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psdenno

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Posts posted by psdenno

  1. 38 minutes ago, Brian_RPV said:

    UPDATE: Good News!
    I contacted the Studebaker National Museum this week and they were able to track down the records based on the family’s name. I appreciate all the recommendations and advice - what a great Avanti community! 
     

    Glad to hear it worked out for you!  I wasn't sure what the SNM could pull up when I made the suggestion.  Post the VIN here and maybe someone can tell you a little more about the car.

  2. 2 hours ago, Brian_RPV said:

    My parents were the original owners - it was a 63 with round headlamps, an R1 in Avanti Gold with fawn interior, an automatic transmission, power steering, without air conditioning. It was purchased new in San Diego, California; I don’t have any old papers such as insurance policies, records, etc.  I’m looking for advice on how to use the known license plate (when new) to track down the VIN. Perhaps there is no way of obtaining records without being an DMV insider. Any insight is appreciated.  


     

    This suggestion is a long shot, but may be worth a try.  The Studebaker National Museum has factory files for Studebaker Avantis.  They have, and sell, copies of IBM punch cards listing original owners of each car sold.  I know they can bring up the document by VIN.  They may also be able to find it by original owner's name.  It might be worth calling to see what they can do.

  3. 29 minutes ago, Brian_RPV said:

    I’m new to this forum and have a question regarding the best way to track down a car based on an old license plate number.  My parents purchased a new 1963 Avanti and the Black California plate issued to the car at the time was KKE 285. I tried contacting California DMV, but they stated the date fell outside their active records.  Any thoughts on how to track down the VIN number? I’m curious where the car is today. The car was sold to a new owner around 1979 in the San Diego (California) area.  

    Can you track down any old car insurance policy forms which would list the VIN or contact the insurance company that wrote the policy when your parents had the car?

  4. 3 hours ago, ronmanfredi said:

    Replacement carpet kits come with the pad preinstalled on the carpet.  Other than that, you'd need to get the cut and fit stick on insulation sheets for sound proofing.

     

    Thanks for the reply, ronmanfredi.  I have the new carpet and it has no pad preinstalled, just original style salt & pepper pattern carpet to go with the new orange upholstery.

    I'm aware of the DynaMat type insulation and also considering felt padding like original.  I'm interested in hearing experience of other owners with either type they have actually used.

  5. Planning to start putting the interior back together with new upholstery and carpet when the weather cools a bit.  We’re coming off 22 straight days of 110º or higher.

    Looking for recommendations on carpet underlay that works well for heat and noise reduction as well as ease of installation.

  6. You may want to start with this link:

    https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/1909365-avanti-owners-with-4-speed

    Dave Thibeault  advertises in the AOAI quarterly.  He used to supply the Hurst mechanism with a stock Avanti shifter  to keep the stock look.

    I have a Hurst shifter in my '63 R2 and like it.  Summit Racing is another possible source.

  7. On 3/16/2024 at 11:41 PM, 1963r2 said:

    From the ones I’ve seen they pry off.

    Thanks for the tip!  I'm going to add three words to the tip...."with great difficulty".  I used two small screwdrivers, one very small and usually used for working on electronics, to pry.

    An interesting discovery was that my Avanti's factory Line Number was written in marker on the underside of the fiberglass seat bottom which is broken and will be replaced.

  8. 3 hours ago, RoyG said:

    Dan Booth at Nostalgic sells rebuild kits for these seats... and they aren't expensive.

    Thanks!  Any suggestion on removing the original pivot pins from the seats?  Do the cap ends pry off or screw off?

  9. After owning my Avanti for almost 50 years, it's time for new upholstery and I have a couple questions.

    I've removed the old upholstery and padding from the front seats.  

    How do I remove the pivot bolt that that holds the seat back to the seat bottom?  Is it threaded or press on?

    Is there a replacement bushing for the pivot bolt or an aftermarket solution that would work to take the wiggle out of the pivot?

     

     

  10. 9 hours ago, TerryR2 said:

    Avanti Grey makes me melt. Great picture Dwight. Where do I find that exact match? How about interiors? mine came with Fawn/Elk but thinking Orange...Haven't seen it in person..is it too much? Does it take away or add to the class the Avanti exudes.

    As others have said, your car, your choice.  My R2 was originally white with orange interior.  When I bought it in 1975, it was 12 years old and the paint had already been changed from white to red and then to yellow, and finally to green.  The interior was also green.  All of those colors had made the previous owners briefly happy.

    I stripped the car of four layers of paint to bare fiberglass and had it painted white.  I've had orange upholstery and appropriately colored salt & pepper style carpet in storage for years and 2024 may be the year it gets installed and the Avanti gets a new coat of white paint.

    Orange upholstery is visually striking and might go well with a grey exterior.  I think I'd drape the seats with large orange towels to check out how it looks with grey before having it reupholstered, however.

    Enjoy your Avanti!

     

  11. 2 hours ago, hotwirez said:

    Hey, thanks. And you're right - there will always be something for sale.

    I was able to find 2296's restoration page on the wayback machine.

    1963 Avanti (archive.org)

    Makes you wonder what happened between Nov 2002 and the ebay sale in 2006.

     

    Sixty year old cars have a lot of stories to tell....or hide.  Have fun with the search.  I'm sure you'll find the Avanti that's just right for you.

    Dennis

  12. I think I'd keep looking.  Yes, it's an Avanti and that's what you want.  But, it's been significantly modified with color changes inside and out.  Maybe that's OK, or maybe it's lipstick on a pig.  If you decide to go with this one have it checked out mechanically and structurally (frame, hog troughs, signs of crash damage).  

    There are always Avantis for sale, so I'd keep looking for one that hadn't been so cosmetically modified.

  13. Rewelding the spokes to the metal rim core requires a significant removal of the steering wheel plastic.  Rebuilding/restoring and color matching the "wood grained" plastic is more difficult on the later style wheel than rebuilding the rim on an earlier Avanti.  Good luck!

  14. Although the Avanti rear glass was known to blow out, Studebaker revised the trim securing the rear window and all was good.  I remember seeing those stickers at checkout counters in auto parts stores.  They could be added to any car, even those incapable of getting close to 120 MPH.

  15. Seeing that STU-V catalog brings back some memories.  Back in the 1970s, I bought a pair of stock steel wheels from STU-V to replace the mags that came on the front of my Avanti when I bought it.  

    The Studebaker wheels came with tires mounted and a condition of the sale was I had to give the tires back after I had my new tires mounted.  That was because the wheels and tires had come from an Avanti that the Granatellis had run on the salt flats.

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