plwindish
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Posts posted by plwindish
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I believe it was either 80 or 81 when the 4 speed automatic overdrive appeared. The 200 R-4 was used first, then the 700 R-4 was used. It may have been the same time as when the 305 appeared.
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I have not done any fiberglass repair so its nothing I would attempt. You are near Mike Baker's area, so I would seek his opinion regarding what needs to be done.
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Its lacking some 20" spinner type wheels and the driver's seat back at a 30 degree angle to fully savor a home-made from the "hood" gangsta look. A bull horn needs to be shouting "Step away from the car before any more damage is inflicted!"
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Please enlighten us Don. It looks interesting.
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If a car was taken back to the factory and refurbished, I don't think a vehicle would have been outfitted with a new VIN #. It sounds more like a situation of the original owner having a 69 and at a later time, bought and registered or transferred the plates to an 80 model. I would not rule out any clerical mistakes on the IL SOS' offices.
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Dan would be the most knowledgeable person about the powertrains of the Avanti after Studebaker. Neuman and Altman's started with the 327, then 350, then 400, then 350, ending with the 305's. Transmissions went from the left over BW flightomatics to GM's TurboHydramatic(I don't know if they used the turbo 350, but know they used the 400), then on to the 200R4, then to the 700R4. Bob Johnstone's Studebaker Resource pages would also be a source for that information.
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I would start with the last owner you got the car from, finding length of ownership and any previous owners he had contact with. If the original (first) owner's name doesn't come up, then try to contact the original owner through the information listed on the build sheet. I bought RBQ 2392 from an older gentleman in Naperville IL in January 2011. He was able to tell me he had bought the car from another person in Naperville in October 1985. I wasn't able to contact that owner, but was able to get in contact with the original purchaser of the car in Hatboro PA, learning he had the car for 3 years, when the paint started to fade(Yes, Avanti Motors had some paint issues also)., so he traded for a 79 at Avanti Motors in South Bend the fall of 1979. I then learned that Avanti Motors sold the car to the first person from Naperville IL, having it from 79 until 85 he sold to the gentleman I bought the car from. Its almost like a geneology search in your family going through and tracking the history of your car. Since you have a copy of the build sheet, you can find the motor number on the motor and determine if it is the original motor or not. Through contacting the owners, you might even find out when the title snafu occurred. Knowing IL and how the Secretary of State's office works, you'll probably get quicker results by tracking down previous owners than going directly through the SoS's offices. Do a search for the IL Secretary of State Office in Springfield IL to find where to contact about the title.
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18 Avantis are listed in the Avanti Marketplace in the back pages of the new Issue #160 that came in the mail today.
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I got Issue #160 today. It is another outstanding issue. 18 Avantis are listed for sale in Avanti Marketplace. Be on the look out for your issue.
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You have a lot of company there. I have easily doubled the purchase price of my car with basically a mechanical restoration of the car. I have no intentions of selling the car while I'm able to drive and have no health issues, so when that time comes to sell it, I'll factor all the enjoyment I've gotten from the car. If its a lot of years, then I'll figure the car doesn't owe me much back from that investment.
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Were the round vents (left overs from 83 and 64, I assume) just used in the early RQA's? I had never seen the earlier rectangular type vent. They must not have been used very long.
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Both look to be real projects. The Craigs list Avanti in Grand Rapids doesn't show any hog trough or frame shots which, being in MI would have to be looked at. That saying about nothing being more expensive than a cheap Avanti keeps rolling around in my head.
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If you read the link, it sounds like a real crap shoot if one did buy the vehicles and try to bring them back into the US. You could spend the money and have them seized at the port bringing them back in. How many are willing to risk that?
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Warren,
From what the pix show, the car looks to be in good shape. Have you been able to get the car on a lift and get a good look of the underside and frame? I think the color of the interior may grow on you. The only thing I didn't like is the black piping on the seats, but that's seemed to be a signature item on a lot of Avanti's interiors of the period. The car does look very clean. The paint and stress cracks are probably minor items that might get repaired with the sum you had mentioned. If you have driven the car, you'll get an idea of the shape and condition of the motor, trans and the suspension of the car. The car would be a good buy at $10 K, but as I found, that's the starting point for what you would want to do with the car. I wish you good luck with your plans.
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Are you looking for a nice 63 or 64, or as you posted, a nice 93 or 94? Avanti was not in production from 91 until the AVX concept was produced in 96. Production began again in 2000 or 2002 and continued until the factory was locked up after the owner, Mr. Kelly ran into his legal issues.
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If you dare to be different, there will very rarely be two Avantis at any cruise event. Yesterday at the Chicago area North Shore AACA Annual Brighton Run, there happened to be 4 Avantis in around 200 cars. The Avantis were a 72, 2 76's, and an 03. All four of the owners are also members of Chicago land AOAI, so that's why we had more than just one.
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What year is your car? Does it have the Stude or Chevy frame? It sounds like the car has the GM frame and probably the GM drive train components as well.
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My 76 RQB 2392 has a Dana 44 Twin Traction 3:31 in it. I would think yours probably is similarly equipped.
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The Silver blue 83 was his latest project. My car is further down the blog listings. Its a 76 dark metallic red , tan interior with wire wheels.
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Warren, If I ever figure out how to upload pix on this site, I'll get them up. Every time I try to upload a pix, I find out its too large to upload. The same pix upload fine on the Studebaker forum and on Facebook. Pix of my car are on Brad Bez's site, http://bez-auto-alchemy.blogspot.com/ . Brad had the car during September, rebuilding the front suspension, re-arching the rear springs, rebuilding the power steering pump and a list of other items.
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Bob,
Thanks for the compliment. The 400 in my 76 was bored .030 over, got new pistons, hydraulic roller cam, Edlebrock polished aluminum low rise intake, 650 performer carb, new valves and the heads worked over to improve flow. Chrome "bling" was added along with a low rise chrome air cleaner. Engine was dynoed @ 365 hp and 460 # torque before going back in. A rebuilt 200R4 behind It makes it much better for the road. With the THM 400 trans, 70 mph meant 3000 rpms. Now 70 mph is right at 2000 rpms. The Turner brakes, rebuilt rears and new lines stop the car really quick. The newly rebuilt suspension makes the car handle like new. The car will put you back in the seat when floored. My goal in having the work done was to have a modern running, reliable, original car that I would not be afraid to drive anywhere. Hopefully, I'm at that point now.
Warren55 - Don't expect the wires to be anything outstanding if they are original. My concern about wires that old is rust and how true they are. Companies like Dayton do recondition wheels, but some may cost more to recondition that the discounted prices they give you for new ones. I bought an older set of 5 this last spring that looked great in the pictures, but ended up keeping 1 for the spare. The others were too far gone to to reasonably recondition. The old ones also are likely to be tubed wheels also. My new ones are tubeless with stainless steel wires, hopefully they won't rust as bad as all chrome.
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Don't sell the70's II's short. I had my 76's 400 rebuilt and de-smogged along with having a rebuilt 200-R4 put in and it way more get up and go than I need. I recently had the suspension rebuilt and had the "cattle-catcher" bumper removed. It has that classic older Avanti front end look and a modest rake. It now drives like a dream with the redone springs and suspension.
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If you go through the pictures of Avantis on Bob Johnstone's Studebaker Resource page, there are several examples of the older Avanti's getting the steel bumpers removed and plastic put on. I think the factory did some of the work to "update" the older Avanti's. The look may be updated, but I prefer the steel bumpers.
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You might want to get the opinion of a body man experienced in fiberglass before jumping on the car. The delamination would scare me, not being experienced with fiberglass repair. Getting the body right for painting might be a money pit.
Needed: 63 rear 1/4 quarter window rubber seals
in 1963-64 Avanti
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I guess that I was lucky getting all the cabin weathering stripping last year from Studebaker International. Brad Bez put it all in for me in September, so everything is nice and tight now. One disadvantage of the rear windows with new weatherstripping now is that I can't just reach around with 1 hand and open or close the windows. Those babies are tight!