SeventhSon

Well, Rob, it's good to know others are out there having as much fun as I am. Good to know you were successful in reinstalling your front end - maybe there's hope for me. Be careful with that 9.072 kg hammer!

Also, tonight I continued on the front end tear down, again making small steps forward. I went to remove the bolt that attaches the sway arm to the lower A-arm. Of course the nut was partially eaten by rust, thereby making what was once a 1/2 inch nut something a little less, just enough so that the socket slipped on the nut when trying to turn it. The vice grips, which were very helpful on the shock mount nuts, couldn't work because the whole bolt turned and the head of the bolt was rounded off as well. I tried the nut splitter, but couldn't get a good angle on the nut. So finally I turned to the trusty drill. Success! I removed the sway bar mount, removed the knuckle nut cotter pin, loosened the knuckle nut and called it a night. Whew!

I returned to the fuel tank sealing today, since I received the replacement sender unit a couple of days ago. I was really torn between sealing and not sealing. From what I could see of the inside of the tank it looked really clean, even shiny. It was what I couldn't see that concerned me. So, sealing the tank won out. I had already done the prep last week and on Monday of this week I had a heater blowing air into the filler tube to dry the tank. When I went to put the tank away on Monday I saw just a tiny bit of water left inside, so I left it until today. I checked the tank when I took it out of the storage box today and it was dry, so I decided to go ahead and seal it. I put a brass plug where the fuel line petcock goes, stirred the sealant well, poured it in the tank and rolled, rolled, rolled it all around. Some spilled out here and there, which I wiped up promptly. However, I should have been wearing gloves, as my hands now resemble dirty concrete (and feel about the same!). So kids, always wear gloves when working with chemicals and distillates.

I continue to make tiny advances in the front end tear down. I was able to remove 1 tie rod and get the coil spring compressed in preparation for removal. But that's about it - hopefully I'll be able to make more progress pulling the worn out parts off in the coming week so I can send them in for the core exchange. Then I can take the A-arms and spindles to the machine shop for cleanup and bushing replacements. I have almost decided to go ahead and buy the air cleaner assembly...I don't know, I'm bleeding money!!

Rebuilt brake booster showed up last night! Another box of parts arrived from Studebaker International a couple of days ago - talked to Bob Helm last night about the engine chrome and an air cleaner assembly. The air cleaner assembly is not cheap! I don't know if I can get that at this point - gotta check the budget and make a decision. I'd love to have it but...

Roger, yes, I only had to hit the puller turn arm 4 or 5 times and the drum gave up! And it's always a good practice to wear shoes when working in the garage!

In the words of my father: "When all else fails, get a BIGGER HAMMER."

The brake drum continues to hold fast. I gave her some more tension at lunchtime yesterday and soaked her with some more Liquid Wrench. This morning I borrowed an 8 lb. sledge to assist me in persuading the drum to give it up. So, I'll give it more tension at lunch today. Last night I made a couple of more baby steps in the front end tear down and made a couple of calls to find out about parts and services. I called Dave Thibeault about the A-arm rebuilds and we agreed it would be cost prohibitive to ship them to him for the bushing replacements. He gave me some ideas on who to call locally to get the work done, so I'll try that out. I was going to take the pieces to a local machine shop to get them cleaned up and the bushings replaced, and I still might do that, I just wanted to find someone with Studebaker experience. Might be hard to find that - all the old mechanics are fading away.... I also called Bob Helm in Texas about possibly getting some engine chrome pieces. I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to get my valve covers and lifter valley cover re-plated, but after talking to a re-plating company I decided to see if there were parts available to purchase/exchange, as re-plating is a little more expensive than I had hoped. I think Bob can probably help me out with some parts - I'll know more after I talk to him tonight.

I thought tonight would be the night the brake drum would give up the fight, but I was wrong. I gave her a bit more tension through the puller turn arm and whacked on her a few times here and there. Nothing. It's a good thing I have plenty to do on the car because I can put some more tension on the drum, then go work on something else. Which is what I did again tonight. I started on the front end tear down, which is lots of fun too! Made some progress, so I'm not complaining!

I sent my supercharger away last week to Solanki Performance for a rebuild. Nimesh Solanki called me yesterday with what he found when he took the unit apart. The impeller had 2 vanes that had lost their tips, through deterioration or other means. Also, the race has a pit in it. Nimesh sent me an e-mail earlier today with a picture showing a nice used impeller next to mine. Big difference! When I was looking for someone to rebuild the supercharger I was looking on Bob Johnstone's excellent Studebaker website: Bob's Studebaker Resource and Information Portal and saw Solanki Performance. I remembered my brother Brian (a longtime owner of a '63 Avanti) talking about Nimesh and work he had done for him, and I was aware of the exceptional R3 clone Nimesh built and recently sold. So that's who I called. I'm glad I did - I'm impressed with Nimesh's knowledge and experience working on Avanti power plants. I can't wait to see the finished unit!

Oh man, those are some hurting brakes!! I hope mine aren't anything close to that bad! The right side wasn't too bad, so I'm hoping the left won't be too bad either. Hope springs eternal...

Good idea - I'll do that too. Maybe they are stuck - tomorrow's the day it comes loose! Thanks Vern!

Not too productive today, I removed the puller and put the nut back on so the drum didn't end up sailing through the wall, or my head, or my wife's car. John actually told me to do that but I had some slight brain fade and didn't do it. So, the puller is back on under extreme tension, and still the drum holds fast. I heated the drum where it fits on the axle to no avail. I decided to wait until tomorrow at lunchtime to continue banging on the puller turn arm, when fewer neighbors will be around to complain. Hopefully. So, again I left it to stew while I turned my attentions elsewhere, removing the nuts holding the tie rod ends at the bellcrank. Of course, if I want to use my "pickle fork" to remove the tie rods I will punch a hole in the oil pan, so I have to come at it from a different angle. Just more fun in the garage!

Thanks Paul, I'll give it another go today and try out your tips. I was hoping she would give way overnight, but nothing happened. I might take that puller off and put the nut back on - I don't want the drum to fly 4 feet because that would put it against my wife's car! And I don't want that!!

Well, I applied the 2 foot Pipe 'O Leverage to her and she gave way rather quickly. Of course the drum is a different story - I hammered and hammered on the puller turn arm until someone yelled at me to stop hammering. So I left it under pressure and sprayed some of my favorite Liquid Wrench on her. We'll see how she does tomorrow... Since I couldn't make headway with the brake drum I turned my attention to the bellcrank assembly, which is going to have to come off as well. I got a good start on that, so it was a fair night on the Avanti. Tomorrow, more fun and excitement! Thanks for checking in Paul and Rob, your info and comments are always appreciated. May you and any others who are reading have a Happy New Year!

I went to see John this morning to borrow a hub puller and buy a fender mounted mirror from him. It was the first time I got to see his Avanti he has been writing about on his "Avanti Refresh" thread. It was really great to see another Avanti road ready and running. He took me on a ride around the local roads - car runs nice, has a stalking tiger demeanor about her, like she's hunting a Corvette to eat. Ride is composed and easy as she rolls along the country roads, but it's always in the back of your mind that she can jump up and get nasty if spurred to it. Nice job you've done on that beauty, John. I started on the removal of the rear brake drums tonight using the puller I borrowed from John. Right side wasn't too bad - drum is in good shape and shoes look like they were put on new 20 some years ago before she was parked. Cylinder looks like it had been honed too at that time, but it is now frozen. So, it all gets re-done now. Left side was the Queen of Spades, if you catch my drift - I couldn't get the retainer nut broken loose, damn near picked the rear end up off the ground trying to break her free! I'm hoping it isn't a left hand thread, anybody out there know? I sprayed some Liquid Wrench on it and will try again tomorrow...

That's one of the many parts I ordered yesterday. $12.95. And yes, it's old and brittle, like everything else on the car!

I have one picture - it's kind of fuzzy though. John tells me that Studebaker did use plumbing fittings. Who knew?!

I took the intake manifold off tonight in preparation of removing the rocker covers and lifter valley cover. I'm going to take them to a machine shop and have them cleaned and blasted, then re-plated. Hope that all works out... I need to have a look at John's (unimogjohn) vacuum setup on his intake manifold. Mine has some plumbing fitting where all the various hoses hook up. I don't think Studebaker was using common household plumbing fittings for their vacuum hookups. Who knows, maybe they were! I also removed the power brake booster to send in for core exchange. I ordered one today along with a bunch of other stuff. Hopefully that will be it for parts ordering for awhile!

Congratulations John! Beautiful car, I can't wait to see it!

Started on the fuel tank cleanup today in between work duties. Man, that should be part of a workout program! Put the cleaner in, shake the tank up and down and all around for 20 minutes. Pour a couple of gallons of water in, shake up and down and all around. Pour out. Repeat. Then do it again. Then do the metal prep routine, pour it in and round and round and up and down the tank goes. After 10 to 20 minutes, rinse, rinse rinse (no hose available, so it's haul water in gallon jugs and rinse, rinse, rinse). A little sore, not too bad - a good workout though! The inside of the tank looks good - clean. I ran out of light, so first thing tomorrow I'll blow dry the inside of the tank and do the sealer routine - pour it in, roll around and around (the tank, not me). Whew! I'll be glad to get that finished!

I got around to pulling the right side front wheel off to see what that side looks like. The rotor spins much easier on the right side, nice and true, but still rusty and pitted. The left side is so warped that you don't need a run out gauge to see it! The brake pads are new on the right side too - someone's been there recently.... I have to get the car moved over - the right side is too close to the wall. I either need a full size floor jack to lift the front end and pull it over, or I could buy a set of those wheel dollies and move it all over the place. Except the front end is coming out in the next week or two and it won't have front wheels for a while. Probably go with the floor jack. I also broke the bolts free on the intake manifold, same with the brake booster unit. Both will be coming off tomorrow evening in order to get to the rocker arm covers and lifter valley cover. As long as I'm going to have a new, shiny carburetor and supercharger I might as well clean up some of the rest of the top side. I'm also going to get a new supercharger bonnet for the carb. Hey, might as well try to pretty her up a little! Also, I'm going to start on the fuel tank cleanup tomorrow during lunch.

Just to clarify - I'll take the spindle assembly and a-arms in for bushing replacements. The king pins will go back for core exchange.

Well, I decided I wanted a professional looking carburetor rebuild (that, and I didn't want to screw it up) so I packaged mine up and sent it off to Dave Thibeault. Frees up some time for me to work on other things. If it wasn't raining. Oh well, I can always get started on that front end tear down. Gotta get the core parts off and back for refund. Once I get the king pins out and a-arms off I'll take them to a machine shop for bushing replacements. I also need to pull the rocker arm covers and lifter valley cover so I can take them to the machine shop for a clean-up and glass beading. Then they'll be off for re-chrome. At least that's the plan....

You've done a lot toward that goal of keeping me motivated John. I appreciate it too!