Avanti II fender filler strip

[63 Avanti R2]

OK, I'm going to pick your brain on this. On August 2, 1965 Avanti Motor corporation released info that they were going to eliminate the forward rake and fender cutouts were tightened around the wheels.

Why did they add that filler strip on???

I think it had something to do with the Corvette engine

[Gunslinger]

The reason for the filler strip was due to raising the front end and leveling out the car's appearance left a big open area above the tire. The filler strip gave the car a more balanced and normal appearance. Nate Altman was on record saying he didn't like the rake anyway as he wasn't enamored by all the "bits and pieces" under the rear end being visible. I believe he would have felt the same about a large tire well area visible above the front tires as well.

[63 Avanti R2]

The reason for the filler strip was due to raising the front end and leveling out the car's appearance left a big open area above the tire. The filler strip gave the car a more balanced and normal appearance. Nate Altman was on record saying he didn't like the rake anyway as he wasn't enamored by all the "bits and pieces" under the rear end being visible. I believe he would have felt the same about a large tire well area visible above the front tires as well.

Thanks Buddy. It makes sense, but I personally like the rake, and the whole car (63-64) appearance.

SR

[Paul K.]

I also read the Chevy engine was a bit taller requiring the raise. People that lower their Avanti IIs to get the Stude rake have hood clearance problems unless they use a REALLY short air cleaner.

[IndyJimW]

One of the advantages of having the '87 Avanti is it has the Monte Carlo suspension, which is the same as an S-10 pick-up. I picked up a set of 2" drop spindles for an S-10 and dropped my Avanti 2 1/2" at the nose to give me the orginal rake.

Have no problems with the tires touching the fenders. I also know of 1 Avanti II here in Indiana where the owner machined the king-pins to get the orginal rake.

Jim Wood

[Gunslinger]

The conventional wisdom is that the rake was eliminated due to the height of the Chevy engine requiring it. That's true and not true, depending on how you explain it. Some time back an Avanti enthusiast measured the Chevy and Stude V8's and discovered the Studebaker engine was actually dimensionally taller than the Chevy V8. If so...why the necessity for raising the front end of the Avanti II? I believe it comes down to the location of motor mounts on the two engines and the addition of the motor mount brackets required to mount the Chevy engine. That is probably what makes the Chevy engine sit somewhat higher on the chassis compared to the Stude engine. Add to that the height of the intake manifold and carburetor and air cleaner and you have clearance issues.

Of course, today you have the availability of different thickness motor mounts, different design intake manifolds, different design air cleaners of very low profiles that can could have allowed for the stock front end height of an Avanti. Many have installed the Chevy engine in a Stude made Avanti and cleared the hood. I'm sure back in the day Avanti Motors found it far easier and cost effective to simply add the filler piece to the front panels rather than have custom intake manifolds installed or a new design low profile air cleaner. They were using crate engines as they came and leftover Avanti R1 air cleaners that came in the parts purchase from Studebaker.

Essentially...what they did was a pragmatic and inexpensive solution to the problem. While we can debate the aesthetic differences between the original rake and the elimination of it on later cars (like round vs. square headlight frames), it does give several "flavors" of Avanti's to own, drive and enjoy. Each generation has its own characteristics (and peculiarities) that we can enjoy (and annoy) us.