Mark L

It's looped inside the pillar and held with something like a clip. When I replaced my vent hose I cut the visible ends just below the pillar and shoved it up inside the pillar to get it out of the way. If I ever remove the interior lining of the pillar, I'll remove the clip and cut portion of the hose.

The large hole in the middle can be plugged with a metal or rubber body plug of the same diameter. I used a metal plug to make it less likely for a mouse to chew through it. The smaller hole to the right of it is where the gas tank vent tube passes through the body.

As pictured in post 5, deluxe trim had smooth, perforated vinyl inserts on the seat backs and bottoms. The regal trim had pleated vinyl with no perforations.

Thanks. He spent most of his time at Studebaker working in building 84. This is the two of us outside buildings 84 and 113 in September 2021. My youngest daughter and I stopped in South Bend to visit my parents after driving my '62 Lark Daytona hardtop to the SDC International Meet in Indianapolis. That was a long, hot trip. He passed about six weeks later, and my mother about 10 weeks after him.

Wow, a 16 year old boy with a new Avanti. I'm speechless. Just...wow.

Yes. My father worked in the auto assembly building in South Bend. He was in the Production Control department. One of his duties was to collect copies of the production orders as the cars came down the assembly line and turn them in so they could be filed.

Regarding my response in post 3 above, this is a photograph of the production order that was found in the dashboard of our chapter member's 1961 Cruiser. In the bottom center it says "Production Order - Body Set". In the bottom right corner, it says "Instrument Panel Copy". This does not specifically answer the question in post 1 above.

63stick, it's yours. I just sent you a Private Message requesting your mailing address. For your privacy, please do not post it in this thread.

One of our local SDC chapter members is selling a 1961 Lark Cruiser. He said he found a copy of the build sheet tucked up into the dashboard near the glove box. It certainly looks like it was in the car for quite a few years.

I have an extra 2025 calendar available for free. It was sent to me to pass along to someone else, but that person already has one and didn't need it. I'll even pay the shipping.

The third Avanti sold to the public, 63R1003, is available. It was donated to the Studebaker National Museum, and the museum is now auctioning it through the Hagerty Marketplace with no reserve: https://www.hagerty.com/marketplace/auction/1963 -Studebaker-Avanti/a674bfb8-d821-492c-97ff-496058ccb07a The car is pretty rough. White with orange interior. 289 with serial number RS1003. Body 63RQ 105. 4-speed manual transmission, power steering, power brakes, twin traction, aftermarket AM/FM radio. The supercharger was removed at some point and replaced with air conditioning.

In the parts catalog illustration in post 2 above, illustration number 1110-40 is a threaded rod that passes through the center of illustration number 1110-16. There is a nut threaded on the rod on the front-facing side of 1110-16, and another nut threaded on the rod on the rear-facing side. Turning the nuts toward the front of the car will apply more brake (or apply it earlier with less handle travel) as the handle is pulled. Turning the nuts toward the rear will apply less brake (or apply it later with more handle travel) as the handle is pulled. If it's been a long time since the nuts have been adjusted, it is very likely the threads of the rod will be rusty with a lot of road dirt and debris embedded in the threads. It may be a good idea to first remove the nuts and 1110-16, run a thread die over the threads on the rod, and run a thread tap through the threads on the nuts. This will clean them out and make it much easier to adjust the nuts when it is reassembled.

I recommend that when you get the screwdriver inserted through the fiberglass hole and the tip of the screwdriver in the hole in the latch mechansm, avoid the temptation to use the edge of the fiberglass hole as a pivot point for the shaft of the screwdriver. The metal shaft of the screwdriver is harder than the edge of the fiberglass hole. I had to release the hood once due to a rusted release cable. The tip of the screwdriver kept slipping out of the latch. After a while I noticed my hands were getting itchy from the glass fibers. When I finally got the hood open, I found the screwdriver shaft had chewed up the edge of the fiberglass hole.

Today the stars aligned for a few hours for me to work on the car again. I re-installed the first new master cylinder. Last month I found the speed bleeders on the rear calipers didn't have enough thread sealant so that the bleeders were loose in the threads when they were open. I made sure all the speed bleeders had fresh thread sealant on the threads. Still no luck. With the engine running the pedal still starts to build pressure, then goes to the floor. Next (when the stars align again) I'm going to reinstall the original single chamber master cylinder, since I know it was good, and connect it only to the front brakes and see what happens. Then I'll connect it to the rear brakes only and see what happens. Maybe I'll be able to isolate the problem to half the system. This has been a royal PITB.

aardvark, I'm glad to hear you are well. I've also about given up on getting my brakes working this year. I might be able to sneak a day or two in to work on them, but our rainy season has set in, the days are getting shorter, and with the infernal time change on November 3, it will be dark by the time I get off work. What few dry weekend days we now have between now and February will be prioritized on yard work, exterior maintenance of the house as needed, and maintaining our daily drivers. My Avanti is now stuck in the driveway under a cover. I'm looking forward to retiring and moving out of Washington state in favor of someplace drier and less expensive to live.

You might also call Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motor Cars in Wixom, Michigan. Wixom is 77 miles from Rossford vs. 200 miles from Duncan Falls. BTW, Nostalgic's website indicates that Dan Booth will be retiring "soon". It doesn't say when, or if anyone will be taking over his business.

My wife is the same. Her father passed 10 years ago, but she's holding on to some of his things that we'll never need or use because they remind her of him.

Thanks. I'm thinking about springing for new replacements. I've run out of dry weather and daylight to get my brakes working, so it looks more and more like it will be parked until next spring before I can work on it again. I should have new lens covers and gaskets before it's back on the road.

There's a 1988 Avanti convertible available in Wisconsin, VIN 12AAV2225J1000226. Black exterior with a red interior. https://madison.craigslist.org/cto/d/wisconsin-dells-1988-studebaker-avanti/7790064604.html

Today I was finally able to do some troubleshooting/isolation. With all three ports on the master cylinder plugged and bled (port for front brakes, port for rear brakes, and port for hydraulic brake light switch), the pedal is rock hard with almost no travel when the engine is off, and a slight bit of travel before the pedal gets really firm with the engine running. In either situation, there is no sponginess in the pedal. With the line for the front brakes connected to the port on the master cylinder and fully bled, but the other two ports still capped off, the pedal has a slight bit of travel before getting really firm when the engine is not running. When the engine is running, the pedal moves about half way to the floor as it gets firm, then it gives way a little and moves closer to the floor before getting firm again, where it stops moving. At this point the pedal arm is about 1 inch from the carpet. It reminded me of the "double brake" feel on a modern front disc / rear drum car. I've found on some of the Toyotas I've owned that when the rear brake shoes need to be adjusted, the front disc brakes will clamp up (the first "brake"), but the rear drums are still moving a bit. After the first "brake", the pedal continues to move slightly until the rear shoes seat on the drums, then the whole system brakes (the second "brake"). However, on my car, the rear calipers are not even in play because the port is capped off at the MC. I wonder if the fluid in the capped-off portion of the chamber for the rear brakes is bleeding back into the chamber for the front brakes when I feel the "give", since the rear port is capped off and all that pressure is trying to go somewhere. When both chambers are capped off, the pressure is balanced. I ran out of daylight, so I wasn't able to do any more variations. Tomorrow I'll put the cap back on the port for the front brakes and reconnect the line for the rear brakes to see how they feel when they are independent of the front brakes.

Glad you're safe. My wife's aunt and her relatives live near Franklin NC. The center of the storm went over them. They're safe. Their electricity was restored a few days ago, but their roads are still a mess. We have property in north Georgia my wife inherited. We had some relatives look in on it, and fortunately there was no damage.

I'm finally getting back to working on the car this weekend. I had a death in my side of the family, and my wife I flew to Indiana for the services.

Thanks. On my car, neither gasket has any holes. There are no holes in the edges of the covers, only V-shaped notches at each hole location. The shop manual does not have any instructions for the orientation or stack-up/relationship of the retaining ring, gasket, cover, and the fiberglass nose panel. To remove or install the headlight bulbs, it basically says to remove and install the cover and gasket. Not helpful. A cross-section view from an engineering drawing would certainly be a big help. I was only 90 miles from the Studebaker National Museum this week, but I didn't have any time to go to see if I could find a drawing.

Before our parents passed, my siblings and I spent a lot of time traveling back to South Bend to help them. My youngest sister stayed at the Avanti House multiple times.

I think the gaskets for my headlight covers are not properly installed. The car currently has acrylic headlight covers, and the gaskets seem too big for the covers. The attached photograph shows how my right headlight cover is currently installed. The gasket covers the exterior of the trim ring and partially covers the screw heads. I checked the index of technical articles in the AOAI magazine, but this topic was not specifically covered. I also searched the SDC Forum. I learned that the aftermarket acrylic plastic covers are smaller than the glass covers, which explains why the gasket seems too big for the cover. Regardless of the cover material, what is the correct way to install the gasket?