Success! Got hood open on the 1988 Convertible

[JensenHealey]

Today I was able to make more progress on my plan for how to get the hood open on the 1988 Silver Blue convertible.

I found the small hole in the bottom of the moveable latch plate that silverstude told me about and I decided my plan of attack would be to stick a drill up in there to enlarge this hole so I could use a larger diameter shaft of a phillips screwdriver to pry on the part of the latch assembly that should be moving. After much screwing around this afternoon I was successful with this plan and I was able to get the latches disengaged. I was so happy to get the hood open. I found that various wires under the hood look like they have been gnawed at by critters. The latch assemblies are very rusty and on the driver's side the cable that is supposed to pull on the latch was actually disconnected. I sprayed a bunch of penetrating fluid on them and I reconnected the cable to the driver's side latch and then I closed up for the day.

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions on how to solve this problem. My next job is to try the same method on the stuck hood on the 1988 long chassis two door coupe.

Edited November 27, 2020 by JensenHealey
spelling mistakes

[studegary]

Thanks for the report. I am glad that you had success with one.

That looks very rusty, even by NY standards.  Where are these Avantis/where were they stored?  

[JensenHealey]

The same city where they were made. Youngstown Ohio

[wdaly]

YIKES!  Congratulations!!!

 

[JensenHealey]

Today I swapped a battery into this 1988 convertible so I could try to get the trunk lid open.

After trying the button many times but after I would walk to the back and try lifting up on the trunk lid, only to find it still locked. I finally called Bob at Avanti Parts and Restorations, Inc and he clued me in that I probably have to have a second person lifting up on the trunk lid while I press the release button inside the interior. He told me that he has had this problem in the past and used a handy "sky hook" and some bungie straps to put upwards pressure on the trunk lid while pressing the button inside the center console. Since I didn't have a nice handy "sky hook" in stock here I instead strung a couple sets of bungie straps to a couple of tree branches that were arching over the car. Then I went and tried the release button again. I didn't see any change in the looks of the trunk lid but when I went back and actually tried lifting it, the trunk lid came up in my hand. At this point I discovered how damn heavy this little trunk lid is when the gas struts are shot. Unfortunately there was nothing of great interest in the trunk other than an old used mechanical fuel pump.

While I had the battery hooked up I tried the headlight switch and found that all of the lights front and rear actually seem to function. I was surprised.

Attached below are some photos of the accident damage to this car. I am wondering if this car is worth fixing.

[wdaly]

Ahhhhhh, did I already say Y I K E S !!!!!!!!

Interesting you mentioned trunk gas shocks - my August 1988 built coupe had the original scissors-type springs.  Guess there were constant running changes made even during the model year (or they ran out of Studebaker  trunk springs).  I think I had one of the last cars with a carb.

[JensenHealey]

This silver blue 1988 convertible has a carb rather than TBI

[studegary]

IMO, it is a parts car unless you just like to do the work yourself.  I base this on a combination of damage & rust vs. final value.  

EDIT:  These Monte Carlo based Avantis sometimes had severe frame rust problems.  Considering the rest of the car, I would examine the frame carefully before proceeding.  

Edited November 28, 2020 by studegary

[jtheteacher]

Wow, Is that a Merkur Scorpio parked next to the Avanti?  Talk about 2 Unicorns in the same place at the same time....