Avanti Rescue

[Richard1]

Great going. You are right about saving them. Sometimes you have to wonder why, but I figure once finished, there are no surprises. You know what you have, and who to blame if something fails.

I have to admit I don't follow daily, with my businesses and the Renault and Mini (plus both houses decided they wanted work this year), but I'll jump in with a couple of suggestions that you might already know.

When you put the door panels on for good, get some rope caulk from Home Depot to put behind the inner paper. Also great for any openings between lights and gaskets or other holes (I put it behind the headlight buckets and several blank plates on my Corvair).

If you do change the thermostat, I never put one in without drilling a 1/8" hole in it. That hardly affects the function (way too small), but avoids air entrapment. The hot water in the engine heats the paraffin tube to open the valve, but if air is trapped, the air won't heat the paraffin, so it doesn't open. So the 1/8" hole lets the air through.

And on the trim, I'm not sure what it is made of, but most cars of that time were stainless steel, as my Corvair and Renault. Don't waste money on new pieces when a couple of hours work will make them like new if they are stainless with the process on my site that I think you've seen.

[SeventhSon]

Richard, good to see you're still checking on what I am doing and thanks for the suggestions!

Happy New Year everyone - hope it's a great one!

Well, the old Avanti has been consuming lots of my time the last few days - on Sunday I set about preparing the things for the glass re-install. First I trimmed the headliner to match the window opening - I used a Dremel-like cutoff tool and she was done in a moment. Then I glued and clipped various pieces of the trim vinyl that folds over the "fence" (the window lip), just so they wouldn't start pulling up when the drawcord came by. After that I set about working on affixing the weatherstrip onto the glass - things went pretty straightforward and basically the same as the windshield. Meaning black sealer goop was everywhere. After getting the rubber on I taped it with some masking tape and called it a night.

On Monday I hit the garage early and cleaned as much of the goop off of everything, then installed the stainless trim. Those pieces went on fairly well - just a light struggle really. The shop manual recommends using liquid soap to make the pieces go in easier and "lock" into place. However, I don't like using anything like that because I feel that the stuff that makes the pieces go in easier makes them pop out easier, too. So I just like to fit them in dry if they'll go. After I was able to get all the pieces in place and the seam clips slid into place I taped everything tight with shipping tape (a Greg Cone suggestion, thanks). Then I pulled some of the earlier clips off and started masking the areas where the weatherstrip would go on the interior (don't want the black goop on everything). Then, having had my morning fill, I took a break and we headed out for some fun. I knew that when we returned I was going to do the final prep for the install. After a few hours to "re-center" we returned and I set about for the final push. I finished masking the interior, cut a length of drawcord and put it into the weatherstrip, taping the excess to the window. Then I laid down a bead of black sealer in the window opening along the fence. Just then my wife appeared and asked if it was ready - two minutes came the reply.

I sprayed some rubber and vinyl restorer along the weatherstrip so as to make the rubber easier to "crawl over the fence", then I put two suction cup handles on the glass and we lifted it into place. From there it was pretty straightforward, I pulled the cord from inside while my wife followed along outside, pressing along the edge of the glass. The rubber ran over the fence beautifully and the only problem I really encountered was at the top center of the window. There is a retaining clip in the top center of the stainless trim on the outside, I suppose to keep the glass from taking flight while speeding down the road. On the inside there is a metal backing plate that the retaining clip attaches to. Well, when the drawcord hit that metal plate it pulled it out of place (because it was just held there by the headliner). So that was the only mar to a pretty good install - I ended up having to pull the headliner piece because I couldn't work around it to get the retainer clip screw in. Otherwise, everything was good - I cleaned everything up and the old girl looks pretty good for 50 years old.

This morning I was worn out with the whole thing and I was going to take the beast back to the storage unit and get my daily driver. However, my wife gave me the pep talk and convinced me to keep the old car here (!) and continue with all the things I had planned. So, what could I do, argue? And the Virginia Rocket is gonna stay home for awhile while I work on her some more - it makes my heart glad.

So today I picked up a slightly longer retaining clip screw (the original wouldn't quite make it through the backing plate) and when we got home tonight I installed that screw. Then I wrestled with the headliner to get it back into place - it is not as far toward the rear of the car as I wanted, but I will be damned if I could get it to move backward. I tried all sorts of tricks - I finally gave up after hearing a couple of crick, crick in the fiberglass headliner, meaning it wants to crack. OK, the headliner wins - the weatherstrip covers it along the back portion by about a quarter inch, which is fine with me.

Tomorrow, back to work to start a new year. But the old rocket will be waiting for me when I get home!

[SeventhSon]

A few more pics:

[r1lark]

Happy New Year Chris! And good job on that window install. Thinking thru the steps and being prepared makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Looking forward to following your progress this year. Me, I'm just trying to thin down the herd of 'in progress' projects that have fell to the back burner, to get me some working room inside. At 55 I have come to the realization that all this stuff will not get done.............

[SeventhSon]

Happy New Year to you Paul! Glad to see you still check out what's happening with the old Avanti in this, her 50th anniversary year. I agree, preparation is the key to getting it done - even then the gremlins pop up and bite you sometimes.

Yeah, if you don't thin the herd of some projects you get buried in them. Best to let some other folks have the fun!

[unimogjohn]

Chris, great job and perseverance on the glass. You have gone where others, like me, fear to tread. Keep pressing on in the new year. Remember, one little bite at a time. Again, super job on the glass replacement, both ends!

[avantey]

Chris- Thank you for a new inspiration! I had forgot this is the 50th for our Avanti's. I almost got mine back on the road last year but that stalled when my friend took ill again. I talked to him last week, he is having more trouble from his chemo but she will get out of his barn this year. After all how many people will have a fifty and one hundred year old Studebaker to play with? A once in a lifetime chance for us to drive and display two points in Stude history at a milestone point. About five years ago I considered starting a frame-off on the Avanti to be done for this birthday year. Given my track record it would still be a pile of parts!

Happy New Year,

[SeventhSon]

Thanks John! Now maybe I can focus on something "easy" - hehe...

Bill - wow, you do have a 50 and a 100, that's great! I hope you get that Avanti out on the road where it belongs, carrying on the proud heritage! And I know what you mean by a pile of parts - that's why I am reluctant to tear them all apart. Too hard for me to get 'em back together!

Happy New Year, guys.

[SeventhSon]

Last night was a light duty night - I wanted to reduce the amount of retaining clip screw sticking down into the weatherstrip and holding it open. The night before my wife said I could take a piece of hacksaw blade and cut it off. Then the light bulb came on and I realized I could use the Dremel tool cutoff wheel (okay, I'm slow). So last night I got the cutoff wheel, put on the old safety glasses, and within a few seconds the excess screw was cut off and smoothed down. Now the weatherstrip lays a little flatter.

Then I took some Goof Off and cleaned the headliner of all the black goop that was along the weatherstrip, plus other areas that I had dirtied up while trying to move the thing into position. I'm happy with the look of the thing - it'll do for a fun occasional driver. Next I hope to install the front part of the headliner, maybe tonight?

[SeventhSon]

More fun last night with the Avanti - it sure is nice having the old car so near. I can just come home, eat, and hit the garage. I guess I should make the best of it as I'm giving myself the month of January to finish the interior cleanup. We'll see how that goes...

I decided to go ahead and install the other headliner piece. So, I grabbed a sanding block and pad and scuffed off the old headliner adhesive, trying not to breathe while doing so. The old adhesive looked rough but it would basically turn to powder when I touched it, so it was easy to knock it out in a couple of minutes. Not sure what kind of adhesive it was but like I said, I held my breath when it turned to dust.

After cleaning up the dust I grabbed the front piece of headliner and had a look at how it would fit. I wasn't sure if it would need to be trimmed so I took a couple of measurements and determined that it should fit just as it was. So I removed the plastic covering and went at it, turning and bowing it to make it fit into place. The first attempt went awry, I couldn't get the last corner to fit so I removed it and tried a different angle. I just chanted in my mind, "Don't crack, don't crack, don't crack", as I pulled and bowed it. And next thing you know it was in place. Fits nice and stays in place, just like the catalog says. I'm happy with it, please don't be too critical when you look at the pictures - I know some of the interior pieces are kind of rough. I'm going to work on them and "pretty them up" as best as possible, especially that overhead switch console which cracked while I was manhandling it. Actually, it's so delicate that I could have girlhandled it and it would have cracked.

A couple of days ago I contacted a company that specializes in interiors for Studebakers. I asked them if I could get a rear shelf from them - I received a reply instructing me on how to make one. I'm not sure why they wouldn't sell me one, but I decided to go ahead and try to make my own. I stopped by Home Depot to check out plywood and found a nice quarter sheet of 1/2 inch plywood. But I wasn't sure if it was a big enough piece, so I laid out a 2 foot by 4 foot rectangle on the floor of the garage last night and laid the crusty old rear shelf down on it. Nope, not gonna fit. I tried turning it diagonally. Still nope. Looks like it's going to be a full sheet of plywood, unless they sell half sheets. I'll look into it today.

[unimogjohn]

Chris, good job on the headliner. Interesting to see how they glued the old cardboard headliner to the fiberglass. I still have mine, sort of. The previous owners had carefully peeled a couple of layers from the cardboard to still leave a bit of the embossed impression in what was left. Still looks OK for a driver.

Question, what are you going to use for the vinyl cover of the new shelf. Did you buy some fawn vinyl that you have not told us about?

[SeventhSon]

Hi John - thanks, that headliner is all fiberglass, no cardboard. It's probably 1/8" thick and embossed with that checked pattern. It fits right into place - looks fine for what I'm doing. I haven't found any vinyl yet to cover that rear shelf - I just started looking around some this week. I emailed Nimesh Solanki yesterday and asked if he had any stuff laying around. He said he didn't have any shelf and that he had the vinyl custom made for the beautiful Avanti he did (man, I love that car!).

I'll probably try to find something similar and make it work. That's the mantra on this car "Make it work".

[SeventhSon]

Well, tonight was supposed to be another light duty night - I wanted to put the roll bar cover on that I got 10 months ago (don't know why I bought it then, when the interior work was so far off). So I figured I would slap the retainer clips I got way back when on the cover and snap it into place, then go surf the net. Let the battle begin. First of all, the retainer clips are of such a strength as to hold the bumper on. And there are 6 of them! They wouldn't just slip into the slots on the back of the cover without first being spread open a bit. Then when you try to squeeze the clip (as it would when being pushed into the mounting hole) the clip pops off. Well, this cover weighs all of 16 ounces (maybe less), and 6 heavy duty clips is overkill. As I sat in the back of the car trying to get all the clips lined up and they were popping off I thought of the old clips I pulled off the other night.

As I was working on the rear window the other night I was looking at the roll bar. There were 3 of the old roll bar cover clips still hanging from the roll bar. I pulled them out and looked at them - I thought I would save them as you never know when you might need a clip or two. Well, tonight, as it became apparent that the heavy duty clips were not going to cut it I looked down on the floor of the car and thought, "Hmmm...I wonder if these will work?". The old clips were still attached to the old rusty metal cross pieces that fit in the old roll bar cover. I slid them off and gave the clips a squeeze. Much easier "give" to the old clips. I decided that three clips were all that were needed to hold up a few ounces of roll bar cover. I still had to struggle a bit to get everything to line up and keep the clips in place and get the cover to snap on. After a few attempts the cover was on - then I wiped it down with vinyl protectant. Ended up looking ok. Took a little longer than I had expected. Doesn't everything?

[Richard1]

Looking good

[SeventhSon]

Thanks Richard - I got back to it this morning pretty early. The first picture below shows some of the parts I wanted to install today. First of all, you can delete the springs for the door handle and window crank. Avanti doesn't use them - at least the shop manual doesn't mention them. Then, the little clear plastic spacers can't be installed because they don't match up with the escutcheons. They match up with the old escutcheons but the new escutcheons are a little different. Beautifully tooled, but different. So, a little later when I was putting the door handle and window crank on I discovered that little variance - plastic spacer doesn't match up with new escutcheons. I guess the Chinese folks misread the shop drawings for one or the other. I'll have to check with Studebaker International and find out what is up.

So anyway, first thing I did was install the little rubber bumper on the gas lid opening. Now the gas lid goes "thunk" instead of "ting". Little victories....

Next I took off the door panel - I didn't have it all the way on anyway, as I knew I would be working on it. After removing the panel I decided to work on the vent window a bit. Ever since I have had the car the vent window would only open an inch or so. I figured it was frozen shut and some WD 40 would help it. So I sprayed some of that at the lower pivot area and worked the window back and forth. It wouldn't give much. I sprayed more WD 40 and let it sit for a spell. Before long I was able to move the window more, sprayed some more, worked the window more. After a few minutes of that the window now opens all the way, swinging easily open and shut. Another small victory.

Then I put the door panel back on and that's when I discovered the problem with the plastic spacers. The original spacers are missing on the left side door - it doesn't matter, they won't work with the new escutcheons anyway. I installed the new door handle and window crank without them - I'll have to correct it later. After that fun it was time for a break - we headed out for a few hours.

Later, after returning home, I set about to replace the interior light switch. I removed the busted up old one, pulled the wire connectors off, and was pleasantly surprised to see the spade connectors already had holes in them. Which works with the new switch that has screw connectors instead of slide on connectors. After installing the switch I turned on the main battery cutoff switch to see if the dome lights would work. They still don't. But I discovered that the courtesy light now goes off when I push in the new switch. Another small victory. Tempered by the fact that the switch is not affected by the door being closed! What? Yep, when I close the door the edge of the door doesn't push the switch in. Another small defeat - I'll have to try to find the answer to that little puzzle....

Somewhere in my memory banks I remembered seeing the courtesy light cover in the glovebox - I had a look in there (the glovebox light works!) and there it was. I cleaned it up and put it on. Tomorrow I think I'll take a ride in the old car.

[SeventhSon]

More pics from today's fun:

[Richard1]

How about a little spacer between the post and the switch to hold the switch out a bit closer to the door?

[Landman]

Chris, is that primer we see under the red or was the car Acqua at one time?

[SeventhSon]

Good idea Richard - I would need to get longer screws, but that should do it. I was thinking of gluing a little striker plate to the door opposite the switch. But I like your idea better.

Pat, the original color was Turquoise, then someone changed it to Maroon.

Today, I didn't do anything with the car except take it for a ride for 20 minutes, then pulled it in the garage with the front end facing in so I can work on the right side door. So, in summary, I drove the car and turned it around - big day. I laid off working on it tonight because my football team finally made it to the playoffs for the first time in a long time and I decided to relax and watch them. Big mistake - another disappointment.

Ah well, back to the car work tomorrow.

Edited January 7, 2013 by SeventhSon (see edit history)

[SeventhSon]

Well, back at it last night. I started the work on the right side door, removing the door handle, window crank, and panel. The window (or ventilator, as the shop manual refers to it) was cranking hard, so I figured I should lube everything up like I did the left side. I hit the various mechanics with Super Lube, which is kind of difficult since I left my "applicator" at the storage unit. The "applicator" being a small diameter wooden dowel I picked up somewhere. Works great for getting the grease in the hard to reach spots. I ended up having to use the longest screwdriver I have, along with a plastic zip tie.

After getting the "ventilator" to crank up and down nicely I turned my attention to the little "ventilator", the vent window. Man, the one on this side was worse than the left side - basically frozen shut. I sprayed the pivot points with WD 40 repeatedly and worked the window back and forth as much as possible. I was afraid it was going to break so I took it as easy as I could. I ended up getting it to open, but it still isn't totally free like the left side. I soaked it some more and left it until later. I'll keep working it.

With the few minutes I had left I cleaned some of the debris from the door bottom, leaves and junk brought home from Texas. I'll give it a vacuum tonight. I'm about halfway on the door, tonight I'll finish up the cleaning and lubing, then start putting things back together.

Next up will be building a new rear shelf - progress has been made in getting some vinyl for it. I asked the folks at Southeast Studebaker for a sample of the "fawn" color vinyl that they use on their Studebaker interiors and they have a piece on the way to me. Also, last night when I arrived home, my wife had picked up several samples from a couple of fabric stores (which I forgot to get pictures of). They look good - it looks like I'll have several options available once I find out just what color "fawn" is.

[SeventhSon]

Back at it last night - the first pictures show the vinyl pieces my wife picked up for me. I'm sure one of them will do just fine, once I determine just what color "fawn" is. I think it's an off white, like cream. But I guess I should be trying to get a close match to what is on the upper seat back, where the rear speaker is. That is a form of white, faded over the decades, of course. In any case, it's all coming up in the next few days when I move on to the rear shelf construction. I hope I can make something that looks OK.

Last night I finished up the right side door, throwing a little more lube here and there, then covering up the various openings with duct tape. Then the door panel went back on, along with the lock lever and handles. Turned out pretty good for a crusty old car - I'm going to leave the old, original carpet on the right side for now. I might dye it black. Or just leave it as a historical reminder of the cool carpet they used to put in the Avanti, the "salt and pepper" stuff that is no longer available. Also, I don't want to tear the door panels apart to put the new carpet pieces on - they are already hurting enough as it is.

Also last night, I hit the vent window with some more WD 40 and worked it back and forth. Now it opens and closes like it's supposed to. Or at least like a 50 year old vent window is suppose to.

Looks like tonight will be the right side interior light switch, which I hope will complete the circuit to the overhead lights that don't work. At least that is the hope. Also, I have a cigarette lighter fuse to install. Then it will be time to begin work on the rear shelf - I'll have to work up a pattern utilizing the crusty old shelf, along with some measurements taken from the opening under the rear window. Sounds like fun....

[Roger Zimmermann]

When I did the Avanti model, I could buy at Studebaker International a can of turquoise and fawn vinyl paint. I was lucky because shortly after, USPS cancelled the surface mail; paint cannot be shipped air mail...

The color is like a very light brown, darker or stronger than the samples you are showing. Maybe the attached picture does justice to that

color.

[SeventhSon]

Thanks Roger - you have actually jogged my memory. I have a can of that fawn paint that I got a while back and stuck in a box. Now I will dig it out and spray it on something to see what I'm looking for. I believe I am going to have to just match the old vinyl on the seat back that has faded to white.

[SeventhSon]

The other day I located a half size sheet of plywood (4'x4') that looks like it will work just fine for the rear shelf. Since we had my wife's car I wasn't able to get it, so today at lunch I took the company truck to the local Home Depot and got it. 1/2" thick (actually 15/32", but close enough). So I took that home and put it in front of the Avanti, then dug in the parts box and retrieved the vinyl paint that Roger reminded me I had. Then I grabbed a piece of white cardboard and gave it a spray. Just as I suspected, fawn goes by another name. Tan. Light Brown. Or, if you want to get la-di-da, Mocha.

Fawn wouldn't be my first choice if I had a choice. Just different preferences for different folks. As you may have noticed, I picked black for the roll bar cover. I don't know if that was the original color of this car's roll bar cover, but it is now! I know most of the Avantis had "Fawn" roll bar covers, but I have seen a black one or two.

So now, I have to wonder. Did the seat back and shelf come in a white color. Or is it like the lady at Southeast Studebaker said - that those pieces were Fawn and faded to white? I swear I think they were white - sure look white to me, same with the door panel top sections - white. Even my two Avanti models (store bought) have white in those areas. I also have to wonder, what color is Elk?

Much ado about nothing I suppose. I'm going to find some vinyl to match the top seat back and go with that. It'll sure be closer to White than Mocha.

Edited January 9, 2013 by SeventhSon (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Chris, my package shelf is Fawn, the same as on the door panels. Unless you go radical on me, your car is a driver so I would just pick something close and go with that. Just make sure that you buy enough of the stuff to do the entire car. At least it will be all one color/lot.

[SeventhSon]

I'll have to look at some of your pictures from your thread. I was wondering what your shelf was.

[SeventhSon]

Yesterday, in the mail, there was the sample vinyl from Southeast Studebaker confirming what I had discovered earlier in the day with my vinyl paint. Fawn is a sort of light brown, mocha color. And, like the lady from Southeast Studebaker said, my interior has gone white from age. Sort of like my hair. Ah well, looks like I'm going to match what's there, clean up the rest to the best of my limited abilities, and leave it at that.

Last night I hit a couple of electrical items. First, I replaced the cigarette lighter fuse in the hope that the cigarette lighter would work again. It doesn't. Not a big deal - I just like to have all the stuff work. I'll fool around with it sometime in the future.

Then I hit the interior switch on the right side. Pretty straightforward install - I haven't decided how to proceed with getting the door to engage the switch yet. Longer screws and a spacer or a striker plate attached to the door. Something else to figure out soon. I had hoped that the overhead interior lights would magically come on once I got the second interior switch installed. Like the cigarette lighter, nope. So I climbed into the back and had a look at the overhead lights. One thing, the bulbs are pretty loose - looks like the contact plate has lost it's spring tension. As I was fooling around with the bulb holder with a small screwdriver I created a few sparks. So there is juice there. I got my electrical meter and checked it - yep, approximately 12 volts showing. So, it looks like a refresh is in order for the two overhead light assemblies.

Hmmm....should I do that tonight, or start on the rear shelf? We'll see...

[SeventhSon]

Well, I decided to go ahead with the rear shelf construction - the overhead lights can wait! Last night I made a sketch and took a bunch of measurements of the opening where the old shelf used to fit. Earlier yesterday I picked up a 4'x4' piece of flooring underlayment, which is basically a thin plywood, maybe 1/8 inch thick, to use to make a pattern. I didn't really want to use such a solid piece of something but I couldn't quite figure out what I needed. I knew what I wanted but I couldn't find it. I made it a short night last night - after taking the measurements and making a sketch I called it a night.

This morning, when my boss came in to work, he asked me if it was going to be an Avanti weekend. I told him the rest of the month was going to be Avanti time. He asked what was on the schedule and I told him I was going to have to brush up on my carpentry skills. He was puzzled by that, then I explained about having to make a rear shelf and how I had to make a pattern and I didn't really like the material I was going to use. He immediately disappeared and came back a moment later with a piece of foam board. That's what I was looking for! Foam board is about an eighth inch thick, but very light and strong. It is used to mount everything from construction plans for display to art work for display. Only problem, the piece my boss had was not big enough, but he suggested I call the company that does all our printing. I called them - they had a scrap piece that was the perfect size. I picked it up at lunch - thanks Brickwall Printing!

When I mentioned to my boss that I had taken a bunch of measurements and was going to create the pattern that way he was dubious. That never works out, was his opinion, and I knew it to be true. Besides, he's a Professional Engineer - I have to listen to him. That was when I decided to scrap the measurements and just use the crusty old shelf to trace - I would just have to make allowances for the warped nature of the old shelf. And that's what I did tonight - laid the old rotten shelf on top of the foam board and, putting my weight on the warped parts, I traced the outline of the old shelf onto the foam board. Then it was just a matter of cutting it out with a utility knife. Then I stuck it in the back of the old car and checked the fit. Not bad - a couple of places needed trimming, and a couple needed "expanding". I marked those spots on the foam board.

Next, it was time to lay the foam board on the plywood and trace it out. I located my jig saw and went at it - before long I had a plywood shelf. I didn't check that fit yet,it was time to call it a night. I'll see how it fits tomorrow.

[Richard1]

I think this comes up a lot, and people say measure. There is almost no way to plot the measurements.

What I found best was just take a piece of cardboard and start trimming on one side. If you trim too much, you trim more from what is left. You can flip it to see if it is the same on the other side, or make another for the other side. Once done, a single measurement will tell you how far apart to put the two pieces of cardboard to trace the ends. And if you are using cushioned fabric or carpet, trim a little extra to avoid re-trimming the plywood. If you screw up the cardboard, it is cheap to make more.

I made the carpet template by gluing pieces of a desk calendar and trimming them.

[SeventhSon]

Richard, I was going to try cardboard but I couldn't find a solid piece large enough. I'm just glad I had the old unit to trace, even though it was pretty busted up.

Another day for progress today. I headed out to the garage this morning and traced the access opening onto the new shelf. I grabbed the jig saw and cut it out, then looked at the board. The edges were ragged and in some spots were a little wavy where I lost concentration. Then I remembered the belt sander I got several years ago to sand the floor. Oh yeah, that'll work - I retrieved that from its cabinet and went to town on the board. It smoothed out the rough and wavy edges - almost looks professional! Of course, that's what it says on the sander - "Professional", so they must be telling the truth. Then I checked the fit - not too bad. I had to remove the board and give one of the curved edges a little sanding to get a better fit, but I think its going to be A-OK.

Tonight I hit the garage again and removed all the crusty old hardware from the crusty old shelf. By the time I had removed all the pieces the old package shelf was ready for the trash bag. Which is where it went - she had a long life, but due to years of neglect, died young. I then cleaned up the hardware with a wire brush and spayed the pieces with some Rust Reformer. And that's where I left it - another day with some progress. Can't complain about that.

P.S. I was only able to get 2 pictures to load. More tomorrow.

[SeventhSon]

Let's see if the pictures will post now:

[SeventhSon]

A light day on the Avanti - I had intended to drive the old car today but I woke up to a foggy, misty morning, and it pretty much stayed that way all day. Not good weather for driving around, I think. So, the old girl stayed parked in the garage and this afternoon, since I don't yet have the materials to proceed with the rear shelf, I took care of a couple of things I had to do on this interior refresh. I switched out the old, pitted rear view mirror stem for a new one that Studebaker International just started offering. The new one is all shiny chrome, a little different shape than original, thinner. Just a little something to freshen things up a little.

Next, I turned to the shifter boot, which is one of the first things I replaced when I got the car on the road last May. The new shifter boot came with a chrome trim ring, however, none of the screws I had that day would fit through the mounting holes. So I used the old rusty trim ring with the new boot - I just flipped the old ring over so most of the rust didn't show. So, today was the day to fix the temporary shifter boot install - I picked up some pop rivets in the correct length, along with some washers to use for "back stops". Then it was just a matter of pulling off the piece of the console holding the shifter boot, cleaning things up a bit, and pop riveting the new chrome ring into place. Now everything is back together and the trim ring looks nice and pretty - just another little thing to dress the old girl up a little. For her 50th birthday.

[Woodfiddler]

Nice work Chris. The ole girl sure is looking good. It always helps to have her close by!

Chuck

[SeventhSon]

Thanks Chuck - yep, it sure does help to have the car so close. Makes it enjoyable working on it, actually.

Last night I decided to try my hand at automotive upholstery. I've never fooled with that stuff before, so it's all new to me. Yesterday at lunch I stopped at the local fabric store and picked up some vinyl, some "batting", and some black felt. The vinyl, of course, to cover the rear shelf piece, the batting to make a softer feel to it, and the black felt for the underside.

After work last night I got to it, setting up the handy work table in the garage and cutting the batting to fit. I didn't want the batting to go over the edges so I cut it basically the same size as the board. Then I measured a piece of the vinyl and started fooling around with covering the board. I was afraid I had not cut the vinyl big enough - it was close, but ended up working out. I fit the vinyl to the board and did some "test" foldovers to see how the corners and curves would fit. At first it seemed like the vinyl wasn't going to be smooth - then I realized it was going to have to be stretched tight, really tight.

So, after studying things a bit, I jumped right in. I pulled the vinyl tight at the bottom (along the straight edge) and stapled as I went. I would staple a couple of spots on one side, then move to the other side and pull tight and staple the same area on that side. Back and forth, pull tight, staple, pull tight, staple. The tricky part was the interior curve in the access opening. I had to cut a couple of relief slits in the material to get the curve to fit. After I made it to the long curved side thing were looking pretty good - I just kept pulling really tight and stapling.

In the end I had to step back and have a look. Conclusion: not bad for an amateur, I guess.

[Guest Foggy norm]

Aww, com'on Chris, quit pulling our leg. How far out of the picture, did you tell your wife to stand.......hee hee

[SeventhSon]

Haha - no, it was all me, I swear!

[SeventhSon]

Fun With Upholstery continued last night, with the trap door being covered. I had the piece of plywood that I cut out of the main piece, plus I had the batting I cut out of the other piece, so I was good to go. First I wanted to cut a little notch in the piece like the old one had, which allows for the little pull tab to fit in place and not bind up the opening and closing of the door. So I marked the spot and grabbed the jig saw and in a minute I had my notch. A little bigger than I had hoped - the old unit had a very shallow and tight notch. But, for an amateur, I guess it's ok.

Then it was time for covering the piece. Same as the night before, fiddle around with it until it looks right and then start stapling. I pulled the vinyl as tight as I could and stapled, then repeat all around. Then a check to see if the door actually fit in the opening - that was a big concern. I didn't want the material covering everything to keep the door from closing properly. It looks like things fit well, now the concern is: will the whole unit fit in the car? Ha, we'll see!

I had a little time left so I decided to mount the metal brace on the underside of the big piece - the brace has two slots in it that the "hinges" on the door stick into. The hinges are really just two tabs attached to the door that stick into those two slots. Makes the door easily removable. I had to come up with a mounting plan for the brace - as the plywood is only 1/2" thick I had trouble finding wood screws with a large enough head to cover the mounting holes on the brace. In fact, I couldn't find the wood screws I needed, so I had to get 1/2" sheet metal screws and pair them with stainless fender washers. It worked out so I'm happy with it.

[Landman]

Chris,

How would you like to come up here and install my uphoilstery kit when the time comes.

[unimogjohn]

Chris, can hardly wait until it is fitted back in the car. The old girl is starting to look good now. Great job!

[SeventhSon]

Haha - thanks, Pat, let's see how this one finishes first. You may rescind that offer!

Thanks John - it feels good to make progress and help something back from the near grave. So far, so good....