In A Quadary....

I bought an Avanti yesterday and am not sure what to do with it....

This is a late 64, thick back bucket car, recently (mileage-wise) rebuilt R1 with a PowerShift that was rebuilt at the same time. 3.54 TT rear end with all the Avanti hardware attached...

This car is a non-A/C car needing EVERYTHING. The left front fender and header panel are broken and will need replaced. The front bumper center section may or may not be albe to be straightened (very possibly not). The stainless around the windshield and rear glass are dented and dinged. It looks like it was repainted with a brush (SERIOUSLY). The interiror is badly weathered and all the soft parts will need replaced. The hood was damaged when the left front was broken and the damage extend (not badly) into the left door and rear quarter. At first look, you instantly say "Parts Car".

However, when up on the lift, the frame and hog troughs are excelletn!

The problem comes in that wtih $20k invested, this would be a nice $15k car. It would HAVE to be done for the love of the car and I don't have that love in me. I have a '64 R2 4-speed that is requiring that amount of love.

I'd hate to see a car like this parted out since it is SO solid on the under side... BUT, the car is so rough, I don't know that anyone would put the work required into it to bring it back....

Your thoughts???

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

Trust me, it's real tempting. Well, all but the Lark on the Avanti chassis... I don't want to do that much fabrication to make a Lark fit it.

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

I think you should give it to me, and I will make it my beater car :)

nate

(hey, it wouldn't be the first time I've driven around in an ancient, ugly car...)

This one is defintely a tough call, Pat... I have a couple spare Lark convertible frames here so I really don't need it for a Lark. There are many Avantis out there needing a donor frame though.

This is the first Avanti 3.54 TT rear end I've ever seen. The cop car has a 3.54 with all the Avanti goodies but is an open rear. I think that car is getting the flanged Avanti II 3.73 I have here for it. Come to think of it, every Avanti I've had here has had 3.73 gears in it.

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

Hey, it runs, it drives, it just hasn't quite reached the "can toss keys to a friend without paranoia" stage yet :)

nate

I replied to you via e-mail... let me know if it came thru.

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

LOL, N8.... You haven't finished your OTHER beater car (read that the '55) yet....

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

That's interesting... this car is a PowerShift automatic and my '64 R2

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

So put a price on it and if low enough I will drive it home!!!>

Lee,

Through a price out and see what you catch. Anything, but parting it out. Make someone who really wants one a nice cheap Avanti project.

Bo

Hey Bo,

For what I have in the car, sitting in my driveway right now, I'd be just at break-even on it at $5300.

If someone wanted a project car at that price, I'd watch it go away. Otherwise, it will probably start the parting process no later than Monday noon.

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

My old '63 R-1 four speed had a 3.54 in it. Got around 21 mpg if I didn't put my foot in it too much...

JT

Lee wrote:

Warn't that some kind of carb. A quandary jet? (:-)

I just spent a couple hours going over it to see if his claims of a rebuilt R1 and PowerShift were anywhere near true... The engine looked clean enough to have been recently apart and the trans looked pretty clean with fluid that looked and smelled like it just came out of the bottle..

I primed the oil pump, cranked it and had pressure, put my portable fuel tank on it and hit the key. It took about 2 revolutions and the thing purred to life like it'd been shut off 2 hours before! 55 PSI cold idle, 20-25 warm (160 degrees with 18 in/hg vacuum) and 50-55 PSI @ 2400 RPM warm (yes, the tach works too). The transmission engages firmly and immediately.... Sounds GREAT when you goose it a bit and feels nice and tight... no smoke, popping, missing or anything else you'd dred and it sounds tight as a new engine. Charging system worked perfectly... power steering sprays out of the pressure hose as fast as you can pour it in so the belt came off immediately . I could not be a happier camper right now!

If I take >Cool, I'll look for the rear end after that (nothing more expensive than

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62

I hope you don't still plan to part it out. Paul Johnson

I never wanted to part it, Paul. It's my sincere hope that someone steps up to the plate and wants to restore this car to its former glory. When I bought it, the seller misrepresented it terribly and it is much more a project than I want to tackle.

Lee DeLaBarre Daytona62