[Original Tire Size on 89 Convertible]

I have a tire information sticker for an Avanti of that vintage and it says the tire size front and rear is P205/65R15, so your car has tires one oversize on it. One oversize should be fine, though it does make your speedometer a bit off.

As far as wheels, you'll have to take one off and measure the offset and rim width to find a suitable replacement. The information should be cast into the wheel on the backside or even inside the rim and can't be seen without the tire being removed, but most likely on the backside of the rim. There's a bewildering array of custom wheels out there...you should be able to find something you like. Be aware if you buy wheels that use special lug nuts, you should keep a set of the original lug nuts with the car for use with the spare if it becomes necessary.

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I checked my door jams....has a label indicating the correct size is in fact 215-65 15......I spoke with another 89 vert owner who is running 205-70 15's and is very pleased...they look a bit better in the wheels well..not so boy racer. May take a look at that size as well. tks. GILBYBARR

[Original Tire Size on 89 Convertible]

Hey there folks...can someone out there help me with the original from the factory size of the tires on an '89 Avanti Convertible? Right now mine has 215-65/15's on it....dont know if that is right. The dealers booklets I have dont give the size but does show the cars originally with BF Goodrich TA white letter radials. Need to put some new tires on....old ones are flat spotted/out of round and giving me a steering wheel bump. Also..(and I know this is an old subject)...any suggestions on wheels that would work on one of these Caprice based cars? The original wheels are still on it (they look like a C4 Corvette wheel) but they are so plain and dated looking I'd like to update some. I know these are strange offset wheels. Thanks for your time and consideration on this question. Ed in Knoxville.

[HALIBRAND WHEEL]

I have a mint '63 I just bought....sure would like to get a set of original looking mags (Halibrand or whatever) that would be correct to the period. Not chrome.....

[Original Tire Size on '89 Vert]

What was the original tire size of the Goodrich TA radials on the '89 Avanti Convertibles? I cant find a reference to the originals...the sales brouchers show the Goodrich white letter TA's, but no size is given. Was it 205-70 15 or was it 205-75 15? Thanks a bunch. Ed in Knoxville.

[Trunk lift gas struts....where to get new ones]

Hello again.....on my '89 Avanti Convertible it has two gas struts to lift the trunk lid. The lid is pretty heavy and the struts have apparently given up enough of the ghost that they dont budge it.....so opening the trunk with the electric push button in the armrest console is a two person job! Can anyone give me some advice on where to get two new gas struts to lift the trunk lid? The units have the following numbers on them via blue stuck on labels: 4683 in the upper left hand corner of the little blue label on the strut tube and also 16706 in the upper right corner of same little blue label. Any advice on where to go to get two new ones?? tks again! Ed in Knoxville.

[Just Bought an 89 Vert...few questions]

Hello to all....just brought home a 1989 Avanti Convertible yesterday. It has just 17,000 miles on it and is in great shape. I do have a couple of questions for those of you with similar cars/years. On the way home, cruising at 75 at an outside temp of about 85 degrees, the motor temp ran what looked to be 205 degrees (a bit of assumption here...the guage goes from 160 to 220 with a couple of slash marks in between). Just to be safe (I had 1000 miles to drive) I kept the AC off for a good bit of the time and it stayed right aroung 195 or so. Can you give me some insight as to "normal operating temp" on these cars......of course it has the 305 motor Monte Carlo Chassis. The owners manual doesnt give you this info.....it does reference 220 degrees as the threshhold level for overheating.

Also....any tips on tire/wheel combos? It has the standard "C4 Corvette look" wheels on it in great shape....I just dont care for the look. I saw some wheels that looked like Magnum 500's on an 89 on the internet recently, but I thought they were all Mopar and Ford bolt patterns? Suggestions or ideas? I do like the Magnum 500's.....that is what is on my '80 Avanti Coupe and they always look great.

One last question......the windshield on the 89 has "AVANTI" in big white letters....not in the correct logo, just the name. I have seen this on others from this era.....including the Wheel of Fortune red convertible. Was this something the factory did? I am thinking of taking it off but didnt want to do that until I determined if this was something factory original.......Thanks! Ed in Knoxville.

[Need HELP with '80 AC Switch/Fuse]

Hi there.....I am new to this forum, even though I have had an Avanti for 5 years now so thanks in advance for your help. I am selling my 1980 Avanti II and buying an '89 Convertible. The '80 is in mint condition with everything working EXCEPT that the AC compressor clutch is not engaging. The AC is blowing cold and working fine when we jumper wire the clutch....but it wont engage on its own with the AC switch in the dash "on". We added 3 cans of freon as I had never used the AC and not kept it charged. But even after adding the freon (a valuable comodity these days!!) it still didnt kick on unless it was jumper wired. I am not a mechanic, my buddy was doing the work.......he is good but even he couldnt get the thing to kick in....he said there may be a fuse or a low pressure switch that may be bad somewhere. Can any of you all out there offer up some help and advice? This is the one thing left to get corrected before I sell her. Its an original car other than the motor was swapped out for an LM1 GM Crate motor 12 years ago. Thanks very much in advance for HELP that you can offer! Ed in Knoxvillle.

Oh......my email is gilbybarr@chartertn.net

[My letter to Avanti Motor Company ...]

Gotta say while I like the Ford connection, dont care much for the somewhat pudgy look of the Mustang based new Avantis. Now they are talking about building 6 cylinder verts and coupes to appeal to a "new" group of enthusiasts. Sorry, just dont see that one making a big splash.......over $60K for an American 6 cylinder based vehicle? Sure wish they could go back to the origins with the styling....but that's not realistic I guess. By the way, what ever happened to their development of their own chassis so they dont have to depend on a donor vehicle?

Love my '80....gets more attention than our '65 Corvette Coupe.

[seeking hogtrough source recommendations]

Hey there....new to this forum. Reading this thread, I think my '80 Coupe was the car featured in the Owners Association Magazine in '97 on replacement of the hog troughs....Bud Weisser replaced them by cutting the bottom of the body away cleanly, replacing them and then refiberglassing in the body segment. I have had the car since 2003 and no problems whatsover.