1963 Avanti Rear End

[boonski]

My husband passed away November 2005 and left me, amongst other things, a 1963 Avanti. I got it to run and drove it across town to my home. Needless to say, the axel froze and I am now in the "dog house". I can't move the car and someone is thinking of taking advantage of this fact and offering me very little for the car. The interior is still in very good shape, as is the body, although the turqoise paint is badly oxidized. Can anyone help me?

Thanks,

Ingrid Boon-Murphy

[SBCA96]

Finding out why the rear axle froze, and what was damaged would be the first order

of business. Its doubtful that you would need a whole rear end assembly. Most

likely its either in the rear brakes (frozen wheel cylinder) thats causing the wheel to

not turn. If it is actually a frozen axle, then it could be a matter of replacing the

outer bearings and seals. The axle in your Avanti is a standard Dana 44, which is

quite common in the offroad world. Most offroad shops can completely rebuild your

rear end assembly in a day. The cost is the issue. While getting a replacement

might seem like a good idea, the reality is that the replacement might be worse! Or

on the verge of being worse. I would look into repairing what you have. Fairborn

Studebaker sells a kit to upgrade these Dana 44's to a MUCH stronger flanged axle,

that basically means that breaking an axle shaft would be close to impossible. By

design, the axles IN your current rear end assembly are prone to breaking when

they get many miles or years on them. The Fairborn axle kit comes with a set of

new bearings, and seals for just under $500 dollars. A local shop to you, should be

able to install them in only a couple hours. If you have a brake problem then it

would require some more work. Just a couple thoughts.

http://www.fairbornstudebaker.com/

I am in Santa Barbara, Ca .. I dont have any suggestions about places to take your

Avanti too, but if you have any questions send me an email : SBCA96@aol.com

I might be able to source a shop near you if you need that.

Tom

[ROADRACELARK]

Tom,

Ya' done good.

Dan

[tsterkel]

I would get towed to where it can sit for a while while investigating. The advice on the axle is good. The alternative is to take many pictures and put it up on E-Bay. Check out my http://www.sterkel.org/avanti to see what current prices are. In any case, tell the barracuda to go bite himself.....

My husband passed away November 2005 and left me, amongst other things, a 1963 Avanti. I got it to run and drove it across town to my home. Needless to say, the axel froze and I am now in the "dog house". I can't move the car and someone is thinking of taking advantage of this fact and offering me very little for the car. The interior is still in very good shape, as is the body, although the turqoise paint is badly oxidized. Can anyone help me?

Thanks,

Ingrid Boon-Murphy