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Dwight FitzSimons

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Everything posted by Dwight FitzSimons

  1. P.S. Thanks to Rick Allen for doing such a good job of reporting the results of his Cobalt cylinders installation.
  2. The Achilles heel of the original Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes is the very high line (hydraulic) pressure required to operate the disc brakes, so high that, without the boost from the booster, one cannot stop an Avanti. Think about that. This is due to the very small pads. Assuming that the coefficients of friction are equal a larger pad will provide more braking power than a smaller pad. That's why the Bendix/Dunlop cylinders must push in much harder to stop the car. True (AFAIK), dual pistons will produce more even wear than a floating, single-piston, disc-brake system. IIRC, GM introduced 4-piston disc brakes in 1967, but switched to a single-floating-piston system in 1969, and stuck with that design for many years. That's the design that the Turner and Hot Rods & Brakes systems use. Those will easily stop a Studebaker without a booster. The Cobalt cylinders use the same design as "modern" disc brake cylinders, although the pads are still the same small size. It would appear that the Cobalt cylinders will maintain their effectiveness much longer than the Bendix/Dunlop cylinders, so that is a plus for them. --Dwight
  3. This pic is of the 1964 fuel delivery & return lines.
  4. The car looks like a worthwhile project for someone with the skills and who is willing to put a lot of sweat equity into it. It looks to have a good frame and hog troughs and those are important positives. The dash looks good as does the rest of the interior. Changing to a more acceptable color interior would be possible and desirable. I suspect that the body should be stripped to bare fiberglass because of the shoddy paint job. We don't know what is under the paint. Awful fiberglass repairs should be undone and redone properly. The engine needs to be fixed, along with the brakes, exhaust, suspension, (possibly) wiring harness, etc. As to value my WAG is $5000 to $9000. Others on the Forum who buy & sell these things will have a better feel for the market value than I. --Dwight
  5. An Avanti has two "fuel" lines from the engine to the tank. One, the larger one, supplies fuel to the engine. The other one is a return line from the engine back to the tank. It returns fuel back to the tank in case of an over-pressure condition. 1963 & 1964 Avantis attach the return line to different places on the engine (63 at fuel pump, 64 at filter between fuel pump and carb). The vent on top of the tank goes over to the passenger side of the vehicle, then down through the fiberglass and exits under the car. This one is a problem to replace. --Dwight
  6. One thought: I notice that the cylinders are fully exposed through the holes in my Halibrand wheels. And, someone has had the "Bendix" discs that were on early '63 Avantis reproduced. So, maybe one could glue those discs onto the Cobalt cylinders (after machining/sanding the "Cobalt" off). Just a thought for those who like their cars to look original. --Dwight
  7. I was kidding about waiting for metal-on-metal noise before checking my brakes. I have always done my own brakes because they are so simple and so expensive. I have, however, seen worse than even that. I once found a Pontiac in a junk yard whose pad material was long gone, AND with most of one side of the rotor gone. That is, the pad backing was rubbing on the ribs between the rotor plates. "Hey, Joe, what do you think that noise is?" --Dwight
  8. A larger piston area would have the effect of increasing the force on the rotor, and we can't get too much of that -- or am I missing something? Avantis don't get very much braking from the 11" non-self-energizing rear drum brakes, so there is little, if any, chance of locking up the rears in a panic stop. Locking up the rears is what we must fear because the rear of the car will swing around. I have had that happen on the '83 Pontiac Bonneville with front discs & self-energizing rear drum brakes that I used to drive (Thank you, GM!). (This is why Studebaker/Bendix used non-self-energizing rear drum brakes on the Avanti.) Another thought: The thickness of the pads from Moss Motors assume a given rotor thickness. How thick are Jaguar rotors? BTW, the metal pad backing hitting the rotor is how I have always known when to rebuild my car's brakes. Any of the above is subject to correction by anyone more expert than I (which is just about everyone). --Dwight
  9. When Studebaker & Bendix adopted the Dunlop disc brakes, they adopted (and manufactured) an existing complete system, except the caliper (bracket). Studebaker's caliper had to be designed to fit Studebaker's spindle. As far as pad fitment is concerned, Bendix designed Stude's caliper to fit a pad already in production by Dunlop for an existing British car. So, pads for some car (Jaguar?) must be available from Moss Motors, and those will fit Studebaker's calipers. I'm looking forward to learning whether the Cobalt cylinders work properly, especially whether an Avanti has more braking power with them. The rim of the Cobalt cylinders presses on the pads. This kind of design ("cup" piston) is like more modern disc brakes (in 1969-up for GM). Moss Motors' pads must be used with the Cobalt cylinders. Concerning pad material, does anyone know which material has a higher coefficient of friction: ceramic or semi-metallic? We all could use more powerful disc brakes. --Dwight
  10. Moss's website shows the following pads, which look right for a Studebaker (may not be right, but look right). --Dwight
  11. No doubt that is why Dave Thibeault put "buttons" on either end of the wrist pins on my R3. --Dwight
  12. Yes, exactly; My R3's second oil pump failed because Lionel Stone's machinist machined the gear pockets of a standard housing deeper for the R3's longer gears. That made the iron housing too thin and it broke. If I had known then what I know now I would have given the engine builder the NOS standard oil pump to install that I already had (& still have).
  13. And, the solution for this is "buttons" on the ends of the wrist pins? --Dwight
  14. One thought: If Moss would sell one Cobalt cylinder (& pads) alone then one could test fit it on the Studebaker caliper to see if it fits and determine what the threads are. If the cylinder and pads fit then we are good to go (or stop). Note that the English measurement system was used in the early 1960s in England, so I assume that these cylinders are English system too. The SAE system uses the English measurement system. --Dwight
  15. Does anyone know whether these would result in more braking power on a Studebaker (i.e., a reduction in required line pressure required to stop)? I have about lost faith in Studebaker's disc brakes due to the very high line pressure required to stop the car. If one loses his booster, or the engine quits, then it is almost impossible to stop a disc-brake-equipped Studebaker, even on level ground. This is the Achilles heel of the Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes, I cross a mountain regularly, and I'm too young to die! I would argue that the Moss cylinders are a superior, modern design, and, as Moss states, more reliable and long lived. At least they would be the most cost effective way to rebuild one's Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes. Moss's website has them on sale for $350 for the complete set for the front of the car, or $270 for the cylinders & pads. One could even make them look sort of like the originals by grinding the name off the Moss cylinders and gluing the discs that someone has reproduced (like those on earlier '63 Avantis). It would appear that the pins on the cylinders would have to be removed for installation on a Studebaker. That would be easy to do. --Dwight
  16. I once had an R2 engine rebuilt by a diesel mechanics technical school (under the supervision of the instructor, who is a Studebaker fan), and, when assembled, the engine was locked up. Turned out that there was one incorrect-size rod bearing in the new set of bearings. So, one never knows. --Dwight
  17. If I understand your question....... As I run my finger (vertically) down from the base of the vent window the door surface is at first concave, then transitions to convex. My mirror is located right where the transition from concave to convex occurs (so pretty much level). I didn't install mine, but that would seem to be the ideal location vertically. Then, horizontally, one would locate the mirror such that the owner can see all of the mirror through the vent window when he has the seat adjusted for him. So, an owner installing a mirror might want to check to see if the template location is correct for him (horizontally) before he drills the holes. --Dwight
  18. Interesting details in some of these photos, aren't there. I have searched & apparently didn't save (or didn't have) any more info on this car. I have another pic of an early R3/R4 tach in an Avanti, plus a rough car with a late tach. Have no more info on them. It looks like Paxton had a bunch of them to sell (I bought one in the late '60s for ~$18 ppd).
  19. Do you mean the Avanti nameplate on the upper center console plate, as in the pic below? --Dwight
  20. Again, there's no possible interference between the vent window and the rear-view mirror, no matter how far one opens the vent. In the pics below I have the vent window open as far as it will go (about 90 deg.), and it clears the mirror by about 1". It's not possible to open the vent any further; The rubber gasket limits it from opening any further. --Dwight
  21. That's one good thing about Avanti II's; One can modify them without someone calling for your head. --Dwight
  22. The earlier Avanti II bucket seats were a continuation of the '64 Avanti (thick back) seats, just not upholstered the same. I have parted out one 1968 Avanti and two 1970 Avantis. The '68 seat was low back and the '70 seats were high back. I have a faint memory of reading that the headrest was simply a piece of fiberglass attached to the backrest shell. The Recaro seats didn't come along until later (late '70s or so). --Dwight
  23. What you found is correct. The end play is adjusted by shims on the right side, with none on the left. If your differential has never been taken apart then it is likely still shimmed correctly. --Dwwight
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