PackardV8
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Posts posted by PackardV8
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Having the Avanti Shop Manual in hand is always my starting point.
jack vines
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Burned valves are more likely to be red than black. Black color is an indication of ignition or carburetion problems causing incomplete combustion or a rich mixture.
A burned valve can best be confirmed by a compression test and a leakdown test. Run a compression test on all cylinders. If one is low, then run a leakdown test and listen for where the air is going out.
jack vines
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Good advice thus far. Studebaker used a neoprene main seal while many others were still using rope seals.
It is to be hoped your leak is at the oil pan and not the crankshaft. However, fixing either leak is a miserable proposition. The pan is easier to remove and clean, but more difficult to reseal than the rear main seal; so if it's the main, you still have to worry about the pan.
The Stude pan seals are miserable bastards. They're very thick and stiff, thus very difficult to get to fit properly and stay in place while working underneath the engine still in the chassis. If the engine builder did his work properly, they will be glued to the main caps and block; sometimes one is fortunate enough to have the pan come free with the seals staying place.
The rear main seal is made up of several fiddly little pieces not found on any other design. Read the Shop Manual carefully.
When putting it back together, a dab of silicone in the corners is the best advice I can give.
jack vines
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Short answer - no way.
All those ideas to add R2 horsepower to an R1 will cost more than buying an R2. If there were an easier, less expensive way to more horsepower, Studebaker would have done it in 1957-58 or '63-64. They decided the McCulloch/Paxton was the most cost-effective.
jack vines
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Whether iron manifolds or tube headers, a V8 can have a 'drone' or resonance at highway speeds. The better factory exhaust systems have either an H-pipe crossover between the two down pipes or a pair of resonator eliminator cannisters at the rear of the system.
jack vines
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Assume you're referring to the unsynchonized first gear.
jack vines
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Yes, unfortunately, that was SOP for US car manufacturers to make optional at extra cost what should have been standard.
Back when Honda began manufacturing cars, they were puzzled by this, as they calculated it actually cost more to have all those piddly options and keep track during the build which car got what. They made all the little stuff standard and found that was more cost-effective.
BTW, I may have answered my own question; during research I reminded myself, as #1001 was an R2, reportedly, the package included the 4-speed as standard.
jack vines
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Yes, but supposedly, after that first run of 3-speeds, no more were ever built.
And yes, it was impossible-to-comprehend Studebaker dumbshit to build any of their ultimate image builder cars with an antique 3-speed non-synchro transmission.
(Yeah, I know, Chevrolet was doing it too. In the Corvette, the 3-speed was standard and the 4-speed was an extra cost option. Your mother probably told you, just because one of your friends does something really dumb, you think about it and don't do dumb!)
jack vines
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It was great to see Avanti #1 in the LeMay and get the back story. Thanks to all of those who gave time and money to make it happen.
In discussion, some of us were under the impression the first run of Avanti production used the 3-speed manual transmission and the 4-speed became available early on.
In the data, it says #1 has a 4-speed. Can those who know clarify/refresh our memory as to the 3-speed production?
jack vines
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Yes, even though DC comics did not introduce us to Bizarro until the 1960s, Studebaker Enginering actually was doing bizarro work in the early-1950s. The Studebaker front suspension was designed in the pre-power-steering era. To make it easier to parallel park, there is negative caster in the kingpins. The result is more darty than today's high-positive-caster designs.
A front end technician, given the Shop Manual, and asked to put get it back to zero or even some positive caster if the adjustment will allow, can help it some. Getting toe-in correct for radials also can help.
But no, there shouldn't be any particular effort with the wheels at rest or at slow speeds. Something's not right there. Again, the Shop Manual PS valve adjustment instructions can help.
jack vines
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No data to prove it either way, but you asked for opinions and I'd say it makes no difference in resale. The 350" SBC, other than those in certain rare Corvettes, are considered 'belly-button' engines and one block is the same as another.
Also, you'll have a noticeable power and drivablilty increase if the carburetor and distributor are changed to performance models and compression increased to 9.5. FWIW, we can usually provide a precision-machined long block for less than the big box catalog store craters. If you have a few months this winter, we can quote a custom build of your core engine for less than crate cost.
jack vines
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Thanks for the confirmation and the copy. I do have the Studebaker Shop Manual, but since the '74s use a dual master cylinder, I was wondering if that changed anything in the adjustment.
IIRC, the dual master is shared with certain '70s Mopars. Does anyone have that reference? Might be able to confirm the adjustment from their shop manual.
jack vines
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Greetings, Avantistes,
How is the brake pedal travel adjusted on a 1974? Does the actuating rod between the booster and master cylinder have an adjustable end?
IIRC, the Studebaker models also had an eccentric on the rod from the pedal to the booster. Was this retained through 1974s?
jack vines
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2 minutes ago, studegary said:
To add to Gunslinger's good answer - The rake was designed into the Avanti. It wasn't added. When it became the Avanti II, spacers were added and fillers were put into the front fender wells to reduce/eliminate the rake. Also, all four tires on all Studebaker Avantis were of the same size.
For true, when the Altman brothers took over, they felt the rake was a polarizing feature; some loved it, some hated it. They felt it would appeal to a broader group of buyers if it looked less extreme. Thus, they gave up one of the defining styling cues.
jack vines
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The drivers seat on my '78 is positioned lean back further than comfortable
We're all built differently and want to sit differently when driving. Every Avanti I've driven, the seatback was too upright and I wanted to lean back more. I've modified my seats with shims under the front or a completely new seat with a power seat back adjustment.
jack vines
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16 hours ago, studegary said:
IMO, the 1953-early1956 faux wire wheels, as standard on the 1955 Speedsters, was a much better looking item than these.
Really?
jack vines
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I've never seen an Avanti with them.
But then, some just like wire wheels, which weren't readily available in '63. Those wire wheel covers are close enough to the Borrani offered on later cars and to the Dayton wires dealer added to several others, so there's a minority who would spend the money to get something different than the plain steel wheel covers.
jack vines
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Tubeless radial tires exert far more pressure on the bead area of the wheel than did tube-type bias tires.
All manufacturers redesigned their wheels, making them of heavier gauge steel.
So yes, an original Studebaker wheel, equipped with wider-than-optimum tubeless radials has been known to fail. "But I like the look of the wider tires. Those 195s just look too skinny." If going 205, 215, 225, go with stronger wheels.
The Avanti wheels, being 5" wide, will last longer and take more use/abuse than the 4.5" sedan wheels.
In the bad old days, wrecking yards were awash with Ford and Mopar wheels with the same 4.5" bolt circle as Studebaker. That's what most chose to substitute. A 6" x 15' is about perfect for the Avanti. Some of the 7" and wider wheels, not so much.
FWIW, fifty years ago, I got a rude surprise, choosing some 6" wheels stamped FoMoCo, had them sandblasted and painted, only to discover they were Mercury, which had a 4.75" bolt circle.
jack vines
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The outer pin is both threaded and eccentric. Threaded moves fore and aft, adjusting caster. The eccentric has only a half-turn effect on camber. If more camber is needed, the inner pin is also eccentric and can be flipped 180-degrees to change camber.
FWIW, it always comes down to turning in as much positive caster as the adjustment will allow and then setting camber.
jack vines
Obsolete Engineering Division
of Mager Engine
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1 hour ago, Avanti83 said:Quote
A $11.95/pt mix of hydrocarbons and up to 20% Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) diluted in up to 15 gallons of gasoline, call me a skeptic at a minimum. I can believe that Techron Fuel Injector Cleaner can help as it has a couple of strong aromatic solvents in it but rubbing alcohol? Meh!!
X2 on no snake oils. A friend who was a petroleum chemist for forty years told me, "Those guys buy all their feedstocks from us, put it in small cans and charge way too much. If it had any value, we could put it in all our fuels and oils for a fraction of a cent instead of $12 a can."
jack vines
Obsolete Engineering Division
of Mager Engine
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Supercharger is still available. I don't have the stock brackets, as it was going to be used with a custom race bracket.
jack vines
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I talked with Dan Booth a couple of months ago . . . and Avantis need everything new every 30K.
I have the greatest respect for Dan Booth and his knowledge of Avanti, but that statement is totally bullshit. I'd want clarification of what, how and why.
There is nothing in the Studebaker front end which would wear out in two years of daily driving. (Of course, the Studebaker front suspension requires greasing every 1,000 miles, which few did when it was new and still fewer are willing to do today.)
If the Avanti front suspension gets scheduled lubrication, the hard parts last a looooong time. The first part to perish are the upper inner A-arm rubber bushings. These days that happens more from years than miles.
jack vines, who's been working on Stude front ends as long as most anyone.
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While I don't have the exact specs in hand, the Stude yoke is dirt-common, used by dozens of other makes over the forty-year-production life of the B-W automatic. I'd think any tranny rebuild shop would have several in a bucket somewhere there (yours is most likely among them.)
jack vines
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Also, most Avanti have a bronze bushing in the pivot. The trick setup is to get the older unit from cars which has two needle bearings and replace them with three new bearings.
jack vines
Rebuilding "63-'64 Dunlap Calipers
in 1963-64 Avanti
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Frankly, it's difficult to understand why anyone is still actually DRIVING a Studebaker/Avanti at all. Literally every mechanical part is antique by modern standards. Once one upgrades the brakes, then the need for an overdrive transmission becomes apparent, as does EFI. It's impossible to make a new car out of an old one.
When the Studebaker disc brakes are rebuilt with all new wear parts, they're actually better than any other mechanical part of the car.
jack vines