plwindish
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Posts posted by plwindish
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Sorry, but the link says no link found and sends me to the studebaker wheel. Do you have a window sticker invoice info for Altman Avanti II's?
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The first car I bought was a '64 Avanti R1, automatic and ac with 5000 miles on it in Aprill '66. I had the car for 3+ years before selling to get a larger car. Having never lost the love for the Avanti, I got a '76 in Jan '11. Body and styling of the II's are very similar to the '63's and '64's, but also have a more reliable GM drive train. I wouldn't necessarily just focus on '63's and '64's when looking for one.
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A new Ebay listing has an '81 Avanti with the front end morphed to include a Lincoln grille and no front bumper. The front end treatment is more radical than anything Loewy did to any of his personal cars. He's probably turning over in his grave about now.
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Currently there is an '07 red convertible on Ebay with redone tail lights. I don't like the look, but that may be an option for others with broken tail light lenses.
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Currently there is an '07 red convertible on Ebay with redone tail lights. I don't like the look, but that may be an option for others with broken tail light lenses.
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Just a little over a day left in the Ebay auction for a beautifully restored '63built to R 4 specs and has ac. Bidding is just over $40 K. The car is a great looking black with tan interior. Interior is not factory color as it looks almost yellow. Nice looking car though.
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I don't know if the owner will show these,so I thought you might like to see a couple of my most recent restorations.
You can see the pics on my web pages and blog.
www.bez-auto-alchemy.com
I need to change the upper header contrast, but click on the links at the top of the page.
Brad, the pictures look great. I tried to send you two emails and both came back as undeliverable, I'm also sending you a PM.
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I got a pair of power mirrors from an '89 Avanti through Ebay last week to replace the Chrome AMC (too small) mirrors on my '76. Each of the mirrors had a wire lead with a 4 pin socket type connection. I have several questions regarding the mirrors for any '89 owners. First, where was the mirror adjustment switch located, on the driver's door panel? Does anyone have a picture of the switch on the door panel? Should I try to make the mirrors power adjustable, I'll have to come up with the electric cable for both door mirrors, switch, mounting bezel for the switch, etc. I did a quick email to Nostalgic and learned they don't have anything for an '89. Could these mirrors be GM? It would be nice to have them power adjustable, but I can live with manual adjustment also. The more streamlined look of the mirrors and larger mirror area were my main reason for getting the mirrors. The manual adjustment on my present driver side mirror is not that great and the right side has no adjustment, so I can live without the power feature of the new mirrors if I have to. I am curious if I could get the materials to get everything hooked up reasonably.
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Call Nostalgic, they have everything, shoes, rebuild kit with the springs, etc. I got all the brake lines along with new rear axle bearings. They are really easy to work with, just tell them the year and they will send out what you need. I just redid the rear brakes on my '76 in November and had no problems with anything they supplied.
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I had the Turner Front Disk Brake set put on my '76 Avanti in November and have been very happy with them. I did also get the rear set, but the mounting brackets did not fit the rear axle,(my car's rear end had 6 bolts on the axle ends instead of 4). I was able to return the rear set with no problems. Jim is great to work with and will do his best to solve any problems you might encounter. The Turner front brake set does a very good and quiet job stopping the car.
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Funny you should mention that. One of the hoses had been replaced several years ago. A couple of weeks ago, while getting the brakes redone, the mechanics noticed the whole power steering unit looking wet. They cleaned up the hoses and cylinder and upon checking it, the slave cylinder is the source of the leak. With the tight clearance of the unit, I don't know if the unit can be taken out without removing the engine. Anyway, the leak is a small one and that will be a 2012 project.
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Yesterday afternoon I took the '76 on its last drive for 2011 to my daughter's and son-in-law's farm 65 miles away to put it in a larger garage for the winter. A lot of work was done on the car (rebuilt motor, new automatic overdrive trans, radiator repair-twice, ac repair-three times, exhaust system, tires, turner brakes up front, rebuilt rear brakes, new brake lines,rear axle bearings,new gauges, gas tank cleaned, new fuel lines,and xm radio). The car was driven every month except May as the engine rebuild went from April through June. July saw the car being driven from Illinois to Gettysburg for the AOAI convention. A good number of cruise nights were enjoyed as well as a couple of nice road trips to the Illinois Rail Museum and the AACA's Brighton Run from Illinois to Brighton WI. Over 5100 enjoyable miles traveled in the car this year. It was a little sad to do the final drive,fill up, add in stabil, install a battery cut off switch and cover the car in the garage for the winter. But as the eternal Cubs chant goes, "Wait till nest year!" Thoughts of more enjoyable events, drives, Chicagoland AOAI meetings run through my mind, hoping for the winter months to pass quickly.
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Interesting ad across the top of the page in that link.---Obama 2012. What was the comment in one of the replies about vomit?
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Roger,
The car is outstanding! I'm pretty sure it didn't come from the factory that nice. The car is Switzerland? If so, its probably the best looking Avanti in the US and Europe!
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Paul-
It was my understanding that the Turner Brake rear disc kit only fits Dana 44 rear-ends with tapered axles, which were used on some Studebaker Avantis. Avanti II's mostly used Dana 44's with flanged axles. (Tapered axles have the wheel studs attached to the brake drum, and the drum is held to the axle by a large nut, flanged axles have the wheels studs mounted to an axle flange, and the brake drum slips over) You might want to contact Jim Turner and verify this with him. I've attached a picture of one of my Dana 44 flanged axles from when I had it removed, and it also has the 6 flange bolts in a u-shape like yours.
Adam,
The Rear brake Turner kit now has one for tapered and one for flanged axles. The flanged set up is for the axle housings with 4 bolts, though. I've had several conversations with Jim this past week. He had not seen a flanged axle with the six bolt set up. The caliper mounting bracket needs to have a slightly different shape to mount the caliper in the 1:00 to 2:00 position. Its on to plan B, cleaning up and rebuilding the drums, replacing all the lines, and hooking up the front Turner's. I had good stopping power, but the incessant squeal drives me nuts. The pads on the front Turner's are about 2 1/2 times the size of the Dunlop/Bendix hockey pucks. The rotors are also ventilated, which should be a quiet operation, so I'm sure I'll be pleased with the results when done. I am just a little disappointed that I couldn't totally modernize the brake system. A guy from the Stude blog thought our Dana rear ends may have also been used in early '70's IH Scouts. He got the bearings and reseal kit for a '72 Scout that was a perfect match for his ,74 Avanti. 6 bolts instead of 4 made me think that it was probably used in a Jeep of some heavier application.
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The '76 is in the shop this week getting Turner sets front and rear. There was no problem with the fronts, but the rear end, a Dana 44 posi with 3:31 gears is throwing us for a loop. The axle housing has not 4, but 6 bolts on each side. In talking with Jim Turner last night, he has not seen a housing with 6 bolts. The 6 bolts are in a "lucky horse shoe shape", top end open. Of course, the caliper mounting plate drilled holes do not line up with the bolts at the position they are supposed to be mounted at. Another issue is getting the new seals and new bearings for the axles once we get the caliper mounting issue solved. I'm thinking the rear end may have been a heavy duty one for a jeep? Any one out there in Avanti land run into this issue? It certainly looks like the original rear end in it, having all the ID tags on the rear housing.
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This past weekend was a great time to go out and enjoy the last nice days of the fall. I did a 40 mile drive with the North Shore AACA in the Chicago area commemorating the Brighton Run. 200 or so Antique Autos came out and drove back roads from Vernon Hills IL to Brighton WI Sunday morning. The variety of cars included one each of a '67, '74,'76 and '02 Avantis. Older cars included Packards, Auburn, Fords, Chevy, Jaguar to name a few. It was a good day to take my wife out in the '76 Avanti and see the back roads. I have put a little over 5,000 miles on the car since January, 4 K since the engine rebuild and trans swap. A Turner Disk brake front and rear set up is in store for the winter project.
Gunslinger, how did the door and fender repair end up?
Yesterday I went to the last car show of the season...it was about a forty mile trip to the DC suburbs. It was a really excellent show with a real cross section of cars...Packard, LaSalle, a Jaguar race car from the 1950's, two Deloreans, a sprinkling of street rods and many more or less stock cars from a Model T to a Ford Woody Wagon to very modern.
I drove my '02 Avanti and found it very difficult to get away from it as there was continuously a crowd around it asking questions. Of course, there were the usual questions about "Was it a Canadian made Avanti?" There were questions "I didn't know they ever made a convertible" and even "How did you cut the roof off?" One person even thought the soft top was a fake hard top.
Regardless of those questions and I tried to provide them with correct information, it amazed me how many people were as knowledgable as they were on the Avanti. Many hadn't seen one in years and were interested in the history, etc.
One person even walked up with his wallet out and said "How much do you want for it...I have another wallet in my other pocket!" He was very interested in the car and may well begin a search for one.
Another fellow, when I mentioned I owned a '70 Avanti as well asked if I'd sell it...he's wanted an Avanti for years. He runs a restoration shop and isn't afraid to buy a project car. I told him about hog troughs and the problems if they're rotted...he wasn't afraid..."That's what I do." He gave me his name and number and wants me to call him if I hear of one. He's willing to pay me to go with him to look one over and point out the areas that need to be looked at closely. I told him I'd do that just for the fun of it.
The other comments I got...
"I bought a brand new 1964 back in the day...an R2. I bought it right off the dealer showroom." He even said the dealer's name in Rockville, MD but the name escapes me at the moment.
"My neighbor's Dad owned one when I was in high school"
After walking around the car several times...looking at it, in it and under it, two 20-something young men could only say "Awesome...awesome!"
A lady with her husband...both near retirement age..."Gorgeous!"
Several people..."The best car here!"
One guy..."It was worth my coming here just to see this!"
The most amazing comments I got were from two separate people who said they knew Steve Blake...and probably the most amazing was one who said a high school friend way back when had an uncle with the last name "Altman"! The friend's uncle was Nate Altman! The fellow was well versed in Avanti from his friend, though he hasn't seen him in probably ten years or more.
The car didn't win any awards, which is fine...that's not why I drove the car there. But it was a great...even amazing Avanti day.
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The Avanti is very nice. To paraphrase "Field of Dreams" "If you make it, they (buyers) will come.
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I'll make a note about the rubber to enhance the air flow through the radiator. I'm surprised to hear that your 350 could get that warm. I'm concerned about the temp of mine because of the 400 motor not having full water passages between the cylinders, and the entire 400 line having cooling issues in GM cars. I wonder if the Avanti II's have any better history of keeping cool than the '63's & '64's. The added strip to raise the height of the front end in mine has about 6 "bird house" holes in the strips that could help to move hot air out from under the hood, something the originals don't have.
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Gunslinger, Please be sure to post the "after" picture, now that it's getting close to completion. Also, seeing the inside of the left fender reminds me of the task I have to replace the left turn signal assembly in my '76. The old signal has one of the mounting screws broken off on the bottom of the mount. I got another signal assembly from S.I. but it did not come with the "j" clips or nuts and washers. I just got the clips from Nostaglic and need to replace the assembly this weekend. The dog-goned assembly has three wires, one white for ground and 2 black, so I guess I will have to id the signal wire and the parking lamp wire. It would have been nice if they had used a red wire and black wire to help id the correct path.
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Boy do I know that saying! The purchase price of my '76 in January was dwarfed by the engine teardown & rebuild, trans swap,radiator repair,gas tank cleaning & sealing, new braided fuel line, new gauges, new exhaust system, AC repair with new condensor & drier, XM radio, speakers, tires and weatherstripping. 2011 has been a very expensive year, but I do have much more reliable ride that has gone 3500 miles since July without issues. Next year's short list (as of now) will probably include a Turner brake system front and rear.
Let me know how the electric fan set up works. The 400 ran fine on Sunday when I took a 350 mile trip, never getting up to 180(temps in '70's), but in 95 degree heat on Friday, the temp idling around town was getting close to 210. Hot weather and heavy traffic are tough on it.
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I know its early, but there is information on the Stude site regarding the 2012 meet with activities and location (DoubleTree). I was told at the AOAI Banquet in Gettysburg that The Inn at St. Mary's will be the AOAI site hotel. For those that make early reservations, it would be nice to have an official word on the location and what type of activities are on the agenda. Thanks.
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I had my '64 way back in '66-'69 and I remember the rear courtesy lights coming on when opening the doors. My '76 only has the map reading light come on when opening the doors, leaving it pretty dark inside when opening the doors at night. The rear courtesy lights on the '76 only come on when you push the switch on the individual light. Since '69 was just a mere 42 years ago, am I remembering that right on the '63 & '64 courtesy lights?
Also, Gunslinger, how did the repairs to the door go?
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Gunslinger, Was it '70 or '71 that Avanti went to the 350 from the 327? I'm curious as to why they went a couple of years with the 350 then went with the 400 in '72 through '76, then back to the 350 until the 305 came into production. One wonders if price, availability or emissions were the issues that drove the engine changing sizes.
Time to come out of Hibernation
in 1965-83 Avanti
Posted
I'm going to get the '76 out of hibernation today and bring her back home. I recently got a used set of Dayton Avanti wires and currently have them at Dayton being reconditioned. I'm anxious to see her with the wires on. To me no wheels set off an Avanti like wires do.