Gunslinger

Here’s a way to find an electrical short! 🤣

I used to own a ‘69 Corvette 427 435hp tri-carb…the intake manifold…instead of being raised was sunken for hood clearance…plus the hood itself was slightly raised compared to the small block hood.

While I could be wrong on both counts...during the mid-'70s a lot was going on with Avanti Motors...the change in door locks could have been related to complying with federal safety standards or running out of original Studebaker parts and the need to substitute something different at the least cost. The death of Nate Altman in 1976 probably had an effect in decision making as well.

Didn’t Studebaker state there was no warranty on an R3 engine…and it had 9.75:1 CR? And the R3 was Granatelli developed. They must have expected a combination of a supercharger and R1 heads to grenade on a regular basis and send parts into lower earth orbit. That would have made for some really bad publicity and lawsuits.

Electronics suppliers and Amazon have mercury switches. They won’t look like the originals but will work.

Check all the connections for tightness and corrosion…both hot lead and ground. It may require disconnecting everything…cleaning it all and reconnecting everything tight. You might also do a starter draw test and see how many amps the starter is drawing. The noise may be the starter bolts have loosened and a shim is loose or gone…BTDT. The starter itself may be dry and needing rebuilding or replacing.

I believe that individual assembly techs did some things their own individual way rather than some official standardization. I’ve seen power trunk releases under the dash on the side of the steering wheel and some on the right side. The same might be at play in other assembly areas.

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.

Myer's Studebaker, Nostalgic Motors and Studebaker, Intl should all have what you need.

Try a test light on the 12v wire to see if it’s getting power. If not then you need to find out why.

Single-plane intakes are better for high rpm performance but a dual-plane such as the Performer are better at lower rpm’s and better all-around performance.

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