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theGman

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Posts posted by theGman

  2. Center Armrest in '81

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    Has anyone put a center armrest in an AvII over the center emergency brake handle?

    I was thinking of doing a removable one over the winter and just wanted a short cut if it had been done by others. Would like the extra storage and cupholding possibilities.

    Thanks,

    Paul

  3. Avanti II mods

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted · Edited by theGman

    The front center of the chrome hood ornament (on the car I measured, and now mine) sits 2 11/16 back from the front edge of the hood. I bought mine from Nostalgic Motors.

    There are other suppliers also who carry it. If you want a black insert for the hood ornament, you have to buy it seperately. You can get the Studebaker "S" in silver or gold letter on black background, or get the plain black one, which I did.

    There are a few suppliers of Avanti parts:

    www.avantiparts.net

    www.myersstudebaker.com

    www.studebaker-intl.com

    www.studeparts.com

    There are others, but these should get you moving. If you want the plain black (you can just use the chrome piece), I believe just one of the above had it.

    Paul

  4. Avanti II mods

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted · Edited by theGman

    Paul, when you added the hood ornament, you had to drill holes in your hood?

    Tim

    Yes, I believe it was 6 small holes. I got the exact front to back location by measuring an Avanti at a car show. If you ever need this info, let me know and I'll check to see how far back from the front of the hood it is to the front of the emblem. Be careful when you drill the holes so the emblem isn't crooked.

    The grille is easy to change; there are (I forget exactly) about 8 screws holding it on, easily removed by just laying down in front of the car. I too had the original grill with the 2 cutouts....I tried different ways to "patch" the holes, but they all looked bad, so I sprung for the $225 new one. It really makes a difference with the new "shiny" grille in there....was the biggest single improvement, believe it or not. (I didn't think it would make much difference)

    When I installed the new one I went to the hardware store and bought some new stainless steel mounting screws and stuff. Also, you will have to drill a few new holes in the area where the cutouts are, because the original grille mounted right over the cutout. Most of the holes line up with the new grille though.

    Removing etc. is no big deal, since the grilles are just screwed into holes in the fibreglass. I am a little on the big side at 6'2" with big hands, and even I had no problems doing this. While you have the old grille off it's a good time to poke around and see if everything in that area is in good shape.

    If you don't want to change grilles you can add fog or driving lights to obscure the cutouts.

    Paul

  5. Avanti II mods

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    Kbear,

    I have modified my '81 a bit. I added the hood ornament and the side emblems, took off the ugly cow catcher bumper and bought a new full front grille, to fill in the holes from the cow catcher. I tried to use other things to fill in the hole, but they all looked bad, so I sprung for the grille. Or is it "grill"?. :)

    I bought a new set of original size Magnum 500s, 15 x 6, with stock size tires. I believe they are 205s.

    I installed the Turner front brakes with no clearance issues.

    I had to have my son touch up the red paint, since I sold an original luggage rack and he had to fill the holes and paint the lid anyway, so I removed the "II" emblems front and rear.

    I wanted to ID the '81 as a "II" but never liked the factory deal, since the "II"s are a little different color and are upside down, cocked, etc. often, so what to do?

    As you probably know, the hood emblem consists of the main chrome thing and a squarish plastic piece sold seperately. I bought a plain black plastic center piece, not the "S" ones which were on the originals. Then, I bought a new "II" and mounted it in the center of the otherwise solid black hood piece. Looks good to me; the car has a "II" on it, but just in that one place.

    If you want to remove the "II"s ever, and, if you are a real nut, to do a "perfect" job on the trunk lid, you should move the "Avanti" chrome emblem over to the right, so you don't have the gap there where the "II" was. I didn't do that, but it would have looked just a little better.

    I also changed the trunk backup lights into brake lights, and mounted 2 smallish Auto Zone rectangular driving lights alongside the license place vertically for new backups. Looks good and it is a lot brighter too!

    Paul G.

  6. Hood Ornaments

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    Years ago I had a '69 (RQA0349) and it did not have the hood ornament or buckles.

    By the way.....

    I do like the original chrome stuff, so I recently added the buckles to the sides of my '81, and the hood ornament, which I think looks neat, especially being part of the original Lowey design.

    What I have done is to eliminate the "IIs" from the front and back, leaving only the "Avanti" chrome.

    I then epoxied/added a "II" to a solid black hood ornament center.

    I like this somewhat cleaner look, since the "IIs" have always been a different shade of chrome and look like the add on they are, plus are often upside down or slightly crooked anyway. Now the only "II" is on the hood.

    I couldn't find a plain black center for the pirate buckles, so they have the silver S is on them, but that's ok too, showing the heritage of the car, plus, if I did have plain black buckle centers, what would I put on them? The "IIs" would be too large a scale anyway.

    I also added the chrome at the top center of the back seats, plus a few other pieces which were on my '69, such as the polished dash ends instead of that tacky cheap looking brushed ? aluminum. I really preferred the near original look of the trim on the '69 over the '81 styles.

    Now, I have to figure how to build a center console to maybe velcro over that huge emergency brake handle. (Another area where I preferred the earlier storage compartment there).

    Paul G.

  9. 1983 Avanti Specifics

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    Getting back to the dashboard, I can't recall any Avanti where the left gauge is not a clock.

    Sounds like someone might have installed the voltmeter later.....of course, being a hand built car, etc.

    I wouldn't be surprised if the voltmeter was per buyer's request, since there was probably a digital clock in the radio.

  11. 1983 Avanti Specifics

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    Welcome. I am also fixing one up, an '81. I have had 2 A IIs back a while ago, a '69 and '71.

    The coin bin is on my '81; was put in production sometime in '70s.

    I've never seen a double humped hood....sounds like we're talking about camels, doesn't it?

    I'm going to upgrade gauges. Fresh from successfully doing it to a '56 Ford Victoria, I'm going to attempt to install my gauges by basically making the face plate removable from the front, so I can mount the gauges on the plate outside the dash, and installing the plate in the dash as a finished unit.

    I have big, big hands and this should work for me. Sometimes, usually when working on cars, I really wish I was a little guy!

    This is a fine site; there is also the Yahoo Avanti site, which has more traffic than this one....I'll never understand why, since this site is much more in normal "forum style". I imagine all on this site are also on the other one.

    Paul

  13. 1971 Avanti Mirrors

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    AMC mirrors. Probably the best looking things ever made by AMC!

    Back in the early 80s I bought a new right side mirror for a '69 AVII I owned, and got it from the AMC dealer, so that's why I know it's AMC.

    Of course, who's to say that Jag didn't also buy the same mirrors for some of their cars?

    Paul G.

    PS: I do recall that, when buying the new mirrors, I had to match up the "stems", since apparently some AMC's had different curvatures on that bottom section. Tops were identical.

  14. Avanti Wheels

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Related:

    I was thinking of getting the Steeltechs on the front.

    Do you know what offset will fit there? What are you now running there?

    I currently have new 15x6 Magnum 500s but would like to go to a 17, but am afraid to buy without knowing.

    The guy at Steeltech has been absolutely no help.

    Thanks,

    Paul

  18. Looking for Round Headlights (not the whole car)

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted · Edited by theGman

    If the other poster can't find a good round headlight Avanti, I'll settle for the round lights themselves.

    I like the round lights, and wouldn't mind taking a stab at converting my '81 to round lights. If anyone knows of a set of round lights, preferably with some surrounding fibreglass still attached, please advise.

    Thanks, Paul

  19. Need more legroom in your Avanti?

    in 1965-83 Avanti

    Posted

    I installed 2001 Trans Am seats in my '81. The drivers seat is power. I am also 6'2", so I made sure the seat is far enough back. It actually is a little too far back for some, but I like the steering wheel farther away from my body than some.

    If mama wants to drive, I'll rig up a block on the gas pedal, I guess.

    Worked great. I didn't do quite as good a job as illustrated here, but it is more than adequate, using the Trans Am mounts exclusively.

    Paul

  23. Avanti on 2007 Calendar

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    I am in the process of re-doing my '81 and saw a real nice burgundy Avanti with aftermarket wheels which I believe is on the January 2007 calendar. I don't have the calendar here....it is at work, so I might be wrong as to the month.

    I was hoping to find out the paint and wheel details of this car.

    Thanks for any information.

    Paul

    Larry & Judi Drake

    63RQ5618

  25. Avanti on 2007 Calendar

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    I am in the process of re-doing my '81 and saw a real nice burgundy Avanti with aftermarket wheels which I believe is on the January 2007 calendar. I don't have the calendar here....it is at work, so I might be wrong as to the month.

    I was hoping to find out the paint and wheel details of this car.

    Thanks for any information.

    Paul

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