Horn ?

[Guest Anonymous]

On a 67 Avanti II, is anyone aware of a horn button that is NOT on the steering wheel? There is absolutely nothing connected to the horns anywhere on the steering wheel. No foot switch or anything that I can find. The horns are there, and appear to be wired but before I start trying to trace wires I thought I'd ask. Any ideas?

[Guest wagone]

You're going to want to get a definitive answer from a '67 Avanti specialist, but, until one answers, this response may be food for thought. Before I bought my '63 I road tested a '67 for sale in Florida. It has the same steering column and wheel as the Stude original and on these the horns are activitated by the bar on the wheel spokes. Unless yours has an aftermarket steering wheel it should be the same. That is, one wire ending at the top of the column and when the bar is pressed the circuit to ground is completed and the horn should blow. Hope this is of some use. Even an aftermarket wheel would usually be activitated by grounding the circuit at the top of the column. The wire ends in a button contact at the four or five o'clock position when viewing the column from behind the wheel. By the way this '67 in Florida had real knockoff wire wheels--very sexy. But the car needed a lot of work. Course how many don't? My '63 does--but then what are hobbies for? Good luck with your project.

WAG-one

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply, but my steering wheel must have been changed somewhere along the line. There is no bar on the wheel spokes. It is an Avanti steering wheel (or at least the center cover is) but there is no bar in the spokes. looks like I'll have to hook up a foot switch or something. I'm still looking for a 67 owners manual if anybody has any ideas.

[Guest Guest]

Another thought you might want to consider is that what can happen to disable a horn from functioning is that continuity must be present through the rag joint in the bottom of the steering column shaft. Through time this connection inside the rag joint will break--you'll need to purchase a new rag joint for about $35 from one of the suppliers--and they are not all that difficult to install. Beats adding a new switch down on the floor. Of course the horns themselves could be bad also. The reason I know all this is that I've "been there-- done that" on my '63, and your car is pretty much identical except for the engine. Good luck.

wagone with '63 problems needing attention

[Guest studefreak]

In reference to the guest wanting a shop manual, the Studebaker Avanti shop manual would be identical except for the engine section. Then it would just be a matter of picking up a shop manual supplement for the 65-66 Studebakers. The only difference here is that the engine size in the Avanti is a 327 rather than a 283. Virtually the same engine. The transmission for the 67 would be the same as the 63-64 Avanti. The clutch setup wou;d be as the 65-66 Studebaker sedans.

I am curious about the steering wheel. It is possible that the bars that sit inside the slots on the steering wheel has been removed. Without actually seeing what wheel is on the column, it's difficult to picture what set-up is actually on the car. It still could be an aftermarket wheel that someone has put an Avanti insignia on it. Finding the actuating bar for the horn shouldn't be too hard to find, but a complete decent wheel assembly could be a real bear to find.

[WayneC]

Here is what an Avanti steering wheel normally looks like:

http://www.avantiparts.net/UCBlack698.jpg (on a 69 Avanti)

It uses the "blades" in the two spokes to operate the horn.

When an aftermarket steering wheel is installed, normally it comes with an adapter hub with a decorative plastic external round hub cover that has an emblem or name of some sort on it, and that center hub is depressed to sound the horn, ie, the hub is a horn button. The adapter bolts to the steering column, the wheel to the adapter, and the horn button/hub cover generally snaps into place on top.

Nardi Classico is an aftermarket wooden wheel commonly used on Avanti's, it looks like this:

http://www.190slgroup.com/tech/pics2/14-Nardi.JPG

One of the most common aftermarket wheel makers is Momo, who offers a wide variety of styles; they use the center hub as the horn button. See them at this site:

http://www.momo.it/momoeng/set1.html

(click on "Momo", then "steering wheels", then pick a style from the drop-down list)

Yet another maker is Grant:

http://www.grantproducts.com/default.html

You may have to remove the hub and the steering wheel to figure out what your car has in the way of horn provisions. If no attaching screws are present, generally the decorative hub cover either is pried up, or you press down on it and rotate it in relation to the wheel to free and remove it.