Welcome to the Corvair Forum! What part of Pennsylvania do you live in? Before I moved to North Carolina to take care of my aging father's needs in 2009, I lived in Lebanon, Pennsylvania from 1993 - 2009.
It appears that your 1964 Corvair has 1962 trim on the front and 1963 taillights on the rear. As a 1964 it should have a 164 cubic inch engine (increased from the 145 CI engines in 1961-1963 cars) with a cast crankshaft pulley or a harmonic balancer, and should have a cast magnesium cooling fan. It should also have a front stabilizer bar in the front suspension, and a transverse leaf spring as a part of the rear suspension.
http://www.corvairforum.com/forum/viewt ... 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.
1966 Corvair Corsa ConvertibleThank you very much!Sinope wrote:Welcome
Mine runs great. Revs very nice. But it won't stay at idle at all soon as it warms up slightly. It just dies. Soon as I sprayed some carb cleaner at the throttle shafts, "even just misted it", the idle picked right up, and smoothed out. I dunno if mine are too wore out? Its a shame, because it does run well when your foot is on the throttle.1949chevy wrote:When I complained of a loose carb shaft to my ol mechanic friend ( and no one has ever come close to being half the mechanic he was) he said it does not affect running at all...it just adds a little air to the mixture...don't worry about it....might affect idle a little though.
Thank you for the links. I am near Pittsburgh, SouthWest Pa.Allan Lacki wrote:Hi TonyPA,
For hands-on technical support, you might want to consider joining one of the local chapters of the Corvair Society of America. You mentioned that you live in Pennsylvania. In the eastern half of Pennsylvania, we have three active chapters: Central Pennsylvania Corvair Club, Philadelphia Corvair Association, and Lehigh Valley Corvair Club. All of these clubs have websites, Facebook pages, or both. Here are some links for you:
Central Pa Corvair Club: http://www.centralpacorvairclub.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lehigh Valley Corvair Club: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/lvcc/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Philadelphia Corvair Club: http://jtwiley95.wix.com/pcacorsa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There are two Corvair clubs in the western half of Pennsylvania, but I have not had any contact with them, so I don't know how active they are.
Western Pennsylvania Corvair Club: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/wpcc/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Keystone Corvair Club: (No website listed on the CORSA roster)
Al Lacki for the Lehigh Valley Corvair Club.
bbodie52 wrote:
Corvairs often assume multiple personalities over the years as components are substituted. There may be issues with your car that experienced Corvair Forum members can point out and perhaps make helpful suggestions as you explore your Corvair and make progress with it. I would suggest posting some additional detailed photographs of the interior, engine compartment, trunk, etc. to help us (and you) become more familiar with your car. A picture of the VIN tag (in the left door frame) and the body tag (in the engine compartment) can be informative, and I could decode the information they contain for you.
Technical reference materials are critically important to guide you in repairing and maintaining your Corvair. Many documents, such as shop manuals, assembly manuals, parts guides, etc. can be downloaded for free in Adobe Reader (.pdf) format using the following link. A list of CORSA club chapters and excellent parts suppliers is also included...
Common and Useful Corvair Websites
Corvair Forum
Corvair VIN Decoding DetailYour car is a 1964 500 2-door coupe. It was the 185492nd Corvair built at Willow Run that year.
1966 Corvair Corsa ConvertibleWell my ole mechanic and friend, Arthur, was talking about my carb in particular...the shaft had some play in it but it was not past critical for tightness...I guess I should have said that but his statement still stands....unless the carb shaft is about gone, it only adds air to the air/fuel mixture when running. Might even help some cars run better if not too worn out.TonyPa wrote:Mine runs great. Revs very nice. But it won't stay at idle at all soon as it warms up slightly. It just dies. Soon as I sprayed some carb cleaner at the throttle shafts, "even just misted it", the idle picked right up, and smoothed out. I dunno if mine are too wore out? Its a shame, because it does run well when your foot is on the throttle.1949chevy wrote:When I complained of a loose carb shaft to my ol mechanic friend ( and no one has ever come close to being half the mechanic he was) he said it does not affect running at all...it just adds a little air to the mixture...don't worry about it....might affect idle a little though.
Thank you for all the info. i guess my engine will be the lower HP engine from 63 then. I will check for the numbers tomorrow. I did notice the fuel filter going to the drivers side carb. I thought that was quite odd. I had no idea they had internal filters.bbodie52 wrote:
I'm guessing that the engine is a 1963 145 CI unit, based on the cooling fan, crankshaft pulley, distributor design, air cleaner design, automatic choke, and the presence of a PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system. (1962 and earlier had a road draft tube, 1961 had a manual choke).
The primary battery ground strap appears to be improperly installed. It is supposed to "daisy chain" from the battery negative terminal, to a bolt attached to the car chassis frame, and then on to the engine. It is important to provide BOTH a chassis ground connection AND a direct connection to the engine, since the engine is electrically isolated from the chassis by the front and rear rubber engine mounts. The starter motor draws more current than any other electrical component in the car, so it needs a thick ground cable from the engine to provide the starter motor with a solid ground that can carry the amperage drawn by the starter motor. The generator also needs a good ground.
Strange that a single fuel filter was installed between the fuel pump and the left carburetor only, unless another filter is hidden from view on the right carburetor. There is already a fuel filter inside each carburetor inlet. Many who want to add another fuel filter install it in a protected location between the fuel tank and the fuel pump. That way a single filter filters the fuel before it reaches the pump or both carburetors.
The distributor was installed improperly, so that the vacuum advance mechanism had to almost hit the fan belt to obtain the correct ignition timing. This could be corrected by moving the location of each spark plug wire one distributor cap tower, so that the distributor base could be moved more to the right — moving the vacuum advance away from the fan belt (shown in the photo below).
The engine serial number might provide some clue (located to the right of the generator, between the upper metal shroud and the oil filter adapter. The number begins with a "T" (Tonawanda GM engine plant), then has four numbers (month and date), and a one or two-letter suffix code (indicating general horsepower rating, transmission type, etc. There is no year in the code, and the suffix codes often overlapped a range of model years, so the suffix code is not always specific if the model year is unknown).
The cylinder head casting numbers are next to the valve cover end. They often provide a big clue, but they are hard to see, as they are often covered by some sheet metal. Here is a sample...
40527W285492
Corvair VIN Decoding DetailYour car is a 1964 500 2-door coupe. It was the 185492nd Corvair built at Willow Run that year.
Early Car VIN Detail
This is a sample body tag, which is located in the engine compartment...
The rear transverse leaf spring was used in conjunction with coil springs on the 1964 Corvair. It is sometimes called a "camber compensator" and was designed to better manage camber changes that occurred with the Volkswagen-style swing axle suspension as the rear wheels moved up and down. You can see the attachment points on the suspension arms and on the differential casting. These may still be evident if you have the original 1964 suspension components and 1964 differential. It was an interim "fix" to counter the negative publicity brought on by Ralph Nader's book. In 1965 the rear suspension was completely redesigned, copying many of the design characteristics used in the Corvette Stingray from that production period.
The front stabilizer bar was optional on earlier Corvairs, and standard on 1962-1964 turbocharged Spyders. It became standard on all 1964-1969 Corvairs.
Hi!! I am right off the Irwin exit of the turnpike, about 1 hour from the cruise.KILLERCORVAIR wrote:tony,
Welcome! I am from the Pittsburgh area, about a hour north. I would like to talk to you about your car, and the Corvair scene in the western pa region. I will be at the old "starlight" car cruise, in wexford, Friday with both my vairs. They expect over 1500 cars for the first night. Stop by or pm me if you like.
Jim Weppelman
61 Lakewood
63 spyder rag project
64 Monza fac a/c cpe
Is there a way I can remedy the issue? I would prefer not spending 500 bucks for carbs right now, so I can get other stuff done.1949chevy wrote:Well my ole mechanic and friend, Arthur, was talking about my carb in particular...the shaft had some play in it but it was not past critical for tightness...I guess I should have said that but his statement still stands....unless the carb shaft is about gone, it only adds air to the air/fuel mixture when running. Might even help some cars run better if not too worn out.TonyPa wrote:Mine runs great. Revs very nice. But it won't stay at idle at all soon as it warms up slightly. It just dies. Soon as I sprayed some carb cleaner at the throttle shafts, "even just misted it", the idle picked right up, and smoothed out. I dunno if mine are too wore out? Its a shame, because it does run well when your foot is on the throttle.1949chevy wrote:When I complained of a loose carb shaft to my ol mechanic friend ( and no one has ever come close to being half the mechanic he was) he said it does not affect running at all...it just adds a little air to the mixture...don't worry about it....might affect idle a little though.
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