'73' Avanti II. engine.

[aardvark]

Did Avanti offer a 400 c.i. small block in 1973?

[aardvark]

To answer You Richard.

I just got the car in yesterday and it's a cosmetic mess on the outside, Interior looks solid and pretty good. The car hasn't been run for a few years so all other questions about running condition are currently unknown. The car shows 10,000 miles and the pedals appear to agree due to no wear.... But things are in rough but do-able condition.

Clean up starts today and starting the engine... soon.

Photos are in the ''For Sale"" section.

[mfg]

1 hour ago, aardvark said:

Did Avanti offer a 400 c.i. small block in 1973?

Yes.

[aardvark]

Thank You Sir...

How about a turbo 400 Tranny?

 

I think I bought a gem.. I'm a little concerned in starting a engine that hasn't run for a number of years.. Carb is original and all looks clean.. I thought of some Marvel Mysery Oil in the cyls. but the plugs are in a very tight position. Wondering if starting it dry will be ok.  Gonna drain the fuel and run new thru a few inline clear filters to see what the tank send up.

The car is from Calif.. no corrosion of significance..

Any other suggestions?

Edited April 21 by aardvark

[mfg]

1 hour ago, aardvark said:

Thank You Sir...

How about a turbo 400 Tranny?

 

I think I bought a gem.. I'm a little concerned in starting a engine that hasn't run for a number of years.. Carb is original and all looks clean.. I thought of some Marvel Mysery Oil in the cyls. but the plugs are in a very tight position. Wondering if starting it dry will be ok.  Gonna drain the fuel and run new thru a few inline clear filters to see what the tank send up.

The car is from Calif.. no corrosion of significance..

Any other suggestions?

All the 400’s were backed up with Turbo 400 trannys… One of the very best period transmissions.

Edited April 21 by mfg
Spell.

[mfg]

The Avanti factory had to reinforce the front crossmember due to extreme low end torque of the 400 engine.

Retrofit kits were also made available.

[mfg]

An Avanti ll equipped with the 400 engine can easily outrun a stock R2 equipped Stude Avanti up to about 70 mph.

[aardvark]

I had a 400 ci with 400 turbo in a Chev Vega.. That was a thrill ride.. Imagine this one will run similar but a bit more body weight.

[Zedman]

11 hours ago, aardvark said:

Thank You Sir...

How about a turbo 400 Tranny?

 

I think I bought a gem.. I'm a little concerned in starting a engine that hasn't run for a number of years.. Carb is original and all looks clean.. I thought of some Marvel Mysery Oil in the cyls. but the plugs are in a very tight position. Wondering if starting it dry will be ok.  Gonna drain the fuel and run new thru a few inline clear filters to see what the tank send up.

The car is from Calif.. no corrosion of significance..

Any other suggestions?

Hi Aardvark- I got a bit of a shock trying to remove Sparkplugs when I got my '1981.  The Smog pump and AIR Tubes do get in the way- job took a full day.   My strong suggestion would be to persevere and oil the bores. spin the motor with no compression to get some oil to fill the the galleries before starting. Just my humble opinion 😊.

[aardvark]

Thanks.

After looking the engine over, it seems like a near impossible task to get to all 8 plugs.  Not saying it can't be done by somebody, but it's likely not going not happen.

[mfg]

6 hours ago, aardvark said:

Thanks.

After looking the engine over, it seems like a near impossible task to get to all 8 plugs.  Not saying it can't be done by somebody, but it's likely not going not happen.

Two or three of the L&R rearmost plugs can be reached under the fenders, either working over or removing the front tires.

[AG-R3]

The 70 RQA had a 350/300 and the only way to get to plugs 5/7 were,  to raise the car using the main crossmember,...brace with jack stands under the frame.... remove the Dside whee and  use a hole saw to cut through the fiberglass inner fender,  to enable a straight shot with a socket for #5.  

To get to #7, you had to lay on your back and approach from the Pside on a creeper until you could see the plug straight up from underneath.  Then then reach up past the steering box with a socket in your fingers and place it over the plug, then attach the socket wrench and remove/reinstall the plug. You could not get a socket on a wrench in there in one move ...  

Now, since I had an engine change and the heads are now the "dart style", its even worse...

Edited April 22 by AG-R3

[mfg]

3 hours ago, AG-R3 said:

The 70 RQA had a 350/300 and the only way to get to plugs 5/7 were,  to raise the car using the main crossmember,...brace with jack stands under the frame.... remove the Dside whee and  use a hole saw to cut through the fiberglass inner fender,  to enable a straight shot with a socket for #5.  

To get to #7, you had to lay on your back and approach from the Pside on a creeper until you could see the plug straight up from underneath.  Then then reach up past the steering box with a socket in your fingers and place it over the plug, then attach the socket wrench and remove/reinstall the plug. You could not get a socket on a wrench in there in one move ...  

Now, since I had an engine change and the heads are now the "dart style", its even worse...

Your description on removing & replacing spark plugs #5 & #7 is very concise…. That’s exactly how I handled that same job on my ‘83!

[Nelson]

I’ve had several Avanti II models but never had to change plugs thank God. I did change a fuel pump on one and it wasn’t a fun task. I’d be putting in platinum plugs hoping to never have to change plugs again.

[aardvark]

So today I (sorta) got it running.

I put 3-4 gallons of alcohol free gas with Seafoam in the tank. More Seafoam down the float bowls. Brake clean to kick it off.....No smoke , good oil psi, gas coming thru clean in a clear filter,

It starts and runs a few seconds and dies.. suspect a gummed up carb.

 

I consider today a success.

Edited 48 minutes ago by aardvark