plwindish
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Posts posted by plwindish
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True, that was years before the "brick" phones and I don't believe they had their ears on with CB's (also a little early for that popular craze.) They most likely had chase vehicles with them though.
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Deluxe. Another interesting question would be the numbers of Deluxe versus Regal interiors.
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False - Gunslinger has nailed it! Black Avantis were beauties when the bodies were properly prepared for painting and the paint was highly polished.
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Greg,
How are things going with the Avanti cooling? Has it settled back down? About the only thing not covered above is shocking your gauge to see if its recording the temperature properly. Hope you have found a solution by now as the whole overheating thing is a real bugaboo to deal with.
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Its great to have another knowledgeable person available to help us "less informed" with the Avanti issues we encounter!
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Greg,
Wives just don't drink the Avanti Koolaid like guys do. This goes back to the original design and roll out of the Avanti. It was very polarizing, with people either loving it or hating it, with very few in the middle of the spectrum. I saw it first as a Freshman in high school and fell in love with it, The first car I bought as a Senior in High School was a 2 year old round headlight Black R1. I had that car about 3 1/2 years. I was without another Avanti until January 2011, buying a 76 Avanti II that I have put over 28,000 miles on it, driving it to East and West coasts after a full restoration in stages. I also picked up an 89 convertible in November 2013, enjoying it in combination with the 76.
My wife gave me the "second childhood routine" only riding in it when she had to. We drove separate cars to International Meets in Colorado and Delaware before. This past summer she did ride with me from Chicagoland to Santa Monica following Rte 66 on the Great American Tour, so there is hope your wife to grow to accept the car.
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A good upholstery shop should be able to duplicate your seat pattern, assuming you still have the original seats and leather in the car. 89's were Youngstown cars and who knows whats left of the plant and other things in the plant. Pictures of the body bucks they used have shown up from time to time on the forum.
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Your 73 would have been equipped new with a 400 motor. Since you're now sporting a 350 Crate motor, its also possible the trans was also swapped out. Driving at 70 mph with a THM 400 will be running around 3000 RPM's where as the AOD trans will be showing around 2000 RPM's at 70 mph.
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Built and assembled by Studebaker/ Paxton during the time they were an available option from Studebaker for cars. Not assembled after production ceased, as those would be considered clones or tributes.
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With the fiberglass bodied Avanti not having the typical rust issues, instead having frame and hog trough rusting, I'd think around half of the 809 are in shape to be on the road today, but are they? 809 may have been built, what what is the real number for Avantis titled as 64's? I had a 63 in all respects, but was probably titled a 64 when it was sold new.
Do the insurance companies share information on years and brands of cars being insured? How many would be stored someplace, not on the road and not on anyone's stats list?
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I thought it was 6 weeks.
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I don't remember my 64 R1 with automatic ever getting above 17 back in the day with premium gas costing around 25 cents a gallon. I'll go with a cross-country average of 17.
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I'm guessing 380. 430 is entirely possible as my 76 was rebuilt and warmed up 4 years ago. Dyno results before motor went back in the car were 365 HP and 460 pounds torque. That was 27000 miles ago and its still going strong.
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The huge flake green paint and purple vinyl top would be an image hard to get out of your mind.
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None of the above, leftover Studebaker stock.
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The II's interiors were advertised as anything the customer wanted, but there were a lot done with the "acorn" color Gladstone vinyl both full vinyl interiors and with cloth inserts as well.
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Even the glass shop "pros" don't get it right or the installers are too young to know the older technology that Studebaker used with the bedding compound in the body under the windshield and rear window. I got a real shower in my 76 after getting it back from a complete repaint with all the glass taken out and re-installed. A day after picking up the car, I was driving through torrential downpours going to St. Louis, getting a steady stream of water on my left shoulder and my wife's right shoulder as well as my ankles getting dripped on. Bedding compound wasn't used behind the windshield, rear window and between the drip rails and underside of the top. The rear window leaked on each side about where the ends of the electric defroster strips are, creating small pools around the rear speakers.
Taking the car back to the shop after I returned from the trip solved most of the leaks. The interior floods have stopped, but there are some annoying small window drips visible during car washing on the driver's side and both rear windows. I firmly believe that taking all the glass out is the way to get a top quality paint job, but its always fun getting the weather-stripping back and everything sealed up.
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Weren't they also flirting with 4 headlights?
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An upholstery company I had work done at for new seat panels for my 76 in my neck of the woods said they could replace my back window on the 89 as it has scratches and also starting to cloud over. When the shop owner was looking at it, he said the window had been replaced once before. He also said that top top would have to be custom made using the old top as a pattern should it ever need to be replaced. I've heard of Florida Convertible Top Specialists before. If they say there are no kits available, I'd believe them.
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Most of those examples are tastefully done, but IMHO, the lines of the car do not lend it to being two toned.
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Brad,
My pictures are always being rejected for being too large to upload. PM me with your email and I'll send pics.
Paul
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Brad,
I see a couple of things lacking. On my 76, that connector is for a horn mounted on the right side of the engine bay. Do you have the Studebaker Avanti style surge tank in front and on top of the engine? The right side of the radiator is where a coolant overflow tank was usually mounted if you don't have a surge tank. If the radiator cap in connecting two pieces of the upper radiator hose, then you would not have the surge tank.
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Brad, you most likely have the high back bucket seats which were the regular low back bucket seats and Avanti Motors made them into high backs, or you could possible have Recaro's as that was an option. The seats could have been heavy duty vinyl, leather cloth or a combination of vinyl or leather and cloth. Any upholstery shop should be able to do redo the side panels and everything else as well as having the foam. Good luck with the start!
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RQB1820,
The car looks decent from the two pics posted. Welcome to the expensive realm of Avanti ownership. As was mentioned earlier, brakes would be the first thing to attack and get operating properly. If the rotors need replacement, they are at least $100 each. If you're doing rotors and pads, you should consider switching to the Turners. I got a 76 RQB 2392 4 years ago and have similar equipment with the 400 SBC. To finish on the brakes, a good rebuild on the rear shoes would also be in order with redoing the front brakes. I totally replaced all the steel lines with stainless and the Turner kit had the rubber lines as well. I've also since replaced the booster and the dual master cylinder as it was starting to leak.
As the funds allow, the other areas to look at would be the motor, transmission, ac, suspension, tires and interior. I went through my 76 and had the motor pulled, cleaned, torn down and warmed up when it was rebuilt. The trans is probably a THM 350 or TMH 400, both good transmissions, but are not that great for fuel economy. I swapped in a rebuilt 200R4, has the same first three gears as the 400 but with a .67 overdrive for 4th. Get to know the Avanti vendors such as Dan Booth @ Nostalgic, Jon Meyers, and Studebaker International does handle a lot of body and suspension parts for up to 85 Avanti's which will work for your car.
To my knowledge there are no upholstery kits for the Avanti II's as they were a hand built car. Any good upholstery should be able to come up with materials in vinyl, cloth or leather that would look fine in the car. I was lucky with my interior and just had to repair and replace 3-4 panels in the acorn brown Gladstone vinyl. A local upholstery shop was able to come up with a very close match that was used to replace the damaged panels. The same goes for the carpeting, is the shag carpeting still in yours like so many of the mid 70's models had? A 63-64 carpet set could also work in your 72. A wise purchase would be the Avanti Shop Manual for the Studebaker Avanti. Body, frame and suspension are pretty much the same in your vintage of Avanti. The motor being Chevy along with the transmission, those parts can be located easily.
Other items to look at would be the cooling system, a good flush and new hoses would not hurt as well as getting the radiator cleaned out. The gas tank, especially if it has been sitting a long while could have the tank drained, cleaned and possibly coated before going back into the car, especially if you or the wife notices a gas odor in the car cabin. Replacing all the fuel lines is another good practice as today's ethanol will eat the old rubber. Don't feel the need to get everything done at once as you could give the checking account a real case of sticker shock. I took about 4 1/2 years to go through everything in and on the car, finishing this summer. In the meantime between having work done on the car, I've managed to put over 25,000 miles driving the 76 to both coasts and north to Minnesota. There have been some anxious moments driving the car, but they have been few and far between.
If you haven't done so yet, join the AOAI as well as the SDC. The Turning Wheels and Avanti magazines provide a wealth of information for you. Make it safe to drive on the road then DRIVE IT!!!
Avanti Black!
in Avanti Trivia
Posted
Lew,
What was the chrome piece over the front center bumper rubber strip? Early LED light strip? (haha)