ernier
-
Posts
226 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by ernier
-
-
I think you need to dive in...some of the hurdles you encounter may only be resolved by trial and error.
I had a 74 El Camino a while back and needed a trans. I bought a TH 350 on ebay from a company named Jackson Racing. I think it was under $600 with a 2000 RPM stall converter. Great service and great shifting trans.
There are different flexplates that Chevy engines use, external and internal balance and different diameters. You may have to pull your car apart to determine which you need. Also, the driveshaft length can only be checked once the trans is in along with proper placement of the crossmember. I believe there are long and short tailshaft TH350's.
The vacuum hook up for the modulator is easy, right to the intake manifold. The kickdown cable is not as complicated as the 200 or the 700 but you would still need a carb that has the hole on the linkage for the cable to connect to.
The clearance problem with the 700 is the servo, the TH350's servo is in roughly the same place. I don't know if the 350 is as wide but again until you stick it up there you won't know.
A company named Kugle Shiftworks makes an adapter kit that should enable you to use your stock shifter in place of the GM cable that the trans is commonly shifted with.
It's wise to seek advice but it seems from the responses that the O/D swap is more common than the TH350 so you may have to break some new ground. The good news is that we know it can be done and the TH350 is probably the least expensive trans you could choose.
Ernie 64 R2 700R4
I've got a 66 Avanti II with a stock Borg/Warner 2nd gear start transission. Its been acting up a little and the transmission shop I went to suggested a TH350 swap. I DO NOT WANT AN OVERDRIVE TRANSMISSION. Sorry thought I'd get that out of the way to save a lot of unessessary posting. My question is, What is involved in doing this swap? crossmember, flexplate, torque converter. linkages, driveshaft, etc. Have any of you done this swap if so what did you encounter? Thanks for any help/tips you could give me. DCL -
The tray on my 64 is original. It has two studs, one that goes through the fender and the nut is accessed through the wheel well and the other stud is where my bracket is attched to. The bracket in the pictures effectively keeps the weight of the battery off the fender as I have it so it's raised a little off the fiberglass.
I'm going to have to pull the radiator out of the car in the next couple of weeks and I can yank the battery and get you pictures if you can wait 'til then.
Ernie R2 R5388
Your bracket looks like it supports the fender very well, but I am interested in the little plate that the battery rests on. I ordered up the two piece kit from Meyers and will have to re shape the under fender brace -I understand it is for the Avanti II? I was told that the plate gets pop riveted to the fender but my fender has no pre-existing holes. A photo of this piece would require removing the battery.I thought about pulling batterys at South Bend but thought that could be difficult to explain to an owner!!
-
I don't know if this helps or is even what you were looking for...I made the support by bending an alternator bracket from who knows what?(G) The factory support could go on this way or bolt to the sway bar bolt.
The picture of the nut is the threaded end of one of the bumper brace bolts that goes in from the outer sideof the frame.
Not an easy picture to take from the top with the engine still hot from an afternoon drive in 90+ degrees.
Hope it helps...
Ernie R2 R5388
I am looking for a photo of the battery tray/support that goes under the '64+ battery,not the under fender support. It is not self evident just what position it should be in.It would be a big help,thanks!
-
The end piece has 3 connections to the bumper braces. At the side, as you already know, at the very front bolted to a stud on the end of the rubber that goes through one of the braces and bolted to the center section. If just the trailing end of the end is drooping the center section might be twisted and you might have to bend something. Or you need to loosen all the bolts including the one that goes to the center section and the braces at the frame. Take the bolt out of the fender so you don't break any fiberglass and put a jack under the end piece bring it up to where you want and tighten bolts.
Ernie
Ernie, I loosened the side bolt and the fender bolt to where I could turn the nut with my fingers, and tried to adjust the endcap bumper. It won't budge, can't move it up or down. Can you suggest anything else? Thanks. Tim -
The squeal could be the result of new pads on rotors that weren't resurfaced. It may go away. I used the Turner brakes. The availability of GM pads and the throngs that praise Jim Turner's service led me to his product. Steeltech has a reputation for long delivery and less than prompt response to questions. I can only say that the Turner brakes work great and would highly recommend the swap. I recouped most of my upgrade expense by selling the Stude stuff on ebay.
My only quibble is the lack of splash guards with either Turner or Steeltech. I plan to fabricate something, one of these days(G)
Ernie 64 R2 R5388
Following the shop manual and Wayne's advice, I dove into the brakes this weekend and here's what I found out FWIW -First, there was a buildup of grease/dirt/gunk between the rotor and the dust shield. The previous owner had been rather generous when lubricating the front end, so I hope it was just some overflow that started this. I cleaned everything with spray brake cleaner paying special attention to the rotors.
Secondly, the calipers were not centered on the rotors. No telling how long this had existed, but I did at least find the spacers were still there. After several trial-and-error attempts, I got them within the .02" difference spec.
Third, the pads were defintely worn down, maybe 30% of the surface left compared to new ones. I obtained replacements from Advance Auto. They cross-referenced the part number to an early Datsun model that used the same Dunlop disks. And, well, they almost fit. They were just a smidgeon too wide, so I put on my Darth Vader respirator and ground off the edges enough to make them fit. They were identical otherwise, and retailed for $26 and no shipping cost.
The good news is that I now have excellent stopping power and the pulsing/grinding noise is gone.
The bad news is that I now have a depths-of-hell-banshee squeal from the new pads. I have bedded them in using the method of several low speed stops consecutively, and then some moderately high speed stops. They don't squeal at all in very light or very heavy applications, only in that middle area where you do 90% of your braking! Is there any value in anti-squeal stuff on the pads? Can I expect this to improve with use or do I need to think of turning the rotors now? They are original, 58K miles, and did not exhibit undue runout.
Oh, I did contact both Turner and Steeltech about their brake upgrade kits. Both seem to think their kits would work fine with my Borrani wire wheels. If all else fails, this would be my next move. Both use the Ford rotors and GM calipers, but Steeltech is about $100 cheaper. Anyone have experiences/comments about either?
-
The engine could probably spin to 5,000 RPM without hurting itself but whether or not you'll make power up to that point or achieve that RPM is another matter.
Ernie R2 R5388
-
I'm curious, did you solve your problem???
Ernie R2 R5388
quote name='BillyBob' date='Jul 7 2007, 08:19 PM' post='2979']
OK, so I 'violated' one of my own Rules - never make more than one change at a time! Recently bought a '77 - all OE as best I can tell. Wasn't running well (flat spot, hesitation, rough idle at cold start, etc...). Ordered a reman Quadrajet. While waiting for reman ('old' term: rebuilt) carb, replaced most vacuum hoses and the 'white' and 'green' ported vacuum switches (one on intake manifold, other on thermostat housing - both broke when removing old vac hoses). Now, all back together, including installation of reman carb. Cranks well - as it always did. Now, hard starting and, once started, engine either won't stay running (loses RPMs) or, RPMs 'run away' - immediately go to 3000, at which time I shut-down engine. Not good. While I believe all vac hoses are connected correctly, I cannot be 100% certain. While running new vac hoses, I found the ported vac switch hose to the heat riser vac motor had a plastic tube insert that was 'blocked' - making the heat riser inop. I removed the vac motor, checked its function (checked OK) and verified heat riser movement - it, too, was functional. All reconnected.
Ideas on where to start?
Is there a vacuum hose diagram?
...any and all suggestions and help is appreciated!
-
The bumper ends bolt to the center section from the side, at the front to a stud and on the outside through the fender. At the frame the brackets bolt up with some adjustment with adjustment is possible with the bolt through the fender. Loosen up evrything you can and re-position the end where it's supposed tp be and re-tighten. Shim behind the fender if necessary rather than tightening against the fiberglass.
Ernie R2 R5388
Just bought a beautiful 1978 Avanti II, and fulfilled a long-time dream. I'm enjoying it very much.
The front bumperette, or end cap, the bumper that wraps around the fender, is canted down slightly instead of being parallel to the ground and level with the main front bumper. I've seen photos of other Avantis that have this droopy bumper, so maybe it's fairly common. Any suggestions on how to straighten it up like it's supposed to be? I've attached a photo showing the slight downward droop.
[/quot
-
My hog troughs look great from the outside. When I stripped out the
interior I decided to get brave and took a 3" hole saw and cut 3 holes in
the fiberglass above the troughs from the top. I was disturbed to find a
layer of heavy rust on both sides and part of the area where the roll bar
connects rusted away on one side. I scraped the loose stuff off as best I
could and vacuumed the debris out. I then poured Eastwood's Corroless
paint in, It's their version of POR 15 ( of which I am also a big fan). I
jacked the car up front and then rear and then side to side to coat as much
as possible and then used cheap foam brushes stuck in the end of some 3/8
gas hose to slather it around even more. After the paint dried, I sprayed
in Eastwood rustproofing until it dripped out from the drain holes.
The 3" holes are covered with duct tape. So checking now and then is easy as lifting the carpet and peeling the tape off. My car will not see much wet weather and is in a garage
so I'm hoping the deterioration has been halted. But I can't emphasize
strongly enough that from the outside the hog troughs looked and felt as
solid as new.
The area to cut the hole in is below the sill plates a couple of inches
from the edge of the rocker panel. It's pretty easy to determine where to
cut. I don't think you would have to remove the front seats but it would
make it easier to get the carpet to stay out of the way. Cut the rear
hole as far back as possible so you can get good access to the area where
the roll bar comes in. The section behind the roll bar can't easily be
accessed from the top. I sprayed rustproofing in through the drain hole in
the bottom of the trough. The rustproofing tool I have has tips that spray
like a lawn sprinkler without the rotation so you can stick it up in a hole
and spray the sides.
By the way the Eastwood rustproofing gun is relatively cheap and doesn't
need a big compressor. It's worth the investment for the job I described
and if you have any metal cars it's a bargain.
Ernie 64 R2 R5388
Although Studebaker owners for 47 years (had one brief excursion into Avantis with a 1963 R1 in 1970-71) we now have our first real collector's Avanti. It is a 1978 Avanti II that we bought at South Bend at the meet in June. It is a driver - we will tour with it and look forward to some AOAI meets in the future.I have a question about trying to preserve the hog troughs. Mine appear to be in pretty good shape - and I would like to keep them that way. Has anyone come up with a way to protect the inside of the hog troughs? One idea I had was to squirt some oil into the drain hole from time to time in hopes it would coat the inside and retard development of rust. Does this make sense? Anyone have any other ideas?
Thanks for any advice.
bobav78
-
The Avanti steering is NOT inherently bad. Rebuilding it to stock specifications will result in a very stable, nice driving car.
ErnieR
-
Saw lots of pictures of Avanti's at the dragstrip at the SB meet. Would love to hear some ET's and MPH's.
ErnieR
-
Your Performance & fuel economy sound much better than average and I am interested in your mods.
289,Paxton? AFB? Jets? timing?
I have an Auto with 3.54 gears & cast headers.
With your Data,can you calculate the HP you are making?
Fuel economy is credited to a 700R4 overdrive. The carb is a combination of an Edelbrock 1406 bottom and the original R2 3725S AFB top. The engine was bored by the previous owner to a whopping .156 over giving me about 315CID. The heads are low compression ( I'm guessing with the dished pistons that are in there about 8.25:1) with R3 Intake valves, the cam is an R2.5 with matching springs, the exhaust is R3 manifolds with a 2" "H" configuration running through Thrush Turbo mufflers, gearing is 3.73 TT, torque converter is a B&M Holeshot lock up with a 2400 RPM stall, blower is stock with a smaller pulley, the distributor is a Delco window that I curved to give me 28 total at 2,000 rpm( centrifugal advance ), Pertronix Ignitor, Jets are 98 front with 73/47 rods and 95 rear ( stock 1406 set up but I have since leaned the secondaries to 92 jets and my seat of the pants dyno says the car is now quicker in the midrange ).
I plan to go back in the fall sometime after I put the flanged axles in. My launch technique was from idle easing the car off the line a little to avoid stressing the stock axles too much. I feel with the Jet changes and being able to come off a little harder the car will break into the 14's. The runs were made with the spare in the trunk and 3 year old spark plugs.
One other issue that may have slowed me down a little is the governor in the 700R4. I have yet to come up with the right combination of springs and weights to get the full throttle shift points where I would like them so at the top of first gear I have to let off the gas a little and allow the trans to shift otherwise it will go right to 6,000 RPM and power starts to drop after 5,500.
Ernie R2 R5388
-
Went to the local track (50 miles away) with #2 son to make a few passes. I was a little disappointed but it is what it is. The best was a 15.097 at 91.56 MPH. It was a perfect night, cool no wind at all. The car ran as good as it could. No misses, flat spots, overheats or crazy shimmies and the boost gage stayed pinned a 5lbs so no belt slips or air leaks. In fact, it pulled clean and smooth to 5200 RPM in each gear.
There's probably a sub 15 second run in there somewhere. I played with the timing a little with performance nothing better than where I had it set initially. I purposely left all my carb jets at home because it runs great on the street and gets 23MPG on the highway and I just didn't feel like messing with it.
Every contemporary road test I've read puts a 4 speed R2 at around 16 seconds and an automatic with 3.73's at 15.8. So, I guess the few little mods I've done have had some effect.
ErnieR
-
the worst that could happen is you have to replace the improper system with one that will pass your sta e inspection. in nj anything that is 25+ years old can be registered historic and not have to go through any inspection. it wouldn't keep mr from buying the car.
Ernie R2 R5388
I'm negotiating for a nice 1978 Avanti II. The owner removed the catalytic converter and replaced with a 1973 Avanti exhaust system. He says he never had trouble getting it inspected and they don't do emissions testing in Texas for cars that old. Anything I ought to consider on this? -
I haven't seen where anyone has come up with a reason not to plug that hole. If your tank starts to leak it's going everywhere. If there were channel or gutters directed to that hole I might suspect it's a drain. It could be a there to aid the manucacturing process or the spot they originally thought the outlet would be, who knows? There are rubber plugs you can buy, JB weld a piece of metal etc. Cover it and feel good about it. Mine's been plugged for 7 years now and I have no regrets:)
BTW, plugging or filling all those openings around the tank and trunk, insulating that compartment and the floors will make for a nice quiet Avanti.
Ernie R2 R5388
-
undefined
The Avanti may soon be getting the public exposure it has so long waited for. Mr. Richard Sand (the previous owner of my 1971 Avanti II, RQB 1600) has recently published his latest book. In this book, the hero drives a Avanti. Hopefully, readers of his books will be interested in just what kind of car a Avanti really is. Do a Google search to find his books. George Wendell, BrownWtrSailr@AOL.comI theorized about 5 years ago why fiction heroes don't drive Avantis. For those of you that have seen it before bear with me. For the newer guys and gals...Maybe, slick fiction heroes don't drive Avantis because...
Dan Paxton was a local private eye trying to make a name for himself.
On the outside, he looked every bit the part; tall, athletic, steely blue
eyes and he had a way with the ladies. He had a self confident air about
him that let everyone around him know he was in control. Never one to
embrace the latest fads his clothes, although impeccably tailored, always
seemed from a different era. His clothing was perfect on him but definitely
not the latest in trendy attire. When you looked at him you thought you had
seen the likes of him before; maybe in an old movie or a newspaper photo
somewhere in the darker recesses of your memory. Even the car he drove
was an oxymoron. He always said "they haven't yet built a car yet that
speaks to me like my Avanti". The car he's referring to is over 40 years old;
older than Dan Paxton! It looked new but it wasn't. It looked like it had an Italian ancestry, but it didn't. Dan loved the confusion it caused. It fit him. It would be his downfall.
He needed a big case. He thought his last caper would be the one. He
had single handedly broken up a ring of drug dealers operating in a nursing
home. They were giving Viagra to the patients instead of vitamins. Then when the nursing home population was hooked they started draining what was left of the patients’ bank accounts as they needed more and more to satisfy their habit. Ironically, the only person that offered Dan any thanks when he broke up the ring was the sheep farmer whose land bordered the nursing home complex. It seemed that some of the patients....well, you get the picture.
Just when he thought he was doomed to the dull stuff forever, like the "EVERYONE Had a Little Lamb" caper, as it came to be called, the door to his office swung open. There she was. He had seen beautiful women before, but she took his breath away. He dropped his AOAI magazine and was speechless for a second. He opened his mouth to speak but she
purred before he could utter a word, "Mr. Paxton?" He had to think for a moment but he composed himself and invited her to sit.
She was the wife of a millionaire industrialist. He had been on the cover of Time, Fortune and Barons and The Eastwood Catalog. Dan knew and admired the man. One of the products that made him his first million was a homing device to locate carburetor linkage clips that would disappear just as they were removed. His business grew to include many items that were of interest to the old car enthusiast; his latest was widely used at car
shows. It was an expensive device but one most enthusiasts refused to do without. The generic name applied by those who swear by it is the "A#$hole detector". It's marketed as a personal security device under the brand name "Jerk Alert". It's a nifty item that's worn as a belt buckle and can be set to warn of "know-it-alls", "what would you take for its?", and the pesky "how much is it worth?" bunch that usually sneaks up on you while
displaying your car. Dan had one, with an Avanti he knew to wear it all the time.
He somehow knew this woman had the case that would make him or he
thought for a minute, break him. As she began to tell her tale of deceit and
adultery he could only concentrate on her face. He would take her case for
free to be near this woman. Dan Paxton was beginning to seize.
She believed her husband was having her followed. He was a jealous man. His paranoia increased as his wealth did. And rightly so, his wife was cheating on him. Dan had no idea her husband was about to fire the private eye that was working for him. A high profile private dick named Dick. Dick never came up with anything on the woman. How could he? He was her lover.
She learned that Dick was soon to be fired she wanted to make sure that the next private eye would not have success either. So she decided if it worked once it would work again. Before long Dan was having an affair with the millionaire's wife. But just like the dick before him he was telling his employer that he couldn't find anything on his seemingly faithful wife.
Soon, their trysts got bolder and bolder. Dan was actually going to the woman's mansion to be with her while her husband was out manning a "Jerk Alert" booth on the swap meet circuit. He was a hands-on guy and he wasn't stupid. A few times, when he arrived home tired, full of funnel cakes and sausage sandwiches from the swap meet, he noticed some red spots in his driveway. The first couple times he dismissed them but after awhile he began to realize they were always bunched within a few inches of each
other and seemed to trail off a few feet before disappearing. His suspicion was growing and he decided to alert Dan to the clue he was sure would lead him to his wife's lover.
The millionaire called and told Dan about the spots. His words sent a shudder through Dan. He couldn’t bear the thought of tackling the power steering hoses.
Meanwhile, the woman's affair with Dick had never ended. After all, he might be inclined to rat on her if she cut him off. She was in a worse spot than she was before she met Dan. But fate would have a way of evening things out.
Things weren't perfect with the millionaire. It seems he was conned into investing a fortune in an R12 Freon substitute that was proven to not only erode the ozone but cause impotence in lab rats whose cages were in a room that was air-conditioned using his product. The ensuing lawsuits would break him. He couldn't bear to leave his wife to do the swap meets but it was his only source of income since the advent of fuel injection and the reduced use of carburetor clips. The "Jerk Alert" was critical to his survival, it was the one thing he had faith in, after all, there will always be A#$holes.
He was on his way to his next swap meet and he decided to swing by Dan's office to let him know that he was going to be away and to keep an eye on his wife. As he pulled up to the curb he parked behind Dan's Avanti. He thought to himself "Wow I haven't seen one of those in ages". He had to stop for a moment to try to rationalize why, with all the swap meets he had been to there were no Avantis!! He quickly surmised that Canadian cars just aren't popular in the States and went to take a closer look at the car. As he walked up to it he saw a badge on the side of the car and was shocked to see the word
"Supercharged" on the side. He was impressed. His awe soon turned to horror as he
looked down and saw THE DRIPS that same odd pattern that was in his driveway.
In a moment of clarity he realized he’d been had. He went back to his truck and grabbed the gun he brought with him whenever he did a swap meet in Tennessee. He burst into Dan's office ready to confront and shoot Dan but Dan saw the whole thing from his window and was ready with his own gun. His mind raced, he knew he should have repaired the power steering leak… but who’s got the time? The two men fired simultaneously and mortally wounded each other.
It was a few weeks after the demise of her husband and the hapless Dan when the accountants informed her that she was broke. The Freon fiasco had cleaned them out and they were embroiled in lawsuits with A#$hole protectionist groups from the east and west coast. In a flash, it became painfully clear to her that for all her scheming and cheating…all she got was Dick.
****************************************************************************
****************************************************************************
*************
Ernie R2 R5388
-
1975 most of the industry went to cats. Some Mopars got away with it for a couple more model years. I'll leave the rest of the question to the Avanti II guys.
Ernie R2 R5388
OK, Ernie R2 R5388 was a Big Help on chrome-bumper stick shifts - - thanks!Let me try another, please . . .
I seem to recall '73 as The Year of the Catalytic Converter. What are good & bad years for chrome-bumper IIs with emission controls?
In Ernie's response to "chrome-bumper stick shifts" he mentioned "early IIs" as high quality. What years are considerd early IIs & high quality in what respect?
-
I don't think you will be faced with many choices...the 63's and 64's are only subtly different and fairly rare in the manaual versions. There will be plenty of opinions on the Avanti II but I think you will find the manual cars are limited to the early years. Good news is that the early II's are considered high quality car but I doubt you will have too many to choose from in stick shift variety.
Ernie R2 R5388
-
$5,000 is fair. A 63 R2 complete, running but needing a total restoration sold on ebay for a little over $7,000 so no supercharger and family you're being more than fair. Start with getting it to a point that it's driveable. If it's a driveable car you can spend a little time with it, decide what you're next step would be and whether you like the car.
Rubber fuel lines should be replaced, old gas drained, brake lines inspected, calipers and wheel cylinders will probably need to be replaced or at least rebuilt. The carb may have a gummy build up from not running and the fuel pump may work for a short time than give up. Belts and water hoses should be replaced along with the obvious oil change and probably a coolant flush and trans service. Basically, anything that's supposed to be flexible or comes in contact with liquids should be refurbished.
Have Fun!
Ernie R2 R5388
Hi Guys, I wanted to get some feed back on where to start with this car. I should have the car in my barn inabout 3 weeks. It was my father-in-laws( he passed away 8 yeasr ago). It has been sitting for the past 11 years that I know of. I've only heard it run once(11 years ago). It has been garage kept since it was bought from i believe the second owner in 1972. The car is 63R-Q1082. It should have the supercharger but I haven't been able to find it(bracket is in place). Where should I start? Brakes, Engine,Tires,etc........I have a few pics with the car cover on. What is the car worth ? I estimate about $5,000. I want to give my mother-in-law a fair price. Thanks for any help.. p.s. I found a new nos supercharger for $1300.00 but no pulley.
-
This wasn't my idea but I had read in a couple of places where under boost the secondary throttle plates are held closed by incoming air pressure. I never bothered to attempt the fix because I thought my seconadaries were operating properly. Well, for the heck of it I took a little ZIP tie and secured the linkage and went for a spin. Wow!
The ZIP tie was replaced by a tack weld because as the plastic tie heated up it stretched and I could feel the difference from the first acceleration "Test".
The reason this happens is the AFB/Edelbrock carb's secondary linkage is actually opened with spring pressure. These are not vacuum secondaries but the spring is there to keep the secondaries from opening while the choke is closed. That, by the way, is another thing to check. If the choke linkage is not adjusted properly or the choke is not opening all the way the secondaries will not open. Pedal travel remains the same because the spring on the secondary throttle plates allows that to happen.
Pictures below, screwdriver tip shows where you should wrap a strong wire, tack weld or maybe JB Weld. There is one of an Edlebrock and one of an Avanti AFB.
-
Bruce
I'll admit I never thought about the cars that are cannabilized, but if there weren't some people restoring them they wouldn't be worth parting out. Actually, the cost of restoring most cars is going to be a lot more than their resale value, not just Avantis. Especially if it's not a top shelf, 99 pt. restoration. I've resigned myself to the fact that I must view my hobby as an one that costs me money with the ability to recoup a only small percentage of what I spend.
I don't completely understand the weak pricing of the Avanti II but I hope it stays down 'til I can buy one. Wouldn't mind building one a lot like yours
Ernie
BTW, I had my opinions on the matter published in the club magazine a few years ago. I also wrote a little "story" as a sidebar to one of the points I made in the letter. I said that some TV hero needs to drive an Avanti like Don Johnson, Tom Selleck or Burt Reynolds. They all made cars desirable and oddly enough the Miami Vice Ferrari was actually a kit car based on a Corvette but look what happened to Daytona values back then. And, the black and gold Trans Ams will be "Bandit" cars even to people that don't know why they are called that. And last but not least, the General Lee!!!
Everytime I see a Mopar going for some ridiculous amount of money I tell my wife that they were not the greatest cars ( I have to be careful she has a 72 Duster ). I was in the gas station business in the early 70's and had the opportunity to tear into a lot of vehicles that are collectible today. I know what they are made of.
Anyway if anyone's is interested in reading my little story I'll post it, might ive you a couple of laughs.
Ernie
Ernie...I agree with your sentiments for the most part. What values Avanti's are bringing is really a double-edged sword. High values are great...if you're selling. Low values are great if you're buying. The best we can hope for is to find a reasonable compromise in the middle.
As we've already discussed, rarity doesn't necessarily translate into desireability or increased value. The Avanti community seems quite small and rarity and value for an Avanti seems to matter only within that small community...not the general automotive hobby. Advertise for sale a genuine factory R3 Avanti and listen to the deafening silence and yawns from the mainstream hobbyists and investors. Advertise a run of the mill Cobra (if there is such a thing as a run of the mill Cobra) and watch the dollar signs shine in people's eyes.
To my way of thinking, what the low relative values of Avanti's does to hurt us is it makes them unattractive for restoration or rebuilding otherwise. They are simply not cost effective to rebuild compared to potential resale value. That results in more and more Avanti's being parted out when they might be quite restorable otherwise. I've seen several Avanti's parted out because of this. I think the numbers of Avanti's out there is or will be steadily decreasing due to this. For this to change, either the cars get increased mainstream recognition and desireabilty or ultimately what few Avanti's remain will never get driven anymore as they begin failing at an increasing rate and not repaired.
I'm afraid a small bunch of Avanti fanatics can't do it all. New converts need to be brought into the fold.
-
Taking our inherent emotions for the Avanti out of the equation I don't think the assessment is far off. Considering the rarity of these cars they don't bring much money. A commonplace GM A body convertible of the Le Mans, Skylark nature but not a GTO or 442 will generate more dollars and have more general desirability.
Look at the current crop of Avanti II's on ebay. Last one that finished, a '75, is one I'm familiar with and a very nice car. I think it ended at $7200 and I believe the car was purchase for $9000 a couple of years ago. Avanti II's are a real bargain if you want a fun car but I don't think you are going to see a profit when you sell it. The Studebakers are starting to come up but they don't generate much more than a nice Hawk GT.
The people that are driving the Muscle Car market are getting older and the I don't think the next generation of people with too much money to spend will be clamoring for Avantis, in fact, they may not be clamoring for Muscle Cars.
Personally, I like it this way. It means the cars I prefer to have will be within my reach.
Ernie R2 R5388
-
The hole is a mystery but I covered mine up years ago with no ill effects. As far as the seat springs, I would make believe you never saw it and put the seat back the way it is:).
Ernie R2 R5388
this last weekend i pulled the back seat, all the screws on the bottom of the fiberglass back cover had to be drilled out. i found a hole in the bottom of the fiber glass below the tank. the week before i open the trunk and found 2 pounds of bird seed to which i couldnt figure out how the mouse or chimpmunk got it in their, i think the hole maybe where he or she is getting in and thier is holes in the fender top from the trunk to the gas tank area. is that hole in the bottom of the tank area needed ? i though it might be for a tank rupture drain or something. on a side note the back seat looked ok except the springs have a lot of rust on then any ideas on what to do with out removing covers and the matting. sand blast or wire wheel and hand painting? 
-
If you haven't done so already join the Studebaker Drivers Club and visit their forum. Between the two organizations there will be no question about your car that couldn't be answered.
How about a couple of pictures of the new arrival?
Ernie R2 R5388
Front Brake Issue/Question
in 1965-83 Avanti
Posted
I cleaned and packaged all my pieces and sold them on ebay. My calipers were stainless sleeved so I may have gotten a little better price but if I remember correctly the auction ended up close to $300.
BTW, I have had very good performance from Hawk brake pads. One of my sons was doing CAD work for a performance brake company and turned me on to them. I have them on 3 cars including the Turner equipped Avanti.
Ernie R2 R5388