Out on the Toy Run
Well, the car has been running great. I've been taking it out once a week just to keep it from sitting idle. I would classify it as a Sunday Driver right now. There is still plenty of work to do, but its becoming a reliable driver.

This past Saturday we took it to the yearly Toy Run. Cars of all types go down to Henderson to donate toys and have a good time. There were over 100 cars there and one Corvair, mine. Many people came over to talk and most told a similar story of how they had one or they knew somebody who had one. All the comments were positive.

We then all got into our cars and followed Santa (being pulled by a classic Cutlass Convertible) to the elementary school with gifts in hand. The kids were waiting for us and Santa passed out the gifts. It was a great time had by all. Link to more photos from the Toy Run.

Top Priority
So now the big issue is the detonation (Knocking) I get when the turbo is boosting. The car runs great when the turbo is not in use, but when it winds up, the car starts knocking bad. I have a few options. First I need to make sure the pressure retard unit is working correctly. I can try to activate it while the car is idling with a bike pump or something while I have a timing light on it. If it proves to be working okay, than I may need to install a safeguard system that will listen for knock and adjust the timing accordingly. That is the best option. I've looked into water injection systems, but the kind I was looking into would be damaging to the turbo over time. My best bet is the Safeguard. First I'll check the diaphragm for the retard unit though.

Corvair Aligned - Then Dead - Now alive!!!! Oh and fuel pump moved....

Busy week for the Corvair. I finally got the alignment done. It sure does drive straight now! On the way home though, the clutch died! It was only a year old, but the pressure plate broke. Sheesh! Those old parts are unpredictable.

I limped over to the mechanic and had the clutch replaced. I also had him install an electric fuel pump and fix an oil leak. I was tired of getting stuck somewhere with Vapor Lock, so this should solve the problem.

I also had the shrowds removed from the bottom. Living in the desert, it gets a little too hot for the engine. This will help.

I still have a fuel leak to find when I'm boosting and the car knocks pretty bad unless I retard the timing down to 18 BTDC. It should be at 24. I'm looking into a couple of options. My pressure retard may be bad. Not sure how to test that. We'll figure something out!

I still have to install the speedometer as well. One of these days!

New Problem Solved!

One of the great advantages of belonging to a car club is the pool of knowledge there to suggest fixes to your problems. That's what I did at the last meeting and the solution to my problem was discovered there. It turned out to be a bad coil!

Coil replaced, problem fixed!

Now I just need to get back to the alignment!

New Problems!

Okay, so now when the car gets hot, it loses power when I try to maintain speed. So badly that its like the engine cuts out altogether. It happened first when I was boosting down the freeway. The engine cut out completely. Then, it came back. Now, whenever the engine gets hot, it does it. I've already changed the points and reset the timing. It could be a carburetor issue

Back to the mechanic it seems! I do have offers from some of the guys in the club to work on it. I just don't think I have the time right now to do it. I'm still recovering from my long 7 month run of work.

I also need to find my speedometer and put the thing in. I've had it from the beginning, but always found something else to work on instead of getting it installed. The steering wheel is a little further back so I may be able to replace it without pulling the wheel.

Progress is still being made!

The new steering box is in! It handles much better! I need to get the alignment taken care of to make it drive even better. I think after that, it may finally be time to put a working speedometer. There's a project on the back burner for some time. I'd also like to get a stereo in there some time soon. Then I can be cruising to the tunes! Alignment first though. My mechanic knows a guy who works on Corvair suspension so I'll have to give him a call soon. If I wasn't doing 90 hours a week at work, it would be done already!

Mike

The Next Big Project

Well, now with the fender repaired, the next big thing is replacing the steering box. The Corvair tends to drift pretty easily and is pretty loose when it comes to steering it. When I had the shocks and springs replaced, the mechanic tried to adjust the steering, but its just too old and needs to be replaced.

Luckily, Corvair Motorsports make a brand new quick steering box for all Corvairs. I need to buy the adapter to have it fit correctly on my model, but it should just drop right in! Its a several hundred dollar project including labor so I may have to wait a little while. It will probably be after the new year before I can do anything about it.

Aside from that, I have some small projects that I can do so there is no shortage of work that needs to be done.

Now if only the insurance company can speed things up with the classic car insurance, I would drive it more!

Here's the picture of the broken fender

You can see the fender is trashed! It's amazing that Joe (the body guy) got it as straight as he did! Kudos to Joe!

Front pic of the repaired front end

Well, there it is. Body work done. It looks pretty good huh. I guess I should get a picture of the smashed front end up so you can compare. Son now on the top of the list is get the front steering box replaced and having an alignment done. Then there is all the other projects I'd like to do to the car. I have to keep reminding myself, one thing at a time! It will get done!

Corvair Fixed!!!

Well, the bodywork is done. It looks pretty darn good. I'ts not perfect, but I think I can live with it. Now I need to get it painted. I'm thinking of keeping it yellow, but I'm also thinking about the maroon color from 1965.

Changing colors would be a much bigger project. So I'm guessing it will stay yellow!

The Repairs Start!

I found a guy to do the repairs on the fender of the Corvair today. I actually knew him for some time, but did not realize he did body work. He was a former co-worker of mine but previously he customized cars in California. He has all the body work and paint tools so he's ready to go. I took the car to him today to get a look at it. He would like to try to work on the fender in place as opposed to swapping out the fender with the one I purchased. Replacing the fender would be a lot more work than fixing the current fender. I thought the old fender was beyond repair, but he doesn't think so. Either way, if he can't fix the bent one, he'll install the new one for the same price.

I need to find a bezel for the headlights right away to help him shape the fender. I already have a lead on one so I'll have it by Monday. That's the other thing, he thinks he should be able to get it done in 2 days, starting this Monday. Paint not included. As you can imagine, I'm very excited.

No Progress made on the Vair yet.

I have high hopes though. Its been an interesting few months. Money is tight. I've been buckling down on the expenses so hopefully I'll be able to get the body work done soon. No promises though. Between work and personal stuff, auto work is low on the priorty list.

The car runs like a champ though. I started it up the other day and is strong. Starting it is great motivation to get it back into shape. I'll keep you posted.

Sheet Metal Procured

Well, I have purchased new sheet metal for the Corvair for repairs. It had to be cut off another 65 in California. A buddy is going to California next week and has offered to pick it up for me. Next I have to find somebody who does body work on older cars. The fender has to be welded in place and worked.

It might give me an excuse to paint the whole car Maroon. That would be cool. Unfortunately I'm short on cash so the work may have to wait. At leat I have the major steel for the project on order.

Not too much else to report. I may pull the steering wheel off to put in the speedometer in the mean time.

Mike

Tragedy!

The Corvair was involved in a hit and run accident. Everybody is okay! A car pulled out in front of me and I couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting it and then he took off! Ran away! I've never been the victim of a hit and run before. Let me tell you it sucks!

I have some major damage to the right front fender. The only thing I can think of doing is ripping it out and putting a fiberglass one from Clark's in its place. It sucks because the car was clean looking and now its all screwed up! It sucks because the job of repair it is not small. It sucks because the idiot who pulled out in front of me ran away and will probably get away with it. The police didn't even bother coming to the scene.

I only hope that I really did some substantial damage to his right rear tire. A bent axle would be great! He left quite a bit of metallic blue paint on my car. Maybe the steel Corvair tore off a good section of his rear end. I know I'm ranting here but the guy just an away! I can think of so many words to call this guy, but I'm trying to keep this clean!

The car was running great too. That's the other sucky thing about it. It actually still runs great, it just looks like hell now. I'll have pictures up soon. I'm too pissed off right now to upload the picture from the camera!

Vapor Lock!

The mystery is solved. I suffered my first attack of vapor lock. The conditions just happen to be perfect for it. I had gotten the engine up to temperature and it sat for 20 minutes or so. It started up no problem and I drove it about 800 feet and it died.

I tried starting this morning after some time and it ran without a problem.

I was looking into installing an electric fuel pump for some time, this is defiantely good motivation for doing it.

New look for the Corvair:

Well, here it is. The new improved turbo! It rides much lower than before and feels great! The mechanic did a great job on the springs and shocks as well as an amazing job on the clutch. It rides great.

The bad news:

Unfortunately, about an hour and a half later, the car died. It just stopped firing. It seems more like an ignition issue than a fuel issue so we'll have to do some investigating. Hopefully its nothing serious. I suspect its the igniter ignition I put in several months back. I've found out recently that they don't last long in Corvairs. It probably has to do with all the heat in the engine compartment. I'll know more tomorrow!

"The Worst Clutch I've ever seen"
So says my mechanic. Yes, the Corvair finally made it to the mechanic. The biggest problem was logistics. Our schedules don't line up at all. He's been working on it for the past few days and says everything is going good. The new springs are in and the passenger front looks fine. I was concerned because the Chamber was so severe that it was purhaps bent, but I got the a-ok today.

He also replaced the gaskets on the bell housing which was causing my huge oil leak. Hopefully I'll be relatively leak free after I get the car back.

As for the clutch, I haven't seen it yet, but I'll have to get picture for the blog. Aparently it was in pieces. I'm not surprised because it was fine one day while I was driving it and then it made a thunking noise and started to slip. It was really bad in 4th gear. Forget the turbo kicking in. There was no grip when that happened.

I'm very excited to get the car back. I'm not sure if it will be Monday or Tuesday. Again, we have schedule issues, but it will be soon.

I can't wait!

One last thing. He found somebody in Las Vegas who will do alignment on the Corvair. That will be the next outside project that I will have done. Depending on how bad the alignment is will determine how soon.

Two Weeks Away!
I talked with my mechanic at our monthly club meeting and we have a tentative schedule for two week from now. He's going out of town for a while. When he gets back, we'll get the car over to his shop and start getting the Corvair road ready.

I'm looking forward to it. Las Vegas has car cruise nights every third Friday of the month and I'm hoping to go to some of these events soon. Hopefully, the work needed won't be too time consuming, but we have the clutch, the suspension and the steering box to work on, so I expect it will take a little while, especially if he finds something wrong with the steering. Hopefully not, but if so, there is a new steering box out that I can get to replace mine if needed.

Now part of the Corvair Webring.

I decided to add my blog to the Corvair Webring to get a little more traffic here. If you happen to come via the Webring, welcome. I look forward to your comments as I continue to work on the corvair. Hopefully soon it will make it to "daily driver" status. My plan is not to make it a show car, but a reliable car that I can enjoy all the time. Once the major repairs are out of the way, I'll take a little break to enjoy the car, working on the little things at a leisurely pace.

Parts are in!
I have new springs and shocks waiting to be installed on the Corvair. The mechanic is getting a new flywheel for the transmission. We should be able to get both changed out in one shot. I just need to make the appointment. I also have a spoiler sent as well. I wanted the stock spoiler for the car but Clark's no longer has them. I purchased the Camaro spoiler instead. I'm not sure if I'm going to put it on the car or not. It seems a little big. We shall see.

Happy New Year!

Well, It's time to get the Corvair up and running so that I can take it out like a "daily driver" First things first, I need to get the clutch fixed. I talked to my mechanic this past Wednesday and we should be getting it in the shop in the next few weeks. Second, I need to work on the suspension. I've ordered some new springs from Corvair Motorsports. They are Heavy Duty springs that have had 1 coil removed to lower the car about an inch. Along with that I purchased new gas shocks from Clark's and a front spoiler to help with the handling on the road.

The 65 didn't have a spoiler, but all the other late models did so I think adding it will help my handling situation.

Speaking of handling, my mechanic is going to work on the alignment of the car as well as check out the steering box for too much play. I've been told that there is a new quick steering box available for the Corvair so I may be looking into that as well.

Those are the 2 major stumbling blocks at the moment, after that, there is a lot of stuff that still needs to be done, but the car will be drivable again.