Gunslinger

Call Summit Racing’s tech line…explain what you have and your concerns. They will give you solid recommendations.

I can't get the sheets to load. If you send me a personal message with your email address I'll send them that way.

It was available on one of the Avanti websites but I believe it's no longer active. If I still have a copy I'll post it...might take some time looking.

Avanti Motors went to the 350 engine in 1970 with the start of the RQ-B series. The last few RQ-A models would still have used the 327. But...as already said...there could have been some unused until much later. The intake would likely have been what was standard on a Corvette of that year.

I don't know how much these will help...they're from some time ago and vendors could have changed or dropped their parts numbers...but it's what I have.

Your rear brake wheel cylinders may need rebuilding…one may be frozen, a leaking seal or a bad hose. Don’t go adding something that may not be necessary.

You have to remember...back when the Avanti was built Studebaker (and other car makers) were using pretty skinny tires...not those with wider footprints like they do now. It took less effort to turn the wheel regardless of whether equipped with power steering or non-power.

Somewhere I read the “C” meant “convertible”.

Studebaker owners are very fortunate, indeed, to be able to have access to such records. From experience I know how Mopar and other Brand X owners get so extreme for originality. I owned a '69 Corvette L71...427 435 hp convertible and was fortunate to have its original sales invoice, window sticker, copies of all prior titles, complete service history of the car and the broadcast sheet from on the gas tank. That was an uncommon thing to own a car that was maintained as it was plus all its records. No knows whether Chevrolet has records for them anymore...they disappeared long ago...either lost or destroyed. It's well recognized within the Corvette world that if those records were suddenly found and people had access to them there would be many unhappy current owners as they would find out their "all original" and "correct" Corvette left the factory in a completely different configuration. It's already generally acknowledged that there are more "original" big block Corvettes extant than ever left the factory during the big block years. Having the original records found would be a disaster for the Corvette hobby. Pontiac owners generally do well as the factory records for them are pretty complete and available.

Roughly 8000-9000 Avantis were built. I don’t know if anyone has a firm figure of survivors but I would think there’s a good 50% still around whether running or not.

Much depends on the sound you want. I’ve used both Flowmasters and Magnaflow. Flowmasters will give you a loud, raspy sound that makes you think will shake or even break glass windows as you drive by. Magnaflows give a lower, soft burble at idle and will open up much more as rpm’s increase. Go to each maker’s website. They usually have a sample of the sound their products make you can listen to.

Very true...wavy body panels is more the norm on fiberglass bodies cars. When the '70 I owned was redone the body shop went above and beyond (I paid for it) and made sure the body was so smooth that people at cars shows later couldn't believe it was fiberglass due to its smoothness. The body shop was proud of the car since its presence there sold additional restoration work for them.

What sending unit…gas tank…temperature…oil pressure…which? Different brands can look different but do the same job.

I can only tell you of my experience when I was having the '70 Avanti I owned rebuilt. The hinges and the like were painted separately before the body. The shop manager told me that being essentially a one-piece body he would only have the car painted on the frame with all body parts attached (the hood and trunk lid had their interior surfaces painted separately before being mounted). He said that was to have all parts painted equally and in the same direction or it would show. He also said if the body was not on the frame when painted there could be paint damage when mounted and bolted down. I'm no paint expert but I accepted his explanation and felt he was the expert and had the expertise. I watched as the car was painted and the tech went around the car about a dozen times with the color coat followed by the clear coat. They did a magnificent job...people couldn't believe that the car was fiberglass and not steel as there were no flaws in the body and finish. When my car was done the boss said he was hesitant to give my car back to me as simply having it at his facility sold a lot of other restorations from potential customers seeing it.

Avanti Motors would paint a car any color the buyer wanted...so there are no standard color list to pick from. Look under the mirror tray in the glove box or on the back of the mirror itself as they often put a sticker with the color there. The other way to find the original color is to order a build sheet from Nostalgia Motors...the build sheet will also provide the color applied by the factory. All that assumes it's still the factory color and not changed by someone over the years.