfaces are the screws and they rotate, the Pinch bolt Clamps the 'Trunnion' tightly and prevents its rotation. Don't lose sleep over this one ! 😴

Lovely- Excellent set of photos.... be very proud 🙃

I thought I'd ask this question here rather than the Avanti Trivia page, where there is a discussion going on about Ferrari engines... Dwight has postulated a bore-out by 80 thou over would have brought the 289 Engine into the 302-ish realm. My query is - Surely the ability to change the core patterns for the casting of Engine Blocks would have been a viable, economical and realistic way of ensuring an increase in HP as well as a safety margin to ensure overboring would not be compromised by thin walls. Anybody wanna comment here? 🤷‍♂️

Hi Tom- I took lots of photos of my setup before I dismantled it but still ended up a bit confused. I can post these if you want them just the same. However- the following links were useful to me and may well help you as well.... BTW- the parts book shows some detail BUT there are differences in the bends of a couple of the steel tubes- these will probably only confuse you. https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/tech-talk/4695-studebaker-power-steering-hoses-replace-how-to https://www.studebaker-info.org/Tech/Psteer/valvehose.html

Hi Roy- I'm yet to get my Avanti II Body onto my new Frame so your story interests me. One query, though, where you mention using rubber in some Frame to Body. Where did you put these exactly- only steel shims should be used throughout the mounting points, so I don't think rubber should be in there. The only rubber I found were two on the top of the Crossmember above the Rear Axle 'kickup' and they were only taped in place at the factory (don't really know why they are even there). My photos in an earlier post on this thread show what came out immediately after the Body lift. Just askin' !

Here are some naked Frame photos- these may help... My Chassis was very salt corroded and some fuel lines were virtually rusted through and broke completely during removal. Are yours as bad as mine?

Th Coefficient of thermal expansion for Aluminium/alloys is around 0.0008" per degree Celcius - That's nearly a thou every degree. From that standpoint I'd wonder whether Stress cracking would be a valid problem.

Hi Ted- I'm very interested in doing the same and I will be keen to hear of your results. I believe that most of these carbs come with a selection of jets and Metering Rods. There is an excellent article by a well respected Rochester rebuilder by name of Lars Grimsrud here.... https://studebaker-info.org/Tech/Qjet/tuneaQjet.pdf . This is a must read IMHO- it is not just a matter of rejetting, but of the CFM range of the carb as well. As I have a 305 engine, I only need a 600CFM range. Many of the carbs offered are 750's for much larger engines. Many years ago he took on a Chicom Quadrajet copy for a customer and went through it in great detail to get it running right. Metering Rod and Jet sizes were covered. The whole topic was covered on line with heaps of photos. This is here.... https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-tech-performance/4523417-new-chinese-q-jet-inspected-evaluated-and-tested-the-complete-results.html I'm pretty sure Alcohol blended fuels will more than likely require slightly larger jetting. Good luck-

Hi All- I've followed this thread with a good deal of interest because I will be putting RQB3269 back on a new Frame soon. The matter of shimming has been an interest to me. This thread prompted me to look at my reference photos and the 1 1/2" x 2" x 1/8" steel Shims at the rear of the Hogtroughs were stacked 5/8" and at the Firewall they are a stack of six BIG 1/4"plates giving 1 1/4" lift above the horseshoe shaped Stand. this means there was a 'rotation' upward at the front end. Interestingly these all fall within Group 2103-116 but exist as three different part numbers... 287685, ('oldie'- listed in 1959 parts book as an engine mount 1/4" spacer in group 0101-40), 284488 (I'll assume these are 1/8") and an additional different one at the top of the stack of longer length to provide better bearing on the Fibreglass floor which I will only assume might be 1336199. So all up, I don't see a 2" lift even at the front end. 🙃 Dont'cha just love this forensic stuff !