Gunslinger
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Posts posted by Gunslinger
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Avanti Motors purchased all Avanti materials from Studebaker...if such documents existed they should have been part of the purchase package and delivered to Avanti Motors. Now if they existed and if they were transferred to Avanti Motors is the question.
An alternative is to make a request of the Studebaker National Museum as they should have any records Avanti Motors didn't receive.
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17 hours ago, Kodjo said:
I can imagine the engine swaps. But what engines did Avanti fit in their 1969/70? My CE engine is a GM Warranty engine. My guess is that these were engines build for no brand in particular. Avanti did not build a lot of cars with a 350ci engine in '69. Did they buy warranty engines from GM?
Nearly all RQA Avantis received the Corvette 327/300hp engine. In the 1970 model year beginning with RQA0315 and subsequent RQB cars in 1970 received the Corvette 350/300hp engines. CE means it's a "counter sold" or "crate engine". The best I can decode the engine shown is it was from the Flint, MI foundry and was cast on August 30 but can't say what year. Obtaining a copy of the production order from Nostalgic Motors will give you the engine number installed by Avanti Motors. That will confirm whether the engine is original to the car.
Avanti Motors would purchase roughly a six month supply of engines at a time for a volume discount...they were used in no particular order but engine numbers for each car were recorded on the build sheet. Whether Avanti Motors purchased the engines direct from GM or through a local Chevy dealer I can't say. The engines were warranted by GM and dealers would service them under the GM warranty.
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If you don't replace the 3-speed quadrant with the 4-speed quadrant you'll find to have it in Drive the stick will not line up exactly with the shifter indicator. You'll have to learn where Drive is and get used to it. No big deal but you have to be aware of it.
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I've seen two versions of the story...one was that when it was red it was originally built for Bob Morrison of Molded Fiberglass and I also have a magazine with a white car saying it was built for high speed runs at Bonneville. It was apparently the same car but not definitively so. It had a very ugly bump in the hood to make space for the blower...guess it was easier to do some fiberglass work than to make some changes to install the blower where an R2 would have had it. The photos I've seen of it showed its installation precluded installed a dual master cylinder.
The car was advertised for sale on eBay back around 2006-2007 or so. If I remember it was located in Wisconsin at the time. I considered bidding on it but didn't...guess I should have as it didn't sell for hateful money if I remember.
The only way to tell if there was only the one blown Avanti II or a second would be to research Avanti Motors production records...and that's assuming the car(s) was or were produced that way originally and not simply chosen from inventory to modify.
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It's arguable...it was probably just one but there were reports of two...a red one and a white one. There's circumstantial evidence it was the same car having been repainted. I'll say just one.
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Different years used different modules. One thing to remember is Avanti Motors usually bought engines in something like six month quantities for a discount...that doesn't mean they were pulled from inventory in the order they were received. So any particular Avanti could actually have an engine from the previous model year. It sounds like you're gonna have to pull the module from your distributor to obtain the correct replacement.
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I second the remark about not buying aftermarket ignition modules...they will work...for a while. The aftermarket modules come with a lot of hype about how they make for more voltage...more power, etc. They simply are not as good as genuine GM Delco and will not last nearly as long. All they do is lighten your wallet and maybe come with a nice decal to put on your car to tell people what you have.
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Check connections and grounds...the bane of a fiberglass car. Check all battery and ground connections under the hood...make sure they're clean and tight. Check the distributor connections as well. What you've described can be related to the ignition module...at least in my experience. I had a '78 Corvette that experienced similar symptoms.
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The best penetrating oil I've used is called Kroil. It's really great stuff...don't know if hardware or auto supply stores carry it...check a gun store. Gunsmiths swear by it as it loosens rusted screws without harming the firearm itself.
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It doesn't seem to be a Studebaker part number...it may be an Avanti II part.
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If it was a side terminal battery it's a Group 74. If it's a top post terminal it's a Group 24. As far as brand...no idea other than "Low Bid". A lot of items like that Avanti Motors was probably using local vendors and that could have changed annually or more often.
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They're very rare side front quarter panel emblems for Lark-type cars and Hawks that would have been equipped with the "Super" package for 1964. Most will say R-1 or R-2...the R-3 and R-4 are exceedingly rare and desirable...unless they're reproduction of which some were made...probably more repops than genuine emblems like those exist.
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Depending on the year the high beam indicator is between and above the speedometer and tach and in some years the light is in the speedometer and the above and between light is the electric choke indicator.
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High beam indicator...depending on the year.
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The '70 Avanti I owned had a curious mix of colors from the factory...Cadillac dark bronze paint...mahogany interior with the walnut brown steering wheel, dash and console inlays and steering...and an orange shag carpet. My wife said the '70s were known as the decade of bad taste...and this car proved that when it was new. During that time period there were some...let's say..."eclectic" interior and exterior schemes coming out of the Avanti factory.
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Avanti Motors continually was building cars even when none were special ordered. They built cars "on spec" which is just a way of saying they built them to a production order where they spec'd the car out for sale. Customers could special order a car or buy one already in inventory. It makes sense they must have had some standard paint colors they knew were appealing enough to attract buyers.
Avanti Motors would also slip a special order car into the production line to get it completed quicker, putting cars on spec on the back burner for completion...that's why cars were sold out of order serial number-wise. In fact...it wasn't unknown for them to reupholster or even repaint a car for a customer to get it out of inventory.
There were some...let's say "odd" rather than dreadful color/interior combinations that rolled out of the factory...particularly during the '70s. My wife has said the 1970s were known as the "decade of poor taste" with good reason.
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1977...beginning with RQB2500.
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I think the speakers are a 5" or 6" diameter screw-hole to the opposite. Whatever they are you can find most any aftermarket speaker grille that diameter and use them. If you buy new speaker kits the correct diameter they usually come with new grilles.
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Contact Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors (1-800-AVANTI-1)...he bought out all the leftover inventory from Avanti Motors when they moved from South Bend to Youngstown in the late '80s. He would probably have them before anyone else. If he doesn't, you can simply buy aftermarket and paint them to match.
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There are some good aftermarket distributors available but whatever you do...avoid one made offshore. They simply do not last.
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Congrats! One of the worst things about older cars is undoing what past owners have done before you can actually do something that improves the car.
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Contact Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors (248-349-4884). When Avanti Motors moved from South Bend to Youngstown in the later 1980s Dan bought all of the company's inventory of parts. If anyone has a NOS wiring harness Dan will.
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A prime problem to look for is bad grounds...the bane of fiberglass cars. You can use a test light with will tell you whether the light sockets are working properly. Did you check and see whether the bulbs themselves are good and not burned out?
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From RQA0057 to RQA0257 ('66-'68) Avantis IIs were equipped with Holley carburetors...if the one in question still has its original carb.
Mechanical pump for 289 Avanti
in 1963-64 Avanti
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A small block Mopar fuel pump will fit with a bit of bending of the arm. I believe Dave Thibeault (one of our vendors) carries them ready to go.