View This Page In Any Language
Bob's Resource Website
Avanti Auxilliary Cooling Methods and heat related items
Thermostats-
If your car overheats, don't remove the thermostat to remedy the situation.
This can cause the water to pass through the radiator too quickly to get
cooled and you'll still have the same or worse problem.
When you replace the thermostat, first put it in a pan of water with a candy
thermometer and heat the water to a boil. The thermostat should open within
5-10 degrees of the spec. Don't take for granted they all work correctly, even
if it is new.
There is a proven product called 'Water Wetter', which has been discussed on
the chat group. Adding this to your coolant will drop the ambient temperature
by up to 20 degrees.
The Avanti II ( up to at least 1976) have 1 1/8" cooling ducts which attach
to covered intakes below the windshield grilles and run from the air intake,
behind the dash and terminate on top of the transmission tunnel under the
console, in front of the shifter. When the car is moving; cool, fresh air is
forced into these tubes and is then played on the steel shifter mechanism.
The bottom of the shifter is outside the weatherproof boot and is exposed to
the latent engine heat passing under the car. It is also in close proximity
to the exhaust. This heat is absorbed and convected upward to the handle and
radiated into the interior. The handle can get pretty hot...
Early Studebaker Avantis didn't even have a grill at the base of the
windshield. These were added as the first run progressed and things got
improved on.. So you may not have the capability of tapping the fresh air
intake there, but you can be innovative and get it from somewhere else. It
is very effective.
The rubber gasket around the hood MUST seal the lid when it is closed, at
least so, at the area right in front of the air intake grilles, at the base
of the windshield. Failure to 'hermetically' seal the hood will allow
superhot air to exit the engine compartment and be drawn right into the
fresh air intakes and into the passenger compartment. Sealing this area
will add effectively to keeping the occupants, somewhat more comfortable.
Some vehicles came factory equipped with holes cut in the engine compartment
to add a source for cooling air / act as a vent to exhaust heat. Of course,
this can allow road debris to enter the engine compartment.
[ ] [ ][ ]
These photos are from Bob Lyles 1978
Then there's the Saturn Air Dam. This has proven itself to be the one best solution to any model/year Avanti. The application is not obtrusive and significantly increases air flow across the radiator while moving.
Installation pics
Instructions
Evans Coolant claims to be a super coolant that you don't mix water with and which has a very high boiling point .