Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

[ErnieR]

If you can get a helper when installing the seal collars on the spindle it would make getting them on quickly and nice and flush easier. They will be too hot to handle and you want them as hot as possible when you slip them on so someone ready with the proper sized pipe to give them a tap while you are positioning them would ensure it's a one shot deal.

ErnieR

[Guest stude8]

Those rear parking brake cables have probably been frozen for years. Pull the cable retaining clip out of backing plate to get the cable conduit out where you can work with it, then soak the conduit very wet with good penetrating oil followed by motor oil to get it thoroughly lubed in side.

Grab the cable rear shoe end fitting with a vice grip plier to pull it out of the conduit a few inches then pull it forward from other end at bellcrank under body floor. Work it back and forth a few dozen times until it slides freely. Then reconnect to shoes and make sure the hand brake return spring can retract the cable freely, it may have some friction also from lack of use.

Inspect the cables for wear when they are extended beyond the conduit, often some strands break from rust and age and knot up in the conduit causing the siezing.

Only a reminder, the rear shoes backing plate rotary stop cams are at minimum expansion position and the "Star wheel" wear adjusters are at their minimum contracted position also??

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Ernie and Stude, thanks for the tips. I take your advice seriously.

It is Sunday, November 15th. It has been a long working day, but very nice, 72 degrees, just right for working on cars.

I got going this morning around 9 AM and worked until 4 PM, almost none stop. Just have to take advantage of this weather.

First thing I did today was to let out the parking/emergency brake cable. Once that was done the drums fit easily, and I was able to put the rears back together. I did make sure that I cleaned the spindle and drum to make sure everything was clean and free of any grease or dirt. I declare that the rear brakes are done except for bleeding and adjustments.

I then decided to replace the two transmission coolant lines to the radiator. Boy, they were on tight, but got them off and the new ones on. The old ones were pretty bad and their rubber casings were age checked and cracked. I do not think that they would have lasted too much longer.

Next I put back on the idler system with its little plastic bushings. It works great now, not stiff like before, so I am ready when the supercharger comes back. Speaking of the supercharger, planning on called Jon Meyer tomorrow to see how its rebuilding is going. I have not heard a word.

It was 1 PM and still lots of daylight, but I was starting to fade. I pushed on and started with the front brake kit. It actually was a lot of fun to heat up the collars and put them on the spindles. They went on easily and gently tapped them in, not that they needed much. Did not even burn myself or set the car on fire. I have included pics of the collar, the before fit before heating, and then after heating and installed.

I then tackled the caliper mounting brackets. I used red Locktight on all the bolts and torqued them per the instructions. I was successful with the installation and decided that I had better do farm chores and feeding of all the critters before they started beating on the fence line. The mounting brackets look pretty good in the pic.

Tomorrow I plan to continue with the front brake installation. I do not know how much I am going to get done as we have 12 tons of lime coming tomorrow. Alice will spread it around the pastures with the tractor, but I am the official loader. I have to load the bucket on the tractor by hand, and let me tell you, 12 tons is a lot of shovel fulls. My back is hurting already.

Edited November 15, 2009 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

John,

Do not know if I would use that blue zip tie on the two hoses without some protection. May be a rub spot looking for a failure. If I needed a tie there, I would put some convoluted tubing like that used on wiring harnesses over the hoses first. It is also used to protect hoses like power steering/ air conditioning on many other vehicles.

Larry

[unimogjohn]

Larry, took your suggestion and moved a couple of the fittings to have better angles, so now no interference issues that require tie wraps, so cut them off.

It is Monday, November 16th. Give me a brake! Front brakes that is.

Worked all day on them. Greased the new wheel bearings, put in the two rear seals into the rotors, installed the rotors on the car, installed the new brake lines, and finally installed the calipers. The kit is an excellent product with very good fit and finish.

Only had two issues that required a bit of rework and extra time.

One, the hole in the metal tab that the holds the end of the brake line to the solid line was too small, so had to get out the Dremel tool and make the hole larger so I could put in the C clip to hold everything together. This took about an hour to do as I had to remove the brackets from the frame.

Two, then the wheel nut goes on further than the old set up so the hole for the cotter pin is further in and the pin would not engage the tabs of the nut. It would have been helpful if the kit contained a couple more washers to extend the nut out. So I went looking through all my old parts and did not find any washers large enough. So took a cotter pin and bent the head at a 45 degree angle, this was enough to catch the togs of the nut. So it will stay there, and we should now be ready to go.

Done for today, had some farm chores to do to. Tomorrow I will attempt to bleed the brakes, adjust the rear shoes, and the emergency/parking brake. I still have some painting to do under the car too. So it looks like a busy day under the car again. I will be glad to get out of under it, I am tried to getting up and down about a 100 times a day. I hope to have the tires installed on the car tomorrow too. If I get everything done then it is coming off the jack stands. May even take her for a short ride around the driveway.

Called Jon Myer this morning re the supercharger, he was not in, expected a call this PM, but did not get one. So will call again tomorrow.

I also included a pic of the dash with the radio out. Hopefully, I will get under there and check out the melted wiring and make everything insulated and safe. I did fix all the wiring on the engine side of the cowl by re-taping and pulling melted wires apart. I may take the front seat out to get better access, we will have to see how it goes and how extensive the problems are.

Heading to Reedsville, PA on Friday AM, Alice and I will drive up, spend a few hours and then head for home mid afternoon.

[unimogjohn]

Larry, the first pic is for you so you can see how I redirected the hoses.

It is Tuesday, November 17th. Not too good of a day.

Started on the Avanti at about 9:30 AM, quit for lunch around 2 PM and gave it up at 4 PM. Another long day, and very little progress.

I started with the bleeding of the brakes, a lot of air in those lines, but thought I was getting all the air out with the vacuum pump. Did the bleeding on all the lines twice, used about 3 pints of fluid, and she still goes to the floor. Nothing is grabbing. Alice, my trusty helper, left this morning for a couple of days in Baltimore, so I am on my own. I really need to see what is going on so gave it up for the day and will wait until she comes home to pump the brake pedal. I will have to think a bit and try to figure out what is going on, I have no leaks anywhere. Oh well, four hours shot. Included is a pic of the new brake tubes. I did not put on the rest of them as the car really needs to be on a lift for me to get the rest of the brake lines. The rest look good, much better than the rears were.

So then I decided to finish painting the rusty frame rails, etc. Got that all done. In total we spread about 1 quart of paint on everything we could see from the mufflers back. Included a pic of the frame that you can see from the rear fender well.

Then I decided to take a look at the wiring under the dash. I started pulling off tape and separating wires. I still have a lot to go, but success is measured an inch at a time. In the pics you can see the main wire that is fried that I am following back. Not a lot of room to work under the dash.

After a while I gave up on that and decided to take a look at the distributer and the points. The points do need to be replaced, oxidization on both sets. I have another couple of sets so will replace them next week. Then I just happened to look at the wiring going to the distributor from the coil and another wire that is coming from the dash to the coil, both were hard as rocks and cracked, showing the wiring under the rubber coating. So I cut off the end and made new attachments for now.

Seeing so much damage to wiring I started looking at each of the wiring bundles and followed them to the horn, lights, etc. They all looked OK. Then I decided to look at the alternator wiring. The wire marked "field" looked funny, then I realized that it was just stuck in the housing and not connected to anything. So I pulled the plastic housing off and could see a broken wire. So the "field" wire was not connected. Just another thing. I do not know if I can repair this myself, the wire is small and tucked inside the housing. So I pulled the alternator and it is sitting on the porch. Have to figure out what to do.

So that was my day, not really a good one to be sure. I cannot believe how abused this car is, everything is about shot. My 1920s cars were not even this difficult to get going.

Well, tomorrow is another day, going to continue on the wiring, and will decide what to do with the alternator. Maybe I will just take it to Reedsville, PA and see if I can find a replacement or someone who can rebuild it.

Here are the pics of today's work.

Edited November 17, 2009 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Not to insult your intelligence, but did you adjust the brakes BEFORE trying to bleed them? If you did not, then you will never get them to work correctly and you will go through many more cans of fluid for no reason...speaking as a brake mechanic.

[ErnieR]

Here's an Autolite number for a replacement alternator ALC-5001. I believe the application is a 70's Toyota something. It's 45 amps and requires enlarging the large bottom hole and either a metric bolt or a rethread for the top. It looks almost identical to the Prestolite.

When mine went years ago I went to a rebuilder that knew his stuff. He looked at the Prestolite went to the shelf and grabbed the Autolite and did the alterations for me on the spot. I purchased the Autolite and left the Prestolite with him for a rebuild. The Autolite has been on the car 13 years and the Prestolite travels as a spare in the trunk on any long trips.

On bleeding the front brakes...I've had better success the old fashioned way than with the vacuum bleeder. Open the bleeder screws and let gravity do the hard work and once you have fluid dripping from the bleeders the Mityvac might work better.

ErnieR

[keiser31]

I should also add to start the bleeding process from the farthest bleeder nipple from the master cylinder and work your way closer...right rear, left rear, right front, left front. Ignore my simplicity if you already know this.

[old car fan]

Keep up the post and progress,always wanted one,but my heart is in to pre war,I still want one.Your post are great.

[unimogjohn]

No, did not adjust the rear brake shoes. Did not think that I had to do that before they were bled. Will adjust them tomorrow AM.

Yes, I did the furthest back first and followed the proper sequence. I have fluid coming out of each cylinder when I open the nipple. I just need extra help to press on the brake pedal to see if anything comes out under pressure. I just may have to re-bleed the master first. I might have gotten air in there.

Ernie, could not find that alternator number on a Google search, also looked at 74 Corona/Corolla also, and the alternator I saw had a different rear end and were not like your picture. Am going to look at Reedsville on Friday. If I cannot find anything I will head down to my local Carquest parts store, they seem to be the most helpful around here.

Also it looks like Studebaker-Intl wants about $180 to have one rebuilt.

My heart is in the 1920s, but just got a bit tired of being run over and trailering my girls everywhere.

[ErnieR]

I tried to research the ALC-5001 number also and couldn't find it but awhile back it was still good and came up to a 74 Toyota Corona or Corolla. Maybe the pictures on the various websites are not correct.

Anyway, maybe your parts store will bring one in and open the box without making you buy it first. Here's mine installed.

ErnieR

[Guest Gary Hearn]

John,

I can get your alternator professionally rebuilt here in Richmond. If you want bring it with you to Reedsville and I can deliver it to Jeff Duty at Automotive Manufacturers. Or better yet, give his shop a call at 804-321-6861 and see where they pick up and deliver to in your area.

Be sure to tell him I sent you. By the way, he did the carb rebuild on my Avanti.

Gary

[Guest stude8]

Wth all the conversation about melted wires and questionable alternators I have to say this about the Avanti alternator system.

The correct alternator for a Studebaker Avanti by the book is Prestolite ALE-5003 it was a 40 amp output unit.

In the early Avanti II's with GM engines that had 60 AMP Delco units, I have personally seen two Avanti II's burn up in parking lots after a dead battery was jump started (left lights on while in restaurant). Engine starts and Delco goes to MAX output to charge the dead battery BUT THE OUTPUT WIRE IS TOO SMALL A GAUGE to conduct the 60 amps. It melts everything around it in the cable and there is total electrical failure and FIRE.

Avanti II immediately increased AWG of output wires but the early cars were in danger by the engineering oversight.

Do not substitute any alternator with more than 40 amps output unless you have a fusible link between it and battery (A good idea no matter what alternator you have).

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Gary and Stude, thanks for the info.

It is Wednesday morning, Nov. 18th.

Just a quick update. Did some calling locally to several Avanti owners, and they told me of a rebuild shop in Strasburg, VA, which is about an hour from me. Talked to the owner, and he said that he does rebuild the Avanti original alternator and has parts on hand. So will be heading to Strasburg tomorrow morning. Bill's Starter & Alternator‎, Strasburg, VA‎ - (540) 465-2575‎. I do have the correct alternator, here are the pics.

I also put in another call to Jon Myer. Talked to Jon, and he said that the supercharger was on the bench. He remarked that he had never seen a charger that was a dirty as mine. Hummmmm, somewhat like the rest of the car. It looks like I will not get away with a service. Oh well, it is only money.

I doubt that I will get much done on the car today, just too many farm chores to do. Heading out now to pick up two big rounds of hay in the Unimog truck. Just love taking her through the woods and pastures to load the hay and come home.

[keiser31]

Those Unimogs are cool beasts!

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, late PM, and very dark. November 18th.

Finished most of my farm chores, and was able to adjust the rear shoes and the parking/emergency brake. Put some lube on the lever in the car, and she became smooth as silk.

Tomorrow, rain, so off to drop of the alternator. Oh, the main wiring harness turned out to be for a Lark, so it would not have the ground for each circuit or the correct plugs. So we will see what we can find in Reedsville, PA on Friday before I bite the bullet for a new harness for around $500.

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday PM, November 19th, and lots and lots of rain. Coming down in buckets. A good day for a road trip. So with my trusty lab Shadow we headed off to get the alternator rebuilt.

The shop was about an hour and a half away. But it was a nice ride in the rain. Also thunderstorms led the way. Met Bill the owner of the shop, and we had a nice talk about old cars and parts. Spent about 30 minutes just talking shop. The alternator will be ready sometime next week. He will totally go through it, replace all the bearing, and check everything out. It will be a good as new, and another piece of the car done. I did not ask about the cost, I enjoy being surprised, and besides I have no other good option right now.

Heading to Reedsville, PA tomorrow morning with my trusty co-driver and Avaniti owner, Alice. We are looking forward to it. Will be a good time. I will take the camera along and will post a few pictures on Saturday.

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, November 20th. ROAD TRIP!

About 11 hours worth including a stop for breakfast and a late lunch. We had a good time in Reedsville, PA talking to all the vendors and participants. Got to meet Jon Myer and his wife Betty. He said that he should have the supercharger done next week; it was being painted today. Yahoo!

The show was relatively small, certainly no Hershey, but at least everything was Studebaker. Some Avanti parts, but really not much. We arrived a little after 10 PM, and I would guess that there were a hundred or so folks looking around.

Honestly, prices were not cheap, you can buy the same parts new from any of the online vendors. I bought a few things from Jon and a couple of others. There were some used Avanti parts there too, but they cost more than new. So not much of a choice there.

But we had a good time, the scenery was great and the roads good, and not very much traffic. All in all we had a great time. Here are a couple of pics to include what we bought, about a $100 worth.

[ErnieR]

i was going to warn you about Reedsville. The Avanti stuff is scarce. York is a little better but let's face it the parts are almost secondary to the experience and comraderie.

ErnieR

[unimogjohn]

Ernie, did you just get a new Avanti?

It is Saturday, November 21st. A fine day, the green hornet is alive.

My trusty helper, Avanti owner, and bride helped me bleed the brakes. It only took about 15 minutes. There was only one burp out of the left rear, other than that all the rest were solid streams. So we had a nice firm pedal with the car still on jack stands.

Throwing caution to the wind we put on the new tires and hubcaps, lowered her down, and started her up. Pressed on the brakes, yes, a good firm pedal, and put it into reverse. With a little lurch she found reverse, I backed her into the front yard. She actually stopped!

So we took a few pictures, started it back up and moved her back to the front of the garage where I could continue to work on her electrical system. We did not drive her today as we have no alternator, therefore, no water pump. So maybe the first drive on the road is next week?

She looks great with her new tires.

Over the next couple of days I am going to concentrate on the electrical system under the dash.

[ErnieR]

I got an '88. I wanted an Avanti 'beater' something I could keep regular insurance on and use as a true driver.

Interesting car, drives like the Monte Carlo that it is underneath but interior, wiring and HVAC are a mish mosh of various manufacturer's parts and in some spots it looks like they just put things together with gum and Duct Tape.

ErnieR

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, November 22nd.

Wish I could report a lot of progress, but the wiring is so fused together it is hard to remove the melted tape and burned/melted wiring. I have to go very slow so I do not damage the other wires in the bundle. It is a little tough to get at it also, working from the underside of the dash. Right now it looks like three wires are fried. Two of them have been bypassed previously. It looks like they all go to the amps gauge or at least on that side of the instrument panel. In addition to all that several wires are just off their terminals, I have no idea where they go yet. They have even pull out a couple of dash lights for some reason. All the gauges are working with the exception of the clock.

My immediate goal with the wiring is just to isolate and repair. The long term goal is to replace the harness. I think I have worked on it about three hours today, and made about 2 inches of progress. I will just keep picking away at it.

[unimogjohn]

It is still Sunday, much later in the day. I do not know why this car calls sme. Maybe it was the weather forecast for two days of rain starting tomorrow.

I decided to stop pulling apart wires, my back feels like a pretzel. So decided to see I could start taking out the some of the hard stains on the top of the car. You might remember that I spent a couple of hour on the rear deck with pretty good results. The roof turned out to be a bit tougher, the stains were really in there good. They will require additional work, but some came out pretty good with rubbing compound. I think the rest may need come more aggressive work, maybe wet sandpaper. The paint is from the early 70 and anything I do will not hurt it more than it is.

Here are a couple of before and after pictures.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Good work, John. Can commensurate with the pretzle feeling. Found out it was a lot easier to work underneath the dash after remiving the front seat.

Ben

[Guest stude8]

In your rewiring project you haven't mentioned if you have a wiring list copy to work with from the shop manual so I scanned the wire list that gives AWG wire gauge sizes, colors and key note wire numbers that relate to the main schematic diagram of entire car circuitry.

The scan files come out pretty large and I had to reduce resolution to add to this entry. I can still read the list when expanding on my computer screen and yoy should get a legible print out to work with. The entire schematic diagram is a two page fold out about 12 pages in from front of shop manual Index D.

The scale of diagram is too large fo my scanner bed and would have to be done in two pages with an overlap for readability. At least this listing is a good guide to what wire went where and did what.

If the image gets reduced in size with attachment send me a PM with your email address and I can send a full res file.

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Ernie, thanks for the offer on the electrics diagram. I have a copy in my shop manual that I am using. The problem is that the previous owner pieced in some new wires into the previously burned wiring, so the color scheme does not always match up.

It is Monday, November 23rd. Cold and raining here today in VA. I did get out before the rain started and used the power washer for the last time. Now that the alternator is out I was able to get behind it and clean around the timing chain cover, and some of the areas that I missed before. So I am now done with all the power-washing and now am using small tools with Fantastic and Simple Green to hit the little places. I am not going to do a lot of repainting of the engine bay. I like the look of it being 46 years old.

I also just received an email from Dan Skidmore (He advertises in Turning Wheels) that the radio is done. Dan reports that it works great. He said he had to replace a few things in the radio, a new speaker, and give it a general clean, lube and tune. The cost with shipping will be $145, very reasonable in my book. I will post pictures when I get it back. It is a standard AM radio.

This is it for the day. Probably will not post for a couple of days as Thanksgiving is approaching, and there is a lot to get done on the farm before winter sets in. But I am hoping that I will get calls about the supercharger and alternator being done sometime this week.

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, November 24th. All is not good in Avanti land today. Was not going to work on it today, but the rains have not come yet and thought I would do a little, simple thing on the engine.

When I was at Reedsville talking to Jon Myers and Greg Cone (Greg is restoring a 63 Avanti from the ground up) and both told me to look at and replace if necessary the rubber line that goes from the rear of the engine to the firewall. This line is for the oil pressure gauge. Both said that if it was still original then they would replace it as heat and time were not good to the rubber. So with such expert advice I decided to buy a line from Jon at a discounted price of $12.50. I figured, why not, every other piece of rubber on the car has been rotten.

So I went to replace it this AM, something simple to do before the rains come. The top fitting came away just fine, the second fitting at the engine would not break loose and someone had rounded it. So I figured the next thing would be to just remove the fitting where it goes into the engine block. So I put a wrench to it, applied just a little pressure and the darn thing broke where it goes into the engine block. Darn, shucks, etc.

I have asked Greg for advice before proceeding. He is a master at these sort of things.

Also it is a good thing I was going to replace the line as it just crumbled when I tried to move it to one side.

Here are some pics. Never a dull moment working on the Avanti.

[Guest stude8]

I'll admit your problem is a little worse than mine was the day my R2 oil hose broke on a trip to the Sandwich IL Fair years ago. Hot oil all over the engine compartment (It burst at 65MPH). A local hardware store had the 1/8" NPT plug to block off the leak and a roll of paper towels to dry up the mess.

I would find a correct size EZOUT tool and maybe heat the broken stump with a Propane torch to soften any thread sealer that is cured solid now, it should back out OK. Keep in mind you will want to clear any debris that manages to get into that opening, crank the engine enough to flush plenty of oil out before connecting your new hose and fittings.

Greg Cone has been working on Avanti's since the 1960's, good thing you had an early warning about the oil sending line before it let go on the road.

John S. (Stude8)

[keiser31]

I would also coat the E-Z-Out with grease so that fewer shavings go into the hole.

[unimogjohn]

It is still Tuesday, November 24th, but now PM.

Thanks all for the advice, all are good. After talking to Greg, he recommended that I try the easy out and if it does not back out easily, he said to drill it out and retap. He also said the gallery can also be accessed via a little plug on the side of the block, he said I could vacuum or fish out the bits that fell. I will heat the area good, and then use more Kroil, and the easy out. Will keep you posted.

Well, the rain held off so removed the front seat (thanks First Born) and was able to get under the dash a little bit better.

I removed about another four inches of wire. This is what I have found out.

There is a bundle of white wires (grounds) all going into two larger white wires (grounds), one of the wires in the bundle shorted and burned. Turns out it was the ground for the tach, and a new ground wire installed outside of the bundle so the tach is still working. No other wires were damaged.

There is a yellow/black wire that is bad and was melted by the large red wire next to it in the bundle. Reading the electric diagram it is goes to the alternator. It is not live. The big red wire goes from the battery, through the solenoid, to the amp guage, and comes back to the alternator via a large black wire. I think I reported that a wire was broken in the alternator so maybe this was the cause of the original overheating/short problem. Wires that go in the alternator are now all white so they must have been replaced at some point, will have to do some more tracking from the alternator back to see how those lines are now terminated. I also notice that the wires going into the regulator are also white. So it looks like the charging circuit was the burning problem and wiring was replaced, but not with the right color wiring.

Bottom line is that the bad wiring has been replaced so I do not have any major electrical issues at this point. It is just making sure that this circuit is complete and functions so I do not burn out the alternator when it goes back on. The alternator was working before the little tab pushed back into the case and then broke off.

More investigative work later. I am going to remove the alternator wire bundle and take a look at those wires. Hope that this all makes sense to you.

Edited November 28, 2009 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[keiser31]

The more I see of that car, the more I like it.

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, November 25th. I have been told to leave the Avanti alone and get ready for the holiday and a weeks worth of company.

I did sneak out for an hour this morning and applied heat to what is left of the fitting, and then used an easy out. I got the easy out pretty tight and the stub was not budging. I do not want to break off that easy out. Now that would be trouble. I will let it soak for another day with Kroil on it and try again. If that does not work I will drill and retap. I will try and remove the little plug on the back so I can stuff something in to the oil gallery to catch the brass debris. Anyway, that is the plan.

Not much of a report, and no progress today. Bummer.........

[dalef62]

If you can get a hacksaw blade or gig saw blade down in the hole try sawing though most of the brass by hand till it starts to hit the cast iron. Then carefully chizel the brass inward and thread it out. It worked for me on a water outlet that broke off flush. Good Luck. Great project.

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday, November 28th. The Avanti motel.

No work on the Avanti, but we did build a garage for it. A few weeks ago we won a bidding war at Habitat for Humanity for a tent garage. So today, my son, Chris, and I decided to put it up. He read the instructions, figured out where everything went, and we went to work with a little tree clearing. The instructions said that it would take two hours, well, 8 hours later we were done almost, have the back and front doors to do tomorrow, and fasten down the sides of the garage. Looks great and will serve to keep the Avanti nice and dry during the winter. I will put down a blue tarp as the floor so we should not have any moisture issues. We are happy.

The attached pics are of our little project. Oh, I did pick up a new oil pressure fitting yesterday, so maybe tomorrow we will be able to get back on the Avanti. But company is here so it is difficult to just break away.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

[Guest stude8]

John

I have been reading your reports over the Holiday here and saw the comments about removing the oil sender tube fitting stump. I didn't want to be the one to suggest splitting the side wall of the broken fitting to avoid getting any more infiltration of debris in the oil gallery passages but it is a probable solution to try if the EZout doesn't free up the stump.

If you look on page 5 of the "Engine" chapter in the Avanti shop manual there is a phantom view illustration of the internal oil gallery system if it might be of assistance to know where the debris is likely to fall inside. I was trying to think of a method to apply air pressure from an external source to the oil passages to cause an outward draft through the broken fitting that would blow any debris out while sawing the fitting wall to prevent it from migrating downward but can't make a positive recommendation. Maybe a helper with a shop vacuum could keep a suction at that spot when sawing and chiseling.

I have done a lot of work on pre-war Studebakers and on my 1930 and now the 1928 I have had to resort to Acetylene torch heat to free frozen bolts and fittings several times. It seems like last resort technology but very high heat in small areas like nuts and fittings is very productive, the rapid and great expansion the heat causes frees the worst galled threads and hopelessly siezed fittings can be rotated again well enough to back out of their threaded component. Don't heat the EZout but remove it during heat application then reinsert and try it with carefull application of torque so as not to stripout what hold it is biting into.

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Stude8, thanks we tried all your suggestions. We were kinda successful.

It is Sunday, November 29th. We spent a few hours finishing the Avanti hotel. I have included a couple of pics of the final reveal. Will be a nice winter home for the "Green Hornet". I am impressed with the fit and finish of the Garage in a Box.

Then Chris and I turned to the broken fitting. First we heated the heck out of it with a propane torch and used an easy out. It did not move. We let it cool down a bit and tried the easy out again. Nothing. So off to plan B, we drilled out to the next smaller size than 3/8th. That got the majority of the old fitting out. We made sure that we had lots of grease on the drill, and we used q-tips with grease down into the gallery to pick up all the debris. Tried then to use the easy out, nothing. On to plan C, slowly worked the drill to each side and observed the removal of brass, finally we worked the tap and were finally successful in making new threads. We started to thread in the new fitting and it got hung up somewhere and popped out.

So we gave up for the day, as the threads on the new fitting a bunged up a bit. So rather than force in the fitting and messing up the new threads we will use an old fitting to see if we can clean and chase the threads before we try again. Plan D I guess is tomorrow, whatever plan D is.

[Guest stude8]

Just to be sure you know those threads in the block are 1/8" NPT (National Pipe Taper thread) and not 3/8-27 straight thread. *Unfortunately I don't have a machinist handbook here and cannot give the correct pilot drill hole size for 1/8" NPT pitch tap.

A Straight thread tap would likely not clean the debris in the hole threads deep enough to allow the new fitting to go in easily or very far without binding in the hole.

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Stude8, thanks for the info. I will take a look at what I was using tomorrow, and if need be will head down to Home Depot and see if I can pick up what I need.

Could not wait so ran to the tool box in the garage, so took a look at what I used, and it was a 3/8 24; and you are right, should have used a 3/8 27 at least or NPT as you recommend. So tomorrow I will see what I can get and re-thread. So much for my "complete tap and die set".

[Guest Backyardmechanic]

Just wounder how those garages would hold up in the havey snow up north here n PA.

Vern