The 5.0-liter V8 is probably what fans are most excited to hear about — it’s good for 435 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. That’s a tidy 15 hp and 10 lb-ft increase over the outgoing model, and it’s within spitting distance of the 444-hp Boss 302. Not bad.
The two other motors aren’t too shabby, either. The 3.7-liter V6 gets 300 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque, and the turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four EcoBoost puts down a very respectable 310 hp and 320 lb-ft. For some perspective, the V8-powered 2005 Ford Mustang GT put down just 300 hp, so we’ve clearly come a long way — and there’s no telling just what other, even hotter versions of this new Mustang are in the works.
The Avanti II was what was left of Studebaker car company (called Studebaker-Packard by that time) in the 1960’s . By that time all the car production for Studebaker-Packard was being done in Canada and South Bend factories were closed down. Nathanial Altman and Leo Newman (two South Bend Studebaker dealership owners) purchased the rights and the dies/tooling for the Avanti, after failing to get the financial backing to reopen the plant in South Bend and continued production.
The Avanti II
Of course Studebaker wasn’t making its own engine and the two dealers that pulled together enough funds to purchase the Avanti rights and dies/tools were in no position to start full blown engine production. So what’s next? Make a deal with a company to purchase engines.
The Altman/Newman team Avanti turned to GM for the power plant. So for 1965 – 1968 they opted for none other than the Corvette 327 cubic inch iron!!! Purchasing the previous year engines for placing in their new models – Now that explains why I often see the Avanti and the local drag strip during Test and Tunes!!! The 327 was an overhead valved, iron block that came with the stock bore and stroke of 4.00″ x 3.25″ and a compression ratio of 10.5:1.
Corvette Power Plant
Combined with hydraulic lifters, 5 main bearings and topped with a Carter (model 3846247) (for 1965) 4bbl carb produced 300 bhp at 5000 rpms. All that in a light fiberglass body!!!!!
The difference between 1965 thur 1970 327’s were the carburetors that were available. For 1966 it was a Holley 4bbl (model 3884505) , the remainder of production the hard working 327 was topped with various models of Rochester 4bbl carbs. ( 1967 it was Rochester 4bbl (model 3096631); 1968 a Rochester 4bbl (model 7028207); 1969 Rochester (model 7929203)
In 1969 Avanti II was blessed with an additional engine option. It was the Corvette’s 350 CID. This was an iron block overhead valve engine. 4.00″ x 3.48″ bore and stroke with hydraulic lifters and five main bearings. With a compression ratio of 10.5:1 and breathing through a Rochester 4bb carb the lightweight was but 300 bhp. (Same as the 327 – but there a lot you can do now with a 350 – again this may be the reason we still see them at the drag strips.
By 1971 the 350 was the only engine in the Avanti II and it’s configuration remained unchanged except the compression ratio was dropped to 10.25:1 and the horse power suffered to the tune of -30 hp, dropping to 270.
In 1973 the engine was changed to the generic GM 400 CID, but before you get too excited, it had 4.13″ bore and 3.75″ stroke but it was strangulated by a compression ratio of 8.5:1 and even the 4bbl Rochester could not help much as it produced only 245 bhp.
For 1974 and 1975 fompression was dropped and the Avanti II struggled to produce only 180 horses. But you could still get the 4 speed manual Hurst shifter….so there’s that.
The first time I saw an Avanti II in person was at my local drag strip, during a charity race that I had entered by 1970 Mustang in (300 HP). The Avanti was a 1970 and mostly stock as far as I could tell and it looked great and sounded even better at the tree.
The Avanti continued on through various owners and still using the Studebaker chassis until 1987 and the GM’s 305 was used for a time. The Avanti continued on through 2006…but that is for another post.
If bongo solos and Studebakers are your thing, you are guaranteed to enjoy this week’s vintage Car and Track road test of the 1969 Avanti II. Even If bongo solos and Studebakers aren’t your thing, chances are you will still …
Looking to add a touch of Gran Turismo or Forza to your daily commute? Jaguar Land Rover is developing a Virtual Windscreen concept that aims to do just that with a slew of driver assistance technologies designed to keep your eyes on the road, including a head-up display HUD that overlays the driving line featured in many virtual racers.As well as projecting key information onto the windscreen like speed and navigation, the Jaguar Virtual Windscreen concept would also overlay the driving line and even a “ghost” car, which acts as a reference point from previous laps.
Several months after presenting its Transparent Hood on the Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept, the think-tank troops at Jaguar Land Rover have unveiled a new bit of future driver-assist design in the form of the Jaguar Virtual Windscreen. Basically …
Jaguar Virtual Windshield Brings Video Games to Life
Well that title was longer type out than it was in my head.
A recent discussion over on my Twitter feed (@07C6Vette) had us discussing the collect-ability the Edsel. Part of the conversation dealt with one participates’ opinion/conclusion that Edsels were unreliable back in the day, therefore not desirable for collecting.
I would imagine that for some, that rationale seems prudent and I bet they believe they’ve saved themselves money and status by opting for a Ford or Mercury (in this instance) of the same era instead. I say they are missing out on some fantastic cars if they determine their selection based on original reliability.
Check out these dashboards!! Sure both are great (you know I love the painted dashboards) but the Edsel’s is just cooler!!!
1959 Edsel Dash
1959 Ford Ranch Wagon Dash
Clearly there are differences that may or may not be substantial to a collector. For me it’s not about just having ‘a similar’ car, it’s about the car.
Another example is the rep the British cars managed to obtain. For instance the MG during the 1970’s and 1980’s were tagged as being electrical nightmares and unreliable. Having direct exposure to a 1960ish and a 1970’s MG I would agree that electrically they were unreliable. Now days a quick trip online to a forum and you know someone has it all figured out and often times even a beginner can remedy the situation.
Trumph’s Stag sported a 3.0 V8 and that was its down fall. It was horribly unreliable. Everything from the water pump to cylinder issues right down to the Aluminum heads not matching up well with the iron block. But this are all fixable this day in age, but the all lead to the Stag making the top 50 worse cars ever. But it is a very collectible British car, just ask these guys Stag Owners Club.
Carb problems, cylinder problems, fuel problems for most collectable and semi-collectable cars can all be overcome by modern technology and in many cases, done in such a way as to not impact the value of the car.
I think it’s important to keep a car as original as possible, but I’m not putting them Pebble Beach Contour’s competition, so using modern tweaks to ensure it can get you from point A to point B – safely is important.
So do your research before you purchase your next collector/project and don’t just consider the reliability opinions surrounding the model you are considering.
I’m a member of a lot of groups/pages on FB and they all are great, but I grow weary of the static, standing by the side your car photos!!!
Let’s see some action!!!!!
Average Guy’s Action Photo/Video contest starts today 7/12 and runs through 7/19. Let’s see your classic/vintage, muscle, race car (even just your daily driver) in action. There will be at least two categories – still action shots and videos.
Only a couple of rules:
1. Be safe.
2. It has to be you and it has to your car.
3. It has to be an action shot either a still photograph or video.
Something like these:
Auto crossing with my C4 at Bondurant facility.
Auto crossing with my C6 Sports Car Club of American (SCCA) Sole Class.
Lining up my ’70 Mustang at the drags against a Ford Focus!!!!
There will be prizes given away, including car art take by one of the artist on http://wp.me/P2YxYx-19F and we’ll check the budget for some on-line auto parts gift cards as well.
Get you pics or videos to us either on our FB page https://www.facebook.com/AGCarRestoration or email them to AGCarRestoration@cox.net or timsweet@cox.net.
Check out this drag racing video. The Chevelle has a bad day.
The driver is in shorts and no helmet – no rules at “Run At Your Own Risk” drag strip, but really? Have to them some credit – the post and cable on the edge of the strip most likely saved a few spectators from being injured.
This 1967 Ford Mustang is number 7 of 11 “Eleanor” versions built by Cinema Vehicle Services of North Hollywood, California, for the 2000 remake of the original 1974 cult classic “Gone in 60 Seconds.” The car is one of only three used in scenes involving the cast of Gone, which included Nicholas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi and Angelina Jolie, and it incorporates the now-famous design features originally penned by famed hot rod designer Steve Stanford.
Growing up in Upstate New York, reader Tim S remembers riding his bike along the railroad tracks near his home. One day while riding with some friends, he spotted several Corvettes parked in a field. At the time, they were still fairly new looking cars and he can only assume they must have been wrecked and not abandoned. A few years later he got a job at a shop just down the road from this Corvette graveyard and all the cars were still there like they had been when he was a boy. Time went by and he forgot about these Vettes, but he just recently had a run in with them once again.
Read the store:
Read more at http://barnfinds.com/corvette-graveyard-in-upstate-new-york/#Gv8rHZqE3AtxXaIV.99
Well we just can stop talking about C7. Just our recently are some very impressive specs for the 2015 Corvette Z06.
SAE says it will have an impressive 650 horse power (@ 6,400 RPMs) and even more impressive 650 LB-FT of torque (@ 3,600 RPMs). These numbers exceed the original speculations of 625.
The power is being delivered by a super charged LT4 and transferred to the pavement via a 7 speed manual or new for 2015 an 8 speed automatic!!!
Super Charged, Direct Injection LT4 Engine
’15 Z06 Corvette
Are you impressed?
Thanks for reading.
Tim
#1: GM Parts 19171528 Valve Spring Retainer for LT1/LT4 Engine – 16 Piece: GM Parts 19171528 Valve Spring Reta… http://t.co/ZqnR3WgD5j
This new portion of the Kentucky production facility is already busy building the LS7 V8 that powers the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, but as production of the 2015 Corvette Z06 ramps up, these new hires will help to build the powerful LT4 engine for the most …
“The new LT4 engine builds on the design strengths of our previous supercharged engine and leverages the technologies introduced on the Corvette Stingray – direct injection, cylinder deactivation and continuously variable valve timing – to take …
The all-new supercharged LT4 engine from General Motors is almost the same size as the compact LT1 engine recently introduced in the 2014 Corvette Stingray. Getting big block performance out of small-block sized engines sounds almost like magic, but it …
Mercedes – AMG gets a boost of power. Engineers have upped the power for the 4.0 Liter engine via a twin turbo, 4 valve per cylinder and direct injection. Drivers can expect 503 HPs and 479 lb-ft of torque. Gone is the 6.2 liter.
The New AMG-GT will have the new direct inject engine.
End of production for this beautiful AMG SLS car as well.
2015 C63 – Gonna have to be fast – surely isn’t special looking.
