Wire Wheels I just had the same problem on my 1989. It turns out most of the wire wheels on the last years built were junk and most cannot be balanced. I ended up buying a set of Dayton's $1600. The wheels have no name because they were made in India under the name of Dunlop from junk materials. Wish I better news! If you want to try to balance them World of Wheels in Auburn MA(Worcester suburb) right off Route 290 can do it. Don't have his # handy, but they are listed with 411. Ron Morrison May 2001 ---------------------- 89 Avanti lore Jan 2006 An 1989 Avanti is on an 89 Chevy Caprice chassis with 9" cut from the frame before the rear tires.... The Monte Carlo was discontionued by GM in 1988. The '87and '88 cars were on Monte Carlo frame the '89,'90 and '91 on Caprice. Coupes and convertibles alike. The 1989 & 1990 Avanti's came with the GM 305 fuel-injected throttle-body engine. The transmission was a 200R4 and the rear-end was a 7 1/2 inch with a 2.73 ratio (80 miles-in-hour is 2,000 RPM's!). The 89 Caprice police package consists of the following options: - Heavy duty suspension - Auxiliary power steering cooler - Auxiliary transmission cooler - Larger sway bars - Reinforced frame - Performance shift points - Heavy duty steel wheels - 4 wheel anti-lock disk brakes - Extended life hoses - 260 horsepower lt1 (corvette based ) V8 engine Rich Richard Morris ------------------------- I was told that the 200R4 was the first GM 4-speed auto. It was the old 3-spd trans with another gear added. It was not a fresh new trans. The 4L60E trans is much bigger than the 200R4. The trans brace from the squad car had to be used to support the 4L60E trans in the Avanti. Therefore, the driveshaft had to be shortened. That was the only modification in the whole drive-train swap. Ernie Neely Chicagoland Chapter AAV0488 --------------------- Miscellaneous reports--- -------- 1989 Avanti is on the Caprice frame with 9 inches cutoff right in front of the rear tires. ------------- I have an '89 conv and I replaced the rear springs with a set of progressive springs made by MOOG Automotive. The Part # is CCH CC627 Purchased it at CARQUEST $55.00 a pair. Moog's phone # is 800 325 8886 You can call their Engineering Dep't, they were very helpful. One other thing.... The factory started installing an extension bracket to raise the rear axle bumper because the original was too shallow and allowed the wheels to hit the fender before the bumpers contacted the frame. My '89 didn't have the new bracket installed. I was able to get one and let the local machine shop make up a pair and retuned the "sample" to the Avanti factory . ( this was before Youngstown closed down for good) JohnAandras ( Jaandras@aol.com ) July 2003 ================================ Power Windows - Sep 2005 Both motors on my car had failed within two days of each other. The window motors are Chrysler and can be had from Advance Auto with a lifetime guarantee and you will need the guarantee especially if you plan to keep the car. The window motors on these cars, especially the drivers side fail often. As for the window switches, if you can find a large electronics wholesale operation you may find the switches. They will need modification by adding ground wires. Use your old switches as a model. I found the window switches in stock at a store in Myrtle Beach, sorry, don't remember the name. The cost for the switch is 3 or 4 bucks. Hope this helps. Ernest ------------------------------------------------------------------ Weatherstrip, Window regulators - Sep 2005 The weather strip on the door is Studebaker type whereas the roof rail is most likely either Monte Carlo or El Camio. I just ordered roof rail strips from Soffseal and they do not appear to be correct. I will work on the car this weekend but the seals are thicker than what are on the car. May work better or not at all. The outer window scraper is Monte Carlo and will need to be cut to fit. Don't do as I did on the passenger side and cut the wrong end off. Let me know if I can be futher help. Incidently, If you take the window out to change the motor be very careful you can lose fingers on the regulator when removing the motor and the winder spring releases. Ernest -------------------------------------------------------- Convertible top parts The part from the Renault Alliance I believe he said was the top latch mechanisms at the front windshield header. Keith Brooks(Aug 2007)