Do You Store Your Avanti?

[Ernie]

A poll on your Avanti.

[gadd zooks]

yes i do store it in my nice warm garage. winter time in northern illinios can be dangerous. two days a ago we had a warm up and i pushed the car out of the garage into the sun light and cleaned up the garage.

after a couple hours i started it up. as it was running a noticed a smell, i walked around to the back of the car. coming out of the tail pipe was bird feed. it reminded me of last year when fishy crackers was coming out, i blamed my 6 year old son then. i have to work on a solution for next year maybe a half a tenis ball over the tail pipe. or i take out my gun and do some hunting for chipmunks and squirrels and set traps for the mice.

[Guest DRN]

My car is garaged (not a heated or cooled garage) year round, and I drive the car year round.

I do not take it out when there is snow, ice, threat of same, or when there is residual salt on the roads. I avoid rain, but I don't quickly return home if it starts to rain either. When conditions such as those listed above do not allow the car to be driven, it is started and run until it is warmed up to full temperature at least every other week.

The only deviation from this regimen is when temperatures are in the teens or below for an extended period of time. At those temperatures starting the car is difficult to impossible. As soon as temperatures rise to the 30's however, the car will start.

[Charlie Kile]

Mine is my daily driver. During bad weather I have an old El co thait I use.

If the weather permits I use my Harley And if it's real nice and I have someone special with me I use my E-TYPE Convertible.

I put about 5k miles on the Avanti each year,10k on the H D, 3k on the El Co and about 1k on the E.

Charlie RQB-3921

[wdaly]

A poll on your Avanti.

NEVER - and I have the rust to prove it! Car is driven daily in Wisconsin in all kinds of weather. My car is an '88 and I have some important news for you '87-'88 owners WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM or will soon. A fellow member (who will not be identified until he permits it) has removed the body from the monte carlo chassis because the side mounting mating steel piece (I don't know what you call it) BUT there are 3 body bolts on each side (not including 2 in front & 2 in back) basically it was all rusted-out, the bolts were GONE! I would think this would be the very first instance where body was removed on a Kelly Avanti. And we thought "I ain't got no hogtroughs - I'm in good shape". Probably just the opposite I'm afraid.

Bill D

[ernier]

Those frames rust faster than hog troughs. I have an 84 El Camino and while the frame is OK there spots where the mounts are located that have enlarged to a point that I needed to put big washers under the new body mounts so they wouldn't just fall through the frame. The rear "horns" rust out first. Very important to flush out any mud. The frames are very weak.

Ernie R2 R5388

NEVER - and I have the rust to prove it! Car is driven daily in Wisconsin in all kinds of weather. My car is an '88 and I have some important news for you '87-'88 owners WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM or will soon. A fellow member (who will not be identified until he permits it) has removed the body from the monte carlo chassis because the side mounting mating steel piece (I don't know what you call it) BUT there are 3 body bolts on each side (not including 2 in front & 2 in back) basically it was all rusted-out, the bolts were GONE! I would think this would be the very first instance where body was removed on a Kelly Avanti. And we thought "I ain't got no hogtroughs - I'm in good shape". Probably just the opposite I'm afraid.

Bill D

[SBCA96]

I live in California, so we dont have a "winter", its really just to seasons,

summer and summer with rain. Prior to buying my new wheels a year

and a half ago, the Avanti sat outside all the time (years). Recently its

been in the garage getting ready for shows, and more recently because

the power steering took a dump. I need to get a new cover for it ....

any suggestions? I was figuring a 65-68 Mustang Fastback cover?

Tom

[Twnchgr]

I live in California, so we dont have a "winter", its really just to seasons,

summer and summer with rain. Prior to buying my new wheels a year

and a half ago, the Avanti sat outside all the time (years). Recently its

been in the garage getting ready for shows, and more recently because

the power steering took a dump. I need to get a new cover for it ....

any suggestions? I was figuring a 65-68 Mustang Fastback cover?

Tom

Tom

They sell covers for Avantis. Pick your poison $69 on up $250

[Twnchgr]

Stored, Lets see. Three Avanti's. SUV,Conv Van & Sport bike. One two car garage. Some thing staying outside. And its not the Twin. Invested in one of those 10x20 car covers. that way all of the Avantis are covered.

[ernier]

Here's where my El Camino lives...or the Avanti if the Elky is getting worked on. .

The bubble is great if you can seclude it on your property. It is not very attractive inflated. My wife says it loks like the Hindenburg landed in our driveway. It is a bit of a pain to open and close but the car comes out exactly as you put it in. About $600 but a good cover is $250+ and the bubble looks like it will last a long, long time. Very heavy weight reinforced vinyl.

I've had an Avanti specific indoor cover for years now and have had a few different outdoor covers for the less fortunate rides. NOAH's been pretty good for northeast weather and it's heavy enough not to blow off every time the wind kicks up. I have another style on a Duster but I can't remember the name. It was fairly expesnsive, very light weight and VERY water resistant but I have to Bungy it all over to keep it on.

ErnieR

Stored, Lets see. Three Avanti's. SUV,Conv Van & Sport bike. One two car garage. Some thing staying outside. And its not the Twin. Invested in one of those 10x20 car covers. that way all of the Avantis are covered.

Edited March 22, 2007 by ernier