Renovation of RQA-0381 April 1992 - August 1998
last update 28 Dec 2006 ... renamed to bookx3 to avoid other files
file placed at root level above 0381
(editorial changes
There will be more photos added to this page as time passes. Keep in touch!
Since the car is on the road now, I'll be editing this tome to
move it away from the 'living document' impression where things would change during the process
and finalize the description of the end product ...../rfj
NOTE: Anyone reading and using these notes to
upgrade their cars or whatever. My car is and RQA ('69-'70).
The only differences between this car and an original are the
engine, transmission and some emblems. RQB's should have a lot in common also. This page has taken some time to get online. I'll be adding photos to the text as I sort things out. Come on back!
Starting in September 1993, the project began, stripping of most the outer hardware and paint. One thing that stripper doesn't remove tho, is the primer. This had to be scrubbed off with steel wool and lacquer thinner. No pictures here, It was too messy....
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The car was placed diagonally inside the garage
and jacked up to allow
2 stands under the front A-frames and 2 under the rear axle, raised
as high as possible. Wood shims made from 2 X 12 fir planks. The
planks were stacked under the end of each 'hog trough' (HT's). At
this point, the body bolts, bumper to frame brackets, steering
column, radiator, exhaust, speedo cable, trans shifter, gas lines
and anything else connecting the body & frame were removed. The
jack stands were then lowered bit by bit with the help of 2 floor
jacks until the frame was completely separated from the car.
[ 1 ] ...
[ 2 ] ...
[ 3 ] ...
[ 4 ] ...
[ 5 ] ...
[ 6 ]
To get more space between the frame and the body, each corner at the
Hog Troughs were shimmed up an inch at a time to avoid undue body twisting
and another piece of wood was slid into the stack ( 1 X 12 now).
When enough room
was evident, 2 timbers (6 X 6 P.T. Pine) were slid between the top
of the frame and the HT's. Carpeting was added to the timbers to
reduce underbody scuffing. The timbers were placed as close to the
ends of the HT's as possible.
Pylons made of 12 x 12 x 8 concrete blocks in sets of 3 were started at
the end of each timber. The timbers were then jacked up an inch at a
time at each corner and wood shims were inserted on top of the blocks
until the routine allowed another layer of blocks and all the wood
could be removed.
When the height was around 18 inches, the timbers
were forced out toward the ends of the HT's with a 5 lb. sledge to get
as much spread as possible. The carpeting allowed the bottom of the body
to slide and I jacked up the end of the timber just enough to take the
weight off the concrete.
Then the wood was inserted again and the drill
completed when there were concrete stands at each corner about three
and a half feet high.
The body had to be high enough
for the chassis to be rolled out from under it.
Here is a Front view[1][ 2 ]
where you can see the timbers under the firewall. My garage is 28 X 26 feet,
so the chassis could roll out until the rear
wheels were under the front wheel wells.
The engine was removed and the
frame cleaned and anything that needed
attention was fixed. At this height, it was enough to get the job done.
When it was time to lower the body back
onto the frame, small fishing weights were hung
down thru the body bolt holes and the chassis moved back and forth under the body
until all the weights lined up with the holes again. The body was then lowered in reverse of the way it went up. The mounting shim packs were reset to get
the body height correct again.
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After all the paint was stripped off the body. Filling was required in
areas that the stripper softened up and were gouged a bit a putty knife was used
to scrape off the paint and stripper. This was started when the car was first
raised off the frame because of the ease of access in that position.
The engine bay was stripped and
cleaned. Many hours with small
sureform tools, air files, sanding
blocks, etc. You can't shortcut this process and have to keep at it.
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After ordering all the required supplies, there were over 20 cans of
different products[ 1 ]
[ 2 ]
You must have a clean work area. A tent system was fashioned in the garage with
poly sheets stapled to the ceiling. A dehumidifier was placed in the garage along
with a ceiling fan to control and filtered the air in and out.
The primer color r was white to assure coveage.
[ 3 ]
[ 4 ]
[ 6 ]
The color coat was a '96 Lexus 'Moonstone Pearl'. The
color is a pearl gunmetal grey, but it has 1500 parts of green pearl in
it.
[ 7 ]
[ 8 ]
[ 9 ]
Eight color coats took about 2-3 hours.
Clearcoat
[ 10 ]
[ 11 ]
[ 12 ]
[ 13 ]
Fruits of your labor.
[ 14 ]
[ 15 ]
[ 16 ]
[ 17 ]
[ 18 ]
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The torque boxes, commonly called hog troughs were as good as the
day the car was made and easy to work on because they were up in the air.
Holes were drilled into the underside of each and oil was sprayed in with
a high pressure sprayer, like Ziebart uses. It was then plugged with
plastic body plugs.
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A good deal of time was spent with various brushes, cleaners, solvents
getting all the crud off [ 1 ]
the frame and bringing to light anything
thast was required to get everything back
in shape.
The car was pretty well kept during my ownership and I've kept logs on all parts replacements and work others have done. So this endeavour did not need to be a compete renovation. Replacing most of the chassis bolts with a good grade of stainless was a bit extravagant. I made sure any 'grade 8' types were replaced with grade 8 though.
The frame was gone over to make sure everything was solid and in good shape. The rear crossmember under the trunk was rusted a bit and so was cut out and a new one welded in place. The frame endcaps were sealed after pouring in a gallon or so of marine rust protection. The frame was finished off with a coat of epoxy black.
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editorial changes - 29 Oct 98
The suspension is standard Avanti, with all components rebuilt. The steering bellcrank was replaced with a unit with all needle bearings and that made quite an improvement. The quick steering arms were reinstalled to resolve three converging problems.
- (1) Clearance was needed between the tierod and the new 16X7" rims. The shorter arms moved the tierod further inside the circumference of the rim, whereas they were immediately adjacent (5/8") the tire on the original 15" setup.
- (2) The travel of the pitman arm now interfered with the
(2a) aftermarket exhaust header pipe on the right turn (don't know why) and (2b) the steering bracket contacted the crossmenber on the left turn. The crossmember problem showed up because the depth of the oil pan on the new engine required that the the steering bracket be lowered to allow freedom of movement or it would rub on the oil pan
With the quick- steer arms reinstalled, the travel of the pitman arm is now shorter, relieving me of the interference problems.
The quick steering arms were used by the Blake era to overcome a large 'lock to lock" ratio difference in a new steering box. Using them in a 1970 model will give a lock to lock ratio of 3 turns versus the original 5.5 turns. Quite a difference and it takes a bit of getting used to, but they are quickly accepted.
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The heavy duty Sway bar kit, measuring 1 inch at the front and 3/4 inch at the rear was ordered from Expressly Avanti. All the insulators were swapped out, including the traction bars.
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Originally, the car came with Koni shocks, made in Holland, guaranteed forever, adjustable and rebuildable. Those units were set to ride so hard that they were removed and a few years later, foolishly tossed out (ouch!). Recently though, a gent emailed me that he had an NOS set for sale at a good price. Mounted them in mid October '98 and what a ride ....
Back in the mid '70s, The rear spring plates were swapped out to
accept a newer different style Monroe shock with external coil springs.
You can see
the difference from the original. These were removed a couple
rod ends were installed to accept the lower bayonet Koni threaded mount.
More {1} and {2}
The Front
ones are also a lot beefier and in this photo, you can see the end of the 1" sway bar and the Saturn Airdam . The Koni shocks seen here are part numbers 8240A-1011 (front) / 8240F-1012 (rear). Absolutely the Best!
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(In general)
When the Avanti was born, there were a lot of great features not found
on other cars. One were the disk brakes. The original Avanti front disk brake uses components that were first found on an early '50s Jaguar XK150.
To wit, the pads are the same as the inboard rear of the Jag. The rotors have to be a derivitive of those and the calipers were made by 'Bendix', under license from Dunlop. So on the caliper, you would see 'Bendix-Dunlop' cast into it. These calipers were used into the
early '80s on numerous types of vehicles and I've traded the originals out for a pair used on a Toyota Crown, back in 1977. These say 'Sumitomo-Dunlop" and the cylinders are 1/8 incher larger. The parts are still available from Toyota. Even these, still use the old pucks from the Jaguar, but they work well. Check my Parts Page.
The rear drum brakes are of an older type type than on most cars. The
linings don't have the floating capability that Fords or Chevys have. This is partly, I believe, to offset the requirement to install a proportioning valve like in the 'Big 3' manufacturers vehicles. They don't function the same way and will lock up if not adjusted correctly. There was a study done a while back that calculated the braking efficiency of the rear and it turned out to be only around 7% - 14% of the total requirement to stop the car. Obviously with over 60% of the weight on the front wheels, the Dunlops do all the work anyway!
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Editorial changes Oct '98
In June,1997, I attended the AOAI/Studebaker International Meet at South Bend. Part of the
techno-weenie seminar was given by Jim Turner, creator of the Turner Front Disk Brake Conversion
kit for Avanti -'63 - '84. He explained in fairly good detail what was involved in manufacturing the components and to what degree he went to assure that parts would be available for some time to come. A mounting bracket for one of the calipers was passed through the room and it appeared that the engineering was well researched. There were 2 kits offered, a deluxe version which contained everything needed to complete the changeover and a partial kit omitting calipers and rotors, for those who wanted to purchase components at perhaps a better price.
I was convinced of the quality and workmanship, so I purchased a deluxe kit in September and
it showed up in 2 boxes a couple weeks later. The quality is all there, along with all the parts. Not a thing to buy except new brake (silicone) fluid. The rotors even had the new bearing races installed, and the and seals still in the box. One thing that was a delight to see was the fact that the calipers are the 5.5 inch size (GM Small). They are identical to the calipers I chose for the rear of the car except that the rear has those E-brake levers. This means that I can use the same brake pads on all four wheels.
The kit wound up to be VERY easy to install, using basic skills and following the directions. The
operation is described below.
A Familiar Sight. The car's up on blocks again for another
modification. This is getting to be the norm. All the original Brake Components
were removed.
Those are the much mentioned quick steering arms at the lower right. Everything was
Cleaned up .
The first piece to go on was the Spindle Mount, part one of two pieces. Here's
a Rear View after mounting. The next part was the Caliper
Bracket. Both these pieces are coated with Lok-tite and torqued. Here's a Rear View
of both parts mounted. Next, the Caliper was checked for fit.
Following this was the heating and fitting of the Grease Seal Adapter. This wasn'tas hard or touchy as it seemed. The quality and precision of these parts are fantastic. This piece was heated with a Mapp gas torch till the flame turned the contact area cherry red. Not the whole thing was that hot. Gripped it with a pair of channel locks and walked ten feet to the car. It slipped right on. A small piece of pipe was handy to slide after it and assure the fit while it cooled. Nothing to it!
Next, the Rotor was placed and everything checked, so the bearings were packed and the Whole Assembly tightened down. Here's an Inside view before refitting the steering arms. Stainless steel brake lines were opted for over regular rubber shielded ones.
Jim offers both with the deluxe kit and they have a banjo fitting at the caliper.
In preparation for the makeover for the car, I had planned to replace the old style Magnum 500 wheels and the revelation about the caliper interference wasn't totally unexpected. Jim Turner does include a statement about the wheel sizes on the install sheet and offered some solutions when I emailed him, so I have no complaints there. There have been statements from individuals that have installed this kit on cars with the SAME wheels and found no problems(?). This car was purchased from a dealer, so I have to assume these wheels came on the car and am completely satisfied with the Disk brake install. The original Magnum 500 wheels were discarded for a 16" alloy 5-spoke design.
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Back in 1987, my brake booster failed and it was replaced with a unit from an '86 Buick "T" type. The attached master cylinder worked fine altho the lines had to be modified. When the Turner kit was installed, that Buick master cylinder had to be changed out for a more hydraulically compatible' unit. After a few experiments, in January 1999, the Master cylinder was replaced with the 85 Seville unit. Modifications had to be made, in that the original reservoir was stepped because in a Seville, the unit was mounted at an angle upward. In the Avanti, it has to be level. The reservoir was replaced with a couple plastic bottles connected to the body by a plumbing device used to mate two PVC pipes.
It works fine, is light and compact and the 'right unit'. The stopping power is phenominal with 4 wheel disk brakes.
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Back in 1994, the rear brake kit was purchased from Dave LeVesque of Steeltech Solutions, Marion, Illinois.
He supplies the mounts and rotors, nuts, bolts, spacers to replace the backing plates with and and advise sheet that offers part numbers for calipers, brake lines, etc.
The rotors are off an 80's Lincoln and are 11 inches in diameter. The mounting brackets were cut and drilled using 3/8" steel plate. '85 Cadillac Seville calipers were selected because they have an Emergency brake lever built in to the caliper. The calipers cost more than the kit if you have no core to turn in. Then you have to get all the extra e-brake parts from Cadillac including levers, brackets, springs, etc (around $100.00), then brake lines and fittings. Here is a List of the new parts.
Installing the Rear Disk Kit
The install was not hard. You remove the rear axle shafts, the backing plate, and then the Avanti e-brake cable from the brake lever and the backing plate. The hardest part is unwrapping the spring from the last foot of the cable. This is necessary to hook the cable up to the new caliper levers.
Clean up the axle housing and install the new CR13165 grease seals.
Started with the driver side axle,since you have to make your adjustments to the axle end play from the passenger side. Use RTV Sealer on both sides of the axle gaskets. Place one on the axle flange and one on the outside of the backing plate replacement spacer. Then grease the bearing and the axle gets inserted, being careful not to hit the new seal too much.
Once the axle bearing is in the flange saddle, you can slip the flange
bolts thru the outer bearing retainer holes, thru the axle gaskets, the spacer and the axle flange. Now fit the caliper mount onto the flange bolts.
This is how it looks now.
The mounts had to be ground a bit to get them to fit. When re-installing the rear axles, the endplay must be adjusted to .006 or less. This is a pretty tight measurement, but necessary to avoid having the caliper pistons pump fluid back into the lines by excess rotor slop and causing a soft pedal.
The adjustment is made from the Passenger side. A screw adjuster with a lock tab is common on this side (RQA/RQB). (Again, I have to stress that my car is a '69 -'70 vintage. I've had communications with others that own '80's models that have a different setup. Use a screwdriver to rotate the endplay adjustment collar, which will force the axles together inside the 'pot'. You have to check the driver side play frequently and when you get to the point where the measurement is adequate, bend the locktab on the collar Some notes I've read say to get the measurement before you grease the bearings. I dispute this, since doing it that way, you would be grinding dry bearings together ( a no-no) and you would then have to disassemble the axle again to grease them and lose the adjustment anyway. Add to that fact that those new seals do not need a 20 Lb axle banging on them more than necessary.
Removed rear drum brake setup, repacked bearings, installed new seals (C/R 13165)
Tried out parts. Circular disc replaces backing
plate
See the added section on Stone Guards below
Fitted and bolted up the mounting bracket. This needed some fine tuning to fit.
The rotors are from late 80's Lincoln Continental (11 inch). The calipers are from an 85 Cadillac Seville.
the parking brake levers that must be fitted to your
existing Avanti brake cable. The cable is threaded thru the 2 ears that mount the traction bar on the axle.
The Disk Brake E-levers are mounted with a large return
spring, so you must remove the Avanti return spring at the end of the Avanti E-Brake
cable. This is the tightly wound spring found inside the drum which locks into the large
steel lever that actuates the old Drum brakes. The Cadillac E-Brake bracket bolts to the
inside of the Caliper. The distance from the Caddy bracket to caliper E-brake lever is
shorter (5.75") than the old distance from backing plate lock to lever (7") See here...
. This makes the Avanti cable too long resulting in too much cable for the
sheath shoulder to butt up against the Caddy bracket and create a tension. The
bracket needs a piece added to extend the shoulder of the cable farther toward
the front of the car. I used a large brass Fuel nipple. It had a 2 inch
barbed neck for a 1/4 hose to go over and clamp to and the other end was like
a 5/8 inch male threaded fitting. I ground the barbs off the neck until it
would fit thru the caddy e-brake bracket. The neck was then rough threaded
to accept a nut to hold it in place, altho the spring pressure will do this
once installed.
The Avanti E brake cable was then passed thru the traction bar ears, thru the large
threaded part of the brass fitting and the end of the barbed section, which NOW acted
as an extended stop for the cable housing and increased the distance to the Caddy lever.
The large Caddy return spring fits between the base of the caliper bracket and the
of the lever forcing it rearward. The E-brake cable was then under tension when the
stop was fitted into the lever. It stays in place very well.
The brake line had to be a banjo fitting type.. A unit
from a Ford application with a good length of tubing to clear the leaf
springs and mate with the shortened brake lines through a compression fitting.
This is the last shot before connecting the brake line.
It swings around to parallel the axle and you can use the existing axle clips to hold
everything in place.
This is a final shot of the left and right when
complete [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Rear Caliper Parts List
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General:
If you look at any modern disk brake application, you cannot see the inside face of the
rotor from underneath the car. They are protected by disk rotor guards, which are stamped
circular sheet metal plates bolted between the spindle and the rotor. There is a definite
reason for this, in that they protect the rotor from debris flying around between the wheels
while you're cruising down the road. The also keep water splash from 'lubricating' the
rotors when you may need them the most. The outer part of the rotor is protected by the
rotating action of the rim.
In the installation of the front disk brake kit, the original
stoneguards were removed and discarded. In the case of the rear, there weren't
any to begin with and no provision made for adding them.
It was decided to retro-fit the stone guards in the front and fabricate new ones for the
rear. On the Avanti chat group, one individual stated that you may be able to refit the
front units if you reversed the sides, since the caliper on the Turner setup is aimed
rearward. There is a bit more to this than just turning them around and bolting them up.
FRONT:
The profile of the Turner caliper was just a bit larger than the original so a small
piece of the guard had to be Removed and an additional
hole drilled. The guards bolted right back on in Reverse
this way, BUT the new rotor is about 3 times as thick as the original and the inside area
where the rotor vents start will contact and rub on the stone guard. So they required a
little coaxing to get them to flare out and clear the inner rotor vent edge. I used
the time tested technique called 'panel beating' ( ball peen hammer, lead dolly, patience
and a light touch) to accomplish this and now they fit
without any clearance problems. The result is a very professional looking install.
Here's the outside passenger side Here's the
inside driver side
REAR:
The rear had to get the same treatment. These were much easier and were cut from 3/32"
flat aluminum stock using the front guards as a pattern. The rear guard thickness also
was adequate enough to replace the 'backing plate spacer' that was supplied with the rear
disk kit. This only applied to one side tho because removing both would require the
collar that adjusts the endplay to be screwed in too far, making the adjustment impossible.
I wound up with a spacer and a stone guard on the driver side and just the stone guard
on the passenger side. After some cutting and filing, the guards looked fairly decent and
I have peace of mind now that all the rotors are protected.
[View 1] [View 2 ] [ View 3 ]
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Back in 1987, my brake booster failed and it was replaced with a unit
from an '86 Buick "T" type. The attached master cylinder worked fine
altho the lines had to be modified. When the Turner kit was installed,
that Buick master cylinder had to be changed out for a more 'hydraulically
compatible' unit. In January 1999, the Master cylinder was replaced with the '85 Seville unit. Modifications were made to overcome the original GM reservoir design. In the Avanti, it has to be level, so the reservoir was replaced with a couple trimmed plastic bottles attached to the MC body with a plumbing connector. It works fine, is light and compact and the 'right stuff'.
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Jasper was the choice. Used their Class II 350 engine, rated at 330 HP with only a 8.75:1 compression ratio.
By the end of November, the new engine and trans were joined,
prepped for installation and placed on the hoist.
The exhaust manifolds had been derusted and
sprayed them with Eastwoods SS coating. The engine looked like a
piece of jewelry. The inner surfaces were deflashed
of sharp metal and painted red. The crankshaft (forged steel)sat in 4 bolt main
saddles, Dart heads, stainless steel valves. Quite a piece of work!
An Edelbrock aluminum manifold and aluminum water
pump were used. The engine was first started on Christmas Eve, 1994 ( 1 year later)
Here is the finished product
with a functioning Paxton setup.
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The fuel pump used is a Holley 'Blue', variable from 4 to 9 PSI by
using the accompanying fuel pressure regulator supplied with the unit. This
is a different unit than the Holley 'Red', which is a lower pressure unit.
The 'blue' is reported to have a high reliability factor plus the higher pressure
capability was required for the Paxton. The pump was installed inside the
frame to body mount right under the passengers foot.
The pump was fused and wired through an
oil pressure cutoff switch, so that the unit will only operate when the oil
pressure is above 5 PSI.
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[ Editorial Note 15 September 1998 ] It's been found through a few recent
experiences that the fuel pressure regulator supplied with a Holley 'Blue' is
not the best choice to use on a supercharger operation, or in fact, for any
operation. The principle here is that the pressure is regulated with a diaphragm
and spring assembly without any means of bleeding off excess pressure. There
is a situation that can arise where "if the fuel pressure demand drops to zero at the
carburator, and the pump stays running, then the pressure side of the pump can
go as high as the stall pressure of the fuel pump." This can occur simply if you're
running at highway speeds and have to come to a stop for a traffic light and what happens is
your carb FLOODS and you STALL. Holley responded to my complaint stating ' this can
happen if you're "dead-heading" the pressure'. This is the only way you can install this regulator and if you have to install a 'pop-off' valve in addition, then Holley has sold you only half a regulator.
Although Holley says this "is acceptable in most applications", it was a 'failure issue' as far as I was concerned. The Holley regulator was discarded because while it was not defective, the principle behind its operation IS.
What is needed is a regulator with a bypass fitting on the pressure side to vent excess fuel back to the tank or at least, to the supply(inlet) side of the fuel pump.
This way, the overpressure avoids the carburator and the pump stays cooler from less
strain....../rfj
The search resulted in a Mallory unit #4309 which has an
inlet on the underside and 4 other ports for putting out regulated fuel on the sides.
One of these ports, was for the bypass, which took about 4 feet of 3/8 aluminum
tubing to fashion a return line from the outlet back to the supply side of the fuel pump.
The large opening in the Paxton volute that connects the blower outlet to the
airbox has a nipple on the underside that is connected to the upper side of the original
mechanical fuel pump using a 1/8" formed steel tube with rubber hose connectors. This
connection is intended to send a dynamic pressure signal to the upper side of the fuel pump
diaphragm.
The original engineering of this scheme explains that by increasing pressure
on the upper side of the fuel pump diaphragm, the mechanical design of the fuel pump
will then increase fuel pressure proportionally to prevent gasoline from being forced
back through the fuel lines. This would happen if the blower pressure exceeded the fuel
pressure.
A pleasant surprise is that this principle has been also been engineered into the
Mallory pressure 4309 regulator. It also has a plugged accessory hole for use with a
blower.
By connecting the Paxton output to this accessory inlet, you accomplish the same
fuel pressure manipulation regulation as the old mechanical pump. No problems thus far,
except that the initial setting of the regulator must be a bit lean (4 1/2 psi)so you
don't flood the carb on startup. The unit and attachment points to the carb and Paxton can
be seen here.
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The pulley setup is such:
standard crank pulley, dual belt (6")
...Crank to waterpump to alternator
| ...Crank to waterpump to Sanyo A/C Compressor
| Power Steering (5.5")
| Accessory pulley (6.0 ")from early 80's Firebird, drives Paxton
Note: A factory Paxton bracket was used to mount the blower.
The Blower idler Pulley uses the Paxton bracket, but their
triple mini-belt crank & idler pulley were discarded because there was
a dual belt pulley on the Blower and the crankshaft. The shoulder of the
Paxton supplied idler bracket was milled down to accept (2) Toyota A/C
idler pulleys, side by side. This accomodates the dual belt Paxton drive
and the spacing between belts is very close all around. In order to get
the accessory pulley on the crank to reach out far enough to line up with
the Paxton, steel spacers (1 1/8 inch)were welded to the 3 small bolt holes
and a larger on to the crank hole. When it was installed, there was a
concern about wobble, but none showed up and so far, the engine has been
up to 4000 RPM without a belt jumping off.
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The intake manifold ordered was an Aluminum Edelbrock Performer.
The concerns here were the height of the manifold. We were trying
to achieve a low profile. The original GM manifold was a bit lower in overall
height and had that thermostat embedded on the right side which ran the
automatic choke stove. The carb had an electric choke now, so that wouldn't matter.
Luckily the R-3 airbox mated with this perfectly, as did the bolt pattern for
the AFB9000 carb. There still could be some height reduced by milling the flanges
of the airbox and also where it mates to the manifold. You can achieve another
1/2 to 5/8 inch in reduction if you had to go this way. On the right and left
sides of the lower part of the box are depressions to accomodate the
travel of the carb linkage. The outside and underside of these depressions
come to within 1/2 inch of the manifold, so this is where you may drop it
a bit more.
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While the original Avanti previously owned had a Carter AFB, and the R-3
'like' system being installed was built for one, a Carter AFB9000 (625 CFM)
was purchased. The difference in the two is that this has an electric choke.
The outer case of the Airbox was modified to run
an insulated wire through to the choke housing. The fuel inlet in front had
to be turned 90 degrees to accomodate the new Sanyo
Air Conditioning compressor sitting directly in front. There is about 1.5 inches
clearance here. The box also had to be modified to allow vacuum lines and fuel
vent tubes in and out. This shot shows the box with
the carb, the cable guide and the fabricated carb control lever.
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The original bellcrank gas pedal linkage was retained. A bracket was added to
the rear intake manifold to hold the transmission TV cable
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Model SN-60, High efficiency impeller, HD Spring pack
Paxton Installation Section...14 Apr99...
John Erb, United Engines & Transmissions, rebuilds Paxton superchargers
and was consulted about applying a Paxton to this car.
I was told there were no mounts made by Paxton to fit a Chevy Avanti, except
for the 83 Anniversary model. In 1984, the Paxton factory was gutted by fire
and many of the older castings and engineering drawings were lost.
There were 2 remaining brackets, of which I purchased one. This was a design
for a 305 GM engine and had to be modified a bit for the 350, by adding
mounting spacers and an extra idler.
Here's a view
of the modified Paxton bracket as installed, and one with everything installed & running. The air cleaner was found at a Carlisle in 1995.
There is a 4 inch dual pulley on the blower and a seven inch dual pulley on
the crank. One last item was to find a means of connecting the blower
output volute to the R-3 Box. This creation ranged from a hacked PVC
pipe, glued & taped to the current Chrysler Eagle Talon air cleaner intake
flex tube. I could never find a truck radiator hose adequate enough to be modified for the job.
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John Erb also supplied the original R-3 Airbox. You could tell this piece
was designed to be used on old stuff. The only means of connecting the
carb to the gas pedal was a small carb control
lever on the outside that connected to the throttleplate inside. The outer end of
this had just a small lever bolted on with a hole in it for the gas pedal linkage.
This had to be removed and a new piece fabricated with connector points for not only
the gas pedal, but the TV cable to the transmission. The placement of these two mountings
on this pivot are critical to the operation of the 700-R4 transmission. The
part was fashioned after a Holley carb throttleplate connector, and welded to
a steel washer whose center was filed to fit the control lever shaft. I have to
make another for a spare.
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Jasper also supplied the T700-R4 transmission.
Update on the transmission20Sep98
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The transmission shift setup came out of a '92 Corvette. It had the correct
quadrant for the 700R-4 trans. The interior console had
to be modified to hold the shift assembly. A floor out of 3/4 plywood and
screwed and glued it in from below. It was then sealed with resin and waterproofed.
The existing open area where the Stude shifter went now had a floor. The assembly
is bolted to the floor. The shift control cable was a correct length. A
heatshield was fabricated to protect the cable from
exhaust heat.
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The T700-R4 bolts right up to the 350 GM Jasper Engine, so did the FMX. Jasper's
Help Desk gave me the measurements of the trans and it was pretty close in size to
the FMX.
The pictures tell all. The engine and trans were hoisted up and positioned on the
frame, using the engine mounts as a guide. When it was lowered into place, the
transmission mount bolt holes were within 1/8
inch of the Studebaker mount. What
a gift. All that had to be done was enlarge the holes in the flex mount.
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The TV cable is a control wire extending from the carb linkage pivot down an
armored sleeve into the passenger side of the transmission. It connects to a
spring loaded pivot next to the valve body inside the transmission. You can
see it with the pan off. The function of the cable is to dynamically adjust
the pressure of the transmission fluid as its applied to the various servos
while you're driving. The fixed point on the carb control lever where it
attaches has to be a specific 'X-Y' measurement from the pivot axis, as does
the gas pedal linkage. This arrangement gives the correct ratio to the TV
cable. The other important item is the tension on the cable. I found it
easier to pull off the pan and make sure the adjustment was correct by looking
at where it connected to the valve. Failure to correctly adjust this cable
will cause erratic shifts and can severly damage the transmission.
T700-R4 Transmission here.
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See the Technical Pagesfor more information
on the T700R-4.
A Darry Young 4th gear lockup kit was installed. This is a peace of mind rather
than a performance modification. The torque converter will only lock up in 4th gear
now, and then only if I have the switch on'.
Just for backup, a Perma-Cool, external transmission
oil filter with a sender for a
dash mounted temperature guage was installed.
Here's a view from the
other side... another
An auxilliary transmission oil cooler was placed in front of the grille. The is the 2nd cooling facility and gets its
feed from the radiator cooling unit. The converter cover was ventilated and an air scoop was fashioned to force air through the bellhousing
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The exhaust system is stainless steel. The routing of the pipes was expected to be a
problem since the pan on the transmission is much larger than the FMX and it's also
off to the drivers side a bit. The two pipes that are mainly affected are the first set
after the headpipes. If you flip them end for end, it works. to the headpipe..
.[ 2 ] You have to take the pipes to a local muffler shop
and get the ends enlarged. Reversing these creates a wider path around
the transmission. This also requires that you enlarge the holes in the
X-member that the pipes pass thru. You have to make the ovals around 4
inches wider toward the outside rails. This works perfectly and doesn't
affect your muffler setup because you can use offset inlets and center
outlets. The rest of the exhaust is standard, no frills. If in the future,
a way is found to easily install headers, I will, to accomodate the increased
flow required by the Paxton. Hugger headers are being considered.
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Heat is a big problem in these cars. The fibreglass body doesn't really
have any reflective characteristics to dispell heat inside the engine
compartment or underneath, unless of course, you put it there. In an attempt
to alleviate some of the problems, the exhaust headpipe and intermediate
pipes were wrapped with a product called Thermo-Tec. This is a
woven kind of fabric that looks like fibreglas sheeting, only tan in color.
An optional liquid catalyzing agent is available to solidify the
wrap which cures under heat. In addition to this, silver foil covered
insulative sheet has been glued under the hood, inside the car on the firewall,
on the floor and on the ceiling under the fibreglas headliner. It noticably
quiets down the interior.
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A heatshield had to be attached to the driver
side exhaust pipe as it passed around the transmission pan. In this area,
the new 'plastic' armored shift control cable resides. It's a short cable,
but comes very close to the pipe. The pipe had already been wrapped with
Thermo-Tec insulative wrap to control the cable problem and also protect the
the Power Steering hoses. A 6 X 20 inch piece of stainless sheet metal was
cut and holes drilled in each end to receive a muffler clamp. The clamps
were placed around the pipe and the straight ends then pushed thru the holes
in the sheet metal and fastened to the pipe. This is the only area that this
was applied.
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The battery was relocated to the trunk. A hold-down tray was fabricated of
channel steel and bolted to the floor for a Marine battery box with a lid and
a strap to keep it on.
The electrics are thus:
- Ford starter solenoid mounted to the rear fender curve inside the
trunk right above the battery (passenger side). Grounded to Battery
tray hold-down.
- #1 guage Welder cable, copper lug from starter solenoid to starter
solenoid post
- #1 guage Welder cable, negative battery post to FRAME, hole drilled
in floor next to battery box.
- #8 guage 12v supply from (+)Ford starter solenoid to main power buss under
dash.
- #12 guage starter control wires from ignition switch to Ford solenoid.
The Ford solenoid is grounded to the battery tray and it's
grounded to the frame at the same point the battery is. I use
webbed stainless steel for a lot of grounding. You can't have
too many grounds in a glass car. All grounding points should be
sanded to bare metal, connected with steel or copper lugs and
sealed with silicone RTV. This solves a lot of problems.
 | Used a Marine application Battery box, wedged between 2 small angle rails bolted to floor
 |
 |
Ford type starter solenoid, bolted to rear of PS wheelwell. Red cable is to the "+" pole on the battery. The Black cable is #0000 welders cable.
 | Both black cables are attached to the frame under the trunk. The flat black cable is a ground from the plate, on which the solenoid is mounted, on the frame.
 The two passthroughs on the floor are electrical outlet box isolators. You can pinch the cable and hold it fast to prevent chafing. The power to the starter runs along the PS frame rail along with the fuel line.
|  Here is a schematic of the circuit. The cable connection at the GM starter motor solenoid lug, has a shunt wire connected to the solenoid "+" post. There is no wiring from the starter switch to the GM solenoid. When you turn the key, the Ford solenoid shoots the power through the #0000 cable to the Starter motor solenoid, the shunt then activaties the GM solenoid to push the gear into the flywheel.
| 
|  A cargo net was installed, attached to the battery tray base and upper trunk lid hinge.
The backup lights on the trunk lid were changed to Brake Lights for added safety and in the picture on the right, the wiring is evident.
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The old Delco Point distributor was changed out for a more recent HEI type.
These are pretty common and you can pick up a new unit at most any 'Carlisle'
like swap meet at a fair price. The units come with two connectors right at
the distributor cap, one for the +12 volt lead and the other for a tachometer
pickup. These units use a straight
12 volts right direct from the battery. There are no thermistor wires to
fool with and the existing (usually pink)should be removed and discarded.
You cannot use Thermistor wires with HEI ignition systems.
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Much of the original wiring is intact. What was removed was the voltage
regulator circuit and some auxilliary stuff added over the years. Here's
how it looked when it was gutted.
There was a lot of wiring added on to accomodate new A/C, different guages, the
trunk mount battery, and a complete new Buss to distribute power around
the car. The lights were rewired, plus guages, alternator, electric fans,
ignition, fuel pump with oil pressure cutoff switch, interior lights at
both sides of the footwell, a rear console light and generally all the
heat, A/C and lighting controls. The new steering column ignition switch was
used to incorporate a lot of relays to control power as
in newer vehicles. There is also an alarm system. Even made schematics
for the circuits.....
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All exterior lights were rewired with new #12 guage. The connectors
were upgraded using whatever I could find at Trailer supply places and at
my favorite..."Carlisle". New Parking/Turn Signal light housings were
installed and Lexan covers went over the headlights. The tail lights remain
as original, but the backup light circuit on the trunk lid was replaced with
extra Brake/Turn Signal lights and the backup lights were moved to the license
plate area. The wire packs that serve the headlights and parking lights have
been moved into electrical conduits under the fender.
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The door light switches were kept intact, but new lights were installed in
the footwell and the console end plate. The two dome lights in the rear are
switched at the dashboard lighting panel.
There are curb lights on each door that
illuminate when the door is opened and are switchable from inside the car.
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Below the radio is the main lighting control panel. The face of the panel is
brushed aluminum, following the trend set by the new wheels,
the external Gas Cap and the console shifter plate. There are 5 heavy duty
(read NOT CHEESY), push-pull controls for Headlights, parking lights,
Instrument lights, Road beams, and an auxilliary unused. Above each
switch is a Red indicator which illuminates when the associated switch
is closed. Here is a partial view
Below the switches are a bank of Green lights that have different functions.
A) On when the Torque Converter Lockup is applied, B) the Emergency Brake
'on' indicator, C) Transmission 'overheat light', comes on when the oil
temperature exceeds 230 degrees. (If your 700R-4 exceeds 260 degrees, say
good bye to it!) D) A/C Condenser fan 'on' indicator, E) is still open.
The steering bellcrank pivot assembly, mounted in the main crossmember,
contains a large diameter pin which the bellcrank is mounted on and is
supported by heavy needle bearings. The base of the pin has a threaded
portion to adjust the endplay of the assembly. Since this pin turns in
direct proportion to the steering action, it was a perfect place to mount
a turning light. Here's another ...View 2. As you turn the steering wheel, the light will illuminate
the area being turned toward. The only other cars to have this feature
were a 30's Lincoln and the the 1948 Tucker.
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The guages selected were a set
from VDO called Cockpit. They are 2 1/8
inches in diameter and serve Water Temperature, Oil Pressure, Fuel Level,
Voltage, Clock and Transmission Temperature. The speedometer is a cable
drive to 160 mph with a resetable odometer and the tachometer is electonic
and connected directly to the 'tach' connection on the HEI distributor cap.
There are two guages mounted on a pod on the
left windshield pillar which read Boost/Vacuum and Fuel Pressure. These
monitor the Paxton operation and are made by Autometer. In the engine
compartment, at the fuel pressure regulator, an Autometer Electric Fuel Pressure sender is mounted and wired to an underdash
electronic module which supplies signal to the fuel pressure guage on the
windshield pod. The Electric F.P. Guage is one of the newest items offered by
Autometer and is far superior to the older capillary tube designs.
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The only thing changed here was that the window switches were moved to the
shifter console. Problem with
that was the size of those wires got a bit unwieldy to work with. You can't
reduce the size of the wires because the motors draw a good deal of current.
In fact the current (amp) path is now probably longer. A common +12 and a common
(-) was run across the dash support and was tapped into to supply
red/green and yellow/green to each side.
RETURN to Index
There was a need to replace the old 40 Amp alternator with a
newer higher output unit.
These also have internal voltage regulators so you can trash
those external regulators. Many trips to Carlisle, speaking with folks
there drew these conclusions. A single wire Delco (10SI) is
the easiest to install.
There are a range of higher amperage units, even up to 140 Amps, but
these don't really achieve that output. A few items that you should look over.....
1>
if your car had a 40 amp unit, then the car wiring is limited also to 40
amps certain areas. UPGRADE your wiring on the highest drains or you can
cause wires to overheat and start a fire.
2>To install a single wire Delco with an internal regulator.
-
*Remove it and bolt up the new one.
*Create a shunt wire to connect to terminal 2 at the rear
of the alternator and the 'BAT' connector.
*Remove the Voltage regulator and unwrap the black tape
from the wires, so you can follow them to wherever the go. Cut them off
and reinsulate any area that may need it. These are totally useless now.
*
Connect the 'BAT' connector on the alternator directly to the large supply
wire that connects your battery and the main power buss under the dash.
This is located over your left knee where the signal flasher sits. It's
probably #10 guage (red). It's a good idea also to switch this supply thru a
relay controlled by the accessory post on the ignition switch or else a lot
of things could be 'hot' with the ignition off.
NOTE Any original Stude Avanti can use this same alternator.
you have to fabricate a new mounting bracket, but these are available from
Summit or Jegs. You leave the original Voltage Regulator in place, with
wiring connected, for authenticity and at the rear of the new alternator,
tape up the 'field' wire, since it's no longer needed. Connect the '+'
Prestolite wire to the BAT terminal on the GM 10SI, but AGAIN, the wiring
infrastructure is lighter duty on the Prestolite circuit. You should
increase the gauge, from the alternator to the splice in the main harness, to
at least 10 gauge.
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(early Avanti II's)
In order to install a single wire alternator, the are a couple simple
modifications to make. A little background first... The original RQA 40
amp alternator is a Delcotron with external regulator. The replacement is
a Delco type10 SI, single wire, internal regulator. Besides the convenience
of single wire, they are available in much higher amperages.
The rear housing of the original unit is notched and sits over the front
part of the driver side valve cover. The single wire unit will bolt right
up, but you can't get it low enough to close the hood.
Here's a way.....
On this car, the alternator is mounted on the top part of a bracket that
is shared with the Power Steering pump. This bracket is in 2 pieces and
fastened to the front of the drivers side exhaust manifold with a large
Philips screw. The top piece is just flat steel with an edge curve for
strength. The curve extends the entire length of the top piece and as it
overlaps the lower piece, the curve wraps over the upper area of the lower
part. Removing the curve in this area is the key.
It allows the bracket to move pivot radially on the large phillips screw. By
removing it and grinding about and grind about an inch or so off, as
shown here, you can then
remount it on the lower part and swing the
top of the bracket toward the fender enough for the new alternator to clear the
valve cover. You will need a longer belt to make this work.
RETURN to Index....return to Alternator
The wiper pivot arms were replaced about 6 years ago and were ok. The chrome arms
that the blades fit to were in need of replacment. A wiper parts vendor at Carlisle
sold me a pair of mid 60's NOS Ford arms ..(2).. that had the correct dog-leg and advised that you would have to swap the part that the wiper blades hook on to. You do this by removing
the rivets on the new and old units, swap the arms and replace the rivets, which he also
supplied. So you wind up with a new chrome piece that attaches to the pivot arm and
the long tapered piece that hides the tension spring. The parts you swap are stainless
steel, so a little steel wool makes them like new also.
The original control switch failed a few years ago, so I hunted down a replacement. I
found that a '70 Dodge Dart had the same switch
with an added feature. If you press
the knob now, it will start the windshield washer fluid pump. Got that hooked up too!
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The original interior, was a Hound's Tooth pattern, in yellow and
black. Here's a picture
from the Premier issue of 'Collectable Automobiles' in 1984 that looked
exactly like my car when new.....
The exterior was 'Monterey Green Firemist', a Cadillac lacquer. There
couldn't have been many produced with that scheme. It stayed like that for
a while, but the car was resprayed with Martin Senour Epoxy Enamel in Metallic
Silver The cloth on the seats started getting worn, so the seats were recovered
in a suede texture naugehyde. It looked pretty good and the door panels were
done in the same material. The Avocado dash matched the seats and contrasted
with the Silver paint (brown steering column tho....). It stayed like this for
many years. The paint held up rather well, until the car was stored from 1981 -
1986. It was in a warehouse in Ebensburg, PA covered with quilts and on blocks. In
1988, the paint needed to be redone and the interior was getting old.
Here's what it looks like now!
and right side
[Sidetrip]...
A dashboard from an '87 was installed. In the summer of 1994, a trip to the
the factory in Youngstown, Ohio, was made. Luck smiled on us because Bob
Luccarel had some help with him that day. I told him I was looking for a dash
and this gave him some impetus to let us walk with him to the parts area. He gave
a mini-tour on the way. We were treated to the 'WHACK' on the roof of a 90 - 91
model with a convenient 2 inch water pipe to show us the strength of the new bodies.
The place was very eerie, kind of like being in a time machine. Everything was
just stopped in different stages of production. He showed us all the cars being
stored there, the prototypes, the '3-door experiments' and a lot else. He had a
white convertible there 'The Last One' with a maroon roof and interior. It had only
55 miles on it.
[ End Sidetrip ] I picked out a grey leather covered dash, which, luckily was
just what I needed. Also purchased were A/C vent outlets and a heater control unit.
The old dash was removed and
the new one fitted when the time permitted.
The inlay made by overlapping layers
of 1/16 inch plywood and bedding them with fibreglas resin.
It was curved to fit the dash, sanded to a fine finish, drilled for the guages and then
veneered with Carpathian Burled Elm. The veneer was then given 10 coats of polyurethane. Where the turn signal and hi-beam indicators went was a guess. The same with with the wiper control. The radio hole was obvious, as was a hole for a heater control panel and an ash tray. Here you can see the wiper control hole under the left upper A/C outlet on the far left, the hi-beam hole between the speedo / tachometer, the right signal indicator above the oil pressure guage hole and the left above the voltmeter hole.
An attempt to merge the heater control with the old technology resulted in too much work.
The new dash was difficult to work behind and what developed was a more
'classic' heater/light control
panel, much akin to an old Jag or Aston. Here's a shot of the finished
design and another. The radio is a Kenwood
4000 with CD Controls. The Leather cover on the dash and the hard seat parts were all
sprayed with DuPont Interior Vinyl Dye to coordinate the colors
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A set of 89 Firebird GTA seats were purchased
from a local shop and as part of the deal, they agreed to recover those and
my rear seats. The floor had to be modified to
install the tracks. These are Johnson-Hoover units, a kind of hybrid Recarro.
They are not power seats in the usual sense, however there is an air pump
under the drivers seat that supplies air pressure to both front seats.
There are four buttons on the lower front of each seat that control air
pressure for the lumbar support (up/down) and two for the side wings that squeeze
you into the seat for cornering. The rest of the seat has infinite manual
adjustments, fully reclining, tilt, to/fro and the center cushion section
that supports the forward part of your thighs is an up/down adjustment.
Quite comfortable and they look like
they belong in this car
You know the story behind the original Avanti seats..It was told that Loewy
was going through an Alfa-Romeo repair faciltiy somewhere, and saw these
2 seats on the floor. He looked them over and decided that the style would
go great in the Avanti. In retrospect, ask any early Avanti owner and most
would question that decision because "Why were they on the garage floor
anyway?" After owning an original R-2 and this one with the same seat frames,
I would venture to say that they weren't too comfortable in the Alfa either
and they were pulled and replaced.
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So my seats are kind of like hybrid Recarros,
not as fancy and in cloth upholstery. They are sharp looking and functional.
These and the balance of the interior is now done in varying shades of grey, going
from dark at the bottom to light at the top. The
carpet is a heavy rubber backed dark grey, the bottom door panels are a
shade lighter, with a separator and the uppers are the same as the seat
material. The door panels and rear side sections sport the original design, but
in cloth upholstery. The doors have pulls from a Lincoln and
curb lights. The headliner is a replica of the original
only in fibreglass.
The overhead switches were removed because the plastic fascade cracked and
I couldn't wait around for a replacement. All the overhead functions were
relocated below on a dash switch panel in brushed aluminum. The rear
deck is yet a lighter shade of grey. I've installed retractable seat
belts with the anchors and windup unit inside the old rear ash tray holes.
they are bolted to the lower part of the roll bar. Some cutting here, but
everything is covered with upholstery.
The Fresh air vents and the heater vents in the console have wooden frames
around them, stained to compliment the dashboard inlay, which is Carpathian
Burled Elm.
The original console had
to be redesigned to follow the
flow of the 89 dashboard. The shifter gate
is brushed aluminum.
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The column that came with the car was standard Avanti, nothing special.
After the old one was removed, one from a '69 Camaro that was
the right length, had the rag-joint connector and seemed like a good
choice. It had steering column locking, a tilt feature, a hazard flasher
button and the capability to add almost ANY steering wheel. The underdash
column mounting bracket had to be modified to accept the GM boltup. A trip
to the library was required to look up the wiring schematic in Mitchells and
do a cross over connection plan to accomodate the Studebaker turn signal circuit.
There were also, connectors for horn, ignition buzzer, and some others you could use.
The electrical connector for the starter and accessories also had to
be debugged and applied to the existing Avanti electrical setup. All
this may seem to be overwhelming, but a little patience goes a long way.
A Momo mahogany steering wheel was used.
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The underdash brake handle was removed. A floormount E_BRAKE was picked from
a late 80's Ford Escort because of the mount flange and would fit close to the
console. When applied, an integral light switch is wired to an indicator on
the dash lighting panel
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The heater is still the old system, altho the air distribution box from behind
the A/C was modified and now uses air conditioner flexible duct. Where
the heater plenum attached to the distributor, a domed cap was fabricated from
4" PVC pipe and in that inserted 2 2" PVC pipe outlets. The ducting attaches
to the smaller outlets and can be routed more easily. Under the dash where
the drivers right ankle and the passengers left ankle reside, vent grilles
were placed. Here's the Drivers side
The 2 " ducting fastens easily to these
and they open, close and are directional. Temperature controlled air is
supplied to your feet through these grilles. The temperature control for
this is still cable to the climatizor valve. This valve
is spliced to also moderate the water in the A/C unit circuit
The A/C is a new unit with engine coolant water valved thru it. It can be
used as an auxiliary heater or mainly to defog the windshield, which is
a BIG item.
The air vent grilles under the dash and the fresh air intake in the outer
footwells both are framed in cedar, stained to compliment the dash inlay, which is veneered in Carpathian Burled Elm
Controls for the temperature, fresh air , top or bottom heat, etc are all
lined up under the dash, on each side of the steering column, using 'choke'
type control cables on custom brushed aluminum panels. They look quite
tasteful. The heater fan and A/C fan and temperature controls
are the three knobs on the small panel below the lighting switches.
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The new A/C unit is a higher efficiency system and still uses R-12.
The unit itself doesn't look much different than the old one except that it has 4 circular outlets in front and it's rated at 17,000 BTU. This is much higher that the original unit. The outlets were ducted to the four ports on the 87 dashboard.
The two center ducts are split into two more that supply the defroster vent. This
allows heated conditioned air to clear the windshield. The means of
switching the flow is to manually close the two center A/C vents above the
radio. The condenser has 2 12" fans mounted immediately behind the grille that are activated when the compressor comes on.
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An inherent problem with Avanti's , '63 - '84 is underhood cooling. Thanks to the
inquisitive nature of Chris Altenburg, a fairly inexpensive retro-fit works like a charm.
He found that the Airdam from a '96 Saturn , Part # 21031161, priced at $16.95 or less, can
be attached to the lower radiator support on the Avanti and works wonders. Looks like it was
made for the car. Here are some photos of my install.
[ View 1 ] [ View 2 ] [ View 3 ] [ View 4 ]
Here are some install Directions
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Go Here
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These pages and programming contained therin
are © Copyright, Bob Johnstone (rfjohnstone at cox.net), 1996 - 2006, All Rights Reserved. Some technical opinions are my own from experience, other informational data is from other sources with credits when available and while care has been taken to be as accurate as possible, it is offered only as a guide and caution should be exercised in the application of it.
|
| |
The two passthroughs on the floor are electrical outlet box isolators. You can pinch the cable and hold it fast to prevent chafing. The power to the starter runs along the PS frame rail along with the fuel line.
Here is a schematic of the circuit. The cable connection at the GM starter motor solenoid lug, has a shunt wire connected to the solenoid "+" post. There is no wiring from the starter switch to the GM solenoid. When you turn the key, the Ford solenoid shoots the power through the #0000 cable to the Starter motor solenoid, the shunt then activaties the GM solenoid to push the gear into the flywheel.
A cargo net was installed, attached to the battery tray base and upper trunk lid hinge.
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