avantey

John- You are correct, my distributor vacuum points towards the firewall vs your pointing to the intake manifold. If 12 o'clock is straight ahead, front of car yours is at 2 and mine is about 4-5 o'clock. They are about 90 degrees different and your position eliminates my problem. I checked with my friend who pulled the engine without me (part of the long story) and he never pulled the distributor so in theory it as always been in this 'zone' of position. What I do not know is if the bracket position got changed during the reinstall. Not sure what to do or if I even need to do anything without checking the timing with a light.

I have not worked on the Avanti yet- (had to watch Syracuse BB tonite!) but I do have another question for all you Avanti experts here. As I said the other day it seems if I retard the spark it is going to run better. However I can only retard it (turn distrib CCW) so much before the vacuum advance hose/fitting hits the bracket for the plug wire channel. I do not remember this being a problem before the engine was pulled and I was not there when it came out (long story). As I also said I have not put a timing light to her but I think I need to retard it a little more than the bracket allows. If any of you have the shielding off the distributor area could you look if your car has the same positions of the bracket and vacuum advance? In the pics the firewall is to the right in the first picture, to the top in the second, you are facing the passenger side looking towards the base of the distributor. The bracket is the shiny metal to the right at the base of coil and the fitting/hose are next to it. My car is an R1 but I do not think that matters on this issue. Thank you,

Well I have two condensers now. AA got me one that was matched by car/engine but I do not have the MFD spec on it. NAPA got me another one and went so far as to call the factory when their book did not have the spec. Thanks to Ron Strasser above I knew what it is and the Echlin AL869 condenser is exactly matching at .25-.28mF. I will put that one in and keep the AA part as stock but this may not happen until the wekend. The Avanti is in the cold part of the garage and it is dark when I get home from work so I probably would not test it anyways after the install. I really need to retire so that four letter word gets out of the way of the important stuff! Stay tuned-

OK John and other Avanti owners, I have a question. After changing the timing back and forth a bit I figured out my timing was running quite advanced. And Yes,it was because I never tightened the lock nut in the spring and the distributor finally loosened up. However , regardless of where I moved the timing I could cannot get rid of the backfire problem. Doing a bit of research I think this is because the condenser may have failed. The old condenser is a Delco Remy with 5 microfarads stamped on it. I went to the local parts store where they actually list the Avanti (in four flavors of engine even!). However none of their listings have a spec for the MF. So my question is- How important is this spec to the ignition system? I understand a little electrical- farads or mf measure capacitance of the condenser but not how critical this is. I know with 6 volts most stores carry a one size fits all condenser. I did not try to set the timing with the backfiring but she smoothed out and ran up rpms very nicely when I retarded the timing quite a bit. Just help me figure out this condenser spec and I think the old girl will be awesome again! Thanks,

John- I just read the linked article and I think they are optimistic on prices, kind of inaccurate and unkind to our cars. I have never thought of the dash as "like a wet bar" or that it has 'googly' eyes. In fact I like the '63 round headlights better than the '64's but that is just me. Also I always thought Stude closed up US shop in 1964 and the '64's are true Stude products despite what the author says. I think he was mocking our cars for the most part and questioning why they have increased in value, not flattering them at all in that piece. It was a nice, balmy 60 here on turkey day so I decided to drive the Avanti to the kids house in Rochester for dinner, about 50 miles. I got about 35 miles in and the old girl started losing power, bucking, running real ragged, backfiring out the exhaust and the temp jumped 20 degrees in a couple of miles at 50-55 mph, I got her to the kids' house, had a nice Thanksgiving and decided to spend the night rather than drive her home in the dark with trouble. Friday morning she let out a another LOUD backfire to wake up all the neighbors and off we went towards home. The temp stayed at 170 but the backfires, loss of power and the rest continues. It ran best about around 45-50 with the fewest bad manners and I did get her home after a while. I am thinking the distributor moved and it is a timing issue. In the spring I went to check the timing and loosened the lock down. The distributor would not move but I do not remember if I ever tightened the bolt back down. She has not run smoothly between 40-70 all summer, especially under normal acceleration so I think it has been off time anyways but maybe the shaft broke free and now it is really out of time. I may look at it this afternoon but weather is becoming a factor in our lives up here now. I need to move it from one area in the garage to another (my work bay) and get it back out before we get snowed in. It may sit until spring since I have company coming for dinner at 4 today also. Hope your turkey day was not a turkey,

John- Those wires are not crusty/rusty by our standards! Here in upstate NY they look 'have never seen a winter" almost new!

Hey Chris- Like you I just couldn't resist yesterday. Worked inside in the AM and spent about six hours and got the whole yard raked by 4 PM. Looked very nice, congratulated myself with a cold beverage at the picnic table looking at my handiwork. It was low 60's, sunny and the road called. Ran the Avanti out and off I went for about half an hour or so. Had a nice ride down by the lake and then some back roads to open her up a little, still a lot of fun to hear that four barrel kick in! Got back right near 5 and the sun was just going down. Ended the day by acing a steak on the grill that joined a great IPA from Vermont on the table. One of my best days since my wife passed and the Avanti ride is good therapy. Will miss it all winter up here in snow country.

I guess I missed your point too '31 Caddy and I commend you for using OD sensibly. However in the original vein of this thread I took your suggestion as a way to drive an older car faster and therefore keep up with the crowd on 'faster/farther' tours like a Founders and that seemed a bad solution to me. I also still have reservations about 1932 Chevy brakes stopping fast from 55 or so (as an example from the original post). Hell, even my '38 Buick is a load to handle doing that and needs extra distance! And I do like edinmass's solution- great car, very capable, maybe not affordable for everyone. In fact there is a whole group of early '30's big cars that can cruise like that but may be out of reach for most collectors. And they were designed to do it from day one, the height of automotive engineering in that period! So edinmass- Can I borrow your Pierce? It would be a great day (great tour, great car, great road) on the Glidden next September to cruise the NH Kancamongus Highway with that kind of class! Not trying to fight, just MHO,

Mike- I applaud your willingness to take time and learn, even your sense of humor about your inexperience. Keep both while looking and learning. Go to some local shows, join a local club and make friends. Everyone has opinions here and everywhere but yours is the one that counts. You will narrow down the field, maybe get to ride or drive in a few cars and eventually get in the loop on any local cars that are available that might interest you. The point is the value of networking in this hobby- it is a good, close knit and pretty small hobby after you are in it a while. All this is true whether you like originals (like here) or modifieds (street rods). Find folks of a similar ilk and you gain all kinds of good from them as you figure out what you want.

Sorry '31 Caddy but I am going to respectfully disagree with your suggestion of an overdrive. There are a lot more components to safely and practically driving at faster speeds. A 1932 car still has the suspension, tires/rims, frame and especially the braking system designed for lesser punishment. Our rough roads, large volumes of unpredictable fellow drivers and the resultant need for emergency maneuvers have to be considered before you just drop in an overdrive for the sake of going faster easier. The rest of the car also has to be able to handle it too and most people do not until they are panic braking from 70 mph and it is not working very well! You are far better off driving a car totally designed for the conditions you want to drive. Just my humble opinion,

First of all, who wants to tour at 50 mph? I much prefer 25-30 in a brass touring car! You talk to the people on the street, smell see, and hear what/where you are touring and generally have a lot of fun at slower speeds! Even at 45 with the top down on the Model A we miss a lot of the culture we drive thru... As for your question I do not think any car can please all those different ranges of touring. The Vintage, Sentimental, Glidden and Reliability are for the pre-war cars and generally make use of slower roads, shorter distances and easy for them days. The Founders and some divisionals I think run longer faster tours for a much more modern car. If you really want one car for all I guess cars right at the pre WII time might work if any would but even they can't meet all the age restrictions. Since your signature shows two very capable pre war tour cars I think you may be looking for a Founders type car but want versatility? But first slow down and enjoy the journey!!

Better hope nobody blows his door off! Might be embarrassed and drafty!

Capngrog- HPOF is a class for unrestored vehicles judged at an AACA meet. It stands for Historical Preservation of Original Features and every time you compete in this class you get a 'chip' just like a repeat in any AACA class judging (Preservation award). I can't remeber the rules but to win in HPOF your car must be either all original except in one one major group (like a repaint or new interior or rebuilt engine compartment) or it can only be restored in one of the five major areas. I got an HPOF for my 1913 Studebaker in 2010 and I honestly can't remember the rules but I am sure someone will set me straight! It didn't matter on this car as it is an all original 7000 mile car and passed on all five areas. Only award I ever tried for and only one I got! But we hosted the meet and it was close to home! Bill

I like this conversation because it is almost always a 'feeler' towards saying a car is valuable due to its rarity and I agree with Matt on the relationship. I have two cars that are rare as far as I know but I like them because I appreciate having something different (if not unique), I seem to gravitate to two seaters and I like orphan cars. The previous owner of my 1913 Studebaker researched the car a lot. He found about fifteen touring bodied SA-25's around the world but no other roadster bodied cars. Along with this I have a mostly complete provenance on the car, it has approximately 7000 original miles and has never been apart that I can tell. Yet the best part is how fun it is to drive! My late wife said it hated her and broke every time she got in it but I enjoy the car, especially driving it. My other rare car is the 1916 Hupmobile model N roadster. It was owned for years by the model N tech rep in the Hupp club. He gathered all kinds of info, history and contacts on this model and I have it all. In there is info on about 6 roadsters from the '70's and '80's. I have tried to reestablish these contacts with little luck but I do believe there are few of these cars around. Hupp was not a huge seller in 1916, it is an open car and has never been highly sought after by collectors. Both of these are prized parts of my collection but neither is highly valued that I know of. People who see them love 'em and I enjoy them which is what matters most!

I dunno- I sold a lot of things overseas this year and heard a lot languages. I know NZ, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Switzerland and of course Canada were in attendance. I talked to a lot of Spanish speaking folks but not sure of what countries. If anything I thought the Israelis and Eastern Europeans were less present than other years. Canadians were complaining about the exchange rate but they were good buyers, same for the Australians I talked/sold to also. Overall about an average Hershey demographically IMHO but seemed there was more disposable money this year than last. Sales were mostly steady except Wed Chocolate field crowd was lighter and sales reflected that. I never got to the car corral but that is always an interesting place to watch the crowd and what sells to where.

I sold a lot of A & T parts! Did well from the time I opened the tailgate on Tuesday until the rain on Friday. I let a lot of it go cheap as I was helping a widow friend clean out the barn parts and she just did not want anything to come home. We almost succeeded..... However that meant I did not walk and buy much. I did send a mag out for rebuild and I found the wiper I needed for the '31 Hupp so I got two important things off the list. All in all a really good Hershey!

John- It was a pleasure to meet you and Alice at the show Saturday, always nice to put faces to the names you have read for a long time! The XK looked great and I hope you got an award, it should! I tried to meet Trimacar but he was never at his spot. Finally got to see Marty there late on Thursday and met a couple of others who share the spot but Trimacar was always AWOL. It was a great Hershey this year, everyone seemed to have a good time and the weather was perfect most of the meet except a little blow through on Friday PM. We had out share of fun, sold a lot of stuff and got to see some great cars on the show field. Too bad it is over already!!

Who the hell cares about the weather? It's Hershey!! Been there, done all of it and then some (mud) at Chocolatetown in 35+ years....

I will be at CJ 73 with a large quantity of A and T parts for a widow friend. She is cleaning out the barn, doesn't want it back and I do not want to load it back up. Many good deals just to get rid of the stuff or buy it all! Playing "Let's Make a Deal" all next week- Bill

I will be at CJ 73 with a large quantity of A and T parts for a widow friend. She is cleaning out the barn, doesn't want it back and I do not want to load it back up. Many good deals just to get rid of the stuff or buy it all! Playing "Let's Make a Deal" all next week- Bill

As long as it all has gotten out of the way by Hershey next week! I guess the hurricane will miss the mainland as of tonight. John- I hope to get over to the car show at Hershey and meet you in person. However it is a looong walk from the middle of the south Chocolate field by Sat morning! The fields have gotten a lot bigger or (maybe?) the old legs ain't what they used to be. See you and the cat, Bill

I will be on CJ 82-83 near Coker Tire with a lot of cheap Model A & T stuff. Helping a widow friend clean out the barn- she doesn't want it back and I don't want to reload it! Playing Let's Make a Deal all week,

Congrats Bernie, very proactive on your part. I will say that not everyone can afford or wants to toss $1500 sight unseen but it is good you can. And putting us down for dickering is not acceptable. Price dickering is an honorable tradition in this hobby (and many others) and we are each allowed our own opinion on the value of any car. With what I saw Saturday it is maybe a good parts car and I hope the condition does not disappoint you when you actually see what you bought. Even the sales manager told me he thought $500-700 was about right. I do not think I "snoozed", just more conservative with my money,

uh6077, where did you see a price on the car? I was there and told it will be bid and leave one if interested. The estate sale manager said both cars would be bid outside the sale and they would like to get $1500 for the Avanti but will take high bid. As for removal- There is a grove of trees in front and in back, it sort of sets in a pocket in the woods with driver's side accessible. He plans to jack it up, block under it and figure out how to rotate it out of that spot from what he said so it could be winched or loaded from there. This would mean removing a couple of more trees in front of it I guess. Not sure how he plans to turn it, maybe with a tractor and strap? He is a Corvette guy and really likes the looks of the Avanti so that helps him take care with it in my mind. Either way I will let him do that dirty work and see how bad it is underneath next weekend during the sale.

Well I just got back from the 'pickin' trip and the Avanti was as bad as you can imagine. It is frame SN 5323, body 4211, turquoise on turquoise, and R1 auto with air. Interior- Not only is the car in the dirt up to the sills everything on the car is rotted or frozen up. The doors were cracked open a long time evidenced by the animal droppings and mold everywhere. I touched the glove box the door fell off, same for the center console. The door panels are rotted all across the bottom, what is left of the headliner is laying in the back seat. The rear deck is caved in to the trunk which does not open. All the glass is complete but things like the driver's vent window handle is on the rear floor. The best part of the interior was all four seats were in decent shape as was the dash and consoles. It is a unmolested car but rotting into the earth.. Engine bay- The engine is very complete with all shrouds, air cleaner hoses etc. all intact. The battery is replaced by a square one and another 'fluid canister' is bolted to the inner fender in that battery spot. Not sure what it is for. Other than that the engine bay is complete and unmolested but full of animal droppings .leaves, etc. Exterior- The paint is gone on a lot of the car. But the body is in very good shape with no cracks, damage, etc. All the chrome is there including the grille under the front end. All the trim pieces are there but all the bumper rubber guards are gone. Below are a few pics I took of the car. I did not leave an offer because I want to see if he gets it out of the dirt. The condition of the hog troughs and frame are very important info before I decide anything. My guess is it is a parts car given the cost of restoration these days and how it needs everything. Also- the one pic is of a Worthington shop compressor. It turns over but was not started, seems to have a newer Dayton motor. .//////////What is it worth?