king pins.

[Pat K]

I am told my king pins are shot and that it is impossible to align the front wheels until they are repaired. I know little to nothing about king pin front ends. My '84 has 95K so I am not surprised to find things are a little worn. My question is: when looking through the parts catalog i see a 1)bushing repair kit, or 2) a complete king pin repair kit.

What is the best course? I am guessing the King pins themselves do not wear out, but if there are bushings involved I can see they would need to be replaced.

what advice does my Avanti friends have for me?

I only want to do this once, so if the king pins need to be replaced while replacing the bushings, so be it. If not, we will go with the bushing repair.

Side note, I see a catalog item for 3) quick steering arms. Should they be replaced when we are doing the king pin repair?

any help would be much appreciated.

pk - RQB 4143

1)

STG007 KING PIN REPAIR KIT 1951-1966 CARS

STG007 #770219 KING PIN REPAIR KIT, INCLUDES FOUR BEARINGS, TWO BUSHINGS,TWELVE SHIMS AND TWO GASKET SEALS. FOR 1951 THROUGH 1966 CARS FOR BOTH KING PINS

ALSO 1963-1982 AVANTI

$86.00

..........................................

2)

Hawk) & 1963-85 Avanti. Includes rebuilt king pins

(2) with new upper and lower sleeves, all bearings,

b

ushings shims & seals for both sides

................................................

$350.00/kit

Refundable core charge**

..........

$500.00 core

3)

Quick

Steering Arm

Standard on 1985 Avanti, this quick steering

arm will work on all model 1951-66 Studebaker

cars (including Lark & Hawk) and all Avanti

to 1985. Easily installed, reduces steering time.

Recommended for power steering equipped cars

only.

$125.00 pr

[Gunslinger]

My advice is to do it once and do it right. It might be more expensive but you likely won't ever have to deal with it again. Avanti front ends have lots of grease fittings and should be serviced regularly. Lack of that over the years is probably why your king pins are worn out.

The reason the quick steering arms were made was due to Avanti Motors going to a different steering box in the late '70s...from a fork lift no less. That made for slower steering. Steve Blake had the quick steering arms made to restore the handling to where it originally was. If the front suspension is going to be apart anyway, it's not a bad idea to install them. You won't notice a huge difference but it will help some and now would be the time to do it.

[Avanti83]

I agree with Gunslinger, Do it right the first time. When I bought my 83, my front end guy told me I needed a front end rebuild as yours did. I just bought the complete kit from SI, it was under $900 for the complete kit with rebuilt kingpins, bell crank, and all bushing and bearings for the kingpins and all the parts to rebuild the control arms too. The core charge for the kingpins is steep, they want them back, but zero sum when you return them. The discount for buying the entire kit is significant so don't piece-meal it.

Installation isn't difficult if you read the posts on the SDC forum and make a few simple tools and have access to a press. There is also a way to do it without the press but I have not done it that way. This is the install I posted on the SDC Forum http://forum.studeba...l-Replacements. The search will yield a lot more. The Avanti manual will cover all the kingpin and bell crank tolerances and installation for either you or the rebuilder

The Avanti, after alignment, handles very well for the suspension design and 8" wide tires on it.

Bob

[Pat K]

after talking to my front end guy, he doesn't feel the full overhaul is necessary, just replace the bushings and tighten and clean every thing up.

I noticed the kit you sent says 1963-1982 Avanti. Mine is an '84. Any changes made between '82-;84?

STG007 KING PIN REPAIR KIT 1951-1966 CARS
STG007 #770219 KING PIN REPAIR KIT, INCLUDES FOUR BEARINGS, TWO BUSHINGS,TWELVE SHIMS AND TWO GASKET SEALS. FOR 1951 THROUGH 1966 CARS FOR BOTH KING PINS
ALSO 1963-1982 AVANTI

[mfg]

No changes, the '82 and the '84 king pins are the same animal.