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rhusak

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Posts posted by rhusak

  5. Throttle Body EFI for R2?

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Tim...

     I have a 63 R2 and have thought about this for some years.. I deal with altitude differences of 5000 feet to 9200 feet where I live in Conifer Colorado. Do you know if this unit will fit under the hood of our cars with the adapter plate etc? Will the original bonnet fit on this air horn?

     Looks neat and quite easy to do..

     Thanks in advance..

     Ron Husak

  6. Distributor install

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    I have had the difficulty also and finally come to realized the engine is on a slight incline therefore to drop it straight in does not work. I found that by raising the back of the car such the engine is no longer on a slant then the distributor drops right in. Of course you may have to rearrange the spark plug wires to correspond with the timing. Pull the plug on #1 and rotate the engine such that you get a rush of air out then check where the rotor is pointing, that is #1, and you can rearrange your wires accordingly. Also if the distributor lacks a little from setting then just bump the starter and it will fall into the oil pump slot.


    Chet.. I think your tip helped me get it in... Started with jacking about 4 inches.. No deal.. Then 6 inches nope.. Then about 8 inches.. And clunk dropped in... Even the rotor is pointing in the right direction!
    I tried the suggestions everyone suggested.. Tried with all of this almost 2 hours.. Looks in with a borescope.. Everything looked like new...
    Tried the greased joint nope.. I had wheel bearing grease but it really didn't hold it that well.. But when I got to 8 inches jacking after a couple of minutes.. Clunk it dropped in...
    Then I promptly dropped the distributor hold down somewhere.. I thought it went all the way through but no deal... By that time my back was screaming so it will wait till tomorrow... Beak out the Borescope and look around.. 
    Thanks to all for the tips..
    Maybe get it running tomorrow when my back calms down...
    Thanks again..
     Ron Husak
     

  7. Distributor install

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Ed..

     Thanks for the kind words.. I remember when we came home from Deployment (I was a Navy Sea Bee) we were warned not to wear our uniforms home on leave!

     Thanks for the advice... I will use a Harbor Freight Borescope in the morning and look see.. The 3M pad is also a good idea..

     Thanks

    Ron

     

  8. Distributor install

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Hi All...
    Long time follower Old Studebaker fan with a 63 R2 Avanti that I have owned a good while.. Maybe 8 or 9 years..
    Here is my story.. Several years ago I had a power steering pump fail.. I parked the car in the garage and there it sat as I was in the middle of 2 knee replacements and my back went south...
    Well recently I got enough initiative to try to get the car on the road and possibly sell it.. My back is still quite bad but at this point is tolerable if not pushed too hard or actually hardly at all...
    Well I got the pump back on and ready to go but the battery (which was out of the car) which I reinstalled but found it had shot craps even though on a maintainer... Well between pulling it out again and reinstalling a new one my back was out of commision for a couple of days... Anyhow, Decided to try to get it fired up... No Go... I suspect the Pertronix ignition shot craps as the type ones were apt to do... So I called Dave T-Bow and got a new one and a new coil to freshen things up..
    I figured as old as I am (74) and as shaky as I have become (100% disabled Vietnam Vet with quite a few issues) It would be prudent for me to pull the distributor to change and clean things up. I am the son of a Studebaker dealer and have owned a few in the prevailing years so I felt comfortable doing it this way.
    Well.. It came up pretty easily and things went according to plan UNTIL it was time to drop it back in... For the life of me I can't get the unit to drop back in.. I mean not just to get the oil pump drive lines up but can't get the shaft back into it's hole or get the gear past the boss..
    I never remember having these issues before! Am I missing something? Is there a trick here? I have tried about a half hour at a time (all my back will stand) at different angles moving it about and all no dice!
    Any ideas would be most appreciated...
    Thanks in advance..
    Ron Husak
    Conifer, Colorado

  9. 63 R2 Avanti PS pump

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Hi all..

    Can anyone tell me if the power steering pump on my 63 automatic Avanti is common with other 289 Studebakers? I mean the whole thing.. Pump, Brackets, Reservoir and Pulley.

    If so where would you look for one? If not how many of the pieces are? I have had my old one off for a couple of years and am afraid some of the pieces have been mislaid..

    Medical stuff in the way..

    Thanks in advance for the help..

    Ron Husak

  14. It's Beggining

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Hi All again..

    Well after a chat with Jon Myer yesterday I have decied to go with a carburetor overhaul (due to surging and leaks) and a supercharger blueprint. He says that closing up thew tolerances on the impellor and back cover and being sure the clutches?? are good he can significantly improve output without resorting to a smaller pulley.. I will pull those this weekend and send them off.. Unfortunatly he broke his wrist last week and it will take a number of weeks to do this.. He indicated in talking with me that someone has been in the carburetor "monkeying" around.. He felt the springs under the metering rod pistons were wrong causing the surging..

    Can't wait to try it..

    Ron

  15. Clock Repair

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Hi All..

    I have begun toi to put together my to do list for my new (to me) 63 Avanti..

    One of the things on the list is to get the clock repaired.. Is there one of out vendors who does that?

    Also.. Does anyone sell the fawn paint the dash applique is painted in?

    Thanks

    Ron

  16. It's Beggining

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Peter..

    Who is Avanti Parts? How do I contact them?

    Thanks for the welcome..

    Ron

    quote name='1963r2' date='31 March 2011 - 08:52 PM' timestamp='1301626063' post='6977']

    Welcome Ron

    Matched door barrel and keys are available through Avanti parts.

    You may need to get a new ignition barrel and have it keyed alike for the perfect set.

    Peter

  17. It's Beggining

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Ernie..

    The belts look like they may be worn.. Will change them.. I have wound it through the gears manually and am SURE that I was above 3200.. The Vacuum / Pressure gauge is almost 50 years old so I don't know it's accuracy.. It seems to read engine vacuum fine.. But it only goes very marginally to the + side at low altitudes.. I don't know what would be normal.. On the highway it really does sound wound up.. And, really feels like it could use another shift! The supercharger was overhauled by Mr. Erb recently as well.. The fluid was just changed as well..

    Does it use a conventional air horn gasket between the bonnet and air horn?

    This afternoon I bumped the timing a bit (allowable at altitude) and adjusted the carburetor so at least it will idle up here..

    I drove it about 1500 miles home and it used a quart of oil.. The engine was overhauled by Jim Maxey about 3000 miles ago.. Jim adjusted the valves and torqued the heads before I left.. He also installed a Pertronix ignition with new cap and rotor and new wires.. It ran real well at lower altitude and didn't really get sluggish till I started gaining altitude..

    Thanks for the input

    Ron Husak

    Before you swap pulleys check the hoses and carb hat to carb for leaks. Also, change the fluid in the blower and put in Type F. You won't see max boost until close to the red line and if your tach isn't working you don't know at what RPM your checking boost. Slipping belts aren't always obvious but will limit blower output and cause power and boost to drop off substantially at high RPM. They should be a matched set and be wider than most common fan belts. If the belts are down in the pulley rather than flush or slightly higher than the edge of the pulley they are too narrow and are probably slipping a little.

    Also, are you sure the tach is off or are you not achieving more than 3200 RPM? An Avanti with 3.73 will sound like it's wound up as tight as can be long before it peaks.

    When you carnyou want to check the timing's advance with a light. The distributors are known for worn advance weight attaching holes and sticking breaker plates the former wreaking havoc with centrifugal advance and the latter with vacuum advance.

    You don't have to worry about posting questions on this forum, nothing but freindly help here. We all learn with every question posted and answered so don't hesitate to ask anything.

    ErnieR

  18. It's Beggining

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted · Edited by rhusak

    As some of you on this list may know, I

    just drove my new (to Me) Avanti home from South Bend Via Detroit and ultimately

    here to the foothills outside Denver. I throughly enjoyed the trip.. Even with the

    failed water pump hiccup I had..

    I am now starting to plan the first projects

    that I have found that need attention.

    1. Very poor running at altitude. I am

    planning to go leaner with the carburetor.. That one is obvious. I will also

    bump the timing.. That too is SOP... Some of you may recall I have talked about

    going with a TBI.. That may still happen but I want to get the car running as

    well as is possible for the short to medium term.

    I have also considered

    going to a smaller supercharger pulley to try to regain some of the lost boost.

    Is there any particular down side to this besides perhaps a bit of accelerated

    wear? The car has a 3.73 gear so it spins the motor pretty fast anyway. Is there

    any other way to accomplish this?

    2. The tach will only read to about 3200

    RPM! I never drove the car very much before this trip but am assuming it was

    like this. Jim Maxey installed a Pertronix ignition in the car before I picked

    it up. But, I fail to see how that could have such an effect on the tach. Below

    3000 RPM the tach seems to work properly.. Sending unit? Any other advice?

    3.

    All of the cylinder and keys are badly worn. In fact you can remove the key from

    the ignition in the run position. And, the door cyliners are very sloppy. I have

    seen SI sells the ignition Cylinder.. Does anyone sell the whole set?

    I

    will.. I am sure bore all of you here with loads of questions.. Please be

    patient and kind.. I am new here... ;-)

    Ron

  19. Elect. Windshield Washer Option..details needed

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    JBoyle..

    Well I can tell you for sure that how this works is... When you press the pump the wipers go on for as long as you hold the pump pedal down.. If you are careful you can just apply the pedal down far enough to energize the wipers only.. That is the electric part..

    I still remember very well how these worked..

    Ron Husak

    63 R2

    What makes it weirder is it's not just an accessory...it was a factory option on my car.

    As I mentioned in my first post, they call it electric windshield washer system...and so far, I can't find anything electric aboout it. :)

  21. Wire Wheels on 63

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Are you using spacers? Or have knock offs?

    Ron

    I have a 64 Avanti with wire wheels. They are on P205/70R15 Good Year tires. There's a 2" clearing in the frontend, at times if I crank to far left or right I will hear a rubbing, but it doesn't show any evidence of that on the tire or the fender.

  22. Wire Wheels on 63

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Mike..

    I agree.. They really look good with wires.. That is why I want to do this.. Good idea about the try before I buy deal..

    Ron

    I just checked clearances on my 83 with the Dayton wire wheels and 7.15x15 tires. The tops of the tires are just barely below the fender oeping level. The widest part of the tires look like they'd hit the inside of the fender lip if a bump could drive them up that far. They've worked fine for me for the past 4 years and the original spare looks to be the same size. The major difference is that your 1963 model has the front of the body somewhere around 1 1/2" to 2" lower, with the front wheel cutouts that much higher than mine. That means that the fender is maybe a half inch to an inch narrower at the opening's top, and that may be enough to give a clearance problem.

    You might offer the seller a fee plus shipping (probably he'll also want a signifcant deposit) to send you one rim to try out. That way you'd be able to make an informed decision. If it fits, fine. If it doesn't, you ship it back to him and he keeps the "try it" fee. The Avanti's an elegant design, not a hot rod, and to me it looks its best with wire wheels.

  23. Wire Wheels on 63

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Oh Well..

    That's a disappointment.. They came off of a 84 so I thought they might work.. I am planning to use this car as a driver so I had better pass I guess.. No sense damaging it uneccesarily.. And I Don't want 6.70X15's.. Modern Rubber really helps..

    Ron

    The clearance issue would be in the front...for a couple of reasons. All Avanti's built on the Studebaker frame (1963-1985) do, have or will suffer from sagging front coil springs. It's just the nature of them...probably all Sudebakers of the era, not just Avanti's. The Avanti wheel opening is tight anyway so it doesn't take much sag for the fiberglass to hit a wider tire/rim combination when driving over a bump. 7" wife rims simply makes that more likely since the oe rims were 5" wide. Cars of the era simply weren't designed for wide wheels and tires. You can get away with a 6" wide rim, but that can cause the same issue...I experienced that with a '63 Avanti I owned...I replaced the coil springs and the problem was solved.

    The other clearance is a wider tire and rim hitting the frame or suspension on a lock-to-lock turn. Of course, the offset of the rim can have something to do with that. On any Studebaker framed Avanti, it's not good to go over a 6" wide rim in the front...at least in my opinion. Tire size has something to do with it as well. Finding tires that aren't too wide or tall today are getting difficult to find outside of reproduction 670-15's,

    As far as the wire wheels being 15"x7", I don't know what width wire spoke wheels Avanti Motors made available during the 1980's, but considering the financial condition of Avanti during that time, I suspect they installed whatever was available and would fit and then get the car out of the door...let any future issues take care of themselves.

  24. Wire Wheels on 63

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Hi All..

    I am the new owner of a 63 R2 Avanti. I have posted about this on this list before.

    I am talking to a gentleman about a set of Wire Wheels off of his 84 Avanti that are OEM and 15X7. He cautioneds me and said someone had told him that there were clearance issues on an early avanti with these 15X7 wheels.. Is that true? If so where is the clearance issue?

    Thanks in advance for the information..

    Ron Husak, Conifer, CO

  25. New Here

    in 1963-64 Avanti

    Posted

    Hi All..

    Well 63R-2648 is mine!

    After a day from hell with United... Don't ask... I arrived in South Bend and inspected te car and came to an agreementd came to an agreement.. So I am no longer a wannabe! Overall I am very happy with the car.. Runs very well and the chassis is very clean and nice.. Even has Stainless Hog Troughs in it.. New rear cross member and freshly boxed frame!

    Jim Maxey of South Bend is handling the sale for the owner.. Those of you who don't know him.. He is a Studebaker tech like few others.. Looked at his 59 4E diesel truck (4 years in restoration) his son's "warmed up" R2 Lark ad a 63 4 speed Daytona Convertible that is being built as a "pace Car Replica...This one had a total frame off restoration and is stunning!

    Jim is quite a tech and works on heavy repairs for the National Studebaker Museum. Served on the support team for the race across america which a 28 Studebaker was run..He rebuilt the engine in this one and I am reallyout the niddle of march.. to drive it home ab and hoping good about this car.. Sure it needs a few things.. that is part of the charm!

    Does anyone know who produces the sun visors for a 63 Avanti?

    So I am official now..

    Ronsmile.gif

    Gunslinger..

    You are using a "Port" injected unit. I am looking at a throttle body type or TBI. It is a much simpler unit than yours.. But still leaps above a carburetor. No one makes a "stock" port unit for a Studebaker V8. To "custom" make a port unit would require fabrication skills and tools I don't have..

    Plus, I want to continue using the supercharger that is on my R2. So it is a simple choice for me..

    The crate engine route you went is really great.. No crate "Studebakers" that I know of..

    Thanks for the information..

    Ron

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