[New Owner]

Welcome! Maybe with enough people joining up, this forum will start to take off

and people will REPLY to posts that they read, instead of "read and run".

Tom

[Aftermarket wheels/tires for Avanti]

Over 110 people have read this thread and NO ONE has bothered to comment

on it. I also belong to the Impala forum and even when a "newbie" posts a first

"hello" they get about 4 to 10 replies welcoming them. I would think that some

of you know how to reply to a thread, and have something to say about the rims

that I have found. Its kinda frustrating to post and not get ANY feedback.

Tom

[Aftermarket wheels/tires for Avanti]

Didnt get ANY replies on this, so I ran with it myself, on some research on the web
I found that a 17 x 8 rim with a 4.5 inch backspacing would fit. I found that a place
in Canoga Park called AFS sells a Cobra rim that is 17 x 8 with a 5 inch backspacing.
On further checking I found that an early Mustang would handle a 17 x 8 rims with
a 4.75 backspacing, so I figured worst case I would need a 1/4 spacer for the front.
When the wheel is turned to lock, the rim contacts the front zerk pivot. I will either
need to find longer wheel studs, or switch to SteelTechs Ford setup. I was not able
to find a listing for wheel studs for a Studebaker rotor that are longer then stock
wheel studs. Also, with Avanti rotors costing close to a car payment, I think that
swaping to more common parts is the best bet.

I bought the rims, with 245/45 series tires. Here are the pics - Tom :

[REAR AXLE CONVERSION]

The Avanti II should have the flanged DANA 44 rear axle. Thats a pretty strong

axle, and wouldnt really need to be replaced with a 12 bolt. It is also debatable

whether the 12 bolt is actually stronger then a DANA 44. Also a 12 bolt would be

a GM bolt pattern, and not match the current "Ford" pattern in the front.

Studebaker powered Avantis put lots of hp and torque through the DANA 44 axle

with little problems. Only the tapered axle cars had issues:

http://patriot.net/~jonroq/Text/flangedaxles.txt

Tom

[buying a 64 avanti r1 help!!]

I'm looking to buy a 64 r1 avanti from out of state.  p/w, a/c  What  should I look for before I buy?  I'm having an inspection done...but- do they always know?

Thanks for your insights

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The basics to look for are the same for a Studebaker Avanti as with any older

vehicle, so a good inspection will give you the same results as say a 55 Chevy.

With the Avanti, since its fiberglass, someone who is familar with older Corvettes

could be helpful in finding the signs there has been an accident, or a repair.

One area that many are concerned with, are the sub-floor boxes, these run down

the sides of the car and stiffen the frame up. They have a tendoncy to rust

away and even though replacements are available, they are not cheap to do.

Just keep in mind you are buying a OLD car, so its going to need work, unless

you have some documentation that things have been done, in that case have

the person inspecting it CONFIRM that those things are done, usually the price

you pay will reflect whats been "repaired", be careful not to get scammed!

Tom

[Aftermarket wheels/tires for Avanti]

I want to have either 16 inch or 17 inch diameter rims on my 63 Avanti, I would

like to run a 275/40 series tire, though will probably end up with ~ 245/40. I have

been eyeballing the 03/04 Mustang Cobra rims, but the offset is wrong. I know I

can get bolt-on adapter/spacers, and know that people have put them on the early

Mustangs. I have been surfing the web for rims that fit early Mustangs and they

all look so crappy. Has anyone already done the fitment proceedure and knows

what rim size/offset/width is max for an Avanti? I have a set of Keystone rims on

the car now, they are 14 (too small) and 7 inch width. I have 245/60 tire on the

rim and it clears. Because of the small diameter, it gets close to the zerk fitting

and the tie rod. I figure with a 16 or 17 it would clear those areas. The Keystones

were bought for my Hawk, and transfered to the Avanti after the Hawk was totalled.

I want a 5 spoke wheel, the Cobra rims look like exactly what I want, but I would

rather not have spacers if I can avoid them.

Tom

[lionel stone studebaker]

im wantin to restore my 63 r2 but i dont know who to trust . stone has good prices but im new to this whole web thing. help.ps thanks gunslinger

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow .. if you know how to get hold of Stone by the web, please let me know! I

have been trying to call the guy for a while and its always a machine. I want to

see if he will trade a good Hawk fender for a set of those headers he sells.

I agree that different vendors are good for different things, thats also true for the

local parts stores. It all depends.

Tom

[Tach for Avanti II]

You can always simply replace all the gauges with new VDO or Autometer units.  Besides being superior gauges you can really individualize your car with them.  A bit more work but it can really add to the appearance and be a practical upgrade.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have the opposite opinion about VDO and Autometer, they seem like a major

step down from Stewart Warner. Why not just get a SW replacement from stores

like NAPA? They still carried them last time I checked. A friend of mine years

ago replaced all his SW's with Autometer, and they looked so cheap in comparison

to the SW's. I have a box of them in my garage from after he totalled his car.

Chances are the Tach still works, I would bet that there is a disruption in the signal

and once thats cured it would be fine. Does the gauge move from 0 to 500 when

you turn on the key, or is it ALWAYS at 500 regardless? I remember that my

buddies Autometer used to stay at the RPM that he turned the key off at, but the

SWs should settle down to 0 when the key is off. If it moves from 0 to 500, then

its doubtful that its a bad gauge.

Tom

[1981 AVANTI II]

HAS ANYONE FOUND A SOURCE FOR INSURANCE THAT WOULD ADMIT TO THE VALUE OF THE CAR AND NOT JUST THE AGE WHEN DETERMINING VALUE FOR ACCIDENT COVERAGE.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It comes down to how much you want to PAY for your insurance, you can do an

actual cash value amount with most insurance companies. I have my 63 insured

as however they classify it. To insure it was a collectible would double the bill

monthly. If you document the condition well, then if something happens to it, you

then have to prove the value. I did this on my 1960 Studebaker Hawk. At first

they were going to give me 1500 bucks, I told them to find me a comparible car

for that money, they raised it to 2500, I laughed. We finally settled for 5000 and

I got the car back. I had about 10k into the car at the time, but the it was all in

the undamaged drivetrain, which I recovered and gave the rest away.

Even if you insure it as a collectible, the insurance company will "forget" how much

its worth when the time comes to pay up on it, either way you will have to prove

the value, and fight to get the money back. Definition : Insurance Company.

I have been fairly happy with Allstate.

Tom

[1981 AVANTI II]

My 84 touring coupe uses the same 305HO that the Camero Z-28 used. The belts carb etc are all the same as the Z-28. I'll bet that your 81 is also. If in doubt get in touch with Dan Booth at Nostalgic motors.

                                                          Charlie

cbk RQB3921

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So its easier to find, it is spelled "Camaro" with an 'a'. I think that the

base Avanti didnt get the HO engine, so its most likely just the run of the mill 305

that GM used around that time. My dads 78 Avanti used a 350/400 combo.

Tom

[Alternator]

I wrote an article for the Avanti magazine on how to put a GM "one wire"

alt onto the Avanti bracket. It was quite easy and so was the wiring.

Tom

[Avanti bumpers]

I am in the same place as you, though I did remove the bumpers off my dads

1969 Avanti years ago. I dont remember any "tricks" involved. I also need my

bumpers replated, the back one is peeling/rusting. If I take them off soon, I

will post anything I find out. Right now this is a "back burner" project that I am

gathering info for.

Tom

[Loose steering]

You might also look at your idler arm, they are known to wear and cause a

wander without tire wear. Moog makes a nice replacement, its part of their

"problem solver" series.

Tom

[pumping up the horsepower on an R1]

Well, the R1 heads suffer from the same drawbacks as the standard Studebaker

heads, so much so that there really isnt much different between a standard 289

and an R1. Your engine will benefit greatly from porting and larger valves. You

can get larger intake valves from many of the parts distributors, and the porting

can be done by someone local to you thats TRUSTED. There is a lot of metal in

the combustion chamber that can be removed, along with up into the runners. I

went with 2.02 stainless steel narrowed neck extended Chevy "NASCAR" valves

turned down to 1.94. The exhaust valve I also went with stainless, and they are

1.6 inch head. The combustion chambers were cleaned up and the "shrouding"

was removed. This was good for some SERIOUS power gains, and not noticeable

under the hood. I also went with a 276 duration R3 cam, chrysler solid lifters and

then shortened pushrods. I never got a chance to get the engine on a dyno B4

I totalled the car in a stupid accident. The engine waits in my garage to end up

in my 63 Avanti. I can not use the whole engine (it was from a 60 Hawk), but

the 'guts' will live on ... along with the above mentioned heads.

Tom

[New Member]

Just posting to say hello to the members here. I would also like to ask a question about Avanti bumpers .. my rear bumper needs to be replaced or rechromed -

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Tom