84 Racing Blake ESCORT Avanti GT

[geojerry]

Are these racing Avanti's still "alive" somewhere ?

Anyone have additional photos or press on this ?

That Mid-Ohio White AV-GT looks like a killer !!

84 Racing Avanti - Mid Ohio

[Ernie]

Are these racing Avanti's still "alive" somewhere ?

Anyone have additional photos or press on this ?

That Mid-Ohio White AV-GT looks like a killer !!

84 Racing Avanti - Mid Ohio

Kelly used to own the white Avanti with the dark bottom. He had it at the Villa Rica Annual Meet.

[jeffgrohs]

The GT was in Cancun as of last October

Kelly used to own the white Avanti with the dark bottom. He had it at the Villa Rica Annual Meet.

[Geoff]

I know this particular thread is from 2007 though I also know it's important to keep on topic and post where applicable.

I admire the Mid-Ohio car too so I scoured the Internet for pictures and information. Interesting tidbits I learned: It was considered a 1985 1/2 car, it had a Borg-Warner T-5, 'coilovers', double wishbone A-arms at each corner, a Dana 44 independent rear, and its fenders were flared. Those sound like a fun combination to me. It sounds to me like the race car was considered a 1985 1/2 because Blake wanted to use it to test build changes he was planning for the street cars. Had the paint debacle never occurred, I bet a 1986 Blake Avanti would have been über cool.

While the actual Escort Avanti GT may or may not physically be long-gone, its build is not a giant secret. I would love to duplicate this while keeping it street-able and update with new advancements. The factory 1984 and 1985 Avanti track is 57.4" front and 56.6" rear. The factory 1984 (through 1991) Corvette track is 59.6" front and 60.4" rear, both are differences where flares of 1.2" front and 2" rear [each side] on an Avanti would conceal additional track width. M/T Corvettes from 1985 - 1996 had Dana 44 IRS (all 1984s, and every A/T C4 'Vette had Dana 36 IRS). I'd like to find a way to adapt C4 suspension to a blended bumper Blake car; both the front, and the 5-link rear complete with IRS. Aforementioned fender flares would be required to accommodate.

I'd post pictures directly though some of them are huge and they'd stretch the screen, so here are links to the pictures.

If the Tiny Pic website also loads, click on the picture and it should somewhat 'pop out'. Then click in the lower left corner where it says "View Raw Image."

http://oi42.tinypic.com/wb5fo5.jpg

http://oi41.tinypic.com/2j5yrfb.jpg

http://oi44.tinypic.com/2mchmkp.jpg

http://oi40.tinypic.com/vmx6p1.jpg

http://oi44.tinypic.com/210j5mg.jpg

[Geoff]

Bumping up whilst bringing some good news. Ryan Lynn, via the Avanti Owners Association group on Facebook, tells us the Avanti GT is back in the states and he shows us these recent photos:

https://scontent-a-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t31.0-8/10655287_10152968006873013_3331639369122017230_o.jpg

https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/10548118_10152968006888013_4232906399220023762_o.jpg

https://scontent-a-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10431295_10152968006883013_8856361217524606760_o.jpg

https://scontent-a-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/10694195_10152968006933013_5798345311499618209_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/10365484_10152968006928013_7244822509448448519_o.jpg

[Charlie Kile]

Thanks for the Photos.

Charlie RQB3921

[mfg]

What a truly awesome Avanti!......Sure wish they had the time to build more like that one!

[grobb284]

While the actual Escort Avanti GT may or may not physically be long-gone, its build is not a giant secret. I would love to duplicate this while keeping it street-able and update with new advancements. The factory 1984 and 1985 Avanti track is 57.4" front and 56.6" rear. The factory 1984 (through 1991) Corvette track is 59.6" front and 60.4" rear, both are differences where flares of 1.2" front and 2" rear [each side] on an Avanti would conceal additional track width. M/T Corvettes from 1985 - 1996 had Dana 44 IRS (all 1984s, and every A/T C4 'Vette had Dana 36 IRS). I'd like to find a way to adapt C4 suspension to a blended bumper Blake car; both the front, and the 5-link rear complete with IRS. Aforementioned fender flares would be required to accommodate.

Fender flares are not required if you narrow the front and rear suspension from the C4

[Geoff]

I would go with the flared fender option but that could just be my preference.