A great Avanti day...

[Gunslinger]

Yesterday I went to the last car show of the season...it was about a forty mile trip to the DC suburbs. It was a really excellent show with a real cross section of cars...Packard, LaSalle, a Jaguar race car from the 1950's, two Deloreans, a sprinkling of street rods and many more or less stock cars from a Model T to a Ford Woody Wagon to very modern.

I drove my '02 Avanti and found it very difficult to get away from it as there was continuously a crowd around it asking questions. Of course, there were the usual questions about "Was it a Canadian made Avanti?" There were questions "I didn't know they ever made a convertible" and even "How did you cut the roof off?" One person even thought the soft top was a fake hard top.

Regardless of those questions and I tried to provide them with correct information, it amazed me how many people were as knowledgable as they were on the Avanti. Many hadn't seen one in years and were interested in the history, etc.

One person even walked up with his wallet out and said "How much do you want for it...I have another wallet in my other pocket!" He was very interested in the car and may well begin a search for one.

Another fellow, when I mentioned I owned a '70 Avanti as well asked if I'd sell it...he's wanted an Avanti for years. He runs a restoration shop and isn't afraid to buy a project car. I told him about hog troughs and the problems if they're rotted...he wasn't afraid..."That's what I do." He gave me his name and number and wants me to call him if I hear of one. He's willing to pay me to go with him to look one over and point out the areas that need to be looked at closely. I told him I'd do that just for the fun of it.

The other comments I got...

"I bought a brand new 1964 back in the day...an R2. I bought it right off the dealer showroom." He even said the dealer's name in Rockville, MD but the name escapes me at the moment.

"My neighbor's Dad owned one when I was in high school"

After walking around the car several times...looking at it, in it and under it, two 20-something young men could only say "Awesome...awesome!"

A lady with her husband...both near retirement age..."Gorgeous!"

Several people..."The best car here!"

One guy..."It was worth my coming here just to see this!"

The most amazing comments I got were from two separate people who said they knew Steve Blake...and probably the most amazing was one who said a high school friend way back when had an uncle with the last name "Altman"! The friend's uncle was Nate Altman! The fellow was well versed in Avanti from his friend, though he hasn't seen him in probably ten years or more.

The car didn't win any awards, which is fine...that's not why I drove the car there. But it was a great...even amazing Avanti day.

[plwindish]

This past weekend was a great time to go out and enjoy the last nice days of the fall. I did a 40 mile drive with the North Shore AACA in the Chicago area commemorating the Brighton Run. 200 or so Antique Autos came out and drove back roads from Vernon Hills IL to Brighton WI Sunday morning. The variety of cars included one each of a '67, '74,'76 and '02 Avantis. Older cars included Packards, Auburn, Fords, Chevy, Jaguar to name a few. It was a good day to take my wife out in the '76 Avanti and see the back roads. I have put a little over 5,000 miles on the car since January, 4 K since the engine rebuild and trans swap. A Turner Disk brake front and rear set up is in store for the winter project.

Gunslinger, how did the door and fender repair end up?

Yesterday I went to the last car show of the season...it was about a forty mile trip to the DC suburbs. It was a really excellent show with a real cross section of cars...Packard, LaSalle, a Jaguar race car from the 1950's, two Deloreans, a sprinkling of street rods and many more or less stock cars from a Model T to a Ford Woody Wagon to very modern.

I drove my '02 Avanti and found it very difficult to get away from it as there was continuously a crowd around it asking questions. Of course, there were the usual questions about "Was it a Canadian made Avanti?" There were questions "I didn't know they ever made a convertible" and even "How did you cut the roof off?" One person even thought the soft top was a fake hard top.

Regardless of those questions and I tried to provide them with correct information, it amazed me how many people were as knowledgable as they were on the Avanti. Many hadn't seen one in years and were interested in the history, etc.

One person even walked up with his wallet out and said "How much do you want for it...I have another wallet in my other pocket!" He was very interested in the car and may well begin a search for one.

Another fellow, when I mentioned I owned a '70 Avanti as well asked if I'd sell it...he's wanted an Avanti for years. He runs a restoration shop and isn't afraid to buy a project car. I told him about hog troughs and the problems if they're rotted...he wasn't afraid..."That's what I do." He gave me his name and number and wants me to call him if I hear of one. He's willing to pay me to go with him to look one over and point out the areas that need to be looked at closely. I told him I'd do that just for the fun of it.

The other comments I got...

"I bought a brand new 1964 back in the day...an R2. I bought it right off the dealer showroom." He even said the dealer's name in Rockville, MD but the name escapes me at the moment.

"My neighbor's Dad owned one when I was in high school"

After walking around the car several times...looking at it, in it and under it, two 20-something young men could only say "Awesome...awesome!"

A lady with her husband...both near retirement age..."Gorgeous!"

Several people..."The best car here!"

One guy..."It was worth my coming here just to see this!"

The most amazing comments I got were from two separate people who said they knew Steve Blake...and probably the most amazing was one who said a high school friend way back when had an uncle with the last name "Altman"! The friend's uncle was Nate Altman! The fellow was well versed in Avanti from his friend, though he hasn't seen him in probably ten years or more.

The car didn't win any awards, which is fine...that's not why I drove the car there. But it was a great...even amazing Avanti day.

[Gunslinger]

Gunslinger, how did the door and fender repair end up?

The repairs look great...the new door fits better than the old door. Heck of a way to get that, though. It's bugging me that I can't put a coat of wax on the car yet...have to make sure the new paint cures fully. I'll have to wait until springtime to take care of that.

The body shop got an excellent used door and a NOS fender from Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors. The repairs went smoothly...the fiberglass guy at the body shop has 25+ years experience with Corvettes so he wasn't the least bit afraid about what he had to do.

I ended up having to replace the brake booster and master cylinder...I had a modern booster and a Wilwood master cylinder and the brakes now have a very modern feel to them. At the same time I had an electric fan installed...that makes a great deal of difference in cooling. The speed shop that took care of that made it look like a factory installation.

Thanks for asking!

[Project Avanti]

The repairs look great...the new door fits better than the old door. Heck of a way to get that, though. It's bugging me that I can't put a coat of wax on the car yet...have to make sure the new paint cures fully. I'll have to wait until springtime to take care of that.

The body shop got an excellent used door and a NOS fender from Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors. The repairs went smoothly...the fiberglass guy at the body shop has 25+ years experience with Corvettes so he wasn't the least bit afraid about what he had to do.

I ended up having to replace the brake booster and master cylinder...I had a modern booster and a Wilwood master cylinder and the brakes now have a very modern feel to them. At the same time I had an electric fan installed...that makes a great deal of difference in cooling. The speed shop that took care of that made it look like a factory installation.

Thanks for asking!

Thank You for being a good Ambassador for Avanti owners. How about some details on your new cooling fan?

[Gunslinger]

The cooling fan is a Flex-a-lite 188 Black Magic unit rated at 3300 cfm. With its built-in shroud it's nearly a perfect fit for the Avanti radiator core. The speed shop that installed it fabricated brackets so it looks like a factory installation.

With the angle that the small block Chevy engine sits, the speed shop owner was a bit concerned about clearance with the crank pulley, but it turned out to have adequate clearance. It was a bit tight working room for him but it all worked out ok.

Since it's been there the engine temp stays no more than the 180-190 degree range...only once since have I seen the temp reach 200 degrees. I think that's pretty good and very acceptable for any Avanti.

[Project Avanti]

The cooling fan is a Flex-a-lite 188 Black Magic unit rated at 3300 cfm. With its built-in shroud it's nearly a perfect fit for the Avanti radiator core. The speed shop that installed it fabricated brackets so it looks like a factory installation.

With the angle that the small block Chevy engine sits, the speed shop owner was a bit concerned about clearance with the crank pulley, but it turned out to have adequate clearance. It was a bit tight working room for him but it all worked out ok.

Since it's been there the engine temp stays no more than the 180-190 degree range...only once since have I seen the temp reach 200 degrees. I think that's pretty good and very acceptable for any Avanti.

Thanks Gunslinger, I'll be calling Summit today. BTW, that engine compartment is beautiful, thanks for the pictures.

[Kennie B.]

On another website, that well qualifies as "Eye Candy", if it were any better looking, some might even say "pornographic"! There are probably women who are justifiably proud of how clean their kitchens are who would be jealous of how clean your engine bay is!

[lschuc]

You'll see a full report on the repair in the upcoming issue of Avant Magazine, Fall/Winter 2011 Issue 156. It is due in the mail this Tuesday.

Lew

The repairs look great...the new door fits better than the old door. Heck of a way to get that, though. It's bugging me that I can't put a coat of wax on the car yet...have to make sure the new paint cures fully. I'll have to wait until springtime to take care of that.

The body shop got an excellent used door and a NOS fender from Dan Booth at Nostalgic Motors. The repairs went smoothly...the fiberglass guy at the body shop has 25+ years experience with Corvettes so he wasn't the least bit afraid about what he had to do.

I ended up having to replace the brake booster and master cylinder...I had a modern booster and a Wilwood master cylinder and the brakes now have a very modern feel to them. At the same time I had an electric fan installed...that makes a great deal of difference in cooling. The speed shop that took care of that made it look like a factory installation.

Thanks for asking!