IT'S BACK!!

[plwindish]

I picked up the '76 this afternoon from the engine builder. The engine rebuild and trans swap did not get done in time for me to travel to the International Meet in Springfield MO last week. I was disappointed, but now I have time to see how things "shake out" before I start for Gettysburg on the 12th. I drove 81 miles tonight after filling the newly sealed gas tank. I refilled the car upon getting back in town using 3.66 gal for 22.1 mpg averaging 70 mph. The mpg is not too shabby considering the 12.5 I was averaging before the engine rebuild and trans swap. The 200 R4 works real well, engine rpm's are around 1800-1900 @ 70 mph versus 2800 before with the TH 400. There are a couple of glitches to work out, one is the pedal pressure needed to start moving the car. The throttle now also has a tv cable attached for the trans, so there's added load. Too much pressure has the tires spinning and jack rabbit starts. The trans guy said I might be happier putting in a Lokar cable throttle set up instead of the mechanical. I'm going to drive it a bit and see if I get used to it. The new Autometer speedo is reading about 7 - 8 mph fast compared with my GPS. The miles seemed right for the distance I drove but speed was off. The trans guy thought he had it within 3 mph. Oil pressure was running at 50 psi and engine temp was 180 during the drive. All in all, I'm a happy camper after having the car gone since early April.

[Paul K.]

What rear axle ratio do you have?

[plwindish]

The car has the Dana 3:31 (non -posi) rear end in it, which may be another place to upgrade in the future along with a Turner 4 wheel brake system.

[p schmidt]

let me know how you do on your pedal ...I have the same problem!!!!...I'm going to start working on it soon

[adamderosa]

Hey that's great that you finally got it back! I hope to see it at the next Chicagoland Avanti meeting. You might just need a different return spring on the throttle linkage if it's too stiff, or perhaps your existing spring could be moved to a different location where there's less tension on it. You also probably need a different speedometer gear in your transmission if the speed is off. There are some on-line calculators that determine what gears you need after you input your tire size and axle ratio. Here's one from Bowtie Overdrives you can try:

http://2004r.com/speedoCalc/speedocalc.shtml

[plwindish]

The attachment for the mechanical linkage is in the middle of the throttle bracket and the tv cable attachment is on the bottom of the bracket. There is about a 1/2" hole at the top of the bracket where the most leverage would be for the linkage to attach to, but a spacer is needed to fill the hole and also a bolt with the ball end for the linkage to attach to. My trans guy took off the throttle return spring and its bracket that was on the carb because excessive force was needed to overcome the return spring when giving it gas. There is also a small spring inside the mechanical linkage are that he pinned so it also would not add to the pressure needed for operation. The linkage was set up of a quadra-jet, so marrying the linkage with the Proformer 650 is a little more challenging. I must say that I'm getting used to it with the driving around town that I did today. If anyone else drives the car, they'll be in for a surprise.

I spent the afternoon and some of the evening cleaning some of the accumulated grime on the car from 2 1/2 months in a machine shop.The interior got cleaned, engine bay spruced up and engine bling cleaned. After a seminar at the Stude Meet on cleaning cars, I got a Meguiar's kit and washed the car, claybarred it, washed it again and put it under cover in the garage. Rubbing compound and waxing will be on the agenda tomaorrow. The car should be looking good for the Chicagoland Avanti meeting Wednesday night. See you there.

[p schmidt]

hows the gas pedal going?

[plwindish]

Right now, I'm sticking with the mechanical linkage set-up. It does take more pressure to push down on the pedal to get the car started off, too much burns tires, but I've gotten used to applying the amount of pressure needed without doing burn outs every time I start up. I'm going to drive it to Gettysburg on Wednesday and see how it is on the trip before I decide to change to a cable set-up. Friday was the day for new speakers, xm radio, cigarette lighter/power plug, keyless entry remotes and 4 new tires. The 215R70-15's I replaced had less than 5,000 miles on them, but were put on the car in 1998. I'm not feeling that daring to travel to Gettysburg on 13 yr old tires.

The car is running and sounding great. I did get it up to the local cruise night in my home town last Tuesday night and up to Mt Prospect for the Chicagoland Avanti Owners meeting on Wednesday. I'll also take to the Black Hawk Studebaker meeting in Oak Brook next Tuesday night before leaving Wednesday morning for Gettysburg.

[plwindish]

The two car Chicagoland Avanti Owner contingent with 3 members arrived in Gettysburg late Wednesday evening. The 700+ mile shake down ride for my '76 went pretty well. Only casualty was the air started blowing warm halfway through Ohio. I forgot to take it back in yesterday to the Radiator/AC guy to check the charge after refilling it a couple of weeks ago. Luckily it was fairly cool today for the ride. Maybe some Keystone members can hook me up with an AC shop before the trip back. The rebuilt motor and new trans were great. Since we were stopping every 2 hours I topped off the car 3 times, getting 21.5 - 22.8 mpg with the 400 and 200R4 combo and doing the speed limit. I didn't want to lose the '02 traveling with me!. Looking forward to a great meet.