Gunslinger
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Posts posted by Gunslinger
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The LT1 engine of that era was infamous for Optispark distributor issues…loss of power and hesitation among them.
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Didn’t an AOAI member…a minister in CA…buy a Trans Am blasted Avanti convertible from Alice Cooper some years ago?
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Now…Carroll Shelby used SN-60 superchargers on some of his GT-350 Mustangs. They even had Paxton stickers saying they were a division of Studebaker Corporation. What color were those painted? I’ve seen then on Shelby cars left natural metal and Ford blue as well as orange. There may not be a standard color…whatever paint was available when made. Those Ford blue may have been painted by Shelby American.
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I don't believe issues all get shipped at the same time...they go out in batches. Once the Postal Service has them it's a real crap shoot and luck of the draw. Sometimes I think the postal employees take a handful of mail...whether letters or magazines...toss them down the stairs and work their way up processing and send out the mail.
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I hope you have a quality buffer made for this…a random orbital is most cost effective. Use a good polish then follow up with a good sealant or wax. The improvement can be remarkable.
Go to a website like Griot’s Garage or Autogeek…they have excellent tutorials and products to help.
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Check with Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors. An upholstery shop can restore the door straps as long as the parts are intact.
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Early Avanti’s had insulation covering the underside of the front half of the hood due to a hood cross-brace. Partway through the production run the brace was dispensed with and insulation covering nearly the entire under hood area was used.
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Maybe you could extend those drains and run them through the torque boxes to the outside and seal around where the tube exits the box.
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That may be the day the Avanti II was officially introduced.
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Avanti Motors began using the push-type wiper/washer switch at RQB1563 during the 1970 model year. Prior to that it looks like the Studebaker foot pump washer was still used.
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A ‘69 would use the red Studebaker vinyl bag as the washer reservoir mounted on a bracket on the passenger side inner fender apron. The washer pump would be mounted on the top of the bag.
The washer switch could be located in one of two places…depending on when the car was actually built. It could be a foot operated switch by the left foot…the Studebaker type…or it could be combined with the washer switch which would be pushed in to activate it. I don’t know when Avanti Motors made the change from one to the other.
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Look into the Turner kit…you can get it from Jim Turner himself or Jon Myer at Myer’s Studebaker. It contains all the parts necessary to convert to Ford rotor and GM calipers and pads plus bearings, hoses and other parts. It’s the way to go.
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I believe early Avanti II literature stated the Stingray engine…they never said “Corvette”…put out “nearly” 100 horsepower more than the original Avanti. A bit of hyperbole but hey…that’s advertising.
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I’d say Prestolite…ignition points, condenser, cap and distributor…starter…alternator. The only big thing they didn’t provide was the spark plugs…Champions were used…kinda surprising as the rest was Prestolite…or Prest-O-Lite as it was then known.
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They can be swapped but as already said…the underside is not finished or barely so.
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Some tires…particularly made with nylon…tend to flat spot after sitting. Once driven and the tires heat up they straighten out and ride smoothly.
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True…the fuselage only and is owned the Hagerstown, MD based Hagerstown Aviation Museum. The fuselage…AFAIK…is stored at a facility in Wyoming. The Museum hopes to bring the fuselage to Hagerstown and turn it into a classroom/demonstrator on how the aircraft was assembled.
No idea what happened to the wings.
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First...does your Avanti have a moon roof? If so...the drains dump right into the hog troughs so there might already be problems. If you don't have a moon roof that's one less thing to worry about.
If your hogs are still solid, you can drill 1" holes in them in one or two places to allow any water to drain out or moisture to dry. Then you can use plastic body plugs easily found at auto parts stores to snap in the holes so you can keep an eye on them and drain again if necessary down the road. With the holes you can use a boroscope (flexible camera) to view the interior of the hog troughs to get a better idea of what you have.
If everything looks ok, you can use a fogger with some kind of corrosion inhibitor or an oil mist to coat the interior...then snap the plugs in. Then you should be good.
For the frame...give it a coating of POR-15 or other encapsulating paint to keep rust from forming.
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Once that system has been opened up you may realistically be looking at having to replace the entire system...or at least significant parts of it. Everything may well need rebuilding or replacement. A/C systems do not like open air introduced to its internals.
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Less restriction translates to more power and less back pressure which helps fuel economy. How much depends on how efficiently the engine makes power and if you can keep your foot out of it. It may make a noticeable difference but it could also be negligible.
The stock exhaust is probably 2” diameter tubing…move it up to a 2.5” piping for better efficiency.
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In the '70 I owned, I replaced all the gauges with AutoMeter units. The gauges are all a standard diameter so you have lots of choices out there.
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The tachs used in Avantis…especially Studebaker…as well as earlier Avanti IIs…were notoriously inaccurate. The faster the engine revved the greater the error. The same goes for the speedometers.
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Possibly...depending on the tire and rim combination...or the body bottoms out and strikes the tire. A/C adds weights...as does a supercharger. The spacer is there for a reason.
I used to have a '63 Avanti that I installed 15'x6" Keystone Klassics on...didn't realize the coil springs had compressed. When the springs bottomed out the inner lip of the front wheel well would bounce off the tire tread. New coil springs solved that problem. Yes...the car did have A/C.
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A tire could be out of round...all tires have a high spot...just the nature of manufacturing. All rims have a high spot...the high spot on the tire could be mounted on the high spot of the rim...it happens. Rotate the tires on the rim 180 degrees, rebalance and try again. If it's the same...the problem is elsewhere. If it improves or changes otherwise it's the tire/rim combination.
Avanti Changes!
in Avanti Trivia
Posted
Arguable...he dropped the "II" from the nameplate immediately. The other "first" thing he did was change the tires.