´63 Studebaker Avanti stock build

[Andy Oldenburg]

I´ve been keen on building this kit for a while. A school buddy´s dad had one (I´m talking about the the late ´60s)  and I remember him always bragging about his dad drag racing it. May be true or not, but the Avanti had the muscle to race. Just got finished with the engine with a mild aging. It was a bit tricky getting some details sorted out. This wasn´t a common car and there are not so many images out there so I did my best to get as much a possible correct. Pls excuse if some lines and cables are not laid out correctly. The double belt drive seems unique to me and made up for some crafting time. I deconstructed the pulley part and after sanding the flywheels flat I added slices of styrene. I hope this dosn´t get too big in the end. Lets see what the first mockup will bring....

With the Paxton compressor connected and grime applied...

The belts needed cool nerves and patience. I connect the pulley wheels to the block with 1mm brass wire. That way they can easily take the tension of the synthetic rubber belts. These I cut from a thin rubber mat.  I´m happy how the engine turned out.

I´ve started with the interior now but first I had to make sure that the doors fit. Of COURSE they didn´t fit?? I have learned to sand off a bit more than necessary to keep some space for the paint. Looks like it will go well. The door panels are attached now and I can go on with the interior.

Thanks fir watching!

[atomicholiday]

That engine looks terrific!

My dad tells stories about one of these from back in the day too.  He says street racing was big in Fort Wayne, and this was one of the cars he’d see around.  Said it was black and had “South Bend Shaker” painted on it.  I’ve heard this story from him so many times.  I’d LOVE to see that car.

Good luck with your build.  Bet it will look terrific when completed!?

Edited June 19, 2023 by atomicholiday

[Andy Oldenburg]

I´m moving on with the interior. The kit parts are quite clean, but of low detail. No decals for the dash either, hmmm. I made the best of it and enhanced the gauges with a wash and tipped in a bit of red with a gel pen. The Gauge rings and all the chrome trim are bent to shape with .4mm silver coated wire from a craft shop. For the other chrome parts I used bare metal and Molotow chrome, which I apply with a fine brush. The seats received a little smudge and the front seats belts. The floor is flocked.

After I discovered the hand pulled parking brake on a image I had to add that.

The door panels have only a hint of handles. I cut that off and crafted handles and the window cranks from styrene. After gluing the parts I sanded them into a correct shape with diamond files. The shine is Molotow chrome and the knobs are beads.

Next step is the undercarriage. Thanks for watching!

 

[absmiami]

This is the Aurora kit ??

[espo]

Great looking interior detailing. 

[Bugatti Fan]

The Avanti was quite a futuristic looking car back when produced. Studebaker's understated styling by American standards of the day appeared to have more European styling influence as was also evident in their earlier Skylark.

Looking forward to following the rest this model build!

[Andy Oldenburg]

Thanks for your kind replies! This is an AMT/ERTL Prestige kit. The box is a bit bigger than the usual kits. Well, prestige.... The overall quality is the usual standard, but you get opening doors, which need some serious working to fit. I feel sad for the builder who dosn´t think about that at the beginning and ends up with non-closing doors. Oh yeah, and you get a bunch of parts like a trophy and so on.. that must be the PRESTIGE. ?

The chassis is done now. I added the brake and fuel lines and gave it a bit of weathering. The steering is very nice and will make the model look much better on the shelf.

Connecting the exhaust system..

The brake lines to the rear axle. I simply use super glue.

For the parking brake line I have found a very thin cable in the jewelry corner of my crafts store. Ii stays straight with a certain tension but is elastic enough to go around corners.

Unfortunately the front disc brakes will almost disappear.

I highlighted the front suspension with micro etched hex nuts. It dosn´t show well here but the front springs are made of 1mm aluminum wire.

Undercarriage completed.

Now I´m sanding the body and looking forward to painting. Happy this time that I have no body work to putty, so the spraying should go easy. IF something evil dosn´t happen?

Thanks for watching!

[espo]

Excellent chassis detailing. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yup, nice detail enhancement.

[Andy Oldenburg]

I´ve just about wrapped up the work on this baby. There are a few details I wanted to enhance on the body and the engine bay. Some things just were not part of the kit, others I wanted to replace. The paint is an unspectacular turquoise blue with a light metallic effect. I mixed it myself with Schmicke Aero Color airbrush paint, on a light grey base. The final coat is AK crystal clear.

Of the things I like to add if possible are sun visors. You can´t see the molded on visors on the headliner anyway. A rear view mirror was missing in the kit also, so I made that one too.  0.3mm styrene and 0.5mm wire.

The kit contained simple standard door mirrors, but the original Avanti had really cool mounts. I bent an aluminum 1mm wire to shape and worked it with a diamond file until it came close to the original. Then added the styrene mirror.

Next a fine antenna, made of 0.5mm brass wire.

The headlamps were fitted with real looking lenses by Scale Production. Looks much better than the plastic parts.

The kit didn´t have a brake booster at all. I had a part in my scrap box that I could modify and adapt. I had to make sure it would fit later.

The chassis fit the body fine, but of course all those lines, hoses and cables in the engine bay got in the way. Next up was connecting everything into the correct place. I will show the step by steps...

My biggest worry was that the hood wouldn´t fit and close! But it all worked out fine and I am really happy to get this Avanti done without any issues. I will show the finished job on the UNDER GLAS forum. Thanks for watching the progress and best wishes!

[slusher]

Real nice work, looking forward too seeing it Under Glass!

[Andy Oldenburg]

Hi Carl,

thanks for your comments! I just posted the thread, should be up any minute.