A few members here requested that I do a build thread, so here it is...
A good friend of mine approached me one day about restoring his life-long dream car, a Studebaker Avanti. He wanted it to have modern conveniences as well as better drivability over what technology had to offer back then. The main goal was to give him that car he always wanted while enabling him to drive it every day if he so chose.
Being an actual Avanti II, the car came from the factory with a GM 305CI engine and a Turbo 350 3 speed auto. The car started and was drivable, but there was a great deal left to be desired. The car was a slouch off the line, the suspension was worn and the steering had tons of slack. The car also looked decent from a few feet away, but up close the paint had lost all shine and was beginning to chip. Evidence suggested that it had a repaint once in it's life, however, the quality was very poor. There was overspray on the brightwork and weather stripping, bubbles from poor paint prep etc.
Here are some pictures from when I first picked the car up: Notice the poorly secured trans cooler in the last pictures
After thinking it over and given my history with LSX based vehicles, we decided replace the tired old 305 with an LS1 engine and 4 speed 4L60E automatic transmission. This would increase reliability while also allowing for better fuel milage and more power to boot. With that decision made, we started to look for a complete pull out from a fourth generation GM F-body. (Camaro's and Formula Trans Am Firebirds)
Several days later, we found a killer deal on a complete setup on Ebay. The donor vehicle was a 2001 Camaro SS and the assembly came with everything, right down to the engine mount stands. Good things about the 2001 and 2002 LS1's are the fact that they come with 241 cast cylinder heads (better flowing over previous castings) and they come with the larger volume LS6 intake manifold (Z06 Corvette from 01-04)
Here is the assembly:
Since the car was originally a SB chevy car, to mount the engine in the car, all I had to do was purchase a pair of SBC to LSX engine mount adapters and then fabricate a transmission mount that enabled correct driveline geometry. Out with the old and in with the new.
While removing the factory coolant system, I noticed something that was missing. The lower portion of the Radiator support that is! It had completely rusted away. So I purchased some angle iron to fabricate a new support and went to town. I still need to put side tie-ins at this point but that will come once the condensor arrives. The new 3 row aluminum radiator fits nicely and I have since welded on lower retaining brackets. The radiator will have a top side shroud that will cover up the cab seen there. I intentionally dropped the radiator lower to allow for easier removal of the billet radiator cap to fill/check fluid.
Once the radiator location was resolved, I shifted my focus towards the new B&M supercooler for the transmission fluid. I knew I wanted to do something similar to the Shelby Cobra roadsters with it suspended in the front grill. We also wanted to ditch the front federal mandated impact bumper to give it the sleeker look of the earlier Avanti's that did not have them. So here is what I came up with...
CURRENTLY ADDING MORE TO THIS FIRST POST UNTIL UP TO DATE
Topic: Not an E-body, or mopar for that matter... The LS1 Avanti Restomod (Read 7132 times)
