John’s 65 sedan

[Dennis66]

John: Good to see you posting progress again. As always, looking better and better.
Bob: Thanks for posting the mirror tip. Been wanting to upgrade mine to wider angle
All: for simplicity's sake. Wide angle lens is a Burco 3027 mirror (lens only). Available on Amazon and other sources.

Dennis

[Project65]

Thanks Dennis. It feels good to be posting progress again, as it feels good to be making progress again!

So last night was spent working on media blasting some pieces and painting. That HF media booth that I bought and the air compressor from an auction both have made a huge difference in helping along with the restoration. It takes rusty and nasty parts and even down to bolts and screws and makes them look great.

Today my latest Clark’s order arrived and tonight was fun as more painting and reassembly occurred.

The taillights are all in as is a new Badge on the engine cover. Also installed the washer tank and spare washer fluid holders. For the washer tank holder, I used stainless #10 self tappers to keep them from rusting on the backside.

In waiting are the freshly painted wiper motor, the headlight frames, and the wiper motor linkage. Need to keep ordering more parts from Clark’s also…$$$ which is pacing some of my progress. (Note: I painted both the headlight frames and the wiper linkage with a custom rattle can that my local auto parts store filled from my left over gallon of body paint.)

[bbodie52]

I wonder if the people who worked on the Corvair assembly line knew that there was so much to properly assembling a Corvair???

[Project65]

So I changed direction this weekend and started working on the rear suspension. I need to identify a few more parts to order before I place my next Clark’s order to make it more worthwhile.

I removed the trailing arm assembly from the donor and proceeded to disassemble. I’m figuring the rear wheel bearings in the donor are better than on the’65 that hasn’t been run for 33 years. What a bear that turned out to be. the brake shoes were bonded to the drum. It took a lot of beating, heating, prying, and harsh language to get that brake drum off. Plus getting the old U-joints out…I cut out the center section with a wafer wheel and beat out the bearing cups.

By the end of today, I had the backing plate bearing spindle assembly, the driveshaft, and the suspension bumper cone all media blasted and sealed with POR15. I taped the openings where the inner and outer seals are in effort to keep blasting media away.

[Dennis66]

Ah, the "little details", and joys of sandblasting. Same thing I've been doing here and there recently. Blasted my air cleaner housings to bare metal, painted and baked them, then carefully wrapped them to prevent any scratches. That's been about it for my Corvair progress lately. I did go grab a two speed wiper motor yesterday before that Corvair goes from boneyard to crusher. Someone had already molested the wiper switch though. Dennis

[RexJohnson]

Would it be a good idea to go ahead and rebuild the rear wheel bearings while the car is apart? If they have never been that grease will be getting very dried out by now.

[Project65]

Yeah Rex. You’re right. Actually I’m heading to the Corvair Ranch Open House this weekend and think that I’ll take both rear wheel bearings and either exchange for rebuilds or have mine rebuilt. The one seal area looked like it might have been leaking at one time. And while I’m at it, I’m likely going to exchange my steering box for a rebuilt one also.

The latest improvement is the new rear bumper. Special thanks to a friend of mine who hooked me up with it! It’s a re-chrome and looks fandamntabulous! What a chore to get it on straight and looking good. About 6 fit-up tries and even had to bend one of the brackets (it was slightly malformed) to make it fit. I’m very pleased how it turned out.

[JohnDB]

The progress looks amazing! I'll keep an eye out for you at the Ranch on Sunday.

[County98]

Looks great. A little jewelry on the girl is always a good feeling.

[Project65]

Thanks guys!

Tonight was a less glamorous, but equally rewarding job. Rebuilding the horns. Yep…rebuilding the horns.

I posted the how-to in the mechanical section.

I was able to get 2 horns working after cutting them open, repairing, and reassembling.

Does it go without saying that I like a good challenge?

Hey…saved me $80 from Clark’s.

[66vairguy]

Thanks guys!

Tonight was a less glamorous, but equally rewarding job. Rebuilding the horns. Yep…rebuilding the horns.

I posted the how-to in the mechanical section.

I was able to get 2 horns working after cutting them open, repairing, and reassembling.

Does it go without saying that I like a good challenge?

Hey…saved me $80 from Clark’s.

Good job with the horns. Not many manage to get them apart and fix them.

Years ago I built a jig to assemble and select spacers to rebuild the LM rear wheel bearings (davemotohead also has done this). IT IS A JOB to do correctly. I got some great advice from Steve Goodman at Rear Engine Specialists. Over the years I did a few sets just for club buddies and many hubs were previously "rebuilt" poorly and had issues. I suggest ONLY using someone who is experienced to rebuild the LM rear wheel bearing.

When you remove the wheel bearing housing and yoke through the backing plate and trailing arm (installing seem to be worse) you have to tip down the unit and "wiggle" the yoke through the hole. It is a tight fit!

Keep in mind the "U" joint strap bolts, and yoke holes, were changed on 66-69. I've never heard of a problem with the smaller 65 bolts. It has been "suggested" that corrosion issues in the "rust belt" states prompted a change to a larger bolt head. Not sure.

Great progress.