Gunslinger

I'll guess AMC...Saturn was not yet in production with GM as it was founded in 1985. Avanti Motors borrowed other parts from AMC such as external mirrors. For a time Avanti used Chrysler steering columns but I think that was done with by 1983. I don't know what Ford parts Avanti used.

When Avanti Motors formed...Nate Altman approached Bob Morrison of MFG about supplying bodies again for the new startup company. Morrison was elated to do so and at great rates as he had something like 150 Avanti complete bodies leftover from Studebaker cancelling the contract with him. About all that was necessary to use them was to design and produce the filler for the front wheel arch. Following the sale and use of all these car bodies Nate Altman brought body assembly into his facility for assembly...just buying the fiberglass body parts from MFG. I would think he exercised better quality control and labor costs by doing so. I'm thinking Bob Morrison was doing the happy dance after making that agreement with Altman.

Chevrolet didn’t need to do anything to harm Avanti production…Studebaker really didn’t need any help in destroying themselves. I doubt if Chevrolet…or other carmakers…gave Studebaker much thought as Studebaker had such a small market share. The problem had less to do with Chevrolet than with Studebaker requiring MFG to supply complete, assembled and painted Avanti bodies…which MFG had no experience doing. Corvette bodies were shipped to Chevrolet in sections…far fewer sections than in an Avanti body. There are many horror stories about the MFG production issues and what Studebaker troubleshooters found when they went to Ashtabula to smooth out production. Chevrolet didn’t to do anything to hurt Studebaker…all they needed to do is sit back and watch.

That would awesome if he was. When the ‘70 Avanti II I had was being rebuilt I toyed with the idea of installing a Tremec 5-speed in it but the rebuild was expensive enough at the time…plus my wife won’t drive a manual…she’s knows how to but won’t. Still…I kinda still think I shoulda installed the 5-speed.

Hurst discontinued the Avanti specific shifter years ago. Any still available are either NOS or used. I doubt if the numbers produced was that high to begin with. If I remember correctly if it wasn’t for Nate Altman’s influence Hurst probably had never made any at all.

Fiberglass isn’t like sheet metal…it has to be cured before use and different batches of fiberglass taken from possibly different molds may cure at different rates…allowing for slightly different tolerances. Avanti Motors had a reputation for taking the time for getting things right…at least while Nate Altman was in charge…QC allegedly started a downward slide after his death. Considering the pressures to produce cars Studebaker was under I doubt if anyone on the assembly line was going for perfection.

The Avanti has a one-piece body once it's all glued together. You cannot simply take off a fender...paint it and put it back on. When the '70 I had was damaged and required a left front fender and drivers door the body shop told the insurance adjuster it would require a complete repaint or a line would eventually form where the damaged area was...no matter how well blended it might be. The adjuster simply said "Do it!".

Drivers today...the few that have manual transmission vehicles...are so used to hydraulic clutches they would think there's something wrong with a car of that era when pushing in on the clutch. A friend who owns a 2008 Mustang Bullitt Edition tried the '69 Corvette 427/435hp I owned and was shocked at the difference in effort to press in the clutch. He had forgotten how cars of that era drove.

Not all states required outside rear view mirror at the time plus they would have been prone to damage during transport. For the factory to install mirror would have also increased payroll costs...maybe not much per car but it adds up. Car makers don't think in terms of dollars or pennies...they think in terms of tenths of pennies.

Locating the battery allows you the option of a Group 24 battery or the larger Group 27 giving increased cranking amps and reserve power. This would be at the cost of losing a bit more trunk space.

I doubt if Studebaker intended or cared about such issues so far into the future…there was never a thought about these cars still being on the road sixty plus years later. I doubt if any car maker did…any words to that effect were nothing but ad copy.

The Dunlop/Bendix caliper brakes were excellent for their day…but they were also designed for cars roughly a thousand pounds lighter than an Avanti. Studebaker wanted a fully engineered disc brake setup and contacted Bendix and said they wanted it in only a few months ready to go. So Bendix licensed the design from Dunlop and put it in production. It may not have been optimal compared to a disc brake setup designed for a car the Avanti’s size but it worked and worked well…and was still better than other American car makers.

Magazine writers of the period commented on the Avanti 4-speed not having a good spread of gears. One writer even wondered whether Chevrolet had an exclusive on the gears from Borg-Warner for the Corvette…thus keeping others such as Studebaker from choosing better gear ratios. The Hurst shifter has enjoyed universal praise as superior to the Studebaker supplied shifter.

I believe dealers had a template on where to drill for the attaching screws…whether the fender of the door. Place it wrong on the door and the wing vent hits it.

Be careful with the fluid you use in the blower. Paxtons require a fluid that has at least some friction. Too slick fluid allows the planetary balls to skid rather than roll smoothly which can create heat spots and cause early failure. Original fill was Type A Suffix A which was made from whale oil and is no longer available…that’s why Ford Type F or equivalent is recommended today. Andy Granatelli in his book They Call Me Mister 500 said they used some STP in the blower as it helped keep blower oil temps down…but Andy was a master promoter and that was his product. Besides…how many drive at Salt Flats speeds?