Gunslinger
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Posts posted by Gunslinger
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Sounds like you made a good choice. The dollars alone don't tell the story on a body shop. High price doesn't necessarily mean quality work anymore than a low price automatically means substandard work. Experience, stability and reputation means a lot.
I picked the shop for rebuilding RQB1574 for several reasons...I know the owner from my Corvette club, they've been in business for years, while they do general body repairs, they also have a team dedicated to restorations and they specialize in Corvettes, so they're experienced in fiberglass and body on frame assembly techniques. Right now in their shop, besides my car, is a '67 GTO, '70 Chevelle SS396 and a '96 Corvette Grand Sport. BTW - the Grand Sport is owned by the President of my Corvette club...a beautiful car he took to the drag strip and lost control of, hitting the guard rail. What he was thinking I don't know.
While the money is certainly important, having the job done correctly is equally important.
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You can try Studebaker International, Nostalgic Motors, or Myers Studebaker. Any of them should have what you're looking for.
I bought a right front quarter panel for RQB1574 from Studebaker International...great service and quick shippers. They shipped the parts right to the restoration shop. My '70 also needed some work under the battery box and the body shop fabricated that repair and it looks like factory new.
Also...if you're interested, there's a nearly complete 1970 Avanti II body on Ebay right now.
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Are you sure you didn't simply blow a fuse to the dash lights when the work was done? Check the obvious before tearing things apart looking for the problem.
For the electrical drain, you can isolate the circuit causing the problem. You'll need a second person (or very long test wire leads). Remove the negative battery cable and run a test light between the battery post and the cable end. It should light up if there is a drain. Then make sure the doors are closed and all accesories are turned off and pull one fuse at a time. When the test light goes out you've found the circuit that's causing a problem. From there you can start isolating the exact problem. It's better to use an ammeter/ohmmeter tester, but I don't know what values you would be looking for as excessive since all cars will have some minute drain, particularly if they have lots of electronics on board.
I don't know if Avanti's are like this, but the electrical switches in Corvettes are different from most cars. Since the cars are fiberglass as well, switches such as the door and glovebox switches aren't self grounding. The switches are wired so they're always hot and ground when the door or glovebox is opened, completing the circuit. If Avanti's are the same way, a switch such as this could be the culprit.
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I understand the R-5 engine in the Due Cento was disassembled and its parts are unknown. I've never seen anything to the contrary of that.
I believe the car still exists and is owned by someone...who I don't know. After this many years it's probably been through a succession of owners so who knows what it looks like now compared to its appearance at Bonneville. I haven't seen anything which identifies the VIN of the Due Cento.
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It's pretty straightforward dropping the steering column. If you have the shop manual it gives the instructions. It's only a few bolts.
If you have a steering wheel puller, it would help to remove the steering wheel (and unbolt the driver's seat...makes for much more working room).
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If you have small hands, and drop the steering column, you can remove the tach. It's tight, but can be done. There is also the sending unit attached under the dash. That's the electronic part which could well need rebuilding. Depending on when your car was assembled, it is either a flat, round can with wires attached, or a squarish plastic unit.
No telling what the problem may be, but both parts are rebuildable. I believe the guages were supplied by Stewart Warner...maybe they can rebuild them. There are specialty rebuilders that can do it as well. I'm not sure, but somewhere I've seen a schematic to rebuld the sending unit...maybe in a back isue of the AOAI newsmagazine. Maybe someone else here can clue you in on that.
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Joe...
The car's been given a full dual exhaust...Sanderson headers and Magnaflow mufflers and 2 1/2" aluminized pipe. It's on only as far as the mufflers. The speed shop wants to wait until the body is back on before they add tailpipes so there's no interference problem with the body. Since the car is a '70, there's no issue with catalytic converters.
The shop owner gave me several options regarding mufflers. I didn't want a really loud system so he recommended Magnaflow as opposed to Flowmaster. I wanted a lower tone and quieter system, not a loud and raucous one.
They did need to add an oil filter adapter for better servicing access.
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My '02 has an LS1 in it and it is a fabulous engine. In my '70 I just had a GM Performance 350 HO/330 hp engine installed with Edelbrock fuel injection...now the body should dropped back on soon.
I considered installing an LS engine in the car, but the additional costs would likely have spiraled out of reasonable control (it's expensive enough as it is). The installation of an aluminum engine would have been nice, though. I figure that the new 350 is somewhat lighter than the original engine, along with the much lighter induction system, the aluminum case 700-R4 transmission in place of the cast iron case Borg Warner, and an aluminum driveshaft is taking some needed weight off the car as well as reduced rotating mass the car should make the car a real runner.
Avanti's have been set up for the small block Chevy for so many years, it seems to go with a Ford or other make engine would require too many engineering changes to make it worthwhile. Not that I'm bad mouthing Ford engines...I'm not. Chevy engines are so easy to get parts for, the car is set up for them already, aftermarket performance manufactureres make items for the small block Chevy before they do any other engine, and the cost is generally less as well. To me it's a no brainer.
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The rear window would pull out for a couple of reasons. The shape of the Avanti creates a vacuum behind it...it gets worse as the speed increases. Combine that with what was determined to be insufficently secure rear window attachment points and the vacuum sucked the glass right out. Supposedly having the side windows open made the problem worse allowing blowing air inside the car pushing even more on the glass from the interior. Studebaker made at least two modifications toward improving the rear glass brackets to eliminate the problem. I may be wrong on some of these specifics, but I think it's basically what happened.
As far as aerodynamics go, I'm not aware of any testing, either back then or now, done on the Avanti design, though the Avanti design seems based on practical aerodynamics. There was little known of items taken as normal now, such as spoilers and air dams to push the air around the car rather then allow it underneath creating turbulence. I read that the Due Cento, when raced at Bonneville, had complete belly panning installed to alleviate the underbody turbulence. I feel sure a good spoiler mounted under the front end would go far in getting more cooling air to the radiator rather than create under chassis turbulence. I believe someone in the club has posted a thread in the past doing just that.
In one article I've read on the Avanti, the author said Porsche engineers said the Avanti has long been their favorite American design due to its aerodynamic design. I have that article somewhere...it was written some years ago.
'53 Studes have always been popular at the Salt Flats due to their shape. A beautiful design that didn't sell well way back when. Sometimes it's true when people say that Stude designs were often ahead of their time.
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Are you sure you don't already have electronic ignition? GM began installing HEI as standard in '75, and Avanti Motors had been installing the previous GM Delco transistorized ignition as standard equipment since 1970.
If you do have a points ignition than someone has swapped the distributor at some point.
If you do have points, you can buy a Pertronix conversion kit for about $75 and it's an easy install. A complete HEI distributor can be bought through Summit Racing or Jeg's. Through them you can get a complete new Mallory, MSD, Pertronix or Summit HEI distributor for about $150-$225.
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It sounds like you're talking about the "Pirate's Buckles" on the sail panels (or "C" pillars). If your car is an untouched early car, who knows for what reason they might be missing. Being missing simply could have been a factory oversight, or removed by a previous owner and the mounting holes refinished.
About the only way to tell if they were ever there, short of stripping the finish off would be to remove the interior trim and see if there is evidence of body filler where the holes would be. Local to me is the #8 car Bonneville racer, 63R1014 (the 14th Avanti built) and it has the emblems.
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I believe all records prior to the late 1980's are owned by Nostalgic Motors. I have seen a breakdown of Avanti II VIN's by year online, but don't know the website. Maybe a Google search might come up with it.
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I just had my leaf springs rebuilt. I took them to a shop that specializes in auto and truck springs. It took them about two hours to rebuild and refinish them. They set them up to raise the rear of the car about a half inch higher when reinstalled.
They said the middle leaves of the springs were dimensionally identical to Nova springs.
If you can get fiberglass springs at a reasonable cost, I'd say go for it...less weight, better ride and should last forever.
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It could also be the sending unit which is located under the dash behind the gauges. Check all the connections but the sending unit could still need rebuilding or replacement. Check with Stewart Warner and see if they have a trouble shooting procedure to determine the problem.
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i know this isn't related to the early 60's avanti's, but your chat reminded me of a conversation i had with someone from avanti motor car back in the 80's.
was looking for information about the avanti II's, and the gentleman i spoke with (i took no notes and all info was lost - suspect, right?) told me he was trying to get the designer(s) of the [C5] corvette frame to redesign the avanti II frame with that new corvette 'tunnel' design. trying to bring the avanti into the future or something. maybe it was just salesman b.s.. anyway, guess it never happened; but the idea was intriguing.
hope you can make it work,
ww
I've read that back in the '80s Avanti Motors (don't know if this was during the Blake or Kelly era) had contracted with someone to design a modern chassis dedicated to the Avanti. It might have been Reeves Callaway since he was allied with Chevrolet and the Corvette at that time, but I don't know for sure. Supposedly when Avanti's money ran out, developement on the new chassis stopped.
Maybe someone else here can shed some light on that.
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I always thought the area between the polished "spokes" was a frosted silver, but I have seen cars with that area darkened to a frosted black appearance. I don't know how correct that is but it appears at least some must have come from the factory that way. I know the wheel covers were earlier '50s Stude wheel covers overstamped to look like spoked wheels, but maybe various production runs or subcontractors may be the difference.
I never saw the darker wheels in any Studebaker advertisements, so they must have been a later change or authorized alternate wheel cover.
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The parts may have been painted silver simply to show up better in the DVD. With black or other dark colors it would have been difficult to show any detail.
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A Lark convertible frame is what you would need. It has the "X" in it for strength. Other Lark frames could be used but you would have to modify them. Some body outrigger mounts would have to be moved from one to another I believe.
Depending on what is needed for the car you're looking at, it can be repaired...it just depends on how much money you're willing to invest. Short of being crushed, most any frame can be fixed...it's simply a matter of money and the capability of a properly equipped shop.
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I'm interested in seeing photos of the installation. My '70 in the rebuild shop is going to get a new crate engine with the mini a/c compressor. I'm considering the serpentine belt kit, but don't yet know about the money for doing that. Once I see how the setup looks, it will be easier to made that decision.
Looking forward to seeing it.
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Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News or check their website. They would likely have advertisements for appraisers. A web search for classic automobile appraisers may accomplish the same thing.
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It is likely much cheaper to have your current window motor rebuilt. On my '70 that's in the body shop now being rebuilt, I have one window motor that does work and one that didn't. I took them both to a local rebuilder and for $80 I now have two completely rebuilt window motors. The price of one replacement motor for my '70 would have been at least $200.
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I recently purchased RQB1574 and already have it in the shop for rebuilding. Here are some photos from today...I'll post further photos as things progress. Still looking for some parts. If anyone knows where I can pick up a left side wiper pivot and a dash radio speaker grille I'd love to know.
The photos won't upload. I'll see what is wrong and try to add them later.
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Doing some research for shocks I found the following applications...some have already been listed. I'm only listing what I found as front and rear complete sets. The numbers come from their websites and should fit all Avanti's from '63 through '85 on the original Studebaker frame.
Gabriel Classic
front 82087
rear 82103
Delco
front 520-332
rear 520-338
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A manual is always a big help on these cars. The procedure for removing the gas tank is deceptive...very straightforward in concept and procedure but more difficult in practice...especially with the age on our cars.
Avanti Back Glass Installation
in Avanti Information
Posted
Call and ask an auto glass shop what the current stuff to use would be. You could also ask someone like Jon Myers (www.myersstudebaker.com>) who is in the business of restoring Avanti's. If anyone would know I'm sure he would.