PackardV8
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Posts posted by PackardV8
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Not really. It's always more cost-effective to buy someone else's sunk cost restoration than to do it oneself.
On the one hand, it's a rust-free $13,000 driver and unlike the typical rust belt car, doesn't need a frame an hog troughs.
On the other hand, it most likely really needs everything - paint, upholstery, tires, brake, engine, transmission and body seals.
There is a perfectly restored R1 with AC here in Spokane which could be bought for $25K and it would take far more than another $12K to put the $13K eBay car into the same condition.
jack vines
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I talked to some tranny guys they seem to think it would fit at the dif. Now... do they have ine available... thats anther question.
Yes, it's been done often. It's just time and money. If you came to me, I'd say, "Bring $4,000."
jack vines
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Agree, an overdrive Powershift would be a good combination.
Gear Vendors overdrive unit would be a very tight fit in the Avanti X-frame. The standard length transmissions just barely squeeze in.
The other question is do they make an adapter for the B-W auto? Don't find anything on their site and all I've ever seen were for the later GM, Ford and Mopar.
jack vines
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'In a pinch' a '55-''57 side draft four barrel carb air filter assy will fit & work on a Studebaker Avanti......True?
Clarification, please? "side-draft four barrel carb" is a term for which I have no referent. The only '55-57 Stude 4-bbls I've seen are Carter WCFB, which take in air at the top. Some of the '55-57 oil bath air filters mount on the side of the engine and have an extension which goes over to the carburetor. Is this what we're discussing?
jack vines
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Yes, the heavier-than-the-hubs-of-hell 15" x 6" steel wheels have also heavy cast iron adapters which bolt on to the five lug studs and are true knockoffs. The whole setup which requires tubes and flaps, nearly doubles the unsprung weight of the OEM steel wheels and tubeless tires.
jack vines
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Agree with Bob. Since there's been so much custom work done and it's a running, driving car, if you plan to sell it the math says leave it as is.
Today, a rebuilt turnkey R2 and 4 speed would be a $5-to-6,000 bill. Then, to reverse the flares and put it back stock, maybe no out-of-pocket cost to you, but lots of labor.
If you plan to keep it, build what you want to drive.
jack vines
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The only answer for which there is no argument!
jack vines
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Just asking, why do you feel rear disc brakes are needed?
jack vines
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I've got a complete setup for a Hawk. We'll have to research how different it is from the Avanti.
jack vines
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The most important and difficult parts of the swap were seemingly the smallest and the last to go in on my conversion:
1. The shifter linkage needed to be from a 700R4 floor shift application. I was never happy with the modified 3-speed shifter.
2. The Throttle Valve Cable linkage on the carburetor ultimately was sourced from BowTieOverdrives. I was never satisfied with the home-brew bracket and linkage.
I also bought their pressure gauge and instruction kit. Getting the TV perfect is the key to a satisfactory driving experience.
3. GM has made dozens of governors for their auto trans which all shift at differing full-throttle RPMs. If the shift point is too low, find one from a smaller engine, usually a V6. If it holds the RPM too long, a larger engine governor is usually the cure. Governors can be modified, but most any tranny shop has a bucket full of GM governors. Smaller weights = higher shift point.
jack vines
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There is no proportioning valve because the rear brakes are not self-energizing. Was the Shop Manual followed exactly when the rear shoes were installed.?
Most likely you now have an imbalance of front pad and rear shoe compounds. The front pads may be harder than the rear shoes. The answer might be to fit softer front pads so they more than 60% of the work in braking.
jack vines
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Since my Barris Avanti already has the vinyl top and wire wheels, all I'd need to add to pimp out to a Full Cleveland would be gold-plated trim and Vogue Supreme gold/whites.
jack vines
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No evidence of any factory-built/delivered 3-speed overdrives. Any extant were dealer/owner installed.
FWIW, I'm amazed any of the first 70-whatever 3-speeds survive with the T86 tranny intact. That circa-1939 econo-car lump took away any claim to the Avanti being a real luxury/performance/GT. Terrible driving experience and much too fragile for even an R1.
jack vines
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I appreciate vinyl tops. Among other things they define the '60's and '70's.There was an Avanti with a full vinyl roof I'd see years ago in early AOAI magazines, and also Turning Wheels. It was shown by its owner at a few International Studebaker meets.
That may be the one I've owned for the past several years. If one wanted to define the '60s-70s, this is the ne plus ultra.
The back story is the original owner, Richard Markes, was a Hollywood type and met Raymond Lowey at a party. They got to discussing the never-realized plans drawn up for the '65 Avanti. Lowey provided some copies of the drawings which Markes took to George Barris. The result was quad headlights, vinyl roof, flared rear fenders and knockoff wire wheels.
The owner thus claimed to have "the world's only 1965 Avanti." Why I own the car, I can't say, because to my eye, none of the aforementioned improve the looks of the '63 design. (But then, I don't even like square headlight trim on an Avanti.)
jack vines
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Yes, way too much; with compression that high, it will ping like a poltergeist on a hot day. About 195 PSI cranking is all today's pump gas will tolerate.
The probabilities are:
1. As you discussed, someone may have milled the heads and or the block and used the thin steel shim head gasket.
2. They may have substituted a stock Studebaker cam for the R1 cam. The shorter duration closes the intake earlier and raises dynamic compression.
So yes, make sure you have the R1 cam or even go to the longer duration R1+/ST5 regrind. Use the thicker composition head gaskets. If it's just a warm weather driver, use the intake gaskets which block the heat riser. Fabricate a cold air intake air filter. I used one from a '70s-80s Cad.
jack vines
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My curiosity wonders why so many choose to modify cars such as ours given the very low production numbers
and subsequent rarity and uniqueness.
Because the Avanti II has the belly-button SBC and associated trannies, it's easy and cheap to bench race and tailor the car to one's own needs and tastes.
Also, I'd guess it's because Avanti are so dirt-cheap. There's no particular loss of value in modifying a car which is worth next to nothing to begin with.
I bow to no man in my love for Studebakers and Avanti. I just don't mistake low production and rarity with market value.
jack vines
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In my experience, the engine compartment of the Avanti is not worse than any other, just that there's insufficient insulation between there and the passenger compartment.
If you want to know how bad it can get, spend a hot day in a Cobra or Sunbeam Tiger.
jack vines
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GM makes about twenty different governors for the TH automatics. They can be changed to control full throttle shift RPMs. The TH700R4 also has adjustable line pressure and throttle valve cable to control part throttle shifts.
Bottom line, they don't all shift out of 1st at the same RPM.
jack vines
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In my opinion the 750 is to big. I think I will get better performance and MPG with a smaller carb.
Very unlikely to happen. The Quadrajet was the last, best iteration of carburetor design. The Rochester engineers used everything known about combining performance and economy. As mentioned, the small primaries give the best economy and the large secondaries give good performance.
Bottom line - if the Q-Jet is right, changing it will result in lower performance and/or more fuel consumption. That plus the cost of a new intake, carb and lines will sink the equation by several hundred dollars one would never recover.
jack vines
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Random thoughts:
1. Chevrolet never offered a 3x2 factory manifold for the small block.
2. All the dyno tests have the more recent 1x4 intakes i.e. Edelbrock Air Gap, et al, outperforming the old-school 3x2 and 2x4 intakes.
3. Many of the best-performing 1x4 intakes don't necessarily fit under the hood of the Avanti. Most are too tall.
jack vines
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FWIW, the Ford 6"x15" wheels are quite a bit heavier than the OEM wheels. I noticed the extra unsprung weight. They're also quite a bit stronger than the OEM Stude wheels which will flex and eventually fail if an Avanti is driven hard with radial tires.
If one wants original appearance, then Dave's wheels are the way to go.
jack vines
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The original setup produced approx. 5 lbs of boost at 3500 RPM, the replacement could produce as much as 12 lbs of boost at 5,500 RPM. What the hell did Paxton send us ??
The boost curve of a centrifugal supercharger rises exponentially with RPM. If one were producing 5#@3500, then 12#@5500 would be expected. Most OEM Paxtons didn't produce 5#@3,500; seeing 2-3#@3,500 would be more usual, maybe rising to 5#@5,500 before the belts started to slip.
Having said that, you might possibly have received a Competition version. Difficult to believe they would have sent one as a warranty replacement, as the Competition version had a lifespan measured in minutes and was sold with no warranty.
The other possibility was a standard supercharger coming with a high output pulley. However, they typically didn't make 12#.
jack vines
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Yes, agree, a cold air intake is a good thing, I even did one for my R1 and noticed it lessened pinging on a hot day. Since my battery is in the trunk, I used a GM air cleaner from a Cad Eldorado and ran the hose up and out where the battery was.
However, a cowl intake also puts the considerable noise right up there in the passenger compartment. I wouldn't do it for anything other than Bonneville.
jack vines
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dynamat type of foil backed sound deadener. Then over that I installed an extremely dense closed cell foam rubber, then the carpet.
Wow! How thick was the total? Where did you source the foam?
jack vines
Starting the "Big Fix"
in 1963-64 Avanti
Posted
Most any '53-up V8 Stude Dana 44 car axle will bolt in. It will lack the brackets for Avanti rear sway bar and traction bars. Stude used Dana 44s in ratios from 3.07 to 4.56. If this is an automatic car, look for 3.07 or 3.31. If a 4-speed, 3.54 or 3.73.
jack vines