Gunslinger
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Posts posted by Gunslinger
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Several weeks ago I installed the Saturn air deflector under the front of my '70 Avanti and after two weekends of driving back and forth to car shows I can say it really works.
It was an exceptionally simple install and I think I can highly recommend it to anyone with a Stude framed Avanti...it might just as easily work with Larks as well since they share the frame. Whether it would work on a Hawk I don't know.
My '70, with it's new crate engine (now with 2000 miles on it), would run a pretty consistent 180-190 degrees on the highway, slightly more in higher outside temperatures and humidity. Rarely have I seen it go over 200 degrees other than slow traffic and idling.
Last weekend I took the car on a 45-50 mile each way trip to a car/airplane show at a local regional airport. The outside temps were in the upper 80's in the morning and low 90's later in the afternoon with moderately high humidity for our area. The engine ran 165-175 degrees on the highway at a steady 70-75 mph.
Today I went on a somewhat longer trip to a much bigger car show in Northern Virginia...temps were low 80's at most all day with very moderate humidity, though storms threatened they moved out of the area so no rain. The car stayed within 150-165 degrees at 70-75 mph.
I also noticed it ran a bit cooler at 70-75 mph than it did at 50-55 mph. I attribute that to the additional airflow. Possibly the deflector isn't fully efficient until the car gets to higher speeds.
After that I feel the Saturn air deflector is a very positive addition to the car and I can definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to try it. Of course, the deflector has no value at all at low speeds or stop and go traffic as there's too little airflow for the deflector to direct up into the radiator. The engine temps move up into their previous normal range under those conditions but rapidly cools when back up to faster speeds.
While I'm no engineer by any means, I believe it accomplishes the additional cooling two ways...the more obvious is that it directs additional airflow up into the radiator directly that would otherwise pass under the car. The other and closely related effect is the deflector, while directing more airflow upwards, is at the same time reducing turbulence under the car and decreasing drag to some degree. Whether I'm correct or not in my reasoning, I cannot dispute the results...a consistent reduction in operating temperature...10 to 15 degrees at least.
Possible downsides to that much decrease...running at less than 160-180 degrees doesn't really get some engines to best temps for proper emissions reduction and full fuel burn in the combustion chambers. On my engine with fuel injection, it may be borderline on getting the on-board computer out of open-loop into closed-loop operating, which could possibly increase mpg, but I noticed no change in fuel consumption so it may be an irrelevant concern.
As I said...in my car at least...it's seems to be a big success. For less than $30 in parts (air deflector and flat stock aluminum as a stiffener), and a simple install procedure, it's a great addition and even if it doesn't make a difference on a particular car, it doesn't break the bank finding out.
For those interested, the Saturn part number is 20131161. My local Saturn dealer had it in stock. The flat aluminum stock I picked up at Home Depot.
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About 25 years ago I worked at an RV dealership and we would install hitches accessories so I have a bit of experience though somewhat dated.
1500 lbs. is Class 1 (2000 lbs. gross weight maximum rating). That means you can use a light duty hitch, though you can always install a heavier unit. Since you say a Monte Carlo hitch cannot be used due to the shortening of the frame, go to a certified welding shop that fabricates trailers for farm use, etc., and they can make one for the car. They will probably simply fabricate one and weld it to the frame. That will probably cost less than fabricating one, drilling and bolting it. I don't know what the maximum tow rating is for that car (the manual should tell you if you have one or a Monte Carlo manual should give that). You do need to find that out...some cars are only rated for 1000 lbs. towing...it's not just the size of the engine that makes the difference...it's the frame design and construction which is often the limiting factor.
Depending on your state, you may be required to run your trailer with electric brakes, though most states don't require brakes on a trailer less than 2000 lbs., some do. If so, you need to add a brake controller under the dash and run the electrical lines to the rear for the connector.
I realize it's only a lightweight trailer, but I would suggest having a transmission cooler added if you tow any real amount. I've seen what happens when people don't do that and burn up their transmission...and it rarely if ever happens close to home. An engine oil cooler is nice but not really necessary for light usage.
Make sure your cooling system is in top working order (always good advice regardless). Add a container of Redline Water Wetter or similar product...it's helps make the coolant transfer heat more efficiently, though maybe not enough to matter in your case with occasional light towing.
If you wanted to tow heavier weight, there are more bolt-on modifications that can be done, but in your case it doesn't sound like it would be necessary.
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It's MSD, which as far as I'm aware does not have a system you can put on a Studebaker engine. It's possible to covert one I imagine, but there are other alternatives that are already available. You can use your stock distributor and add a Pertronix points eliminator kit...less than $100 and works quite well from what I understand. Many have used that system. Dave Thibeault (who advertises in Avanti Magazine) can provide a Mallory distributor for your car which also is an excellent way to go, but more expensive. There are also conversions to the GM window distributor out there, which is also easily converted to electronic as point eliminator kits are available from Pertronix, Mallory, Accel, Crane and likely a few others.
MSD makes a capacitive discharge add-on for cars, which is quite good, but to be honest, for a street car is not really necessary, but certainly doesn't hurt in any way. It probably works best with a points distributor as an electronic ignition really doesn't need it. For a car used on the strip, it's a different story. The same goes for other brand CD ignitions...a lot of advertising hype but little to show for it for a street car outside of lightening your wallet and you get a really nice decal to put on your car telling everyone what equipment your car has. I will say that a good CD ignition may provide better starting, but little more than that.
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Not directly related, but....I would like to convert my '81 to the round headlight style of the originals; anyone ever done this with aftermarket parts, let me know. Just curious.
The front fiberglass panel and the headlight buckets are available from Studebaker International, so a good body guy can certainly make the conversion. The headache is sourcing the glass lenses and chrome rims...not that they can't be found but they won't be inexpensive in decent shape. By the same token, the same goes for the rectangular frames and lenses. If you do find the parts and perform the conversion, you can at least sell the old parts to somewhat offset the costs of the conversion.
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I haven't received my copy of HCC yet so I can only guess you mean the dash inlay for the gauges. As far as I've ever seen, Studebaker Avanti's came with either the fawn dash inlay as fawn or later cars (true '64's and transitional '63/'64 cars) with the walnut tenite inlays. If it's black, someone modified it at some point in time.
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For an '82 to have square sealed beam lights someone had to have changed it at some point as '82 models should have had the '64 style chrome headlight frames and bezels. It wasn't until the 1984 model year (maybe a some late '83s) that the changeover to square sealed beams and rubber bumpers began. Your car must have been retrofitted, which isn't too uncommon. I would think you need to acquire the chrome frames, bezels and seals to accomplish that, plus maybe a few minor parts like screw clips, round headlight retainers, etc. Regardless, those parts in decent condition don't come very cheap anymore when you can find them. I see those parts on Ebay with some regularity. Condition and price is a crap shoot. I don't believe any changes to the fiberglass is necessary which is a big plus.
You can probably come up with the necessary parts from some of the Stude vendors like Jon Myers, Studebaker International or Nostalgic Motors. They can also give you good advice on procedure.
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It would be a big help for you to get copies of the shop manual and parts manual. Reprints are available from Studebaker International. They're for the Studebaker Avanti, not later models, but a great deal of the information is still relevant and very, very helpful.
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The bottom cushion to the rear seat just pops out. Lift it up and pull it out. The seat back has two bolts to remove...they're obvious when the seat bottom is out. There are also two tabs holding the seat back in place...once the two bolts are out, push the seat back up and it should pop right out of the tab slots.
Once the seat is out, you'll see a panel held in by maybe twenty screws...use a screwdriver or screwgun and remove them all. The panel should just pull out and you have access to the gas tank.
A hint...place some padding on the floor...it's hard on your knees, but it's not a difficult thing at all to get to the gas tank.
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Friends, I don't have an Avanti but I have a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity. Is there a problem with clearance from the ground if using what I would call a "traditional" muffler from back in the '70s? Does anyone remember "turbo" mufflers? I recall buying them from JC Whitney for 10 bucks or so at the time...
You shouldn't have a problem using a "turbo" muffler on an Avanti. Most aftermarket muffler manufacturers have diagrams of the different mufflers they sell so you can pick the physical size part that suits your needs...length, width, thickness, inlet/outlet diameter, center or offset inlet/outlet. It should be little problem for you...the biggest problem will likely be what brand to choose. Studebaker offered oval style mufflers as an option on the Avanti at a certain point so there's no real issue installing them. My car has Magnaflow mufflers as it gives the sound I like.
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Door weight over the years causes some sag and add to that possible flexing and stress cracks forming in the fiberglass where the hinges bolt and you have even more potential sag. The shop manual should tell you how to rehang the door. I also believe hinge rebuild kits are available from Nostalgic Motors.
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Rudy...
I can only tell you my experience. When I bought my '70 a few years ago, it had the BW transmission. It was leaking quite badly so I thought it could be rebuilt while the engine was being replaced. I found out that while parts are available, it was more cost effective to get a 700R4 for very little difference in cost. Not only that, the 700R4 has an aluminum case rather than a cast iron case so I was also reducing weight in the car. It did require a different length drive shaft, so I spent about $100 extra over the cost of a cast iron unit for an aluminum shaft to further reduce weight and rotating mass for the engine to turn over.
I've not heard of anyone adding an overdrive to the BW unit but I tend to doubt it would be cost effective compared to a complete swap.
The downside to a swap to a 700- or 200R4 is you will probably have to fabricate new neutral safety and reverse switch mechanisms...I had to as the swap made the original setup too close to the exhaust. I had a 2 1/2" exhaust installed so the bigger diameter pipe could have made that necessary. You'll need your driveshaft modified or replaced, but that might be necessary with an overdrive unit...I simply don't know on that one. Also, some cars seem to need modifications to the transmission tunnel for clearance for a 700R4...mine did not, so it may simply be a car by car thing. A 200R4 likely won't give a problem in that regard.
I've heard that 200R4's have a better spread of gearing than the 700R4 but again, I can't say that from personal knowledge. 200R4's can be built to pretty stout specs, but 700R4's are already built that way. The speed shop that installed the engine and 700R4 in my car used the cam specs, horsepower and torque ratings of the crate engine and the 3.31 spec rear axle ratio of the car to build the transmission to match those characteristics. It turns about 2200-2400 rpm's at 70-75mph. I have P215/70R15 tires mounted on the car.
I agree going to an overdrive unit is a good idea...better gas mileage and less wear on the engine. Being a pioneer by adding overdrive to a BW Powershift might be more trouble than it's worth compared to a swap to a GM unit.
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I believe that light tells you the electric choke is in operation. If it doesn't go out anymore, it could be the choke doesn't operate properly anymore. Whether it has a sensor I don't know. By that time GM was using computer controlled carburetors on many cars...it could be related to that. Whether Avanti Motors was installing those engines yet I don't know. They seemed to be a year or so behind GM in many things...possibly from buying crate engines for several month's production or even a year's worth to reduce the unit cost.
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Just guessing, but it might be a distant/local switch for FM reception. According to the build sheet, my '70 was originally equipped with a Blaupunkt but it was long gone by the time I purchased the car, so I cannot say for sure.
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There's three water pumps...short, long and Corvette. The Corvette pump is short...likely with a heavy duty bearing, but not positive of that. All I can tell you for sure when the original 350/300hp engine came out of my '70, it had a short water pump...probably the Corvette pump since it's a Vette engine but I can't say for sure. Essentially, you should need a short water pump. If you can get a heavy duty version, so much the better.
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Your current mirrors look very similar to a style sold in many auto parts stores like Pep Boys, Auto Zone, etc. The mirror bodies are either chrome or plain so they can be painted whatever color you like. The mounting stems are also chrome rather than paintable.
For parts for AMC or different model Fords, try Year One for many reproduction parts. You might also try Speedway Motors as they're a street rod specialist supplier.
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You can get your original window motors rebuilt. There's a rebuilder local to me that you can ship them to and they do excellent work. They rebuilt the window motors in my '70 several years ago for something like $40-$45 each, though I don't know what today's cost might be.
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I have the book...found the section on installing a mechanical brake light switch most helpful. That was one of the best modifications I've made to the car as well as the Turner Brake Conversion.
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I don't have the exact dimension but it should be cast into the drum itself what the allowable tolerance is.
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If that style works, it will only be fore '76 and later Avanti's as they had the parking brake lever between the seats. I had one of those type cup holders in a '78 Corvette I owned and, while it fit, made parking brake access difficult and dug into my side. I ended up selling it on Ebay.
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I don't believe Avanti's came from the factory with a gel coat. When my '70 was repainted it was chemically stripped and gel coated. It makes for a better job when painting fiberglass. I can't say when Corvettes began being gel coated...I don't believe they did for years but eventually did. I'm guessing they did in the early 1980's when the old St. Louis plant was closed and production moved to a modern plant in Bowling Green, KY. That's when they began with base coat/clear coat paint.
You can certainly paint your car without stripping the old paint first, but don't expect the best results unless that doesn't concern you. Preparation is paramount when repainting a car. The finished product is no better than the surface that's under it and how well it was prepped. Unless you're simply doing touch up repair, my own feeling is you're throwing away your money without stripping the paint and doing it correctly. Any flaws will show through the new paint and when you strip it, you may well find stress cracks in the fiberglass that require repair before refinishing and repainting.
As far as what kind of primer, that can be the personal preference of whatever shop you ask. I would suggest sticking with one system of paints...PPG or whomever. Sticking with one brand will guarantee everything is compatible. EPA, state and local regulations can dictate what paints you can and can't use.
What some people will do is strip and prep the car themselves and take it to a shop like Maaco and have them shoot it. There's recently been a lot of controversy on doing that on a Corvette forum I frequent...some vociferous opinions being aired about that. A lot of pros and cons to that. A shop won't guarantee the work if they don't do the complete job, but some won't care.
It's your car, your money...do as you like and don't worry what anyone else thinks.
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What I mean by "tried and true" is basically some more cam, improvements to the induction system...porting and polishing the intake manifold and exhaust passages, stronger ignition with a distributor curve matched to the engine performance, valve work to the heads, free flowing exhaust (though the Avanti exhaust is pretty good in that respect anyway). About the only real improvement one can make to an Avanti exhaust system is to add headers, which would have to be custom made or find a set of R3 exhaust manifolds (expensive).
Remember...more horsepower means greater heat that has to be dealt with. Many Avanti's are considered marginal in cooling ability anyway so overdoing the power modifications can mean more mods to the cooling system, though that may be a car by car issue. An old car, old radiator, possibly full of crud, fan clutch possibly not up to spec anymore...could be problems, but should be dealt with anyway if they're an issue.
Little of these are "bolt-on", though most are not difficult to have done. Much of it requires shop and machining time by someone trained in doing it. If someone says they're not sure about it since it's a Studebaker engine, you don't want them to do the work for you. The basics are the basics, regardless of who made the engine. Admittedly, Stude engines may have a few quirks, but so do most any other make.
Depending on how much originality means to you, and how much you're willing to invest, consider a transmission upgrade to either a GM 700R4 or 200R4 (if you have an automatic now) or a Tremec 5-speed if you have a manual now. You can get a well engineered and quality made transmission adapter from Michael Myers of Myers Studebaker. It allows the use of a Stude engine to a GM transmission pattern. Attach an aluminum driveshaft behind that and your car will fly. Do other engine mods as well and you won't believe it's the same car. All that can be done without resorting to extreme engine modifications...keep a good idle and drivability and better performance.
Decide what you want out of the engine, make a plan, ask questions, make sure everything is doable and reasonable in accomplishing your goals. Don't simply throw a bunch of performance parts together and expect better results. It's the right mix of parts that makes the difference.
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The GT Hawk...one of the most handsome cars ever designed...particularly the '64 with vinyl half roof. Add an R-series engine and full R-package and you've got a really great car.
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There's a number of things it could be, but long distance all anyone here can do is provide some suggestions. You've already changed a bunch of parts but that's kind of a shotgun approach.
In 1981 model year GM began using a computer controlled carburetor and if the carburetor is replaced with the wrong model the computer will malfunction, or the computer could be the culprit by having gone bad. I don't know if Avanti Motors began using the computer controlled carbs at that point. They may have had enough crate engines on hand before installing the computer controlled carbureted engines. If your car has that kind of system, it would need to be completely disabled. It could be your whole problem. If you do have a computer controlled carburetor, it may have an oxygen sensor in the exhaust pipe and that sensor could be bad.
Outside of that, there are a number of other issues. You could have a major vacuum leak. What kind of vacuum reading do you get from your gauge? That can tell you a lot. The intake manifold could be leaking or from some other location. The EGR could be bad as you already have thought of.
You could have a bad distributor cap and/or rotor in the distributor. The electronic module inside the distributor could be bad...it's been enough years and they do go bad. The coil itself could be bad, though not as likely as the module. All of these are an easy fix and not very expensive. You didn't say so, but the plug wires could be part of the problem as well.
You could have a blown head gasket or even a cracked cylinder head. Check your oil dipstick and see if it smells of coolant or even an excessively high level of fluid. If it does, you have to find which cylinder head might have the problem. There's ways of testing with diagnostic equipment, but you can pull spark plugs and see if any are coated with glycol. If so, you'll find two adjacent plugs are likely coated. It's between those two where a head could be cracked or a gasket blown. If this is the case, get it fixed pronto as ethlene glycol does not like engine bearings.
You could have a clogged catalytic converter or some other restriction in the exhaust system. I've seen exhaust pipes look good on the outside and be collapsed internally...rare but it does happen.
There could be other areas to look at but work on the simplest first and see where that gets you. I hope you find it's a simple solution.
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Try LectricLimited <http://www.lectriclimited.com/mainpage.htm>. They make reproduction wiring harnesses and may be able to make a new one for you with your harness as a donor. Google "automotive wiring harnesses" and there's a number of other places that might be able to help...even if it's nothing more than supplying you the correct color and striped wires and connectors.
Hog troughs
in 1965-83 Avanti
Posted
The hog troughs are structural...they tie the body to the frame and support the rocker panels under the doors. The roll bar is connected to the hog troughs and frame and without that tie-in, there is no structural integrity to the body and frame as a unit. The hog troughs also provide mounts for the seats and add increased safety in the event of a side collision.
Anyone who knowingly drives their Avanti with rusted out hog troughs (knowingly or otherwise) is taking a huge chance with safety. Bad hog troughs by themselves can turn an otherwise nice car into little more than a parts car simply due to lack of structural integrity. They're not cheap to replace. I would think many Avanti's have been parted out due to the the expense involved to properly repair or replace the troughs.
To pay a shop to replace the hog troughs may cost as much as $5k or even more, depending whether the body is removed (the preferred way). A $5k repair to a car worth about $15k, more or less depending on year, model, equipment, etc., makes for some difficult decisions for owners. You have to really love the car for its own sake, or because of family history with the car, to drop that kind of cash into it.