1983 Avanti Specifics

[MikeValent]

About a month ago I bought an 83 Avanti. Way back in 1964, with some inherited money I had special-ordered a (burnt red is the way I remember its color) R-2. Loved the car but had to sell it less than two years later to get enough money in hand to finish college. Just never could emotionally let go of that car, so I recently "replaced" it.

The 83 has a Chevy 305 for power, and it's a dog - like the original R-1. Mine has a Paxton blower which was off the car needing overhaul when I bought it. With the blower back on, this is like a different car. Very responsive. The old R-2 blower wouldn't do much of anything until the engine made 3,000 rpm. This one seems to start coming in almost as soon as I touch the throttle.

Was the Paxton blower an available option in 1983, or is it an aftermarket addition?

In the new car's dashboard, there's no clock. Instead, on the dash's left wing is a voltmeter (this in addition to the ammeter on the left lower part of the main panel. On the dash's right wing is a vacuum gauge. Not boost-vacuum, just vacuum. This gauge doesn't work. For that matter, the oil pressure gauge next to it doesn't work either. Is there any "easy" way of pulling the brushed aluminum dash panel to get to the gauge wiring?

And a curious item. This car has both the normal Avanti driver's side hood hump, plus a matching one on the passenger side. To me it neither looks better or worse than the normal hood, but I'd never seen this before. Anybody have the story on it?

And another "oddity": where the normal pre-84 Avanti had the radio's speaker cover on top of the dash, this car has a factory-molded indentation which looks to be someone's primitive idea of cup holders. It doesn't look too bad now that I'm used to it, but I think the radio grill would look better. The indentation is a separate molded piece which can be removed.

Thanks for any light any of you can shine on any of this.

[Gunslinger]

Never say never, but the blower is most likely an aftermarket addition. The Altman's did add a Paxton to one early Avanti II, and for a 1988 Silver Anniversary model Paxton blowers were installed, but your '83 it wouldn't be likely a factory addition at all. For sure provenance, contact either Nostalgia Motors or the Studebaker National Museum and get a copy of your car's build sheet. That should answer most of your questions.

To remove your gauge inlay, you have to first remove the gauges...a bit of a pain but it can be done...especially if you have small hands. Your oil pressure gauge is just as likely a bad sending unit on the engine.

I don't know at what point in production, Avanti Motors did replace the front speaker and grille with a coin bin, for lack of a better description, when door and rear deck speakers were commonly installed for stereo radios. You always find a used radio grille and paint it to match your interior and install it.

As far as the second hump in the hood, your guess is as good as anyone's.

As I said before, getting a copy of your car's build order will answer many questions.

[theGman]

Welcome. I am also fixing one up, an '81. I have had 2 A IIs back a while ago, a '69 and '71.

The coin bin is on my '81; was put in production sometime in '70s.

I've never seen a double humped hood....sounds like we're talking about camels, doesn't it?

I'm going to upgrade gauges. Fresh from successfully doing it to a '56 Ford Victoria, I'm going to attempt to install my gauges by basically making the face plate removable from the front, so I can mount the gauges on the plate outside the dash, and installing the plate in the dash as a finished unit.

I have big, big hands and this should work for me. Sometimes, usually when working on cars, I really wish I was a little guy!

This is a fine site; there is also the Yahoo Avanti site, which has more traffic than this one....I'll never understand why, since this site is much more in normal "forum style". I imagine all on this site are also on the other one.

Paul

[SBCA96]

Congrats on your purchase.

On 83 Avanti would be the 20th anniversary, its possible there was a Paxton option. Your Chevy 305 is a

dog no doubt, but I have to take issue with comparing it to the R1. An '83 305 is lucky to have 120 hp, the

R1 came with 240 hp. We have a 305 in a 78 Camaro, the word "dog" doesnt even come close. The dual

hood bumps sound quite odd, a picture would be appreciated.

Also your 305, if setup FOR a blower, will be even MORE of a "dog" without it. You might have a TH700R4

transmission in that, I remember reading 83 was the first year. Unfortunately its the bad 700, but would be

easy to update to a newer 700 or 4L60.

You might consider installing an LT1 into you Avanti to get some REAL power. The lower intake would also

allow you to drop the body on the frame to get the Studebaker rake without suspension travel loss. The

upgrade to an LT1 would also give you the option of a 4L60E or T56 6 speed.

Tom

The 83 has a Chevy 305 for power, and it's a dog - like the original R-1. Mine has a Paxton blower which was off the car needing overhaul when I bought it.

And a curious item. This car has both the normal Avanti driver's side hood hump, plus a matching one on the passenger side. To me it neither looks better or worse than the normal hood, but I'd never seen this before. Anybody have the story on it?

[theGman]

Getting back to the dashboard, I can't recall any Avanti where the left gauge is not a clock.

Sounds like someone might have installed the voltmeter later.....of course, being a hand built car, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if the voltmeter was per buyer's request, since there was probably a digital clock in the radio.

[Charlie Kile]

Getting back to the dashboard, I can't recall any Avanti where the left gauge is not a clock.

Sounds like someone might have installed the voltmeter later.....of course, being a hand built car, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if the voltmeter was per buyer's request, since there was probably a digital clock in the radio.

My 84 Touring Optioned coupe also has a voltmeter on the left. This is in addition to the ampmeter.

Charlie RQB3821

[IndyJimW]

My '87 has a volt meter, no clock.

Jim Wood

[MikeValent]

Tom, I'm old enough to remember that horsepower ratings were drastically revised between the build dates of those two cars. The R-1 hp was measured at the flywheel of an engine which had none of its accessories attached. The 83 cars' power is measured at the rear (drive) wheels. I do remember driving an R-1 in 1963 before committing to ordering the 1964 R-2. My brother's 62 Impala SS (300hp 327 w 4-speed manual) blew it right off the road.

For my use, any modern GMPP 5.7 would make the blower unneeded, but it'll be interesting to see what kind of performance I can get with the 5.0 and Paxton. If equivalent to the old R-2, that'll be fine.

I'm noticing that the early Avanti's rake now seems to be considered desirable. In 1963 it wasn't. I think most of us considered it as either a slight design mistake or a "so-what" effect. Of course we were just coming off a period of lowered rear ends, fender skirts and other means of minimizing the visual effects of the rear tires.

[Twnchgr]

Tom, I'm old enough to remember that horsepower ratings were drastically revised between the build dates of those two cars. The R-1 hp was measured at the flywheel of an engine which had none of its accessories attached. The 83 cars' power is measured at the rear (drive) wheels. I do remember driving an R-1 in 1963 before committing to ordering the 1964 R-2. My brother's 62 Impala SS (300hp 327 w 4-speed manual) blew it right off the road.

For my use, any modern GMPP 5.7 would make the blower unneeded, but it'll be interesting to see what kind of performance I can get with the 5.0 and Paxton. If equivalent to the old R-2, that'll be fine.

Your car should run about 15 flat @95 mph in Qtr mile. A chip will help the lazyness off the line. bring Ets down to about 14.8 @98mph