Dwight FitzSimons

Let's not get into this kind of rhetoric. As far as the term "salt & pepper" carpet is concerned I will note that a true salt & pepper carpet would have to be black with white speckles. Fawn (light tan) looks nothing like salt. AFAIK Studebaker never used the term salt & pepper. So, it is a term made up by Studebaker fans. Therefore, no one person can define the term's meaning. The meaning is what the majority of Studebaker people say it is. Ok, so let's vote. --Dwight

Production variances is one thing that makes Avantis so interesting. Especially interesting are the "round-headlight '64 Avantis," with interior variations practically from car to car. --Dwight

I have always thought of "salt & pepper carpeting" as referring to two-tone carpet, i.e., Fawn & black, red & black, turquoise & black, etc. That's how I have always heard the term used. RegnalBob stated: "All 1963 & 1964 Avantis with two tone interiors had salt & pepper carpets, except the Fawn & Elk had Black carpet." (paraphasing a little) Yes, AFAIK that is the lone exception on '63s, AND that Fawn & Elk w/ black carpet interior was available only with either a Gold or Red exterior. The upholstery & exterior color combinations available are detailed in the Avanti Color & Upholstery Selector book. --Dwight

Lares Corp. in Minnesota rebuilds these power rams. I am about to ship them two rams for rebuild. Maybe some of the usual suspects (Studebaker suppliers) stock rebuilt power rams to sell on an exchange basis. https://www.larescorp.com/ --Dwight

I have seen a textured finish on the very bottom of some late model cars. I assume the intent is to prevent or hide chips. Or, maybe it is to hide rust bubbles on Northern cars. There are rattle-can spray paints that produce a "pebbled' finish so I assume this stuff does that too. --Dwight

Nice job, Nels. There is a paint on the market to restore the texture of vinyl. And, for those of us who are less creative in the use of materials, there are materials for repairing vinyl on the market. It would not surprise me if the vinyl repair filler (below) is just re-packaged Bondo (like you used). I, too, have a '63 Avanti that I am trying to resurrect, including the dash. --Dwight

IIRC there was a document detailing at what serial number all of these changes took place. I can't find it at the moment. --Dwight

Assuming that everything else in the system is up to par it would have to be the booster. I had a booster in my '64 Avanti go bad in Feb. and the symptoms were similar to your car. Stephen Allen in Florida, at that time, had two rebuilt boosters in stock. Their firm rule is that they have to have your rebuildable core in their hands before they will ship you a rebuilt one. The rebuilt booster cured the problem and works well. If you don't have an original core they can be found stashed away by SDC members. --Dwight

I'll second that vote for Dave's shifter. I have one of his in my '64 Avanti. The top is turned down & threaded to accept the stock knob. The handle (rod) looks just like the original, except that it's not tapered. The original had a slight taper from bottom to top. You would have to be told that it lacks that taper to see it. The Hurst shifts a whole lot better than the stock el-cheapo shifter. If you want one, though, I may have one in the basement. --Dwight

We have no reference point to go from on this one, but I'll guess 2) $5660. --Dwight

1963 Avantis had their hood prop on the drivers side; Studebaker moved it to the passenger's side in 1964. I haven't looked at both to determine if there is any difference between the '63 and '64 hood props; maybe just the attachment brackets at the bottom & top would have to be reversed. It might be easier on the hood hinges & fiberglass to have two hood props, one on each side. I assume that, when tilting the hood forward to unlatch the two hood props, that there would be no problem unlatching both so that you could drop the hood. Jon Myer in Ohio has parted out many Avantis and probably has hood props. --Dwight

I would think that one could "massage" the right inner fender to clear the supercharger. Everything else should fit.

$15K !!!

R5335, you are now clearly in the lead for first prize. Now, let me think; what should the "worst screwed-up Avanti" trophy look like? Maybe a piston with a hole in it? --Dwight, R-4228, R-5407

What do you mean by "frame rails for a 64 R1"? Do you mean the frame rails that are about 15 feet long and weigh several hundred pounds? --Dwight

Someone must know how tight the quench area in the combustion chamber must be for the quench area to do its job: reduce pinging. Wouldn't it defeat the purpose to increase that too much? --Dwight

FYI the casting number of R3 & R4 heads is 479. That is the last 3 digits of the casting number above the center exhaust port. If your R3 engine is missing the brackets the supercharger is mounted to then know that they are the same as an R2. Contact Jon Myer in Ohio; he probably can provide the bracket and other parts needed.The Myers have parted out many Avantis. For adding AC to an R2 or R3 engine check with Rogers Protofab, which advertises in Turning Wheels (SDC's magazine). I believe they manufacture stainless steel brackets for adding AC to an R2 or R3. A picture or 2 of your engine will tell us a lot. --Dwight

That's a thought. One might be doing a valve job anyway and at that time could replace the shim head gaskets with composite ones. With 570 (R1) heads that would achieve a compromise compression ratio somewhere between 10.25:1. and 9:1. I think that I have heard that the traditional (old) composite gaskets lower the CR about a half point. So that would give us a CR of 9.75 (just what an R3 has!). Note that an R3 REQUIRES higher-than-93-octane gas (unless you never open it up). The thickness of the current Best Gasket head gaskets looks to be between shim and composite gaskets. Perhaps someone out there can give us a more precise thickness. This all has me intrigued. I have an R1 '64 Hawk and an R2 Hawk parts car. So, the ingredients are all there. --Dwight

About 30 years ago I purchased a '63 Avanti from its original owner in order to get its R3 engine. The car looked, and was, tired. No problem there, but it also had three bone-headed screw-ups done by the seller's garage. (The seller had praised that garage). 1) The car had been used as a daily driver summer & winter in Cincinnati (an R3 Avanti!), so by the 1980s it needed a new frame. One was purchased from Avanti Motors and installed. But the garage drilled the holes in the frame for the rear cross-member about 1/2" too far back. That set the engine/trans too far back & the accelerator bellcrank (?) rubbed on the firewall, rubbing a notch in the fiberglass. I re-drilled the holes correctly. 2) The garage had screwed up the wiring for the parking lights so that they worked oddly. I corrected the wiring. 3) The garage had cut off the flared end of the copper oil pressure line and used a compression fitting to connect it to a rubber hose made for another vehicle. My brother made an adapter for my flaring tool so that I could flare that tiny tube. On the second try I got the flare right and installed the correct flexible hose from head to copper line. There may have been more. --Dwight

It would be interesting to hear from anyone adding (or who has added) a supercharger to his R1 engine. It is tempting for me to do it too. Three caveats, though: 1) Have your hearing checked, 2) Install quieter mufflers so you can hear pinging, 3) Add racing or aviation gas to 93 octane gas -OR- use an octane booster (assuming that those work and aren't harmful) --Dwight

In my experience with several R2s, both back in the day and today, you will need to use gasoline of higher octane than the current 93 if using R1 heads with a blower. Going from 9.0:1 to 10.25:1 C.R. will increase the chance of pinging considerably (& increase power considerably too). You could add some racing or aviation gasoline to 93 octane. A while ago someone on the SDC Forum said that he was running 570 heads (R1 heads) with a blower successfully, but I suspect he was using something above 93 octane gas. Yours is an intriguing thought. As we know an R1 will beat an R2 up to 30-40 MPH, and that is partly (mostly?) due to the higher compression ratio of an R1. With the small number of miles most of us drive our cars today the additional cost of higher octane gas would be insignificant. BTW, an R3 has a 9.75:1 C.R., so gives us an indication of what happens when increasing the C.R. on a supercharged Stude. I had an R3 in the late 1960's and it required Sunoco 260 (which is NLA) or it would ping. (I can't address the ping resistance of an R1 head versus an R3 head, however.) As far as what happens when using insufficient octane gas in a Studebaker: A local '63 Avanti with an R4 engine experienced failure because the owner didn't buy only Sunoco 260 gas and ignored the pinging. R4s have a C.R. of 12:1 (but no blower). When the engine was pulled apart EVERY ring was broken and one or two cylinders needed to be sleeved. You must NOT ignore pinging. --Dwight

Which would I keep? The question is a form-vs-function question: the more beautiful one, the '53, versus the better driving one, the Avanti. For me, the '53. --Dwight

I am surprised that only ninety-some Avantis were sold in calendar year 1962 given that: 1) it was a new car, with all the excitement of a new car, and 2) the Avanti was introduced about mid-year 1962. That only 90-some Avantis were sold in 1962 speaks to the production difficulties Studebaker was having. So, the follow-on question might be how many Avantis were produced per month and then compare that to sales. Of course, that info is known and documented. --Dwight

I, for two, am looking forward to it, too. --Dwight

It's my experience, with both the new R3 (B86) I owned back in the late 1960s and the one I own now (B69). With B86 in the late 1960s I could drive through a small town (no other traffic, buildings on either side reflecting sound) and, with quiet mufflers, hear piston slap. It's well known that R3 engines burn oil. My B69 has gapless rings to hopefully reduce some of that oil consumption. With the current disassembly (at an engine builder) of B69 I am hoping to keep the original pistons (ForgedTrue, IIRC), but we'll see. If I have to buy new pistons we may be able to go with somewhat tighter piston-to-wall clearances. Might be able to get that oil consumption up to 500 miles/quart! --Dwight