Avanti II 4-speed cars

[pantera928]

Were and of the Avanti II cars ever produced with 4-speed manual gearboxes? Just curious since I have never seen one and the Corvettes could be bought either way.

[mfg]

Most of the 'Altman' Avanti ll's were built with automatic transmissions, however four speed standards were indeed available on order.

[pantera928]

12 hours ago, mfg said:

Most of the 'Altman' Avanti ll's were built with automatic transmissions, however four speed standards were indeed available on order.

Interesting as I have never seen one nor seen one advertised for sale. Thanks

Trivia quesrion. "How many Altman Avantis were made with 4-speed standard transmissions"

Edited April 4, 2022 by pantera928

[Avanti83]

According to some knowledgeable folks my 74  RQB-2123 was the second to last one and Skip Lackie (forum member) has the last Altman one produced.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Avanti83

[pantera928]

1 hour ago, Avanti83 said:

According to some knowledgeable folks my 74  RQB-2123 was the second to last one and Skip Lackie (forum member) has the last Altman one produced.

Thanks

Just saw it on Bob Johnstones site. Did you get it fixed up? How do you like it with the 4-speed?

[Avanti83]

43 minutes ago, pantera928 said:

Thanks

Just saw it on Bob Johnstones site. Did you get it fixed up? How do you like it with the 4-speed?

Yup, it 95% complete. It now has a T56 6-speed and a fair bit different than when I bought it.

Picture is the finished car which I've posted a number of times. 

The URL is a youtube video of the engine and passenger compartment. 

 

[Dunkin]

I drove one in Texas before I bought my 78, if I remember right, it was a small block Chevy 400. Forgot what carburetor it had, might have been a two barrel. The car was maroon, and the clutch was hard to operate.  

[pantera928]

5 hours ago, Avanti83 said:

Yup, it 95% complete. It now has a T56 6-speed and a fair bit different than when I bought it.

Picture is the finished car which I've posted a number of times. 

The URL is a youtube video of the engine and passenger compartment. 

 

Ah yes, I have seen this car posted before. Hard to miss that yellow. I did a Corvette that color once. Love it.

[pantera928]

5 hours ago, Avanti83 said:

Yup, it 95% complete. It now has a T56 6-speed and a fair bit different than when I bought it.

Picture is the finished car which I've posted a number of times. 

The URL is a youtube video of the engine and passenger compartment. 

Just looked at the video. Very nicely done. What dash pad did you use.

[Avanti83]

42 minutes ago, pantera928 said:

Just looked at the video. Very nicely done. What dash pad did you use.

Dash is out of a late 80's Avanti, modified to eliminate the center console portion and adding digital gauges, etc. Local upholster covered it in grained vinyl. He did an excellent job.

 

[pantera928]

12 hours ago, Avanti83 said:

Dash is out of a late 80's Avanti, modified to eliminate the center console portion and adding digital gauges, etc. Local upholster covered it in grained vinyl. He did an excellent job.

 

Very nice!

[mfg]

14 hours ago, Dunkin said:

I drove one in Texas before I bought my 78, if I remember right, it was a small block Chevy 400. Forgot what carburetor it had, might have been a two barrel. The car was maroon, and the clutch was hard to operate.  

Yes, the Studebaker clutch linkage used in those Avanti ll's was an engineers nightmare!

[Skip Lackie]

As noted above by Avanti83, I own RQB-2127, which was reportedly the last Altman Avanti II built with a 4-speed.  There was/is some question about which one was the last one, as my claim to own the last one was disputed (anonymously) by an individual claiming to own the REAL last one.  There's an old thread on this forum about that matter.  The issue is complicated by the fact that Avanti IIs were sometimes assembled out of order, and were often sold out of order -- so the serial number is not necessarily an accurate record of "last".  My car was ordered in early 1974, but wasn't built until October and November 1974.  In any case, it is my understanding that that other last Avanti II with stick has been equipped with an automatic.  Of course, a decade later Steve Blake reinstituted the 4-speed as an option.

According to Geoff Newman, the EPA's emissions regulations changed on 1 January 1975, and required manufacturers to provide one example of every drive train available for emissions testing.  This would have required Avanti Motors to build two cars -- one with stick and one with automatic, just for the EPA to test.  They would later be returned to the company as used cars. The company decided that since they were selling very few cars with stick, it would be easier to simply drop the 4-speed from the catalog and make the automatic trans standard equipment.

Mine was/is equipped with the Chevy 400 with a 4-barrel and Warner T-10.  Interestingly, the engine number indicates that GM intended it for installation in a Malibu with automatic.