RDadsAvantiII
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Posts posted by RDadsAvantiII
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Perry, unless you have a body jig to check dimensions it will mostly be a guess on how much additional shimming needs to be done. Basically you should loosen the front mounts, then jack the body up until you are uncomfortable jacking it any more - then add shims to fill the gap.
That said, I prefer to use hard rubber or polyurethane body bushings with shims as needed - rather than straight steel shims. I believe that it is important to allow for some movement, because your frame does slightly twist at times.
Thomas
Thanks, for the info, I will try that, I agree with you it seems like it would be too ridgit,Thanks Perry
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I'm not sure how you measured for the shims, but most likely your body is not correctly shimmed. Cracks on the top of the front fender, usually towards the cowl, are common when the very front of the car has too few shims.
Thomas
Hi! Thomas, I am sure you are right, it wouldnt be the first time,I am thinking about trying to readjust body mounts do you have any suggestions, Thanks Perry
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Perry, where exactly on the body are you noticing hairline cracks? Although you may have done it "by the book", are you sure that your Avanti didn't need more or fewer shims in some places?
Thomas
Hi! Thomas, my hairline cracks , I have 3 that I have noticed,one on the front fender driver side about 2 1/2" from the side of the hood, and a foot back from the front of the fender, I have cracks on both sides driver and passenger on top of fender on bottom side of back window, Thanks Perry
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Hi! I have a 1980 Avanti that I Painted, and installed new Hog Troughs, about a year ago, I installed the Hog Troughs like the book say's, steel shims,I am noticing hair line cracks starting in the fiberglass,not bad but I would like slow down the stress cracks, I was wondering if anybody has a better sugestion, like putting rubber bushings inbetween the frame and the body,any information would be appreciated , Thanks Perry
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Wish I could help directly, but here's some thoughts.
I think the shifter is pretty much the same as the original Studebaker Avanti, and that original neutral safety switch attaches to the shifter bracket and (via short linkage rods) to the shifter lower lever, so it might be a Stude switch... if you have an Avanti parts book, it is #1558650 starter cut-out switch, illustrated on page 90 as item 0853-1. It is essentially a small squat cylindrical switch (rubber-coated as I recall) with a couple of levers at one end and a wiring pigtail at the other. If that sounds right, I'm not sure where you can get one, but I'd start by calling Nostalgic Motors 1-800-avanti1 and Studebaker International 1-317-462-3124. I didn't find the switch at their websites, but they will probably know if they are to be found. If not, then you may have to search junkyards looking at mid 60's Chevy's and Ford's (since the original Borg-Warner tranny was used on Ford's) and/or improvise.
I have a rather funny story involving that switch and a 66 Avanti I owned back in the 70's...
The Avanti's transmission seals were starting to go, so the tranny slipped in the morning on cold days, mostly noticed in reverse, until it got warmed up, and I wasn't anxious to pay for an overhaul. One snowy sunday night I came home half in the bag after partying and decided to park right beside the shelter of the house in about 3 or 4 inches of snow rather than in the backyard (the detached garage was full of project cars) so I wouldn't have to shovel as much in the morning if the snow collected even more. The next morning it was quite cold and there was about 6 or 7 inches of snow on the ground. Before going to work I decided to get some odds & ends together in the garage to be dropped off at a vendor's shop, so before doing that I started the Avanti and turned on it's heater so it could warm up and keep me toasty on the way to work, and proceeded into the garage through it's side door.
After puttering around in there about 10 minutes, there was a horrendous CRASH and the whole center front of the garage caved in about 4 feet!!!
My Avanti had slammed into the center post between the thin-metal garage doors!
It seems that several gremlins had bit me: 1) I had inadvertently left the tranny in "drive" when I shut the car down the night before, 2) unbeknownst to me, the "starter cut-out switch" had apparently failed sometime previous, and when it fails you can start the car IN GEAR, which I had just done, 3) the cold morning meant the choke kept the engine running at an increasingly faster clip as the engine oil warmed, 4) The tranny seals took a while to warm up and take hold... when they did, the tires jumped the end of the frozen snow ruts I'd formed the night before and the car lurched forward 30 feet until it rammed the post between the 2 closed overhead garage doors. Luckily none of the projects were damaged, and the Avanti only suffered some cosmetic damage, but I had to spend considerable time at a later date replacing the garage center post and straightening and repainting the doors (although they still retained enough waviness to continually remind me of my stupidity).
BTW, that 66 Avanti used the Stude switch, but I think it also had a Borg-Warner tranny, not the Chevy turbo 350 or 400 trannies that came later.
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Wish I could help directly, but here's some thoughts.
I think the shifter is pretty much the same as the original Studebaker Avanti, and that original neutral safety switch attaches to the shifter bracket and (via short linkage rods) to the shifter lower lever, so it might be a Stude switch... if you have an Avanti parts book, it is #1558650 starter cut-out switch, illustrated on page 90 as item 0853-1. It is essentially a small squat cylindrical switch (rubber-coated as I recall) with a couple of levers at one end and a wiring pigtail at the other. If that sounds right, I'm not sure where you can get one, but I'd start by calling Nostalgic Motors 1-800-avanti1 and Studebaker International 1-317-462-3124. I didn't find the switch at their websites, but they will probably know if they are to be found. If not, then you may have to search junkyards looking at mid 60's Chevy's and Ford's (since the original Borg-Warner tranny was used on Ford's) and/or improvise.
I have a rather funny story involving that switch and a 66 Avanti I owned back in the 70's...
The Avanti's transmission seals were starting to go, so the tranny slipped in the morning on cold days, mostly noticed in reverse, until it got warmed up, and I wasn't anxious to pay for an overhaul. One snowy sunday night I came home half in the bag after partying and decided to park right beside the shelter of the house in about 3 or 4 inches of snow rather than in the backyard (the detached garage was full of project cars) so I wouldn't have to shovel as much in the morning if the snow collected even more. The next morning it was quite cold and there was about 6 or 7 inches of snow on the ground. Before going to work I decided to get some odds & ends together in the garage to be dropped off at a vendor's shop, so before doing that I started the Avanti and turned on it's heater so it could warm up and keep me toasty on the way to work, and proceeded into the garage through it's side door.
After puttering around in there about 10 minutes, there was a horrendous CRASH and the whole center front of the garage caved in about 4 feet!!!
My Avanti had slammed into the center post between the thin-metal garage doors!
It seems that several gremlins had bit me: 1) I had inadvertently left the tranny in "drive" when I shut the car down the night before, 2) unbeknownst to me, the "starter cut-out switch" had apparently failed sometime previous, and when it fails you can start the car IN GEAR, which I had just done, 3) the cold morning meant the choke kept the engine running at an increasingly faster clip as the engine oil warmed, 4) The tranny seals took a while to warm up and take hold... when they did, the tires jumped the end of the frozen snow ruts I'd formed the night before and the car lurched forward 30 feet until it rammed the post between the 2 closed overhead garage doors. Luckily none of the projects were damaged, and the Avanti only suffered some cosmetic damage, but I had to spend considerable time at a later date replacing the garage center post and straightening and repainting the doors (although they still retained enough waviness to continually remind me of my stupidity).
BTW, that 66 Avanti used the Stude switch, but I think it also had a Borg-Warner tranny, not the Chevy turbo 350 or 400 trannies that came later.
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Hi! I have a 1980 Avanti , its an automatic ,my Neutral Safety switch went out, and I am having a hard time trying to replace it, it looks like a chevy switch,does anybody know where I can find one or what type of car I should replace it with ,I would appreciate any help , Perry
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Hi! I am new to this , I have a 1980 Avanti,when I bought my Avanti the tach and the clock both didn't work, which seems to be pretty common,I replaced my tach with a new Stewart Warner Tach it is called a Deluxe model 82162-B,it looks like it belongs there an it works good, and as for the clock,I had a hard time trying to find a clock, which I never did find !so I replaced it with a electrical stewart warner deluxe oiltemperture gauge, for my auto transmission, just in case your interested,the gauge is model #82344, sender unit is #280ee-f,it was easy to install,if you have any questions I will try to help,I fiqured my stereo had a clock so I didnt need 2 clocks !
Unique
in Avanti Pub
Posted
Perry, Hi Jim,
My Wife an 3 boys look at my 80 Avanti the same way,they call it the ugly car,I say its is so ugly its good looking ,my one sons wife calls it the James Bond Car,my wife may not like how it looks,but she sure likes the way it drives.