Gunslinger

Your car came originally with a 400 c.i. engine. It should be a 4-barrel.

P205/75R15 would be closer to the original size 670-15. P215/70R15 would be about the same height and circumference but if your Daytona wheels are 6" wide would be fine. Getting down to practicality...if you're experiencing no issues with tire clearance the P215/75R15 is fine. The slightly larger tires will cause some speedometer/odometer inaccuracy but the Avanti has never been known for being accurate in that regard.

It’s correct that Studebaker used no proportioning valve…they used a distribution block…performed the same function.

What I found out some years back is that parts manufacturers have consolidated parts numbers rather than stock specific parts for specific cars. Just because a parts fits physically doesn't mean it's correct. I found that out on the '70 Avanti and '69 Corvette I owned. Parts books showed the rear wheel cylinders for the Avanti were the same as the front cylinders for certain Jeeps...wrong! While the Jeep wheel cylinder looked and fit the same they had a bigger bore diameter and the rear brakes locked up immediately from the added fluid pressure. You have two options...get an adjustable brake proportioning valve and experiment to find the right front/rear pressure or go to Myers Studebaker or Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors and order correct wheel cylinders. That will be a bit more expensive but it will also fix your problem without experimentation.

About all I can add regarding the 2002 Avanti I owned is somewhat conflicting. Avanti Motors told me it was the 20th new series Avanti built but the paperwork I received from John Hull said it was the 22nd. The only thing I can make from that was it was the 22nd car ordered but the 20th actually completed and shipped. The company told me it was the red car used in some of the advertisements but them saying that doesn't necessarily make it so. Some of the early cars showed differences in detail. At least one had blacked out Avanti emblems...mine had chromed. At least one had headlight buckets painted body color...mine were blacked out. At least one had backup lights in the trunk lid like the original Avanti...mine had backup lights in the rear bumper. It seems they were trying out different design treatments before settling on a standard on the early cars.

John Hull was only involved with the Avanti operation a limited time...after he left who knows who the custodian of the records were...if anyone. If any of those records still exist they're likely in Mexico where the company was last headquartered.

If not already done...replace the radiator hoses...particularly the lower hose. If it's collapsing under vacuum pressure when driving it will cut off the coolant's circulation. Test the radiator cap...if it's not hold pressure it will allow coolant to boil over. Make sure it's the correct cap...depending on whether the car has a closed or open system. After enough time it could have been changed from factory. Also make sure the radiator holds pressure. After so much time has passed any car can have cooling issues.

Alice has owned several Avantis.

Any weight that can be taken off an Avanti front end is worthwhile. Handling improves...maybe not always perceptively but it's there. It helps increase the life of the front coil springs. Any help reducing the front weight bias is a net positive.

False…1962 Indy 500.

I had Magnaflows on my ‘70…great sound. I found Flowmasters have a loud, raspy sound. The Magnaflows had a nice, low burble at idle but opened up at speed.

Costs...state of the art in 1962...lots of reasons why Studebaker did what they did. They were fortunate to even get the Avanti green lighted for production with essentially off the shelf parts with few custom additions.

I once bought a set of engine mounts from Studebaker International. They were aluminum or aluminum/ bronze. Whether SI had them fabricated or they were leftover Avanti Motors or from Altman/Newman I don’t know.

Not that I need one as I’m Avantiless…but kudos! That’s a nice piece of equipment and replacement for a very easily damaged piece on the Avanti.

My '70 had two steel engine mounts. The only reasons I can think of for the two dissimilar mounts are one has been replaced or Avanti Motors had a new batch made of alloy and yours received one of each in assembly. Never say never with Avanti Motors...parts were not always pulled in any kind of order and could easily have had two pulled of non-matching metals.

Yes they were…for quite some time but they do not interchange with the Recaro seat option.

You might want to replace the rubber brake hoses…especially if you don’t know how old they are. They can look ok externally but internally go bad. By any chance…did the brake fluid get replaced by silicone DOT 5…or already had DOT 5 replaced by DOT 3 or have them mixed? They’re not compatible and will make the fluid turn into a milky looking mess that will give a very spongy pedal if not fail altogether. If that occurred a complete flushing of the brake system is required along with new hoses and seals. DOT 5 also requires a thorough bleeding of air. Any bubbles are much smaller and can be a bear to get rid of.

Depending on what’s wrong with the current radiator it should be able to be recored. Any competent radiator shop can do it.

#2 happened to me with a Studebaker R1 years ago. Depending on the age of the fuel pump you installed the diaphragm may not be compatible with modern fuels.

Vintage Air does make quality products. There might be another possibility…one of the vendors…either in Avanti Magazine or the SDC’s Turning Wheels makes a bracket for the Sanden compressor. It might be just for the Studebaker engine…not sure. You might also check a source like Summit Racing to see if a Sanden compressor bracket is already produced for the Chebbie engine.

I’ve found one of the biggest problems with older cars is that you have to undo what past owners have done before fixing it right.

For whatever reason a previous owner had the power mirror removed and the door panel reupholstered to hide where the switch was. Are you sure the console isn't wired for mirror switches?

The door may have been reupholstered at some point...covering where the switch goes...or the adjustment switch could have been located elsewhere such as under the dash. Maybe the wiring is for something else someone might have installed? Maybe the wiring harness included those wires regardless of whether it was to be equipped with power mirrors? The best way to find out whether the car was factory equipped with power adjustable outside mirrors is to get a copy of the build sheet from Nostalgia Motors...it will show how the car was originally equipped.

Check with Jon Myer of Myer's Studebaker. The last time I was there he had a number of Avanti parts cars. He may have what you want.

Studebaker also had some serious and inherent problems not directly related to the Avanti. When Sherwood Egbert became President of the company he visited many dealers to get a feel for them. He sensed they were very loyal to Studebaker but very unaggressive at sales. There also the issues that not all of the country was assigned dealers so many areas had no Studebaker presence at all…and many dealers were dueled with other makes that were bigger profit makers for the dealer and some were simply mom and pop dealers…a repair garage that was technically a Studebaker dealer but only kept a few cars at a time. The Avanti program was really stuck between a rock and a hard place…the crash program to bring the car to market without sufficient lead time led to defects that would or should have caught during testing and caused production delays and problems with cars that did get into hands of consumers. If Studebaker had given the program sufficient lead time the company probably would have still had the money cut off without any Avantis being produced for sale. The end result would likely have been the same…Studebaker exiting the automotive business. As I’ve heard it…the Avanti was a “magnificent failure”.