Jim S

That is correct. Your suggestion makes sense as the starter is pulling the majority of power from the battery during cranking.

I completed that stage. Now the wire from the starter to the distributor that supplies voltage during cranking is now hooked up. I measured that voltage and it is only 9 volts. How can that be? It's the green wire with black stripe. Is it a resistance wire as well?

FINALLY! I got the rear brakes to engage. I replaced the "new" master cylinder I purchased from NAPA with a rebuilt one from Autozone. The NAPA was the issue. Brakes are doing the job. Now onto starting the car. It seems I get no voltage to the HEI distributer during cranking. But as soon as I release the key from crank to run the engine with start. Seems like no voltage in crank but its there in run. Is that a bad ignitions switch? It's a 72 with the GM collum switch. And do I need to replace the pink resister wire with a normal one? A diagram of the 72 starting circuit and switch would help me a lot.

I was told this car didn't orginally have the valve and I was advised to remove it. I installed a residual check valve. Still not getting rear brakes to engage. Also, I could not find proportioning valve tool that fit mine when I did have it installed. So I could not center the thing.

Great minds think alike. I just watched the same video a little while ago! Thank you for your advice. I ordered the tool from Amazon and it will arrive tomorrow.

It is a 72. The brand X booster and master cylinder that was in there had a proportioning valve in line. I used the same valve with the OEM booster and master cyl that I put back in. I bled the system first without the valve as I was told the car originally did not use one. Second time around, I put the valve back in and re bled. It made no difference. The front calipers are grabbing, but with the rear wheels off the ground, I put it in gear and applied the brakes. The rear wheels kept moving. Also, I don't know about the centering tool for the valve, so of course I did not do that!

I have completed the Turner Brake upgrade and all new drum brake parts on the rear. Today I got my original booster rebuilt back from Studebaker Itnl and a new master cylinder installed. I bleed the system 3 times. The brakes engage, however only until the pedal is almost at the floor! I checked the measurement of the booster to master push rod and it is correct. Any thoughts welcome.

I found a rebuilt booster from NAPA and the master cylinder that was used by Avanti Motors. I will be installing those two units to bring it back to factory. Hopefully, that will do the trick! Film at eleven.

You nailed it Brad. The light flickers when I shift. I put a temporay circuit break where the fuse goes and it trips with movement of the shifter. That's where it's shorting.

With the engine off, I depressed the brake pedal and it was firm. When I started the engine, the pedal went down. I think this would indicate the booster was in fact working. So I'm stumped again as too why it still takes tons of pressure on the pedal to stop this car. I'm still open to suggestions. I bleed all the air out startin with the passenger rear cylinder, driver's side, front passenger caliper and the driver's caliper.

On my '72, the pivot bolt is 20.5 inches above the armrest. I put the retractor down inside, removing the ashtray and running the belt up through where the ashtrays would have sat.

I just installed the Turner brakes on the front of my 72 Avanti replacing the factory Bendix brakes. I also put new wheel cylinders, shoes and turned the drums on the back. All air bleed out. And low and behold there is absolutly no difference in braking. I have to almost use both feet to stop the car! And it will creep forward in idle if I let up on the pedal a bit. Would this be the indicator of a bad booster? The original Bendix booster was replaced by the previous moron with a Ford Galaxie conversion unit. It's getting vacuum, but I don't think it's working. Before I spend another $400 on getting the original booster rebuilt, I need to know if it will solve the problem.

Thank-you!

I was thinking about that but I don't know if they make them that large. It would have to be between 7/16" and 1/2" to fit the hole.

On my 72 there's a plate on the roll bar that is held in place by two 3/8" bolts. This plate is what the upper pivot of the shoulder strap attaches to. One of the bolts was stripped. I got it out, but apparantly there's a nut inside the roll bar and it fell down inside! Does anyone have and suggestions for a workaround to secure the bottom of this plate?

LOL!

Why are electrical problems always rooted behing the dash?!! Any thoughts on why this fuse keeps blowing? I'm thinking about just wireing a whole new set of wires for these four items and bypass the old circuit. But looking at the wireing diagram it appears it runs through the courtesy light and cigar lighter too. Any tips are welcome.

My '72 RQB1878 had a 400cid in it. I found out the hard way because everything I read indicated it was a 350. When I replaced the 400 with a 350 long block I found out the harmonic balancer and flex plate were the external balancers and the new engine vibrated. Once I swapped those 2 componets out with the correct ones, no more vibration. A hard and expensive lesson was learned.

I ordered a build sheet way back in last June for my 72 from Nostalgic Motors. As of this writing I have still not recieved it. I contacted Dan Booth nearly a month ago and he told me they did not get the VIN number of my car. I provided it. He said the sheet is going in the mail that day. I have still not recieved it. I finally spoke with Dan yesterday. Apparently, the US mail service is the culprit. He has mailed me a second copy of my build sheet. I had a great conversation with Dan for almost an hour. He is a wealth of information and my new number one go to for many of my needs!

Yes, for sure!

I think I just didn't get all the air out of the system. Runs cool now. What I didn't know is my car was a late production with a 400 in it! I put the harmonic balancer and flexplate from that engine on the 350. If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have none at all. I changed out the balancer for the correct one. But I need a transmission shop to change the flex plate. I've been told it can be done with the engine in the car, and that the transmission can be unbolted and moved back enough to drop the flexplate. I hope they are correct as that is what I told the shop that will perform the job!

I agree on pulling the engine/tranny together. Problem for me is, I can't find a hoist with a boom long enough to reach the center of the engine. This last swap was very difficult to do with the short boom I had to work with. It took 3 people with a lof of muscle to push the engine forward at an angle on the hoist. I looked at the 72 specs on Bob Johnson's page and it showed only a 350 engine. Probably where the confusion lay. Was the 400 a special option?

I wish to thank all the smart people for enlightening me on this subject. After comparing the harmonic balancer on my engine, it is indeed from a 400ci. The guy that sold me the car thought it was a 350 and so that is the long block I installed. So I have to change out the balancer and the flex plate. I only ran the engine for less than an hour and pray I have not damaged it!!. Last question is can the trannie be dropped with the engine in place on an Avanti? Or do I have to pull the engine? I'd like to just take it to a transmission shop to change the flex plate.

I don't know which engine was in the car before. I have no information on it. The flex plate mounted with 3 flanges to the torque convertor. I have been waiting for over a month to get the build sheet I ordered. It still has not come yet.

I don't know about that. I purchased it from Powertrain Products. I was just a professionally rebuilt Chevy 350 long block minus only the manifolds, water pump and harmonic balancer. I bolted the crankshaft to my flexplate and that to the transmission assy.