2 "new to me" Corvairs

[Atrayyu]

Hello all... I just picked up (2) 1963 Corvairs. The red one came with 2 engines torn apart with manual trannys and the gold one came "running" with the Automatic tranny.

I'm new to Corvairs as my family is mostly into Mopar. I'm about to order a new carb setup from CarbMeister and put this gold one on the road.

Does anyone have recommendations for an engine rebuilder? or should I just rebuild them myself. I'm a former Jet Engine Technician from the Air Force and can tackle it myself with the proper documentation, but wouldn't mind just being able to "Drop it in" after it was professionally rebuilt.

[azdave]

Welcome!

A properly rebuilt engine could cost you anywhere from $4K and up. A refreshed engine is much less but you get what you pay for. I've had really good luck finding non-runners on CL or from local club members and putting those engines back in service after a good evaluation and reseal. I enjoy the challenge of resurrecting an old engine as opposed to shelling out $1000's for a fully rebuilt engine. The factory manual is pretty good at pointing you in the right direction and of course online forums can answer specific questions.

I have a set of known good carbs, a coil, distributor, fuel can with small e-pump and an oil pressure gauge that mounts on top of the oil filter. I'll spend a weekend going over a non-runner to get it all lubed up and look for obvious mechanical issues like bent pushrods or stuck valves. If nothing looks out of place, I'll proceed to bolt on my carbs and test gear for an engine run. If I can get it warmed up enough I will note the oil pressure and then shut down for a compression test or leak-down test. If the engine has sat for a long time, it will seem like a lost cause at first but they usually settle down, stop smoking after a bit and all the valve clatter usually clears up. I've been driving a 140 all summer that really only needed a good deep cleaning of all the mouse poop and nut shells under the engine cover. The engine sat for almost 20 years before I brought it back to life.

[66vairguy]

Hello all... I just picked up (2) 1963 Corvairs. The red one came with 2 engines torn apart with manual trannys and the gold one came "running" with the Automatic tranny.

I'm new to Corvairs as my family is mostly into Mopar. I'm about to order a new carb setup from CarbMeister and put this gold one on the road.

Does anyone have recommendations for an engine rebuilder? or should I just rebuild them myself. I'm a former Jet Engine Technician from the Air Force and can tackle it myself with the proper documentation, but wouldn't mind just being able to "Drop it in" after it was professionally rebuilt.

First - It would help a lot if we knew what area you are in.
Second - The heads should be rebuilt by someone familiar with Corvair heads. I've see heads rebuilt by VW shops that were done incorrectly. That said Dave makes a point that a fair engine may not need a full rebuild. However the days of finding engines with lower miles in need of minor work are about over.
Third - When I retired I had time to do full engine builds and got into Corvairs. My advice is read the Corvair books and shop manuals AND do be aware of errors in the shop manual!!! Listed in FAQ's file on the CCF (Corvair Center Forum).
Forth - I've come across a few rebuilt engines done by so called "experts" that were a mess. Beware.

As for carburetors. EVERY year the Corvair carburetor changed, although 62-63 was a minor change. Go to Seth Emerson's site https://www.perfvair.com/ Seth sells the Bob Helt Corvair Rochester carburetor book that is very good to use and rebuild your own carburetors. Note few, if any, carburetor rebuilders actually test a carburetor on an engine or flow bench. So complaints happen, but most places will replace a problem carburetor. Use the VITON (blue) carburetor accerlator pumps or you'll be changing them again in a few years.

[azdave]

...the days of finding engines with lower miles in need of minor work are about over.

Have to disagree there. While you won't likely find an original untouched engine with low miles, I have found plenty that the owners had rebuilt but were rarely used for whatever reason when their projects stalled. In the last 5 years, I have found two 140's and a 110 that were nasty looking outside but like new internally. While they needed some attention from sitting idle for many years, all came back to life and have proven to be a way cheaper solution to a great engine replacement than even a low-budget rebuild and that was with the entire car included in all three deals. One of the cars was parted out for what I paid for it which essentially gave me a free engine for trouble. Those are the kinds of finds that are still out there if you have patience to search and can look past the grit and grime to see what is really inside.

[Atrayyu]

Excellent, Thank you.

I finally found free time to put newly rebuilt carbs on last night. I'm slowly finding all the little intricacies that are going to be replaced. First off, it already has an alternator instead of a generator. Realized that my choke system was non-existent (waiting on more parts). I also read that I should run premium fuel in it it. I'm slowly putzing with the gold one so I have a good reference to look at when working on the red one.

The vacuum advance from the distributer seems to operate but was very loose. After tightening it up I press on..... the engine seems to "ping" and is unable to idle low, I have to keep it revved up sligthly (maybe 1100 rpm, by ear, I don't have a tach). So for now I'm just cruising the web to find out all the little tricks on basic tune ups and checks.

[Atrayyu]

I'm in North Eastern Louisiana, but can travel almost anywhere that is required. I missed that part, sorry =)

[66vairguy]

Azdave makes a point about finding "rebuilt" problem engines. I've bought a few for little money. One had a new set of good forged pistons, but the cylinders were not honed to proper clearance and you could barely turn the engine over. The heads were ruined by some shop so they went to scrap. Someone used wheel bearing grease as an assembly lube and the crank oil passages were plugged up!!! Luckily the engine was never started and the good parts I got out of it were worth more than what I paid for the engine.

Another engine I bought ran, but made noise. When I tore it down I found the crank was turned down 0.010" and someone used STANDARD rod bearings!! Ruined the crank journals! I got more good parts out of it worth more than what I paid for it.

I have more stories, but the point is beware of "rebuilt" engines and don't pay too much for them.

The same applies to Corvair transaxles. BTW --- Do change the transaxle lubricant ASAP. Even if it is clean some folks use GL-5 which is a NO-NO for manual transmission Corvairs that require GL-4. GL-5 is fine for automatic transaxles.

I'm retired so I have the time, but if you have a family and a job finding time to fix up an old car is rough. That's why unfinished projects come up for sale.

[joelsplace]

I agree. Rebuilt is meaningless unless you have a list of parts and know the work was done correctly. I've seen plenty of "rebuilt" engines that didn't have much done but a few gaskets and some just a little spray paint.