Paddy75's 1300 Super Discussion

[avenga]

I agree that the Avenger has awesome handling. That is why I use one as a rally car.

on any rough road I would much rather take the Avenger than the Charger because the Avenger has vastly superior suspension. My Charger is torsion bar and leaf suspension so cornering is less of an exact science and more praying. The Avenger with it's macpherson strut, 4 link trailing arms and coil all round is miles better handling than any American car and the Chargers recirculating ball steering steering which is like steering a car through a bowl of soggy porridge but the rack and pinion steering in the Avenger is really tight and responsive.

You also have to know that Americans don't have corners and windy hills for the most part like we do. That is why in the review he said the ride was hard and bumpy. That is just a normal ride for us because American cars are so wobbly it does actually feel like you are sailing. I have done a lot to my Charger to try to firm up the ride but it is still soft as.

What the reviewer was comparing it to was big land yachts that cruise down the interstates and need to go round a slight bend every few hundred kilometers. So of cause they are going to dislike some bits just because it doesn't seem normal to them.

This is why British cars never really worked well in the states and same with American cars in UK, they are just made for totally different kinds of roads. That is why I like having both a big land yacht that I can go sailing down the big straight motorways in and a little nippy car for zooming around the back roads in.

Btw you mentioned about your dashboards. We had them a bit different here. Here are some photos of my dashboard. You will notice the fuel is in litres not gallons and the speedo is in KPH

[Paddy75]

Have to say I reckon the circular clocks look better with the fuel: 0 . 5 . 10 galls, the oil pressure is 0 . 50 . (nothing) psi, but is it just me or is the Alpine clock cool as f***!

[avenga]

Yeah I like the round guages much better than the strip speedo.

I was pleased I found one with a rev counter. I have 3 of them now and only one has the rev counter, the other 2 just have that blank space like yours.

It reminds be of my Chargers dashboard.

[Paddy75]

Dashboard porno!

Aye for sure they look kinda cool. There is a guy in America with the hots for a set of Avenger round clocks.

Nice charger btw, thanks for the post.

[oldschool]

My '74 Alpine has round dials and a blank bezel for the tacho (mean Chrysler again!)
Have ordered a new tacho for $30 delivered from Speedy Spares..:->
Just had to pull the cluster out and check if it was Smiths or AC Delco, mine's Delco.

[Paddy75]

Thanks Oldschool, where do I get in touch with them, I mean the tacho spares. Thanks again.

[oldschool]

They're in East Sussex Paddy...www.speedyspares.co.uk and e-mail is... speedy.spares@btconnect.com
10 pounds for a new tacho!!

[Paddy75]

Wow, great site. With a few parts I can bring my Avenger up to as good as new. Guid lad Oldschool.

[Paddy75]

Well I've  got a 3.79:1 crown wheel and pinion, the transmission in mine is making turbo-prop plane noises at 50mph so I'd say a young buckaroo was horsing it about at some stage in this last 36 years! I need to take apart the diff and change bearings and shims anyhow. According to the Haynes manual after '78 there tas an improvement in the gearboxes. So the plan is a gearbag from a 78-81 avenger/sunbeam and the higher ratio diff with new rollers.
However I'm bitten by the Avenger bug so I want a cheaper, rougher one to drop a 1600cc TC + engine into. Killarney rally here we come!

Sure as the guy who is acid treating the 1300Super said, ''..people are sick of looking at MKII Escorts!..''

Very true.

[avenga]

They make really good rally cars so if you are looking for a cheap rally car then an Avenger is a perfect option. There is at least 3 of us on the forum who race Avengers so we have plenty of experiance at making them scream.

I used late model gearboxes in my race car as it is a 1980 Chrysler Avenger and I alway found them to be really weak. Depending on the kind of rally you are doing a 5 speed conversion might be the best option.

Mal Stuart motorsports in the UK makes a bellhousing for a Ford Sierra 5 speed, or in NZ Mal at By'gone Autos did my 5 speed conversion.

http://www.malstuartmotorsport.net/www.malstuartmotorsport.net/info.php?p=10

[Paddy75]

O'Kanes in Co Derry,

http://www.fix14u.co.uk/okane/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=163

[avenga]

Yup, Thats the one.

All the clutch and drive shaft are the same so just fine a Type 9 Sierra gearbox then away you go. You do need to move the gearshifter but that is easily done. Read my 5 speed conversion thread for more info.

http://www.avenger.co.nz/forum/index.php?topic=60.0

[Paddy75]

Well I've put in a bid for an avenger gearbox mount too. The 1300 (as I've been only annoying ye lot about) is not the long term motor in it. I was thinking, as ford g/bag sure why not a sierra 1.8 or 1.6 cvh engine, they are light enough. Just keep the old eng & box to return to original if/when selling. Aye a 1.6 sierra cvh, 80bhp and torquey. With the diff, 3.89:1 I'd reckon that'd be a good running car.

[Paddy75]

Diff gears are got. All parts needed to get it running 100%.

So here goes a project, it'll be delayed 'till I get home. Ford cvh into an old Hillman Avenger.

[JoKer]

whats a CVH? i'm lost

edit : just read some more haha what a mongrel!

love it