Bob Preston

It seems the older and wealthier people become, the more likely they are to complain about insignificant expenses. The motorhome group I was a part of for 10 years was comprised of mostly 70-80 year old couples. Everyone owned a rapidly depreciating $300K coach, yet many would pitch a fit if there wasn’t free coffee available in the morning. It’s the same here where people have the means to purchase vintage vehicles and then complain about a membership fee.

It seems like a convoluted way to increase membership and raise revenue. Why not just raise the membership fee by $10-15? What is the number of current members? The 2 widows that joined to sell their cars aren’t likely, in my opinion, to renew their membership. Anyone who joins to sell a car would be selling into the focused group who are probably already members, so the new owner would not be a new member, and the seller might not renew after the sale. I’ve seen Avantis that are for sale on Hemmings, Classic.com, and numerous other sites for months. That’s a good indicator that the price is too high. I can’t be certain but it’s likely that those sites get much more traffic that this site, particularly the For Sale section. I’m not trying to be your rain cloud. It just seems that if an effort is going to be made to achieve your stated goal, we might see more productive results by informing non-member owners of the benefits of membership through direct contact, as you’ve done, or by attending car shows and approaching Avanti owners to ask if they are members. That is also a lot of work, but if we can get as many members as possible to take some of those steps we could increase the membership numbers. That’s would provide a steady flow of revenue as long as those members renew each year. Revenue from ad placement on the other hand would be variable.

Gravity.

I’m not following how a section listing cars for sale might bring in new members. Realistically, membership is going to be limited by the number of current or previous Avanti owners and that isn’t a huge number. It is after all an Avanti Owners Association. I was a member of what was once called the Family Motor Coach Association. It used to be an exclusive association of Motor Coach owners, as the name implies. Well, exclusive became insensitive, so the leaders decided to allow owners of towable RV’s join. The back story is that membership was declining because it’s mosly old codgers who own Motorhomes. I suggested they change the name to the Family RV Association, but they opted to make it just FMCA. Probably saved a fortune on stationary. I also tried to join a Sunbeam Tiger Association to gain more information about the car, but apparently you have to actually own one to join. That must be a pretty small group.

My $.02 is that it would be a convenient resource to have most or all For Sale Avantis listed in one place. That said, this website/forum has a limited number of members and those members probably already own an Avanti or two. Put simply, an ad placed here isn’t going to reach the broad market of classic car buyers, so a seller would likely list the car elsewhere if possible. With some, if not all consignment dealers, part of the agreement is that the car can’t be listed elsewhere and if you take the car back before the end of the contract you’ll have to pay the consignment fee. Perhaps a way around that conundrum would be to compile a list of cars for sale on this website and provide links to where they are listed. A sticky thread at the top of the Avanti’s For Sale section might do the trick. Normally I’d say grown men who have chosen to be involved in the classic car hobby shouldn’t whine about a $25-100 fee to list a car for sale. Given the tiny audience that an ad placed on this website would reach, it may be a valid complaint.

I test drove it last October at Napoli Motors. Deficiencies at the time were the electric passenger window control was non-op, car pulled to the right when braking, tires had flat spots and there may have been a crack in the dash, the center arm rest lid was detached and there was at least one tear in the driver’s seat. The ride felt as though some suspension components might require a closer inspection. Paint was overall pretty good with some imperfections. I also have 20-odd pages of receipts from Mike Meyers that total about $35K. It was priced at $58,000. It looked at felt like a mid-$40K car to me, so I passed. Lenny bought the car from Art and Speed in Collierville TN. Not sure what he paid but A&S bought it for $37,500.

Would you send measurements for the air cleaner support? I need to fabricate one. Thanks.

A picture might help. Also recommend getting your hands on a workshop manual.

Thanks. I’m sending it tomorrow.

I was provided with an Owner’s Guide with the purchase of 1692. I believe it is the original guide for 63R-2068 with body # 63-RQ-1232, since those numbers are written on page 4. I have a reproduction guide and would like to return this guide to the owner of 2068. Any assistance in locating the current owner would be appreciated.

I haven’t personally used it, however a number of friends and relatives have used FB Marketplace to sell vehicles. In some cases a car or boat was sold and gone within a few hours. It’s a little more work than the consignment process but it opens up the possibility of capturing the fees/commissions that would otherwise be paid to a dealer.

Just do it. Send a picture when it’s done.

I use Valvoline Dex/Merc III. Anything that meets the appropriate standards is acceptable.

It looks as though someone made an effort to redirect fuel tank vapors for some reason. Perhaps the original vent hose loop was compromised so the quick fix was to drill a few more holes in the tank and add some plumbing. As Groucho Marx once said: “ The problem with making something foolproof, is that fools are so ingenious.”

I’m seeing what I believe to be excess movement in the belts at idle which also seems to be causing a clattering noise. I’m not a mechanic but I will have an opportunity in a few weeks to get it back to my buddy’s shop and have his/our mechanic finish up a few other things. My question is, could a simple adjustment fix the issue or should I order a new spring and/or other parts. I’m not opposed to ordering a part that may not actually be necessary at this time, because if it is necessary I’ll have it in hand and not have to wait a week and then have to schedule shop time again. Strangely, I did not see removal, replacement or adjustment of this part 1542361 addressed in the workshop manual. This is on a 1963 R2. Thanks in advance.