Vehicle Description

	This is the car I wanted ever since I was a child. I bought it in 1990 and now must sell it. I haven’t driven it for 5 years, for reasons that don’t make a lot of sense to me now. I bought a farm and spent my time fixing that up. It also had a problem with the doors staying shut, a problem that was actually an easy fix. When I stopped driving it, it ran exceptionally well. Lots of fun.

It is a 1972 Avanti II. When I bought it I paid $7805. It had 77705 miles on it. At that time it ran well, although I made a lot of minor repairs to it (brakes, etc.). The “hog troughs” were in great condition and still are. It had a 400 ci engine with a two barrel carburetor and a 3 speed automatic transmission in it. Since that time, I have made the following repairs and improvements:

1. A new 350 engine. This was installed in the early 90s when the car had 85100 miles on it. It was a crate Corvette-model. It cost over $3050, with more needed in terms of minor parts, and $880 for labor. I spent $4846 for this and brake repairs at that time. The engine is part number 10134338, a High Output 5.7 Liter. It has aluminum intake manifold, HEI distributor, Aluminum cylinder heads, 9.8 to 1 compression ratio, etc. I didn’t put the largest carburetor on it—it would probably run better with a larger one. I think mine was a Edelbrock 750 cfm. The part number is, I believe, 1407. Sometime ask me why I didn’t get a larger one—I’d like to know myself. As advertised, it put out 340 hp. That, of course, is under ideal conditions.

2. It was repainted in 1991. The paint still looks very nice, with only a few scratches. It was not a paint job where the inside of the door frames was sanded, etc. Still it looks nice. I had some pinstripes put on it that look really nice, I think.

3. New door seals were installed. They still aren’t the greatest, but better than the old ones.

4. New brake master cylinder was installed in early 1990s. Bunch of other things, such as a new tachometer, ash tray doors, glove box lock, etc. etc.

5. A new 4-speed transmission was installed in the mid-1990s. I don’t have the paperwork on this.

6. Newer chrome spoke wheels were purchased and installed. They look very nice.

7. A high output oversized exhaust system was installed.

8. A moon roof was installed. It can be put in a closed position, a partially opened one, or it can be removed and put into the back seat.

9. A rear winder defogger was put in. It worked when I was driving the car.

10. A new headliner was installed, but the color doesn’t match as well as I had hoped. Looks better than the old one, but not as nice as I had wanted.

Overall, I am estimating I made at least 10,000 worth of improvements to it, plus a lot more in on-going repairs. When I drove the car, it drove very nicely. I had new shocks, new lots of stuff. It’s torque range was best in the mid torque level. It was fun to be driving about 30 and stomp on the gas. Nice sound, too.

The car has not been driven for awhile. I purchased a new battery and it started right up. The battery warning light is on, and the brakes feel mushy—like some brake repairs will be needed. It also does that thing where you sometimes try to start it and nothing happens. You do it a second later and it the starter kicks it over fine. I can’t remember what this problem is due to, just that it needs some type of part for the starter (starter solenoid?). I cannot guarantee anything beyond this. It was garaged during this time, in an unheated garage, although it is attached to the house so didn’t get nearly as cold as it would have outside.

I would imagine some things will need to be done—all fluids replaced, things adjusted, air conditioning probably needs Freon, and so on. But the engine is not frozen and has not had a lot of miles on it (currently the car has 109,000). The interior is decent, if not better, with the upholstery pretty good, the dashboard pretty good, and the rugs pretty good. The covering on the roll bar needs some work, but it is there. There is an old Blaupunkt radio/cassette tape and an amplifier in the glove box, but all of that will need to be replaced, I would imagine. It was decent in the early 1990s, but we’ve come a long way since then. Tires are good and were replaced when the new chrome spoke wheels were put on. (the chrome spoke wheels were used and had a place on them where the chrome was missing). They are still decent, but are not new. Much better than the ones I replaced, which I still have and will be sold with the car. The inside rear view mirror needs to be reglued to the glass, and the outside rear view mirror needs to be replaced--my old one fell off and is somewhere on a highway.

It is being sold as is, of course. I have described every flaw I can think of, but if other things occur to me, I’ll add to the description. I am basically selling this by starting at the price I paid for it, before I made the engine, transmission, wheels, and exhaust system improvements to it. I am doing this because I need to sell it because I am moving to Washington, and because I realize that there will be repairs needed that I can’t anticipate. On the other hand, with those repairs, whatever they may be, the car will be a very nice vehicle. I drove it daily for a few years. Believe me—it got a lot of attention (“is that an Italian car?”).

I am in Bloomington, IL, and you are welcome to come view it in person. I am not moving for a few months, so you have some cushion for when you pick it up. I will expect payment in the form of postal money orders only within one week of purchase.