Hello from a new member

[Endl98]

Hello.

My name is Eric. Obviously I just signed up, I just brought home my fathers 63 Avanti r2 from Houston. He passed away nov 5th 13, I finally moved the car back Long island , New York. He was the Original owner, bought it right out of the navy from a valley stream dealer. It is white with orange interior r2 with a 4spd. idrove this car in high school and parked in 87'. the car has not been driven since. I trailered it home got it into my shop. put gas in and a battery and it started right up..

now the original motor blew a rod back in 1970. My father swapped out the r2 and the 4spd and put in a 70 z28 350 and a glide so my mom could drive it. its not stock , he did rear flares and a pearl paint job with cool pastel spot back in 1973. the car still has the 14 inch mickey thompsen indy profiles and ARE turbine rims he install back in the early 70. to me the car is perfect.but I do need a few things. I need to find the rear quarter glass lock latch.for the passenger side. I would love to find a original r2 and 4spd for it. but I may just swap in a LS^ and 6 spd from a GTO and put on a Paxton.

if anyone can lead me to the quarter glas latch I would appreciate it.

thanks , Eric

[Gunslinger]

Welcome! It's great to see a new member who is so enthusiastic. Our sympathies for the loss of your dad. He had good taste in cars.

For the latch, it depends on the serial number of your car...there were two latch designs. You should be able to find them from at least one of the wonderful vendors that specialize in Studebaker and Avanti parts. Try Myer's Studebaker, Studebaker International or Nostalgic Motors. All will probably have the parts you need.

If you don't already have them, get yourself copies of the Avanti Parts Manual and Shop Manual. They're available as reprints and also on CD and are worth every penny they cost. Don't be afraid to ask questions here as many here have developed workarounds on many repairs or for replacement parts not easily found.

One but of advice...since the car has been idle for so long, I wouldn't worry about cosmetics so much. I would suggest you get the brakes completely rebuilt and gone over...new hoses, pads, rebuild wheel cylinders and calipers, flush the system, etc. Check the frame and torque boxes for rust issues...that can turn an otherwise nice Avanti into a parts car if not addressed.

Since you're on the East Coast, consider attending the 2014 Avanti Owner's Association International and Studebaker Drivers Club International Meet in Dover, Delaware the first week of July. It promises to be an outstanding meet with lots of Avantis and parts suppliers attending. On June 28, the day before the meet starts, we're having an all-Avanti event in Hagerstown, Maryland at the Hagerstown Regional Airport with the Hagerstown Aviation Museum. They're making available to us a photo session with a C-82 aircraft like the one used by Studebaker in 1962 to fly Avantis around the country to introduce the car to dealers. There's more information about that which will be posted and will be addressed in the next issue of Avanti Magazine.

Again...welcome and hope to see you posting again. Questions, comments, sharing your experiences...feel free to participate here.

[Devildog]

Eric,

Great story about your father's R2. You might check with Stude International, Dan Booth, John Meyers (these vendors seem to have everything)...the people on here are wonderful about helping. Also, good info on Studebaker Drivers Club Forum.

I recently put an LS3 with 6 spd in an old rough 63 split window Corvette that I found. All my purest buddies talked of hanging me, but that power train makes such a smoother, more powerful set-up than the earlier SBC power trains.

While I had that LS3 set-up, I did the measurements to determine if I could put an LS3 in my Avanti. There are no clearance issues, except might loose a bit of the bottom of the console compartment. Since the Avanti has an X-frame there may be an issue of the drive shaft yoke being too close to the X; however, the I think the LS3 can sit more to the rear to avoid that issue. That would be great, because our Avanti's are too heavy in the front anyway.

You will have a great time with the family Avanti.

Joe

[lschuc]

Eric, I'm glad to hear that you have your dad's Avanti and are keeping the tradition alive! You might also consider joining the AOAI and receiving the color quarterly magazine. We have a lot of features, including technical articles and also stories on past history of member's Avantis.

And like Bruce already mentioned, our national meet this summer will be fairly close to you, in Dover, Delaware. You can join the AOAI online at http://aoai.org/shop New memberships for the first year are just $19.95.

[avantifred]

Hey Eric, Welcome to the "original' Avanti world. Like all the other replies you've received, these vendors have "all" the parts & you'll receive them in the mail before the Chevy boys can get their parts. You mentioned that your dad got his Avanti from a dealer in Valley Stream. Are you sure it was there and not a dealer on Sunrise Hwy in Merrick?? I was 17 years old then & did not have my drivers license yet, a bunch of us motor heads rode our bikes to the dealer in Merrick to see the new Avanti. When the sales man told us that the car would cost over $5,000.....the bubble broke ! it was back to dreaming about the "split-window Vette" (it was"only"$3200) which I never got either. BUT, 45 years latter my '64 R2 (#5255) finally arrived in my driveway. Oh, by-the-way, the Studebaker dealer on Sunrise Hwy in Merrick has bee selling ceramic tiles ever since then !..........WELCOME & GOOD LUCK

Fred

[Endl98]

Thank you for the welcome

I was told about the Delaware meet by one of my parts drivers he has a 63 hawk gt. he just gave me a catalog of parts. the frame of the car is perfect. not a bit of rust or rot. the body is fantastic. the interior is a bit musty from sitting but complete, somewhere along the line my dad changed the salt and pepper carpet to a dark brown.

I ordered brakes , cylinders , caliper rebuild kit , master rebuild and pads. im gonna go thu the complete car, brakes to chassis. is there a dual master cylinder for these cars available, I have seen one in a few Avanti's. mine is a single and I am not crazy about that. but for now I will just rebuild the single. I also notice the p/s slave is leaking . im sure I will find more issues as its running , im just happy to have it back running after so long.

as far as the dealer. it may be merrick. it was along time ago he told me what dealer it was.

the serial number is r1705. which latch would I have?

eric

[avantifred]

Eric, You would most certainly have the early one as the second version did not arrive until vin # 4880

I know for a fact that Meyers Studebaker has these original Studebaker parts in stock.

Fred

[Gunslinger]

A kit for the dual master cylinder is available from Nostalgic Motors. I'm sure the other vendors carry it as well.

[plwindish]

Eric, congratulations and good luck with the car. I'm sure you will find people on the forum very helpful. Also take Lew's suggestion to join AOAI and get the best car magazine around 4 times a year, filled with very helpful information about our favorite car, the AVANTI!!!!!!

[Guest dapy]

Eric,

I'm sorry I did not know about the car. What is the serial? I'm in Houston and sold my R2 a year ago so I might have helped you here.

It sounds like the car will need work being stored so long. The AOAI group can be helpful. There are several good Avanti shops in MA and a good guy near Philadelphia. Will you be doing the work? Like to see pictures if you have them. I'm Dave Pyle • dap8@comcast.net

[Endl98]

Dapy , when I was in Houston a few weeks ago there was a white/orange r2 in a car show there. I was shocked as ive always been told there were only 3 1963 white/orange 4spd r2 made. I probably have a lot of misinfo growing up. The car was in Houston since 1975. when my father moved down there for business. he built half of Houston as he had a commercial construction co. and he was a constable in jersey city and klein forest, We live in northwest Houston in Klein forest . I graduated from Eisenhower high.

Yes I will be doing the work on the car as I am a mechanic and own a auto repair shop, we service cars, trucks and motorcycles. We do custom work as well as service everything from your average joe's car , hot rods to high end cars, we have built a few custom motorcycles and we have a niche' in the land rover dept. where we service and build some off road discovery's.

[Guest dapy]

Thanks for the background. You and your shop will have fun working in the Avanti. Perfect set up.

[Rick64R2]

Which car show? My White/Orange R2 was in the Houston Auto Show last month - but it is an Auto (wish it was a 4 speed). I have a similar story on my car - Belonged to my Dad who passed away 3 years ago and it spent 20 years in a warehouse. Luckily (I guess) it was up around Amarillo (Pampa) so it was dry - no mold and no rust. He was 2nd owner - purchased it in the mid 70's. It is original except for a repaint and some interior work that was done just before he got it.

We used to go to the Studebaker conventions and I remember driving this Avanti to Denver in the middle of the oil crisis - when there was a shortage. Dan would get up every morning at 4am and go searching for gas - needed "premium" - and stations would only sell XX gallons per customer - and the Avanti does not have a very big tank. He would find enough to get us through our day of site-seeing and off we would go. Won a third place at that convention and made it home.

[Endl98]

Rick that was your Avanti we saw there. my cousins took me out to it and I was shocked to see it. very nice.

[MARK]

Another congratulations. I have a 64R2 that after I restored and painted had two rear end hits a couple of years apart and then after her 3rd restoration super storm Sandy did a number. So I am the only guy who has had 4 restorations on a 64R2 in 6 years. Im in NJ and do drive into NY going to work when the weather is clear and dry. I cant do anything about road conditions or many of the idiots driving. If and when you decide to paint, I have a great shop in Shrewsbury NJ off of exit 109. Look up Heritage body and towing in Shrewsbury NJ. Billy Hartley loves the classics and especially older fiberglass. He is currently working on my friends Avanti II. I belong to the Staten Island Studebaker Club; Verrabakers Joe Lipton is President and I think we have 4 or 5 Avanti's in the club. You can reach Joe Lipton ; verrabakers@aol.com A bunch of us are going to York in March on Friday so maybe we can meet up. Another great contact for information and parts is Dave Thiebault @studdave@aol.com or phone 978-897-3158

good luck, happy driving and don't bother looking in the rear view mirror

Mark