Mark L

I'll do that. Thanks.

Doing some research, I went to the Nostalgic Motor Cars website to see if Dan Booth is advertising any Avanti II cars for sale. He's currently selling a 1982 and a 1983. Both have defroster elements on the rear window. That partially answers one of my questions. Now I just need to find a source, if any are available.

My questions below are relevant to the Avanti II. I need to replace the rear window seal in my 1963 Avanti. The window is also scratched in multiple places, so while I have the window out, I'd like to just go ahead and replace the glass. I'm not doing this soon, but I'd like to get it done in the next two years. Questions: What years, if any, did the Avanti II have a rear window defroster (wires or surface elements) in or on the glass? (I'm not concerned about originality. I want to make this car a three-season driver, and I'd like to have a functional defroster). If this glass is still available, what is the part number? Thank you.

No, sorry, nothing new to report. I haven't done any work on my Avanti since last fall. It's still sitting on the driveway on jack stands under a cover. I have a garage project I must finish before June 2. Once that's done, I can get back to work on the Avanti. One thing I did find at the SDC site is that someone found the rear disk brake caliper brackets that Jim designed hold the calipers in auch a way that the bleed valves are pointed down slightly, which might be creating a pocket inside the cylinder that's holding air away from the valves. When I get back at it, I'm planning to remove at least one of the caliper bolts so I can pivot the caliper so that the bleed valve is at top dead center. I also bought a new master cylinder from a local source. I think I may have damaged the seals inside one of the previous units when I experimented with the port to the rear brakes capped off. I would have attempted to rebuild it, but Raybestos does not sell replacement parts for it.

If one were to buy the correct well nuts for an Avanti side mirror from a Studebaker or Avanti parts vendor, what would be the correct part number to order?

"You may want to have a shop do the charging part if not experienced with it." Or take it to a state-licensed facility, if you live somewhere like Washington state, where it is now illegal to do any automotive air conditioning work unless it's done by a facility licensed by the state. In Washington the local auto parts stores can no longer sell cans of R134 or even do-it-yourself recharge / top-off kits, and it can't be shipped to residential addresses. We can buy it out of state and bring it back across the state line in a personal vehicle, but I'm sure that is also somehow illegal, and it's illegal to do the work in my driveway or inside my garage. Irritating. I have all the equipment to evacuate and service air conditioning, but I can't use it. What's really stupid, the national marketing office of a national chain auto parts store I frequent makes the local store put up posters advertising supplies to "get your air conditioning ready for summer", but the store can't sell any of it.

Also, I think the Avanti needs some kind of special inserts that fit in the holes in the fiberglass, and the screws that go through the mirror base screw into the centers of the inserts, not directly into the fiberglass.

Possibly distributor cap and rotor, maybe spark plug wire set. Enjoy your trip. Which island(s) will you see?

What is fishy about it? I bought my Avanti from the same seller, but not through Bring-a-Trailer. I inspected my Avanti in the seller's driveway so I knew what I was getting, where the photographs for this car were taken. Everything was smooth and legitimate.

Not only are the refrigerants different, the lubricating oils in the refrigerant lines to lubricate the compressor are different, too. R12 uses mineral oil. R134 uses polyalkylene glycol (PAG). If you convert from R12 to R134, any parts that are retained for re-use must be thoroughly flushed with an appropriate solvent to remove all the mineral oil, something that will cut and remove the mineral oil without damaging the parts. About 25-30 years ago I converted the A/C system in a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria to R134. The kit came with everything except the evaporator. Since I didn't replace it (buried inside the dashboard) I flushed it with some kind of alcohol and blew out the alcohol with compressed air. I don't remember what alcohol I used. The conversion worked well, and it was still cooling when we sold the car in 2006.

There's a 1963 Avanti R1 on Bring-A-Trailer. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1963-studebaker-avanti-69/

I just completed the following: New flanged rear axles Turner disc brake conversions, front and rear All new brake tubes All new flex hoses New dual master cylinder Eliminated the hydraulic stop light switch and installed a mechanical switch at the brake pedal. The port on the MC for the hydraulic switch is plugged and sealed. Today I filled the system with fresh DOT 4 fluid and bled the brakes. I found two leaks in the rear circuit. I tightened the leaky fittings and bled the rear brakes again. With the engine not running, the brakes feel firm as they are applied, and I can see the booster and master cylinder flexing upward slightly very soon after I start pressing the pedal and as resistance builds up in the pedal. This is the problem. The car is completely off the ground on jack stands and the wheels off. When I start the engine and apply the brakes, the pedal goes almost to the floor before I feel any solid resistance in the pedal. The booster and master cylinder do not flex up slightly until the pedal is nearly to the floor. As the pedal is nearing the floor, I can hear a change in tone in the engine as if there is an additional load on the engine. With the engine at idle and the transmission in drive, and no pressure on the brake pedal, the rear axle turns. If I apply the brakes, the rear axle does not stop turning until the pedal is nearly to the floor, which seems to indicate to me that the booster is not applying pressure to the MC until the pedal is near the floor. I removed the check valve on the booster and confirmed it only allows air to move towards the engine. I removed the vacuum hose between the check valve and fitting on the intake manifold and verified it is clear. With the check valve installed and twisted into position, it is still a little loose on the booster. There is one gasket in place. When I installed the MC, I had to shorten the length of the actuating pushrod. The contact point on the piston is at a more shallow depth than the original MC. I adjusted the rod so that the rod is not putting any pressure on the piston as the mounting flange seats on the face of the booster. Lengthing it by one or two flats of the nut changes how the MC seats on the booster, so I know it's adjusted right. What am I missing? What should I check next? I'm not going to drive it until I figure this out. It wasn't doing this before I did all this work. The front brake pads were worn out, but the car was stopping and the brake pedal resistance was better than this.

Does anyone have a copy of a membership directory for 1976, or know how I can find a copy? I'm trying to track down a previous owner of my Avanti. The Bob Johnstone Avanti website indicates the 1976 member directory showed an Edward V. Albert in La Mesa California owned the car at that time. He may not live there any more, but I'm trying to connect the dots to see if he's still alive and where he might live now. I was recently given an almost complete collection of Avanti Magazine and newsletters from 2017 all the way back to issue #1 in 1965. I know it's all available on digital media now, but the guy needed to move, and it was free. Would the member information be found in any of the newsletters/magazines from the 1970's? Thank you for your assistance.