Studabaker Avanti trans question

I know this isn't a Studabaker site. But I've seen you guys help just about anyone with their rides. My father in law as a Studabaker Avanti with a 400 and 3sp transmission. Rode with him today and he's in need of another gear. I'd guess it's a standard 3sp chevy automatic trans. He mentioned something about changing rear end gears to get his rpm's down at highway speeds. I'm not sure exactly which trans he has but I do agree he needs an overdrive. Any suggestions?

 

Must be a 76 Avanti II like mine. It should have a 4oo GM trans in it . If it feels like it needs another gear it could be because you are used to the newer cars. You would have to find out what rear axle ratio is. All Avanti's were hand built and no 2 are exactly the same. They were built to the buyers order .

You can get a build sheet on the car from a guy in MI . He also advertises on E-bay . I believe his user name is Avantilady .

What year is it ?? If it is a 63 or 64 its a Studebaker Avanti. But if it has a 400 chevy in it then it is a Avanti II and They only used the 400 chevy in 75 and 76 I believe. I know my Avanti is turning a lot less RPM's than My GSX with 3.64 gears . My Avanti is a pegleg 3.07 . All should have Dana 44 rears.

 

Here are some pictures of my 76 . There were only 153 built in 1976

 

Hard finding the pictures of it . I always thought it had a Ferrari look from the rear

 

It's a 76. FIL says it runs about 4k rpms at 75mph on the highway... Not sure on which rear end he has... Can you send me the Avanti build sheet contact info. I'm sure he's like that if he doesn't already have it.

Would any transmission changes or rear gear changes help out?

 

I would find out what rear you have in the car . Also another thing to check the tach . Mine is really off . It too was saying I was turning 4000 RPM's at around 70 MPH. Your car should have the GM HEI distributor in it and I don't think it is really compatible with the Studebaker tach . There is a Sender unit involved with the Tach . Mine finally burned out so it no longer works. You could put a temporarily hook up a tach to the terminal on the HEI and see what the engine is really turning .

I found my temperature gauge was also OFF about 15* . It was reading high . I then put a Guage in the Intake manifold and left it in the engine compartment. It reads perfectly .

Everything on your car is left over Studebaker parts . Frame , Suspension , Steering , Brakes etc. etc. etc. Also Studebaker used a lot of other parts from other Manufactures like AMC and Mopar . these parts were left over from when Studebaker went out of business in 64 in the states. The 65 and 66 that came from Canada had Chevy engines that were bought thru a subsidiary called McKinnion industries . Thus when the Avanti II restarted production in 67 the engines were all Chevy as there were no more Stude engines. If you look at your Turn signal lenses you will see they still have the 63 or 64 date code on them.

Again check the rear Ratio. With any luck the ratio tag is still on one of the bolts.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Avanti-1965...m1c0e437e90:m:mhyjqRAHtzy874IeEQYOXhg&vxp=mtr

Here is the link to the production order .

 

Yes Larry . That set-up you have is first class . I think he has to find out what rear he has . Its unusual for it to have 4.10 's but you never know. I think he needs to compare his tach in the car to another know good unit .

Its like my Avanti . Someone ordered it with EVERY option including sunroof and then left the rear as a open 3.07 . Go figure