2001-2004 Avanti Chassis from a Pontiac Firebird or a Chevrolet Camaro?

[rgallatin]

Are the chassis used for the AMC Avantis all from Pontiac Firebirds or do some of them use a Chevrolet Camaro chassis. Aren't the two chassis the same?

http://www.theavanti.net/registry01.html

[studegary]

There is no yes or no answer to your question.
2001-2004 Avantis are built on a Firebird.
2005-2007 Avantis are built on a Mustang.
Also, it is more than just a "chassis", as was used from 1987-1991. The 2001-2007 Avantis utilize much of the body and interior of the donor car.

[rgallatin]

I guess the question should have referred only to 2001-2004

[karterfred88]

I guess the question should have referred only to 2001-2004

The unitized structure, inner door frames, inner 1/4s etc. are common to the F'Bird and Camaro-- outer skins, fenders etc. are not.

[Gunslinger]

I haven't heard of Camaro platforms being used...only TransAm. One quick way to tell which was the original donor car is that the Firebird interior has round dash a/c outlets while the Camaro interior has squarish outlets.

[rgallatin]

What exactly defines the 2001-2004 Avanti chassis? My dictionary says a chassis is "The base frame of a motor vehicle or other wheeled conveyance." So is a chassis only the "base frame" or is there more there than the Firebird frame?

[Skip Lackie]

We shouldn't be using the term "chassis" when referring to modern unit body vehicles. I believe "platform" is the term used by the industry. It includes the floor pan, cowl, the basic dog house, various suspension components, and maybe the front subframe. Vehicles like pickup trucks and Chevy Suburbans still have chassis -- but not many cars still do.

[rgallatin]

Thanks for a lucid clarification on the "chassis" issue. This is something I wondered about ever since I found chassis used interchangeably with the Lark X-frame.

[rgallatin]

By the way -- What's the "dog house"?

[Mark L]

It's where you go to sleep when you buy another Studebaker before asking your better half if it's OK.

[Warren Webb]

By the way -- What's the "dog house"?

The front end sheet metal. In the case of the Avanti in question, it would be the front end inner structure since the fenders, hood ect. are bolted on.

[DEEPNHOCK]

The AVX style Avanti's were originally built on F body GM platforms (Firebird and Camaro).
They re-skinned the body and added a custom interior.
The platform and modifications chosen were to not have to do destructive crash testing of the platform (GM already did that).
There is no AMC connection to the Avanti, and never was any connection to AMC.

[Skip Lackie]

By the way -- What's the "dog house"?

My use of the term really applied to unit-body non-convertibles, like the Firebird coupe. The dog house would then mean the windshield (A) pillar, roof, C pillar, and the rear quarters if they were welded to the floor and substructure.

[Gunslinger]

There is no AMC connection to the Avanti, and never was any connection to AMC.

You mean the Avanti Motor Corporation had no connection to the Avanti?

[JBOYLE]

You mean the Avanti Motor Corporation had no connection to the Avanti?

I'll also point out that AMC Avantis have no connection to Studebakers...other than using a name originally used by Studebaker and some very broad design cues.