When introduced, the Avanti may have been America's most advanced automobile. However, the front disc brakes have always left a lot to be desired.
Since purchasing a 1963 Avanti in May of 1979, I had been experiencing trouble with the front disc brakes. Some of the problems were premature wearing out front pads, pulling to one side then the other, and squealing, A good solution would be to improve the brakes and eliminate these problems by using a brand "X" brake set-up and have it bolt on to the stock Studebaker spindles!
But every manufacturer is different in design, so this became a big problem. I then met Curt Hamilton. Curt has been manufacturing disc brake kits for street rods since 1963. After experimenting with different rotors and calipers, and with many weeks and hours of research and development. We finally came up with the best combination, both in effective stopping and ease of installation.
The TURNER BRAKE kit for the Avanti and all 1953 through 1966 Studebakers uses 1968 through 1969 Mustang or Cougar rotors and grease seals. It also employs 1979 through 1995 General Motors A body calipers, (Malibu and El Camino) brake pads, and G.M. brake hoses. This design utilizes stock Studebaker spindles, wheel bearings, dust caps, and disc brake wheels. (Or Ford 5 1/2 inch wheels).
The convenient part of the changeover is simply no permanent modification needs to be made to the spindles, master cylinder or rear wheel cylinders. However, on non-disc brake cars, the residual check valve must be defeated, and possibly an adjustable proportioning valve installed in the rear line.
The installation of this kit will require a general mechanical background of automobile Mechanics and should take approximately four hours to complete.
The results are FANTASTIC with no more of the aforementioned problems, and the brake pads are about two and a half times larger than the stock Avanti pads.