RQB 2897

[boogieman]

Thanks Gunslinger for that info.

Spoke with Dan at Nostalgic.

The antenna switch is not available. Sold his last new one recently. He might be able to find a used one somewhere in storage.

I will try other suppliers tomorrow.

The cars ordered with electric trunk opening option did not get the manual release too unless the electric option was ordered after

the car was in the process of being built, then those got both.

I would have thought that electric option opening cars would have gotten both.

I might look into adding an emergency release pull cable of some sort one of these days.

The release button on my car is inside the glove box.

The courtesy lights over the floor console work with the passenger door, not the drivers. Repaired the wiring and still no lights. New switch ordered.

And I got the moon roof weather seal issue resolved. Basically remove the sliding panel, attach the new seal with pop-rivets and weather strip adhesive, trim to fit, reinstall the panel. The seal attaches on the sliding panel, not the body as mine was.

An FYI tidbit: Moon roof is glass panel with inner shade, Sun roof is painted solid panel.

[boogieman]

Almost forgot. Yesterday I boughtt a set of 2-3/8" Avanti loge wire hubcap center emblems from ebay.

[plwindish]

Studebaker International has those Avanti Logo wheel center emblems in stock all the time. There are two types, a black background and a silver or chrome background.

My 76 has the trunk release cable and pull as well as the electric solenoid, but the cable does not put out. It might be rusted, but did not look rusted when I had the interior out of the car doing the Fat Mat to floor, sides, and rear seat back. Of course, I never investigated as to why the cable wouldn't pull and release the trunk mechanism. As long as the electric button and my remotes open the trunk, I'm good.

[boogieman]

I got a set of the Black emblems from SI last year. They are only 2" diameter. My wire hubcaps have a 2-1/2"

flat area in the center. The 2-3/8" ones should fill the space and look better.

Remote? you got a remote?

[CaffeineRacer]

Thanks Gunslinger for that info.

Spoke with Dan at Nostalgic.

The antenna switch is not available. Sold his last new one recently. He might be able to find a used one somewhere in storage.

I will try other suppliers tomorrow.

The cars ordered with electric trunk opening option did not get the manual release too unless the electric option was ordered after

the car was in the process of being built, then those got both.

I would have thought that electric option opening cars would have gotten both.

I might look into adding an emergency release pull cable of some sort one of these days.

The release button on my car is inside the glove box.

The courtesy lights over the floor console work with the passenger door, not the drivers. Repaired the wiring and still no lights. New switch ordered.

And I got the moon roof weather seal issue resolved. Basically remove the sliding panel, attach the new seal with pop-rivets and weather strip adhesive, trim to fit, reinstall the panel. The seal attaches on the sliding panel, not the body as mine was.

An FYI tidbit: Moon roof is glass panel with inner shade, Sun roof is painted solid panel.

Boogieman,

The trunk release is there as it is part of the lock mechanism. You have to stick a very long screw driver through the luggage compartment trap door in the rear window shelf. It's hard to explain exactly, but there will be a little opening in the latch that you can pop the latch with the screw driver. Its sort of barbaric, but works.

Also if you're ever down in the Houston area let me know, we've got a relatively Avanti club with about 15 or so cars. We are doing a safety and maintenance inspection workshop this weekend at one of the member's shops. You're welcome to come if you want to make the trip.

[plwindish]

Boogieman,

Since my 76 had power door locks and electric release trunk, its really easy to put keyless entry on it with remotes. My remotes have a button on the back side of them for the trunk release.

Regarding the emblems, I've got Dayton wires on my 76 with the three bar center caps and the circle in the center is 2", so the emblems look fine.

[boogieman]

Thanks for the invite CR. If the car were all together I would make the trip. Wanting to put some highway miles

on the car and get some windshield time too.

I like the idea of the safety workshop. Reminds me of the NSRA Safety 23 program. Never hurts to have a second pair of eyes check the car.

[boogieman]

FYI. I found out that the power antenna in this era were supplied by Harada,

according to Jon Meyers.

Edited March 12, 2015 by boogieman

[boogieman]

No luck on the 4 terminal power antenna switch.

Moving on.

The interior rear courtesy light lenses are old and very brittle.

Pulling the light assembly a Chrysler part #3746013 is very obvious.

Late 70's Dodge Charger and Chrysler Cordoba applications.

Found one for $25.00 on ebay.

Making my own lenses out of 3/16" plastic stock.

Going to "frost" the back side of the lenses.

Repaint the housings too.

Problem solved for no more than a little shop time.

I found a manual battery quick disconnect terminal in my stuff.

I put it on the ground (-) side of the battery.

Now I can go to shows, pull the disconnect , and leave the doors and trunk open if I wish. No battery drain.

[boogieman]

Another question for the round table.

My '79 has the front accessory light switch on the center console.

It is an ON-OFF-ON switch, 3 positions.

Any idea why this is as only one direction powers the driving lights?

Maybe the factory just used whatever switch was at hand?

Got the wheel center emblems from Nostalgic yesterday.

They have a brushed aluminum looking finish and the Avanti script is sharp and clear.

Very nice pieces and a perfect fit for my factory wire hubcaps.

I hand made the rear interior light lenses yesterday. Clear plastic with a frosted back side finish gives

much more light into the interior. And not a "yellow" light either. Much brighter now.

Ironically, the console lens is still in great shape. Go figure.

Found and ordered a set of Black factory CIBIE driving light stone guards too.

Got to pay attention to the details!

[boogieman]

Update time again.

Today I got the car out on the roads for a shake-down run. Covered about 50 miles on city streets, major roads, and on the highway.

The temp never climbed above 180*. Oil pressure 30 to 40 psi. Brakes solid and pulled the car down from speed easily.

Solid and sure-footed on what serves as "twisty" roads around here. Rock solid at highway speeds.

At 60mph the tach reads 1750-1800 rpm. At 65-70 mph the tach reads 2000 to 2100 rpm.

Really going to enjoy the 3.08 rear gear.

Opened the floor vents, the door glass, the quarter windows, and the moon roof for ventilation.

At 82* to 85* ambient air temp the circulation was quite comfortable. Didn't even try the A/C yet.

Finding bumpy pot-holed streets produced no squeaks, no rattles, no unexpected thuds or bumps,

nothing unexpected or needing attention.

Although needing rebuilding the seats were comfortable. Driving position was comfortable. The tilt wheel was just right in all positions. Although the Nardi wood wheel is of relatively small diameter on the rim, it was comfortable and felt good in hand.

The semi-laid back driving position was easy and not the least bit fatiguing. Huge amount of foot room.

Steering is quicker than expected. Several times I had to counter-correct for turning into a curve before I needed to.

The car is very responsive. Acceleration easily out-paced regular cars from stop lights and stop signs.

And I wasn't even trying! More than ample power to move the car around easily, even at highway speeds.

This car loves the open road. Long trips at highway speeds are where it likes to be. Just loafing along at posted speed limits.

The center steering bell crank might need to be looked at. Still a little too much play in the steering wheel for me.

Might just need to readjust the steering box play some more.

The radio antenna lets the radio fade in and out so I turned it off. I prefer the sound of the car better anyway.

All-in-all a very positive excursion for the first round of serious testing.

Edited March 29, 2015 by boogieman

[boogieman]

Another bit of good news. Oldest son came by today. We were looking at the factory AM/FM/CB radio antenna.

Finally got it to work by adding a separate ground wire from the harness to the body of the antenna. Works perfectly now.

I got a 3 position switch (ON-OFF-ON) to replace my broken original one.

And I discovered yesterday the original cigarette lighter still works, too.

Other than the clock and the fuel level gauge, every component on my car still works. Not bad for 36 years of semi - neglect.

[boogieman]

What is the capacity of the gas tank?

Under normal conditions in a stock set-up '('79), 3.08 rear gear, tall rear tires, any guesses as to mpg?

My gas gauge doesn't work and trying to figure miles between gas stops.

All generally speaking of course.

[Gunslinger]

The gas tank is nominally rated at 21-gallons. A number of Avanti owners have stated they've never been able to get that much fuel in their car so that might be optimistic on Studebaker's and Avanti Motor Company's part. The average Avanti prior to the introduction of the 700R4 in them is probably from about 14-18 mpg depending on individual cars and rear axle ratios...some worse, some better. If you can get over 18 mpg with the 3-speed automatic consider yourself fortunate.

Most carmakers design their cars and gas tanks to get a roughly 300-mile range, though there have been exceptions. I would figure to gas up every 200-250 miles by the odometer, which probably isn't all that accurate anyway. It's better than lighting a match to look into your gas tank.

[plwindish]

The capacity listed for my 76 is 21 gallons. The window sticker on my 89 listed 25 gallons. Swapping the 200R4 for the THM400 changed the fuel economy from 14 to over 27. My 89 has a 4L60 AOD trans in it, but with a 4:86 gear, which keeps the economy in the 10 - 14 range. I'm swapping out the 4:86 gear with one in the 3:55 - 3:70 range to improve the mileage.

[boogieman]

Thanks guys. I was thinking about 20 gallons or so. With a tall gear, tall tires, and relaxed cruising style of car

I was thinking 15 - 16 mpg. That's about 300 miles a tank. Changing the speedo drive gear for the closest match for the gear

and tire size, the speedo should be fairly accurate too.

27 mpg is outstanding.

Another shake-down run planned today. Going out to see my upholstery guy about the interior.

[boogieman]

Update time again.

First show last night, first award!

Out of 45 cars at this small show I got a "TOP15" award. Odd number but not my call.

The show was 50 miles away. Other cars on the trip were waving, honking horns, hanging out windows with thumbs up.

Very gratifying to see the reaction.

Absolutely no issues with the car at all.

Pulling into the location I could see a large number of people turn in unison just to watch me pull in and park.

Lots of questions, lots of corrections to pre-conceived notions.

About 350- 400 spectators and they all took a long hard look at old #2897.

At the end, I was pleasantly surprised at the award. There were some very nice high-dollar cars there.

And besides the award, I got $25 from the sponsors as a special recognition award.

The trip paid for itself!

Headed back home in the dark I was anticipating possible night-time related issues. Nothing at all.

The red illumination at night is awe inspiring to experience.

I need to readjust the headlight as the rake I built into the car put the headlights far short of optimum.

Going tomorrow to have the front tires rebalanced. Found a vibration shimmy at around 65-70 mph. Easy fix.

Just I had hoped for, the car as I have it set-up absolutely loves the open road.

Temp gauge never got above 180*.

Lots of road noise with the quarter windows open but great ventilation.

Cruising along at 65-70 at 2,000rpm, passing slower cars was simply a matter of easing on the accelerator

to jump around whatever was slowing me down. No drama, no problem. Nice. Very responsive and quick.

All-in-all a very rewarding trip.

Thinking of going on a 200 mile jaunt this next Wednesday to tour a local winery and see the Texas Bluebonnets

( the Texas State flower) in full bloom. The flowers grow wild along the highways and medians. Millions of them everywhere.

At least 20 other cars are already committed to the trip.

Even talked to a guy trying to sell his uncle's Avanti. I've seen the write-up on the Dallas craigslist. It is priced a little high but price negotiable..

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Score another plus for Avantis!

[boogieman]

Anyone else notice the copious amount of foot room, especially on the left of the column?

Thinking of adding a foot rest, or "dead pedal", to rest my left foot on. Something tubular and unobtrusive.

Driver ease and comfort, mine, being the goal.

#2897 and I are going to be on the road, a lot.

Planning on making the "Street And Performance" show in Mena, Ark.,

and in the fall to "Bikes, Blues, and Hot Rods Too" show in Fayetteville Ark.

[Gunslinger]

The huge amount of space in the footwells has been mentioned before. Someone sometime back mentioned about a "dead pedal"...whether they came up with a design I haven't seen. Maybe there was a commercially available dead pedal from a hot rod supplier that could work. There might be an issue with a dead pedal blocking the headlight dimmer switch...maybe not.

Enjoy the shows and get that Avanti out where people can see it.

[plwindish]

Be thankful you have all that room in the footwell. My 76 is the same way, having enough room to completely stretch out your left leg. My 89 convertible does not have that kind of room. The P.O. aggravated the problem by also putting 6 x 9 speakers in the kick panels on both sides with a raised plastic grill extending out from the speakers at least an inch. The result of the speaker placement and shorter footwells means there is no place for my #13 left foot to go but on the floor in front of the kick panel, putting my knee at an uncomfortable angle which makes any trip over 100 miles challenging without stopping to stretch the legs. I'm going to remove the speaker, but I think I still won't have much room to get the foot past the left edge of the brake pedal and stretch out the leg in what is left of the footwell. I'm thinking that Avanti Motors going with the Caprice perimeter frame probably shortened the footwells at least a foot from the older model Avantis.

I'm driving in the Great American Tour of Rte 66 in June, driving from Chicago to Santa Monica and also returning, for a total of around 5000 miles. I am taking the 76 on the tour, not the convertible as the 76 is much more comfortable traveling in than the convertible.

Edited April 13, 2015 by plwindish

[boogieman]

Oh I'm not complaining, simply observing and reporting.

I never thought about the differentiation between year model changes and the inherent implications.

My '79 has the dimmer switch on the column.

The factory original speakers are high up and completely out of the way.

The E-brake is on the rear of the trans tunnel and console.

Nothing between the seat and the fuse pane but open space.

The area is so deep the only place for my brogans is flat on the floor which can become uncomfortable and tiring,

or resting on the fuse panel, which I don't want to do.

Quite by happenstance I seem to have chosen the perfect car for me.

I am continually very pleased with my choice of year.

The more I drive it the better I appreciate and enjoy it.

[boogieman]

Update time again. The first mileage checked on #2879 is 16 mpg - combined.

Should be up around 18 or maybe better at highway speeds.

Very pleased with that.

Had the front end aligned today. One side was toed out .75* and the other was out 1.5*

Drives much easier and tracks much better now.

[boogieman]

More good news

Score another notch for the good guys.

2nd car show today, 2nd award.

This one was at the local Bass Pro Shop. About 75 cars and at least 1,000 spectators.

Lots of questions, lots of corrections.

In the end I won a First Place in '70's Car class.

Won out over Camaros, Mustangs, a Corvette, even a nice Delorean.

Going to another show tomorrow.

The car performs spectacularly, especially with the front end alignment yesterday.

[boogieman]

Just returned from a car show. Won another "First Place" trophy.

That's 3 for 3 now.

Talked to a guy who told me the story of back in the fall of '79, same year as my car,

when he did a financial audit on the Altman's. Nate invited him to tour the assembly floor before starting his audit.

He says it as very quiet, groups of 2 to 3 people working on various parts of cars. Women were doing the upholstery.

A couple guys in the body shop. A lady assembling and wiring an instrument panel. No automation, no conveyer system.

Bodies on dollies being moved around by hand. Many older guys, craftsmen as he described them, quietly working

to build by hand the best vehicle they could. No set hours either. People came in when needed and when they wanted.

Everyone he met and spoke to was friendly and very happy to be doing what they were doing.

Sounds very nice and stress free to me.

If nothing else, a glimpse of a few days into the Avanti factory in late '79.

[Gunslinger]

I had my '70 in a show today (received a 3rd place). A fellow was looking at the car and turned to me and said "It's been a long time since I've had sex with a car. Can I have a moment with yours?"

When I got home and told my wife about it, I thought she was going to fall on the floor laughing.