Dwight FitzSimons

Yes.

Everything above the "beltline" in a '63 Avanti is Fawn color, regardless of the interior color. The roll bar cover is always Fawn in a '63. --Dwight

A have a tilt steering column from a 1970 Avanti II, which I assume is the same as a '64 Avanti. I assume you mean this bracket? I can take more pix if needed. Most of the dimensions needed are on the second image - still needed are dimensions for the two slots for the "muffler clamp." --Dwight

Over time your Avanti can become musty smelling inside from damp carpets. That musty smell can be hard to get rid of. The carpets can also rot. I use DampRid (WalMart, automotive/RV section). It really does work. Others have reported the effectiveness of DynaMat (& similar products) in noise reduction and also heat reduction. --Dwight

Yes, I know. I was keeping it simple just referring to the pad size. The disc-brake piston size is what matters, not the pad size. --Dwight

That's why I mentioned non-synthetic ATF for a blower. B&M makes synthetic as well, but I'll use non-synthetic when I change the fluid in my supercharger. I use synthetic ATF in my Borg-Warner automatic transmissions. --Dwight

It could be that the bodyman drilled the holes too close together and had to bend the nameplate to fit the holes. Bad bodyman! --Dwight

Stopping distance (with no booster) with the original Dunlop discs will be greater than with modern Turner disc brakes. Note the much larger pads on modern disc brakes - that tells you something. --Dwight

I use paint remover (including on fiberglass). Sandpaper can easily round off edges and remove detail. Paint remover won't. I once saw a 1930s Packard that was ruined by stripping the paint with a disc sander. Perhaps that has prejudiced me. Different people use different methods and neither is necessarily wrong. I stripped my supercharger years ago with paint remover and was happy with the results (painted it orange). One of the regrets I will carry with me the rest of my life was having my supercharger painted black on my red engine (because I thought orange would look funny next to a red engine). (The paint is good on that blower and I will soon paint it orange. I'll just scuff it with 400 and/or gray Scotchbrite and paint it directly with orange enamel.) Supercharger fluid: This was discussed thoroughly a while ago either on this site or the SDC Forum. I can't find that discussion, but maybe you can. My takeaway was to use B&M Trick Shift, non-synthetic, blue ATF. --Dwight

"A few years later I ditched the factory Dunlop front disc system and installed the ‘84-‘85 ‘Blake’ system on my car." Good for you! But, I wouldn't want to encourage anyone to depend on the Dunlop discs to stop an Avanti under ANY & ALL downhill situations (with no booster). In my area I have to cross the Blue Ridge mountain on a road (Rte 33) that is steep, miles long, and with no place to pull off the road on 90% of those miles. Of course, one can downshift to keep the car speed down. The original Dunlop disc brakes are safe if in excellent condition, but I believe in a safety margin, and that means modern disc brakes. --Dwight

An Avanti with the original Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes is very difficult to stop on level ground if the booster goes out, and IS IMPOSSIBLE TO STOP downhill with no booster. This is because of the very small cylinders in the Dunlop system. They require very high line pressure from the booster (to produce enough force on the rotors to stop the car). You will have much stronger brakes after converting the front brakes to either Turner's kit or the Hot Rods & Brakes kit. They can both be found online. I am quite happy with my Turner brakes on R-5255. Others have reported satisfaction with the Hot Rods & Brakes kit too. --Dwight

Some recommend Koni shocks (dampers) - see pix below. IIRC the application is 1980 Camaro. Part numbers are: 8040-1017 [front], 8040-1018 [rear] There may be some modification(s) required to fit them. Bilstein shocks (dampers) have also been discussed. --Dwight

Rogers Protofab makes a nice tool (arm/lever) for removing & reinstalling the supercharger belts. --Dwight

Correct, there were 9 factory R3 Avantis, but no factory R4 Avantis. Back in the late 1960s a local fellow had a crate R4 engine installed in his '63 Avanti. As I recall the reason he installed a hood scoop was for clearance (rather than just for looks). There was one R4-equipped Lark type. I believe that car survives. --Dwight

Back in the late 1960s a local fellow (central VA) had an R4-equipped '63 Avanti. The car went through several owners, and by the time the engine failed, ALL the rings were broken and two cylinders were ruined. Sunoco 260 was the only gasoline adequate for a 12.5 C.R. and not all of those owners knew (or cared) that the engine had to have a very high octane gas. But, to answer the original question, an R4 should beat an R3 to about 25 MPH, just as an R1 will beat an R2 to 25. The reasons are obvious. Above 25 the R3 will reel in the R4 pretty quickly, especially if the R3 has high output pulleys. --Dwight

Drain plug?

All 1964 Skybolt 6s had a breather cap intended for use with the mandated PCV system, i.e., with only two very small holes for pulling air IN. Probably most R3 and R4 engines had no PCV system, and so their breather caps were open. So, only the R3 & R4 engines with a PCV system would use a 1963-64 6-cylinder breather cap. AFAIK only the 1961-62 non-california Skybolt 6-cylinder engines had open breather caps. Those are the ones to look for at swap meets to chrome plate for an R3/R4 engine. --Dwight

The senior 1956 Packards came standard with a 374 engine. But, years ago, one of the Studebaker specialists (can't remember their name) in PA bored one out to 409 C.I. That would produce some torque! --Dwight

So, evidently, he wasn't fired for the altercation? --Dwight

Shimming up the body 1.5", in addition to using thinner motor insulators, is much more than necessary for the carb enclosure to clear the hood. Both of my R3 Avantis used only the thinner insulators and the enclosure cleared the hood. Not by much, though. --Dwight

"BUT...I have to ask.. If ZDDP is such an ''engine savior'' why then isn't it in ALL Motor Oils? " I suspect that zinc was phased out of motor oils for anti-pollution reasons. Zinc is a metal and is what pennies are made of (with a copper plating). We don't want to breathe fine particles of any metal. The engine experts at SDC recommend a motor oil especially formulated for older flat-tappet engines, such as ours. The example often quoted is Valvoline VR-1 Racing Oil, available in both mineral and synthetic. That oil contains sufficient zinc and is the one I use in my Studebakers (synthetic). A couple more oil companies have jumped on the bandwagon and are offering oils formulated for our older flat-tappet engines. See pix below: --Dwight

4) Champ pickup. Do these even have a headliner? --Dwight

Or, notice that the front of an R3 car sits a little higher than an R2 car. --Dwight

The crankshaft and rods interchange (maybe with some massaging). --Dwight

So, Egbert asked Clarence Francis to contact Loewy? --Dwight