Avanti ll RQB 2175

[mfg]

And what makes 1974 Avanti ll RQB 2175 so interesting?

[r1lark]

Was it the last 1974 Avanti II?

[mfg]

1 hour ago, r1lark said:

Was it the last 1974 Avanti II?

Nope, not that!

[pantera928]

Hint?

[silverstude]

1st  car to break the 10K price tag

[mfg]

32 minutes ago, silverstude said:

1st  car to break the 10K price tag

Good thought!...but that isn't why!

[mfg]

45 minutes ago, pantera928 said:

Hint?

HINT...I just like to toss it into 'drive' and go!

[pantera928]

Well, that hint would make one think it was the first automatic but that is definitely not the case

[mfg]

4 hours ago, pantera928 said:

Well, that hint would make one think it was the first automatic but that is definitely not the case

Well, if not the first..................?

[pantera928]

The last automatic in 1974

[brad]

Last Borg-Warner automatic? Or perhaps, the first hydro-matic?

[mfg]

2 hours ago, pantera928 said:

The last automatic in 1974

Nope, not that either!

[mfg]

1 hour ago, brad said:

Last Borg-Warner automatic? Or perhaps, the first hydro-matic?

No, not those either!

BIG Hint.....Highest serial numbered (Newman/Altman) Avanti ll built with specific piece of equipment!!!

[Gunslinger]

RQB2175 was the last '74 Avanti...the gas tank was changed at RQB2155.  I'm guess that RQB2175 was the last Altman Avanti with a true dual exhaust system before a catalytic converter was added and a single exhaust that split to duals after the muffler.  The catalytic converter was pretty much across the board with American made cars beginning with the '75 model year.  

[mfg]

18 minutes ago, Gunslinger said:

RQB2175 was the last '74 Avanti...the gas tank was changed at RQB2155.  I'm guess that RQB2175 was the last Altman Avanti with a true dual exhaust system before a catalytic converter was added and a single exhaust that split to duals after the muffler.  The catalytic converter was pretty much across the board with American made cars beginning with the '75 model year.  

Good info!.....and you may be correct about the last true duals...however there is something else that makes this particular Avanti ll quite special!

Any other thoughts on this trivia question?

 

[mfg]

BIG, BIG HINT.......

1974 was the last year for......?......  in Avanti ll's. (Newman/Altman)

[pantera928]

4-speeds

[mfg]

3 hours ago, pantera928 said:

4-speeds

Well Mr. Pantera928, you are..... CORRECT!!!!

Highest serial numbered Newman/Altman Avanti ll to be equipped with a manual, four speed transmission (1974).

[Avanti83]

Well now that that turd has hit the punchbowl again, What's the documentation for a four-speed in 2175. Not arguing just asking. 

[mfg]

1 hour ago, Avanti83 said:

Well now that that turd has hit the punchbowl again, What's the documentation for a four-speed in 2175. Not arguing just asking. 

Uh oh!...sounds like we touched a nerve here folks!

Well, as explained in AVANTI MAGAZINE issue 179, in the spring of 2017 John Hull and a friend poured through approx 2,200 Avanti ll build sheets ('65-'82) to determine how many four speed equipped Avantis Newman/Altman had built....This is where this info came from.....

I can list the last six Newman/Altman Avanti ll's built with four speeds.....RQB................2112......2123......2127......2136......2153......2175

Hope this information helps!

[pantera928]

Here is what Skip Lackie said

 

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.

[Avanti83]

3 hours ago, mfg said:

Uh oh!...sounds like we touched a nerve here folks!

Well, as explained in AVANTI MAGAZINE issue 179, in the spring of 2017 John Hull and a friend poured through approx 2,200 Avanti ll build sheets ('65-'82) to determine how many four speed equipped Avantis Newman/Altman had built....This is where this info came from.....

I can list the last six Newman/Altman Avanti ll's built with four speeds.....RQB................2112......2123......2127......2136......2153......2175

Hope this information helps!

Nope, no nerve, Just didn't recall that info in spite of the fact I probably have that issue. CRS is my excuse.