Dwight FitzSimons

3) 1949 Commander

I've always thought Avantis look better without a grille. But, to protect the radiator, some kind of near-invisible grille is needed. It should be flat black, of low restriction, and just in front of the radiator. I'll have to fashion one for my '63 project Avanti, which came to me without one. -- Dwight

I've never heard of not bench bleeding a M.C., and, although I'm not an expert, I've done my own brakes for 50 years. --Dwight

I'm not a buyer, but they certainly are pretty. --Dwight

Yes, if you're selling. --Dwight

You might try Myer's Studebaker in Ohio. Jon & MIke Myer have parted out many Avantis. --Dwight

I assume that your Avanti II has the same Bendix power steering system as the original Studebaker Avanti. If otherwise, let me know. The OEM for that P.S. system is Bendix Corp, then (maybe now also) in South Bend, IN. Ford also used the Bendix system, altho the parts don't necessarily interchange. AFAIK, the only rebuilder of these systems is the Lares Corp in MN. I have to get two of these rebuilt myself. For my '63 Avanti their webpage is: https://www.larescorp.com/select/Studebaker/Avanti/1963/4.7L 289CID V8/ I believe that they need your core to rebuild. --Dwight

Yes, there is. Years ago some Avanti owners swapped out their original seats for something else. Most people today try to return their cars to original. --Dwight

Holy cow; what an impressive Avanti II !

Hi, Paul, The guys at S-A are world-class in terms of knowledge of parts, so they probably sent you everything that you need (minus the booster itself). I'll hang onto the booster. Just let me know what do do next. I'll dig around & see if I have an original Carter R1 fuel pump (core). (BTW, Matt Burnette at S-A rebuilds fuel pumps.) --Dwight

Hi, Paul, That looks like an excellent start toward a nice Avanti. I have an original Avanti booster in hand. Because your car had an incorrect booster it may be missing brackets, etc. Can you photograph the booster & brackets that you have? In the meantime I'll photograph mine and we'll compare notes. --Dwight

Hi, Paul, Did you find a booster? I may have one; not sure at this point. I don't know if there are any rebuilders in Nederland or Europe, but there are in the U.S. Stephen-Allen's in Florida and Studebaker International in Indiana (& probably others) sell them, but require a rebuildable core in hand before they will ship a rebuilt booster. I bought a rebuilt one from S-A and it works well and looks good. If I, or someone else, come up with a core, I assume that either SI or S-A will ship to you. The rest is obvious. I'll let you know if I find one here. --Dwight

DobbM, your idea is sound. I suspect that the electro-mechanical clocks in our Studebakers would last longer if always powered up. There are small 12-volt rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries on the market--just search. --Dwight

You would have static on your AM radio.

Well I'll be darned! But not surprised. The all-black carpet was available in '63 only with a Fawn & Elk interior AND with either a Gold or Red exterior. So, probably not very many cars.