Here's some pics of my Avengers in various stages of restoration...along with Richard's hot 1500!!
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030596.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030598.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030599.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030600.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030602.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030594.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030591.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030595.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030592.jpg)
(http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab274/avenga76/Oldschools%20Avengers/P1030593.jpg)
I recently got this tidy 1979 GLS Avenger from Marton. Smoother to drive with the cable operated accelerator than my Hillman Super, but feels heavier on the road...must be the added weight of all those 'improvements' Chrysler made...haha
Here's Scarlett proudly flying the flag!!
And my latest addition to the family...a rust-free 1975 Alpine in Caracas from Blenheim...
Have finally got my cream 1974 1600 Alpine back on the road in presentable condition.
As anyone who's visited my house can tell you, it was in a sorry state when I got it in 2009 - see the 1st two photos.
I've replaced the bonnet, cleaned off the brushed on grey paint and repaired minor rust, replaced the windscreen, front door and boot rubbers, fitted new frost plugs, overhauled the brakes, fitted electronic ignition and repaired the exhaust.
I put 14" Sierra rims on the rear with 175/80 tyres to improve motorway cruising...sits on 100 km/h comfortably now!!
I got the munted drivers seat repaired...many thanks to Richards upholstery guy Grant for doing such a fantastic job!!
And the engine bay cleaned up nice too...just needs a chrome rocker cover now?!
Hi all, Scarlett's gone to a nice new home now...Steve from Hawera flew up from New Plymouth yesterday and I picked him up and brought him back here to look over my collection before he hit the highway!
He'd wisely invested in a GPS so he could get out of Auckland okay and hopefully we'll see him and Scarlett at some meets.
He had an Avenger TC years ago and has been bitten by the Avenger bug again...fitting twin carbs is his first project...followed by a Rover V8....just joking...lol
Al my cream 1974 Alpine has found a new home too...back to Wellington where he was born to spend his middle age being looked after by Rosie...lucky Al!
He'll be flying the Avenger flag in Wellington for years to come and will enjoy himself chasing Escorts and Hunters out of town!!
Have just fitted a couple of high back seats into Logan's auto...a big improvement over the low backs!
Used Subaru ones and pretty easy to fit as the rails are the same size...here's how:
Get a couple of manual adjustment Subby Impreza/Legacy seats.
Take out the Avenger seats leaving the rails in place.
Stand on the Avenger fore/aft adjustment bar to flatten it out, otherwise it will hit the bottom of the Subby seat.
Now take out the Avenger rails for attaching to the Subby seats.
Unbolt the Subby rails and slide them apart, first breaking the ball bearing/roller carriers to release them for disassembly.
Discard the lower Subby rails that attach to the floor and cut off the adjustment lever brackets on the top rails.
Fit the top rails back onto the Subby seats, along with the Avenger rails...using the existing Subby rear rail mounts, which will need the anchor nuts drilled out so the Avenger rear rail studs can slide through the seat base.
Drill new holes in the Subby top rails/seat base to locate the Avenger front rail studs.
The Avenger rail studs are quite long and spacers can be used to raise the Subby seats if required.
Once the seats and rails are secured together using sturdy washers and the Avenger rail nuts, they can be fitted in the car.
Should be ok for a WOF (MOT) as no welding required and the Avenger seat rails and floor mounts are unmodified.
Have also posted this in the technical section.
neat!
I've finished installing the Sierra 5 speed in my Alpine...the last thing to do was fit a new gear lever boot, as the Hillman one is too small to fit around the chunky Ford gear lever!
I got a Sierra gear lever boot set from eBay UK, which consists of an inner sound proofing boot secured by a thick plastic base, that the outer boot then stretches over, all pretty neat.
Eagle-eyed Avenger fans will spot the Chrysler clock in the dash. Easy to install, I moved the heater fan switch back to its original 'Super' position down below and cut out a square mounting plate from black plastic card (same as real estate signs) which I bought from a stationery shop.
The battery and earth wires connected to the existing stereo wires and I ran the back light wire across to the light switch and connected it to the dash lights dimmer terminal, so the brightness can be adjusted too!
Just picked up this very tidy 3 owner 1980 Chrysler 1.3 GL from Wanganui.
Goes well on the highway with its 3.89 diff and really economical if there's no hills around...lol
Wow she's a clean motor alright! I wonder how a later 8.8:1 crt 1300 with the earlier cam would go?
Would go great with a 1600 Hillman GLS cam installed...keep up with a 1600 Chrysler I'd say...lol
After all, back in the day 1300 Avengers regularly beat 1275 Mini's when racing.
Big job changing the cam though...motor front off, head off, sump off and remove oil pump, jack up motor.
The 1300 and 1600 have the same stroke (same crankshaft) just a bore difference...wonder if the 1300 block can be bored out to use 1500 or 1600 pistons?
I heard something about a SB block can't be bored out for 1500 or 1600 but a guy told me once that they used to fit Pinto pistons to an Avenger block - I guess he meant a 1600.
I suppose you have a spare four stud inlet manifold for a CD175 about so you could make a 1300GT (don't laugh they did exist!) out of it, they were 69bhp I believe. I don't think you can bolt a big valve head on to a 1300 though.
A fella with a Sunbeam told me recently that the 1300 had a habit of burning exhaust valves, after 10,000 miles put on mine I don't have that problem so if you assume the later 1300 scorched valves then its valve timing is not ideal for the engine.
I could be way wrong about this though, just a dumb guess.
BTW look at this, a 1250 bored out to +30 see the completely flat piston crowns! Zero squish! If they put a semi-spherical indentation in the spark plug area of the crowns to introduce a bit of squish the 1250 might have had a better economy reputation. Seems like Pekayan did this to their engines.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/talbot-avenger-/181450464193?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a3f4a5bc1 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/talbot-avenger-/181450464193?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a3f4a5bc1)
If you put 8.6:1 1300 pistons into this engine with the 1250/1500 stroke and then bolted on a supercharger you get one heck of a boost button! A guy in England did that to a 1300.
They were a strong block that's for sure and I believe the materials were good.
That MK2 is the nicest looking Chrysler I've seen in a long while - more pics please! The wheels look like the 2-door GT wheels and to be a right smart-arse it could be called a Series 8. The Series 9 had a few differences in the engine bay.
Edit, talking of camshafts.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUNBEAM-AVENGER-PIPER-BP300-CAMSHAFT-RALLY-RACE-PROFILE-/191226403132?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c85fb593c (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUNBEAM-AVENGER-PIPER-BP300-CAMSHAFT-RALLY-RACE-PROFILE-/191226403132?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c85fb593c)
Dropped off my very tidy 1600 5 speed Alpine at the shippers today...is going to England to happy new owner Carl who will probably have the only Avenger Alpine in the UK!
He'll have to put up with everyone asking why a GLS has a funny Alpine badge...lol
Damn, it is a shame to see such a nice Alpine leave the country.
Carl is indeed happy!
(http://imgur.com/PKDSkDil.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/PKDSkDi.png)
still peaking out myself that it still has the plates on it? shouldn't they (at least one) have been handed in when you de-reg?
I also made a minor feature in the ASOC Mag
(http://imgur.com/VWWJQ0Pl.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/VWWJQ0P.png)
(top middle pic if you squint)