Greetings from Montana!

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benfro
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:03 am
Location: Bozeman, MT

Greetings from Montana!

Post by benfro »

Hello. This past summer I became the owner of a 62 Spyder. This was after many years of trying to figure out what my friend Steve was going to do with it. Little back story here. I grew up in the Phoenix area and was fortunate enough to be surrounded by Corvair guys. In the late 90's I bought a 67 Monza Covert and drove it all over the place, even to the Palm Springs convention one year. Loved the car, didn't like living around so many people. When I finished college I packed up and moved to South Dakota where I met my wife. Sadly, I left the car in AZ due to many reasons.

Steve had owned this car since 97. On our lunch breaks from work back then we would go to Larry and Gary's Corvair yard off of the 202 in Scottsdale (or Tempe). Steve found this car and had Gary make an engine for it. It is turbo-charged with the stock turbo and carb, and has 140 heads. From what I remember, back in the day it was a fairly speedy car. Life took me to Bozeman, MT where I have been since 2004. Also in 2004, Steve parked this car next to his house because the transmission had an issue. Where it sat until this past summer. I would go back to Phx on an annual basis to escape the snow and every year I would ask him about this car. This past Spring he said he was going to drop a bunch of coin on a kitchen remodel and said I could have the car, as he had no plans for it. It was towed up in June and I have since started restoring it.

Little bit about my mechanical skillz. I am a police officer in Bozeman. My old man was a trauma nurse in Phx and taught me nothing about cars beyond simple maintenance. I am fairly confident in my ability to learn and am able to follow instructions to a tee. It is easier for me to learn by just diving in and doing it. That is the case with this. My goals with this car are to restore it, and drive it the two weeks there isn't any snow on the ground. I have also tossed around the idea of restoring it and driving it back to Steve. I probably will have many questions and this seems like the place to be. Not many Corvairs up here.
IMG_1008.jpg

Arrived in Montana
IMG_1004.jpg
IMG_0992.jpg
Body Tag, kinda hard to read
SteveH
Posts: 452
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 10:27 am
Location: San Lorenzo, CA

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by SteveH »

very cool! It looks really clean. Congrats!
CORSA Member #034095
65 Corvair Corsa "Field Find" 140-4, 4 speed, Hardtop, Telescoping wheel. Rear Speaker
65 Corvair Corsa Automatic 140-4, Coupe
guru_1071
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 9:38 am

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by guru_1071 »

I really like the look of that green tinted glass - must be a real bonus in the hot sun
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azdave
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Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by azdave »

Welcome!

I just saw Gary last weekend at the Cactus Corvair Club show in Chandler. You probably heard Larry passed away earlier this year.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

66 Corsa 140/4 Yenko Stinger Tribute
66 Corsa 140 Coupe w/factory A/C
65 Monza 4DR 140/PG w/factory A/C
65 Monza 4DR EJ20T/5
64 Greenbrier 110/PG, Standard 6-Door
cnicol
Posts: 546
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:11 pm

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by cnicol »

Greetings back from Coeur d'Alene. In the scale of the PNW, we're practically neighbors! (only 366 miles LOL). What's the issue with your car's transmission? I have quite a few transmissions and axles if you need something you can't find.
'61 140 PG Rampside
'66 Rear Alum V8 4-dr
'60 Monza PG coupe (sold, sniff, sniff)
'66 Corsa Fitch Sprint Conv. (First car 1971, recently repurchased)
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bbodie52
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Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by bbodie52 »

:welcome2: :wave: Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

You did not specify what the "transmission issue" is (clutch, shift linkage, internal problem, etc.) But if you find that you must look for a replacement transmission, note that the input shaft spline count for 1961-1963 is different from the 1964-1965 4-speed manual transmission...
:link: http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... N&page=128
Image

:link: http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... graygo.y=0
Image

====================================================================================================================
Body Tag.jpg
Here is a breakdown of the information on the body tag you provided...

BODY TAG INFO:

03E (??? I think I read this correctly, but it was distorted in the photo.)
Body Build Date: 03 = March, E = Fifth Week
The first two digits are numbers 01 through 12, indicating the month of manufacture. The letter is A-E, indicating the week of the month. If the letter is an "E" it indicates the fifth week of the month.

STYLE 62-0927 BODY OA 30081 (??? Not certain of the last two digits).
62 = 1962
Model 0927: 09 = Monza, 27 = 2-Door Coupe, OA = Oakland, California
Production Sequence No: 30081

1962 Chevrolet Corvair (900 Series) Monza 2-Door Club Coupe - 4 Passenger, Total Production: 144,844, Spyder Coupe: 6,894

Image

TRIM 9-795 30 = GOLD
This 3 digit code represents the interior color and seat type (795 applies to 900 (927/967) Series Monza only, which is fitted with Bucket Seats).
Interior: The 1962-63 Corvairs have an extra digit on the trim or paint section of the tag. OA (Oakland) has the extra digit for interior trim on the TRIM section. Ex. 9-795 = Gold.

The "30" on the trim tag is the actual 'DAY" of the month, so...specifically your car was built on March 30th 1962. Oakland was kind enough to stamp the "day" where Willow Run did not.

Interior paint codes:
1962: 2= Blue 3= Aqua 4= Fawn 5= Red 7= Black 8= Saddle 9= Gold

PAINT 925 = "Coronna Cream"
Lucite No. 4151L, Rinshed-Mason No. A1390, Ditzler No. DDL81271

COLOR SAMPLE: Image

Image

ACC = Accessory line
When decoding ACC line on the Fisher body tags, be aware that body tags do not include any options that did not require any body modification be done by Fisher. Fisher was only concerned with items that required modifications during the assembly of the body. A good example is that you won’t find Telescopic column listed on the body tag. Although this is a major option, it did not require any special consideration during body assembly.

W X P E
Oakland bodytags (It appears that the 1962 OA codes carried over to 1963)
Does not use group numbers

W = RPO: 398 - Tinted Windshield

X = RPO: 690 Spyder Engine Option (Includes RPO 651 - 4-speed Transmission, RPO 693 - Rear Axle 3.55:1, RPO 696 - heay duty Front and Rear Suspension, and RPO 686 - Metallic Brakes).

P = RPO: 427 - Padded Dash

E = RPO: 398 - Tint Glass (all windows)

Oakland also stamped a 4 digit number they used for tracking body orders, the stamp "6967" was that number and it means it was number 6967 out of an order sequence between the production plant and Fisher Body.

Although you did not provide it, the VIN tag is located in the driver's side door frame. This guide will show you how to decode it...

vinearly.gif
vinearly.gif (4.86 KiB) Viewed 862 times
I have attached a copy of the 1962 Chevrolet Corvair GM Heritage Center Specs for your model year Corvair.

:chevy:
Attachments
1962 Chevrolet Corvair GM Heritage Center Specs.pdf
1962 Chevrolet Corvair GM Heritage Center Specs
(3.07 MiB) Downloaded 26 times
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
benfro
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:03 am
Location: Bozeman, MT

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by benfro »

azdave wrote:Welcome!

I just saw Gary last weekend at the Cactus Corvair Club show in Chandler. You probably heard Larry passed away earlier this year.
Yes, I did hear that. Thanks for letting me know in case I didn't...
benfro
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:03 am
Location: Bozeman, MT

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by benfro »

cnicol wrote:Greetings back from Coeur d'Alene. In the scale of the PNW, we're practically neighbors! (only 366 miles LOL). What's the issue with your car's transmission? I have quite a few transmissions and axles if you need something you can't find.
Thanks for the offer! I may or may not need to take you up on it. i haven't gotten to the tranny yet. As it was explained to me, Steve dropped the engine to fix the tranny because there was a noisy grinding/whining sounds coming from the tranny. This occurred while the car was driving or idling. He seemed to think it was a bearing? Although not an expert, it would seem to me if it was a tranny issue it would primary be present while driving. At idle?
cnicol
Posts: 546
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:11 pm

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by cnicol »

Transmission noises are most noticeable at idle when there is no road noise and minimal engine noise. When idling in neutral with the clutch pedal up, the transmission countershaft and all of the speed gears are spinning merrily. If the noise stops when the clutch pedal is depressed, it's either a transmission noise (countershaft bearings are a common failure in 61-5 4-speed transmissions) or flywheel rivets. Flywheel noise is more of a rattle.
'61 140 PG Rampside
'66 Rear Alum V8 4-dr
'60 Monza PG coupe (sold, sniff, sniff)
'66 Corsa Fitch Sprint Conv. (First car 1971, recently repurchased)
Mbrannon64
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:11 am

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by Mbrannon64 »

Welcome. Cool looking car. Love you Turbo
benfro
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:03 am
Location: Bozeman, MT

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by benfro »

Brad, Thanks for all the info. I was able to stumble through all the obvious stuff on the tag. However, I had no idea the car was built on March 30th. This is also the same day my son was born. Very cool. Thank you, Sir.
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bbodie52
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Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by bbodie52 »

I also was not aware of the meaning of those mysterious code numbers on Oakland-based Corvair body tags. Rick Loving, CORSA, Performance Corvair Group, Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts clued me in recently.
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
Orange Power
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Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:34 am
Location: Edmond, OK

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by Orange Power »

I'm new to this forum and new to Corvairs.
In fact I don't own one yet.
I narrowed my interest to 64.

I've been looking a green 64 Corvair coupe in Bozeman. Maybe you know about it.

I'm in Edmond, OK so it's a long way to checkout a car in Bozeman.

Tom
benfro
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Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:03 am
Location: Bozeman, MT

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by benfro »

Orange Power:

So I look at Craigslist quite a bit around the Bozeman area to see what Corvair stuff pops up from time to time. Really not many cars ever appear and very few Corvairs are seen in the area. Early last Spring a green 64 showed up on Craigslist for around $6500 or $6900 and it looked like it was in great shape. I had this project coming so I never went to look at it, and the ad quickly went down so I assume it was sold. Fast forward to a month or so ago and the green 64 shows up on Craigslist for $16,000.00! While I can't say for certain it is the same car I would say there is a very high probability as it is the only green 64 I have seen in town.

He has since lowered the price to $11,000.00, but it sure looks like he is trying to make a quick buck. As such, I wouldn't do business with a person like that. The affordableness (is that a word?) of the Corvair is what got a lot of guys like me into them in the first place back in the day when I was a broke college guy. My body guy stopped to look at though and he said there was a significant dent in the driver's door. There might be more but I think he was looking at only the body. It could very well be a nice car, guess it is just the principle with me. I could go check it out if you would like.

On a side note, love your moniker, just got my car back from body and paint. I went with the GM "Sunburst Orange Metallic" Looks super awesome.
Orange Power
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Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:34 am
Location: Edmond, OK

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by Orange Power »

Orange Power is Okla State Univ thing. But I love orange too. I may buy project Corvair for cheap and paint it the color you chose. Thanks for the reply. I had bad feeling about the green car so I'm skipping it.
benfro
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:03 am
Location: Bozeman, MT

Re: Greetings from Montana!

Post by benfro »

Orange Power wrote:Orange Power is Okla State Univ thing. But I love orange too. I may buy project Corvair for cheap and paint it the color you chose. Thanks for the reply. I had bad feeling about the green car so I'm skipping it.
Ah, I see. Best of luck to you. Whatever you choose, EM or LM, I'm sure you will be happy.
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