IndyJimW
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Posts posted by IndyJimW
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What products did you use? Looks GREAT!!
Jim
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I have a switch that I am testing for the rear defroster. It's working, but doesn't have the momentarily on feature. You turn the switch on, the light comes on, then you turn the switch off and the light will stay on until the timer relay shuts off the defroster. I'll keep everyone posted.
Jim
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I can't think of any good reason for this line. I would just plug it at the juction block. Chevy fuel pumps don't use a pressure relief.
Maybe someone else would look at their '70 Avanti and check for this line.
Jim
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Could it be a the vent for the charcoal canister? Is you had one there would be a vent hose coming off the carburetor also.
Jim
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I think it depends on what your starting with and where you what to go with it. I decided not to purchase an original '63 Avanti because I wanted something for a daily driver and my '87 Avanti was a better chose. It's your car so I say MAKE IT your car.
Jim
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Jim - Thanks for the info - They did not have the window switch but did have a washer tank for a 85 - not sure if this is the same for a 87 but they are trying to research. Have a great day - warren
I purchased one for my '87 because the plastic around the bolts had cracked. It was PN# 1701503 Washer bottle. Fit perfect.
Jim
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Hi All - I recently purchased a 1987 all white convertible. All is fine accept 2 initial issues. I am looking for a supplier for the window on and off switches? Washer fluid container is cracker and also looking to replace that before I attempt to repair. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Located in Maryland and I do not see a local group - anyone out there every have a get together?
Have a great day - Warren
Check with Nostalgic Motor Cars, I purchaced a washer tank for my '87 from them. I believe they have the window switches also.
http://www.avantiparts.net/default.htm
Jim
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Rebuilt my door hinges, here's some pictures.
Kit I purchased from Nostalgic Motor Cars
http://www.avantiparts.net/default.htm
will service both doors.
Lower window. Remove 3 bolts holding door rest, use 1/4 inch set.
Remove clip holding door handle. Unscrew door button. Remove all screws around outside of door panel. Carefully pull door panel out at bottom then up. Unplug electrical connectors before removing panel. Hex head screws on electric mirror adjuster are fake, unplug connector or pull mirror adjuster out from back of panel.
The door will have to be removed to rebuild hinges. Remove center harness protector and unplug all electrical connectors. Each hinge is attached to car body with 4 bolts.
Hinge is attached to door with 3 bolts.
I marked all hinges at body and door with a paint pen to help with realignment. I used 2 jack stands to support the bottom of door (not on the edge) while I removed the door hinge bolts - 6 total. It will take 2 people to remove door and set aside. Remove 4 body bolts from each hinge and remove hinge. Rust locked up the 2 outer bolts on my lower hinge and I had to cut the bolts off with a cutting wheel.
Start driving pin out with hammer and finish with long punch.
Disassembly hinge. Remove plastic bushings from center of hinge.
Clean and paint. Use a hammer to carefully drive in new bushings. I then use Anti-seize Compound to lube the new bushings. Reassemble hinge and drive pin in with hammer. I still found some play at the bottom of the pin so I tack welded it to the body of the hinge, not a problem as the pin doesn't move. Install new spring on top hinge. Install hinge to body using paint marks. Install door. Test and adjust as necessary. Reinstall door panels etc.
Good luck!
Jim
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All that bright work should look good with behind those rims.
Jim
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I really do like the look. Does anyone know how it would work on an 84 with the Stude chassis?
Charlie RQB-3921
I mounted the deflector to the bottom radiator frame, its a 1" square tube at the rear on the grille opening. The rear of the grille opening screws to the radiator frame, I removed the screws and slid the deflector between the grille body and radiator frame. I came up with about three different ways to mount the deflector but this looked the best to me, none would take over 15 mins. Not bad for $6.00.
Jim
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I purchased the other Saturn deflector ( PN# 21030181 - $5.52) and installed it to see the difference.
I do believe I like it better, if you remove the body screws to the lower radiator frame, it will slide right into place with no modifications needed.
I have over 7 inchs of ground clearance, thats with 2 inch drop spindles. It also hides the lower radiator frame on my '87 Avanti while dropping down about 3 more inches into the air stream.
Jim
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Everything has been working great, engine runs at same temp (195*) as before fan installation. Just to see what would happen I've installed a 180* thermostat, engine is now running at 180* but I need to test for awhile to see if it affects the computer control system and emissions.
I still havn't reinstalled my A/C yet, been running down electrical gremlins, that will be the big test of the fan. Jim
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I recieved a copy of the '87 Avanti factory wiring from Mr Edwards a couple of weeks ago.
Thank you Mr Edwards.
About two-thirds of the manual are copies of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo wiring diagram with the other third showing some wiring and optional equipment installed in the Avanti. It is quite helpful for showing how all of the computer controls and relays are wired in, BUT is wrong on some of the major wiring. It shows three hot wires coming off of the starter, not one, and doesn't show an AMP gauge at all since the Chevy didn't use one. Since the single hot supply wire goes to the AMP gauge first in the '87 Avanti this is a problem. A loose connection at the plugin for the Television/Rear Head Phone Cut-Out Switch was the problem. I have wired around the plugin for now until I can decide how to rewire. I will try to draw a correct diagram.
Thanks WayneC for starting me in the right direction.
Jim
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Some clutch fan setups can have more fan noise on initial startup and driveaway. Neither the one on my Avanti or ElCamino are noisy this way.
I have never heard a clutch fan make as much noise as my Avanti's, it was annoying to drive. When I first got the car I believed it had a transmission problem because of the whine, I have heard others complain about the Chevy engined Avantis making the same noise.
Water pump shafts breaking off are rare occurancesI have seen two others besides mine, both on medium duty trucks where the fan clutch locked up. Mine snapped the shaft at the nose of the waterpump, the waterpump bearings were fine. At first I believed that I had missed the bad fan clutch during my inspection of the waterpump after my purchase. But after replacement of all the damaged parts with new the noise was still there, I tried moving the fan in and out of the shroud and replacing the stock fan with a flex fan, no good. I decided that for whatever reason the noise was designed in and the cause may be putting to much of a strain on the shaft. I didn't want a repeat that could result in a lot more damage so I started looking into electric fans to see if they could provide enough CFM to do the job. The newest kits are designed as good or better than the OEM's I have seen. The Flex-a-lite kit has performed great and has made my Avanti a pleasure to drive.
I have seen reports that the Stude engined waterpumps have weak bearings. Wouldn't removal of the fan help?
Sorry to hijack your tread Mark.
Jim
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I must say that I am impressed with the amount of work and trouble people will go through to installthe thumping 680 horse 496 BBC in my ElCamino.
Hmmm….Well I say to each his own and I want to see more of it. Actual install time for my electric fan was less than 3 hours. I spend more time to repair other problems that I found.
Mind you I have no issue with the auxillary electric fans to supplement a fan clutch setup, but if airflow determines the winner, then a clutch fan is the king.True. But there are other reasons to change over.
Clutch fan NOISE. I have read other Avanti owners with this same issue. The electric fan cured this problem.
Within 100 miles of my Avanti purchase the water pump shaft snapped sending 15 lbs of metal bouncing around the engine compartment, damaging the radiator etc. In my 30 years as a mechanic I have replaced many a radiator because of fan damage, but never from an electric fan. I did notice more power off idle, that mechanical fan was using a lot of HP to more the air.
Quicker warm up, I like that during the winter.
More air flow in slow city traffic, something a mechanical fan can’t do.
Clean up the engine compartment. The electric fan did that.
Get ready for a LT1 install.
I kind of like the idea of the fan continuing to run after shut down, not sure if it helps but that’s something the mechanical fan can’t do.
If you check with any of the common electric fan companies you will find that they do not recommend their product for any heavy duty application - simply because no electric fan can out flow a properly shrouded mechanical fan clutch setup. Electric fans came into vogue almost entirely out of underhood packaging issues - especially with front wheel drive layouts. There were also some packaging benifits for certain rear wheel drive cars.What was GM thinking designing the LT1 without a mechanical fan? The main issue I had with my install was would the electric fan cool my Avanti, the answer is yes. The new designs are catching up with the old mechanical fans, they are practical and not that expensive.
So let’s help a brother Avanti owner out with his project.
I don’t have a Stude powered Avanti, is 1 “ of clearance between the pulley and radiator normal? If so I think I would try a pusher fan setup first before moving the radiator.
Jim
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So, in an effort to reduce some parasitic power loss, as well as improve cooling, I picked up a flexalite fan kit. The kit is similar in dimension to the one discussed in the 84-91 forums, although it is labeled for a Mustang 5.0. See 84-91 forum discussion
It's the same kit. I called Flex-a-lite and they recommended the other kit because it comes with universal mounts instead of the Mustang mounts.
Anyways, I opened the kit, and it looked beautiful. No doubt in my mind that it would help the car cool. What I found after removing the shroud and the mechanical fan is that the lower pulley on the motor is only about 1" away from the radiator! The fan needs 4" of clearance! Ugh.....That's odd, how did the shroud and fan fit in that 1" space?
Jim
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Hi everyone,
I am a new member and bought a 64 Avanti last September. I have bought KYB gas shocks for the front but can't seem to find gas shocks for the rear.. All the Auto parts stores have no listing for an Avanti. And the 'cross reference' lists on other Stude sites haven't been helpful.... What are your recommendations? Thanks for the feedback and helping a new guy out here.
Curt
Did you try the Parts x-change at Bob Johnstone's site?
Jim
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I did a lot of work on the HVAC controls of my '87. I searched salvage yards for the corect control panel. I never found an exact match, but I used the controls from an early 80s Chrysler New Yorker. The unit is basically the same with a couple of exceptions. The temp control lever on the Chrysler unit is diffrent than the lever on the Avanti unit. It's simple to exchange the two. Also, the electrical connections are different; the Avanti has three connections while the New Yorker has four. I made an adaptor, and it works well. The vacuum connections are different as well. I have found that the New Yorker controls work better than my stock controls ever did. I now have more control over air flow and the car now gets cooler/warmer more quickly. Of course that may be due to the fact that my vacuum lines were not fitted properly when I got the car, but, in any case, the system is much better now.
Rod
Great work. Thanks for the info.
Jim
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There is a lot of talk on the Monte Carlo SS site about lids for the console. Mine was trashed so I purchased a new one from the dealer (not available any more), within two months the plastic hinge broke again so I used a piano hinge I purchased from The Home Depot. Once I reinstall the leather cover it shouldn't show.
http://www.montecarloss.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?
Jim
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When I said early, I meant Studebaker and early Avanti II.
Understood.
Considering your vast expertise, I feel silly to have replied at all.Your reply about the '81 wiring was very helpful, I'm know the wire coming off the amp meter is white, so now I'll know to look at the horn relay.
Thank you.How about creating a wiring diagram for your 87 and submitting itto the AOAI magazine so others can gain from your experience?
Mr Earnest Edwards is making copies of his '87 Avanti wiring diagram. Thank you Earnest.
I have been making alot of posts since I purchased my Avanti a year and a half ago and I just wanted the members to know that I have some experience and am not just yapping. I know enough to be very, very dangerous
, and I value everyone's advise.Some of the projects I have planned with pictures;
Front air damn.
GM serpentine belt kit for small block chevy.
Rebuid door hinges.
Install new window rubber and felt.
Rear disc brakes.
Have the parts for most of these projects just need to get off my dead rear end and install them.
Would love to help anyone with keeping their Avanti on the road, or improving them.
Jim
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the earlier cars did not have a firewall connector, the harness passed through the firewall.
My '87 uses a firewall plug just like the newer cars.
Have you separated the firewall plug to check for corrosion in the connectors? Considering that the body is essentially the same, I'm not surprised that there's only one 10 gauge wire supplying power to the body at the firewall, since that's the way it was done on the early cars, except it was a single 12 gauge (black) wire. I have a booklet with a 1981 wiring diagram that shows that wire as a red wire (probably 12 gauge, with a 14 gauge fusible link at the starter solenoid) that runs to the ammeter and exits the ammeter as a white wire with red trailer to connect to the horn relay and then the fuse panel and then the ignition switch and on to the alternator BAT connectorSeparated firewall plug first, was suprised not to find a problem there. Not sure where wire goes from the amp meter, but I'll check the horn relay. Hoping to get a wiring diagram soon.
My chassis is a Monte Carlo and uses all the same electrical, Chevrolet uses 3 supply wires because of the load so I will probably do some rewiring. I have plenty of spaces on the firewall plug. I'm thinking of installing a fuse block also because the main wire doesn't look like a fusable link.
Sorry, I didn't see your reply before my last post.
By the way I'm an ASE Master Truck and Master Auto mechanic with 30 years experience and my own shop. I'm just having fun with my Avanti and welcome any help or comments.
Jim
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I dived into the wiring today and found the problem and definitely don’t like what I found. The wire that supplies ALL THE CURRENT to the car goes from the battery cable post on the starter solenoid, up to the firewall plug-in, into the harness and then thru a circular plug-in to the AMP METER back thru the circular plug-in and then to the rest of the car.
The circular plug-in was the problem, with a bad connection. It is located behind the center console about where the driver’s right knee would be, it is 1 ½” in diameter with a screw collar that holds it together. The plug-in has 2 large connectors and 16 small connectors. Power goes thru one of the large connectors up to the AMP meter and back thru the other large connector to power the car.
I thought it was strange that the car was completely dead after driving it all day, I found out why, after starting the car if you unplug the circular connector the car will continue to run on the alternator until you shut it down. Then the car is completely dead.
If your Avanti is wired this way you can test it easily by unplugging one of the large press on wire clips at the AMP meter, it will create the same problem. The car will not start and you will not have battery or ignition power to the fuse block. I don’t like this setup because all the current from the alternator goes thru the wiring harness in the dash then to the battery. I also what my fuse block to get current first.
Jim Wood
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The moonroof on my 1982 Avanti II was repaired by the previous owner of the car, but he didn't use the proper insulation and seals, so it is leaking again. I'm wondering if anyone has any information regarding knowledgable repair persons and/or parts sources for such a job. Any help is and will be appreciated.
Go to this site and click on Sunroof.
http://patriot.net/~jonroq/rjtechx.html#INDEX
Good luck
Jim
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Should be able to bolt up fine, the piece has a 1 inch lip. In the before shot that flat bar across the bottom is the radiator support, I'd say there is about 4 inchs of clearance, so there should be plenty of clearance for road dips.
Jim
window switches
in 1984-91 Avanti
Posted
There are switchs that will work but they won't have that OEM gloss black look and you may have to move terminals. If you want I can try and get a part number for you.
Jim