New Owner from Michigan

[gcjacobs]

Hello all. I bought my first corvair after many months of looking for something unique but not super expensive to maintain. I am hoping I did the right thing by getting a corvair.

I have a 1965 Corsa convertable with the original 140 hp engine but it has an aftermarket 4bbl carb setup. The owner before me did a great job of restoring most of it including most of the engine parts. It has a few issues that I want to ask about on other posts, but for now I am just getting to know it. I attached a few pictures below :). I am not super mechanical but did manage to maintain a 68 mustang for a number of years (which is no easy task!), so I can do most repairs that dont require tearing apart the engine (hence the reason I bought one that had the engine redone).

The previous owner also left me many old parts, a book of the restoration process, and a number of receipts, so I have an idea of what was replaced. Right now most of the issues are electrical (with the exception of a carb adjustment needed, and an oil leak around the plug that is baffling)

I am open to any and all input as long as it is constructive ( I know I will ask dumb questions :))

Also will be looking for old corvette rally rims at some time to replace the 13in rims I have on there now.

[thewolfe]

Welcome and good looking car! The very first thing you absolutely need to do is replace/rerout the fuel line and filter going over the fan belt. This is a disaster waiting to happen. If the belt snaps it will likely take that rubber hose with it, spraying gas all over your engine. A hard line would be preferable but if you have to use rubber then reroute it under and well away from the fan belt and around the side so it's not in danger of getting snagged by the belt. Even if the belt does not take out the hose, you will have to disconnect the fuel line to replace the belt with the line going over the top of the belt. It is not uncommon to throw a belt and have to replace on the side of the road. Which brings me to my next tip...always carry a spare fan belt and an offset 9/16" wrench to loosen the tensioner pulley.

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

Looks like a Carter AFB sitting up there. I don't have any experience with these, but perhaps others on the Forum will have worked with the Carter AFB on the Corvair. The majority of these center-mount conversions seem to do well with the Holley four barrel (about 390 CFM) and a progressive vacuum-controlled secondary system, which can be tuned to not overwhelm the small Corvair engine with too much air volume.

Carter AFB tuning tips

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/AFBtuningtips.htm

Center-mount four barrel carburetors on Corvairs tend to be cold-blooded and somewhat difficult to run in cold climates, due to a lack of engine heat reaching the manifold and carburetor. There are some manifolds that have been modified with an engine oil reservoir in the base, to permit engine oil to be routed up through the manifold to warm it for better winter operation.

Late-model (LM — 1965-1969) Corvairs tend to be somewhat thin-skinned (sheet metal). Rust and body rot are a big problem with these cars — convertibles in particular — which have no roof line to help strengthen the chassis. Chevrolet put in some reinforcement around the door frame to try to compensate.

Recommendation: Park your Corvair convertible in the winter and keep it garaged — it will last longer. Don't expose it to Michigan winters and road salt — deadly for Corvairs! Between the unibody construction thin sheet metal, convertible format, and a center-mount cold-blooded carburetor configuration you might want to consider your Corvair to be a fair weather friend only.

There are several carburetor tuning books on the market that may be helpful...

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss ... carter+afb

You might want to consider local Corvair contacts, such as members of CORSA (Corvair Society of America). A local CORSA club chapter may prove to be a valuable resource to you as a new Corvair owner. Such clubs offer technical guidance and training, family-friendly social events such as picnics, scenic group Corvair drives, competition events, car shows, etc. If you provide us with your location in Michigan, we can try to point you in the right direction.

The websites listed in the following link may be useful to you...

Common and Useful Corvair Websites

Corvair Forum viewtopic.php?f=225&t=6007

I would like to encourage you to expand on your initial post and tell us more about yourself, your Corvair, and your goals for your Corvair. If you can describe your personal assessment of your mechanical skills and abilities, that would help a lot. Members of the Corvair Forum love to be helpful in assisting other Corvair owners with technical support and advice, but it helps a lot if we have some understanding of your technical background and mechanical abilities, Corvair-related knowledge, etc. Helping us to know more about you and your Corvair will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Pictures are great too, because pictures of your Corvair will help us to visualize where you are with your Corvair and its condition at the present time. Knowing your location is also useful, because knowing where you live can sometimes suggest possibilities to resolve some issues or problems.

[gcjacobs]

wow!, good catch, I didnt even notice the fuel line running through the fan belt. Will make that a top priority. Thanks!

[gcjacobs]

Thanks Brad for the comments and the links! and yes this little car definitely likes the warm weather (which is fine as I wont be driving it in the winter)...will probably put it away in a month, but want to be able to drive it around and fix a few things before that. I will post some other questions but thought I would separate them into different posts rather than dump them all into one (might help with searching in the future)

[BobWitt]

Welcome and you did not say where in Michigan - I am in West Bloomfield and work in Warren. A few of the best things you can do is 1) read the forum, cover to cover! 2) join CORSA and 3) if you are in the Detroit area join DACC...

I am approaching 2 years with my Corsa - and through the DACC I have made good friends, made contacts for information and parts. Our next meeting will be on the 7th of November in Waterford, or there is a DACC-West that will likely meet on the 12th or 13th in Ypsilanti.

Good luck with your project and hope to meet..

[gcjacobs]

Thanks Bob. I am in Rochester Hills. I will try to make the Nov 7th gathering. I would love to bring the car to the meeting and have folks give me some advice since I am new at all of this, but will have to see how the weather is. It doesn't like the cold very well.

[BobWitt]

Well, warm her up and keep the throttle transitions small - If it is not raining (or snowing) I'll be driving my Corsa... Hope to meet you then...

[xrotaryguy]

I 2nd the fuel line. I ran all 5/8" steel brake line with the flared ends cut off. It's a bit tough to bend with your thumbs. Alternately, you can bend it with a cheap bender from the auto parts store or harbor freight.

Dont be a wuss. Keep the 4-barrel. ;)
Mine has a flat spot, runs poorly when cold, and stays pig rich all the time. They require plenty of setup. Kind of a pain. Hopefully yours is setup better than mine already.



Sent from my SM-G900V using Corvair Forum mobile app

[gcjacobs]

Ha...well I am not planning on getting rid of the 4bbl set up just yet. I have other things to work on. Mine runs on the rich side as well. The car actually has a Sun Fuel Mixture gauge inside but it doesn't work, so I am thinking it is just for show, but may try to hook it up at some point. The biggest issue with how it runs is the amount of rpms I have to give it to keep from stalling out when taking off. I cant just have a smooth start, it sounds like an airplane taking off (I dont know exactly how many RPMs I have to give it just yet since my tach is not working...but I think I am close to fixing that). Like I mentioned earlier, lots of little electrical issues (tach and Cylinder head temp gauge are top on my electrical to do list)

thanks for the brake line idea!

[BobWitt]

I had removed my mechanical pump and installed an electric pump up by the tank. Therefore my fuel lines run forward from the carbs and Tee at the left front of the engine compartment. I have gotten brake lines from both O'Reilly's and NAPA and the NAPA units bent SOOO much easier - the O'Reilly's kinked even when using a tubing bender.

Still suggest you run Low and OUTBOARD of the belt before you go up (unlike the above photo) - do not violate the belt circle or you will need to remove the fuel line to change the belt.

My Tach did not work when I first got my car - it was connected to the wrong side of the coil! The tach lead should be on the same side as the points.

Good luck and keep up the dialog.

[xrotaryguy]

Ha! I haven't changed the belt on my car yet. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be spilling a little fuel with each belt change for a while.

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[gcjacobs]

Thanks Bob, that is pretty much what I was thinking for the gas line too.

And I hope to not change my belt for awhile too :)

[gcjacobs]

So, I got my wayward tach to respond by running a wire directly from the coil to the gauge (found some old 20ga wire and just connected it).

I am tracing backward from the harness to see where I can pick up a signal, but if I cant find it, I was thinking of just running a wire directly to the gauge, but the tach doesn't seem to be calibrated just right. Does anyone know if the resistance of the wire would cause it to register lower than the RPMs actually are spinning? The engine seems to be revving much higher than the tach shows. I did get some 16ga wire to actually use (the 20ga wire was actually from my electronic dog fence:)), but before I go through the trouble of trying to find a way to get a wire to the front of the car, I was hoping for some advice. Does wiring directly work?

Thanks!

[BobWitt]

The resistance of the wire is not how the TACH is calibrated. See viewtopic.php?f=77&t=9564

Do you have a stand-alone TACH/Dwell meter? This will let you know if the dash is off...

Is your car a factory or "Tribute" Corsa? The non-Corsa vehicles did not have the wiring for the TACH or Temp gauge.. If a factory Corsa (VIN starts in 107...) and if it has all the correct harnesses check the connector at the Left Front of the engine compartment - common point of problem...

Also sent a PM...

[gcjacobs]

Thanks Bob, I do have an original Corsa (VIn starting with 107...). I originally started with looking under the dash at that harness because when fiddling around under there to find my temp gauge wires, I saw the tach move, so figured I must have power getting to at least that point. I think I have the correct wire identified coming out of the harness but it is really short and I cant splice in (it is broken about an inch from the harness)...looks like a direct wire is not feasible based on what I saw in your link. Hopefully I find something to fix that wire, because the tach calibration doc you have is way beyond my pay grade :).

I also didnt see any PM..

Thanks!