Gunslinger

The car may received body damage at one time…and repairs might have seen the plate removed…not replaced and the rivet holes fiberglassed over.

Check the body behind the drivers door…below the door lock. There should be a label.

There is likely a RQ number used internally by Avanti Motors. Probably the best way to get is to order a build sheet from Nostalgic Motors…that would have any internal accounting number on it.

The racing water pump could be part of the problem. If it's a reverse flow water pump that might be a problem but a racing water pump may circulate the coolant faster than it can be cooled.

To the best of my knowledge...none exists. The best you can do is obtain copies of the 1963-'64 Studebaker Avanti manual and parts book and work from them...and ask questions here.

Yes…an air deflector directs more air to the radiator that would otherwise create turbulent airflow under the car. It serves no purpose idling but really helps at speed.

The entire steering column is likely a Mopar unit. Avanti Motors at different times used both Mopar and American Motors steering columns.

Call Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors. He was an Avanti dealer through the Blake era. If he doesn’t have a NOS cap in stock he’ll know what car it came from.

This was some years back…but I saw a R3 intake on the shelf at Myer’s Studebaker in Ohio. I’ve no idea if it’s still there…Jon Myer had a number of R3 engines on stands as well.

Call Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors...he probably has a NOS switch to sell.

In his book They Call Me Mister 500...Andy Granatelli spoke of the supercharger problem and they found that builders were not mic'ing the balls to make sure all were identical diameters...thus some were carrying too much of the load under use and failed. Could this be the issue raising its ugly head again?

Planetary ball superchargers need a certain amount of friction to operate properly. If the fluid is too slick the planetary balls will skid rather than spin and roll and develop hot spots and fail.

Was the lower radiator hose changed? If it’s the old one the inner spring could have rusted away (or a new hose missing the spring)…and the hose is collapsing under vacuum and acting as a coolant blockage. Another possibility is a wrong or defective radiator cap. If your car has a closed system and a cap for an open system is there coolant will not return to the radiator. If the cap cannot hold pressure it will run hot. Also…was the system burped after being flushed and refilled? There be an air bubble blocking coolant flow.

It draws in outside air from the cowl of the car. If you look outside at the base of the windshield through the intake grating you'll see two intakes under the square covers.