1962 727 Resurrection

[fatpad00]

I was given this 1962 Corvair 700 by my wife's grandparents. When the original owner died, they bought it. at some point it sat for a while and rats nested in the engine bay, totally wrecking the heads. A 1965 110hp motor was swapped in but shortly after that it was parked in their barn and hasn't been in the road since. the registration is from 1972, so it has been parked for nearly 50 years.



This is immediately after pulling it out of the barn. surprisingly, 3 of the tires actually held air overnight, and the 4th held at least long enough to roll it out and onto the trailer.
It is honestly in better shape than i could have expected for a car that hasn't run in half of a century.
The upholstery is almost entirely intact, the headliner has a couple small holes in the corners.
The trunk is borderline flawless, the seals held magnificently.
The body rust isn't too bad, no noticeable pitting.
At one point I was joking around and pulled out the dip-stick and shockingly, there was actually still oil in it!
One thing that caught me off guard when I sat in it the first time was there aren't any seat-belts! I've never ridden in a car without them and seat-belt laws pre-date me.








And that's what I found when i brought it home.

Initially my plan is just to get it running and driving. as much as I would love to do a Concours level restoration, i don't have anywhere near the time and funds for that, plus this is my first restoration/rebuild. To start, I am going to go through the functional components, e.g. engine/trans, brakes, fuel, etc.
hopefully down the line, I'll be able to get to the comfort side of things like an resto-mod radio, new interior, and a repaint.

first thing i found once we got home was the generator had broken. I think the opposite end bracket was not bolted in, and the side that mounts to the motor snapped. ill have to either find a replacement, though I have seen there are alternator swaps out there, is that worth it?


Next I got to cleaning up and undressing the engine compartment to see exactly what I'm working with. The battery tray had a rusted through, but that looked to be the extent of significant corrosion.
Some squirrels had made a nest on top of the right cylinder bank. The metal looks alright, there's just lots of dirt and debris that will need removal.


At this point I have everything disconnected from the powertrain and once I can get some help I will be dropping it.
I dont have a lift, so I made a cradle from 2x4s and furniture dollies.



I dropped the fuel tank and sadly that will need to be entirely replaced. The top has rusted through and the fill neck crumbled when removing the tank.


Most recently, i started digging into the brakes. The master cylinder had a little bit of corrosion in the reservoir, I'm thinking about playing it safe and getting the Clark's Dual Master kit. Is it worth it?
I also disassembled both right drums. both wheel cylinders are siezed to hell. The right rear hose appears to be clogged as well. the hard-lines seem to be in good shape. my plan as of now is to replace all 4 cylinders and hoses, plus the master.



and that's pretty much where I sit for now.

[flamingchariots]

That's a pretty nice write-up for an initial posting. Edit: I just saw that this is your updated posting.

Your 4th picture has a large hose in the engine compartment. I wonder if that's part of a desert air setup.

If this was mine, I would concentrate on getting it operational. My opinion: postpone any "updates" until then.
Surface cleaning the body and interior will help you feel better about your progress. (Maybe you've already done that.)

You don't state your age, but your hands look young----That's a big advantage!
Tell us your city and state. There may be someone close by to give you "an eye" and advice.

Kevin
Medina, Ohio

[66vairguy]

The body looks good, must be in a state with mild winters.

This is a tough one to advise on. You can easily invest much more than the car will be worth. Then again hobbies are NOT rational.

I've done a few cars that sat for a long time. I usually replace the fuel tank and lines, brake cylinders, hard line, and hoses. Drain the transaxle and refill. Pull the plugs, oil the cylinders, rotate and inspect the cylinder bores for rust pitting. Drop the oil pan and inspect and clean and if good fill the engine with new oil and install a new oil filter. The carburetors will need to be rebuilt. The electrical wiring will need to be inspected for rodent damage.

Basically not as simple as changing the oil and adding new gasoline when a car sits for decades.

The dual master cylinder is a nice addition, but I don't like the Clark's kit. Odd routing. Over the years folks have come up with a better system that is easier to install, but requires custom line bending from the MC to the firewall junction blocks. As many have said, the single master cylinder was used for a LOONG time and if everything is good it works reliably. That said I do install dual MC's, but I've got the skills so making custom lines is not a problem. Keep in mind a dual MC will only maintain SOME braking if one circuit fails. Better than nothing, but braking power is substantially reduced if one circuit fails.

A well maintained manual "emergency brake" is your friend.

Good luck with the car. An interesting find.

[jimbrandberg]

I don't usually remove the powertrain unless I have to. I'd be careful everything is free and moving before trying to start it.
You seem to be approaching this in a nice methodical manner and I salute you.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[joelsplace]

You can probably source that generator end frame from a local Corvair club for cheap if not free. The alternator conversion can be expensive depending on where you can find the mount and an alternator. All my earlies still have the generators on the except for a couple that a previous owner converted and I have all the parts so it wouldn't cost me anything but time. While you have the tank out spray some carburetor cleaner into the fuel line in the rear and blow it out the front with compressed air. Use a rag around the front to see what comes out. I've had that line plug up.

[jimbrandberg]

I would also say that I love 700s with the belt line trim, it just seems like it belongs on there. I do lean towards 4-door '60s but that's just me. Your '62 is a different sort of color that I think I like. Have you washed it yet?
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[66vairguy]

You can probably source that generator end frame from a local Corvair club for cheap if not free. The alternator conversion can be expensive depending on where you can find the mount and an alternator. All my earlies still have the generators on the except for a couple that a previous owner converted and I have all the parts so it wouldn't cost me anything but time. While you have the tank out spray some carburetor cleaner into the fuel line in the rear and blow it out the front with compressed air. Use a rag around the front to see what comes out. I've had that line plug up.

Good advise. Nothing wrong with a generator unless you've installed some item that needs a lot of electrical energy. The main problem with a generator is finding a quality regulator and a shop that can properly rebuild the generator if needed.

I have installed the internally regulated alternator in EM cars, but owners either needed the extra amperage capability, or they were driving the car daily and wanted something easier to fix. At this time finding a rebuilt alternator is easier vs. finding a rebuilt generator.

[jimbrandberg]

It's odd that inside the engine compartment looks worse than the rest of the car.
How's the floors? They can be bad if there's rubber mats instead of carpets.
I wonder if someone redid the the trunk with Dupli-Color. They have a darker gray with aqua flakes choice.
Jim Brandberg

[fatpad00]

@flamingchariots
I'm in my early thirties, definitely the lower end if 'Vair owners.

The car was originally in Missouri, now in north Texas (DFW).

no idea what the pipe is, I'm not even sure it goes with the car, but it came with it just to be safe.
It has been cleaned a bit from the first pic, that was just as it was in the barn. cleaning the windows made a huge difference. I also have vacuumed the interior and sprayed an entire bottle of Fabreez into the seats

@66vairguy
oh, I fully expect to be very upside down on it (even if i did get it for free). I am purely doing this for the experience of rebuilding a car.

so far the hard lines look good, i blew down from the master to passenger rear and got nothing but clean fluid, ill be checking all the others as I get into them. I've already checked that the engine does at least turn freely. it had about 2.5 quarts of oil in it somehow after all this time.

good to know on the dual MC, i definitely do not have the tools or skill/experience to bend hardlines.

@jimbrandberg
i haven't done a full wash, but it is much leaner than the 1st pic. that was just how it looked in the barn, most of that came off with a quick hose down. I have cleaned the windows, which makes it look like an actual car rather than a heap of junk.

[jimbrandberg]

There's a lot of young people interested in Corvairs these days, many of them have inherited a car. The family bond stories are especially heartwarming.
A lot of folks seem to be content with bad advice and social distancing on Facebook.
We've got a fair amount of young folks in Corvair Minnesota club. We've got several ladies involved these days too. Not all just us old geezers anymore which is good to see.

The hard part with a car like yours is figuring out where to draw the line. A fair amount of Corvairs have been all torn apart and then the project becomes too daunting. It's good to think of fixing it up as a process rather than an event. An engine can often be made well by fixing the oil leaks and getting it running good without actually "going in".

I usually do pushrod tubes one cylinder at a time at the position where the spark plug fires by loosening only the bottom 2 rocker studs to get the pushrod tube out, retorquing only those 2 studs to 30 #s and adjusting the lifters before moving on to the next cylinder.
If you start untorquing the top row of head nuts that have been exposed to the elements you can open up a Pandoras box of issues.
I also count removing the engine top cover to replace the fan bearing not really "going in".
If you're removing the powertrain and separating the differential/transmission from the engine you have the whole rebolted flywheel thing to consider.
I do a lot of stuff without removing the powertrain. I don't mind lying on the floor with my special rug.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[2LZ]

There's a lot of young people interested in Corvairs these days, many of them have inherited a car. The family bond stories are especially heartwarming.
A lot of folks seem to be content with bad advice and social distancing on Facebook.
We've got a fair amount of young folks in Corvair Minnesota club. We've got several ladies involved these days too. Not all just us old geezers anymore which is good to see.

The hard part with a car like yours is figuring out where to draw the line. A fair amount of Corvairs have been all torn apart and then the project becomes too daunting. It's good to think of fixing it up as a process rather than an event. An engine can often be made well by fixing the oil leaks and getting it running good without actually "going in".

I usually do pushrod tubes one cylinder at a time at the position where the spark plug fires by loosening only the bottom 2 rocker studs to get the pushrod tube out, retorquing only those 2 studs to 30 #s and adjusting the lifters before moving on to the next cylinder.
If you start untorquing the top row of head nuts that have been exposed to the elements you can open up a Pandoras box of issues.
I also count removing the engine top cover to replace the fan bearing not really "going in".
If you're removing the powertrain and separating the differential/transmission from the engine you have the whole rebolted flywheel thing to consider.
I do a lot of stuff without removing the powertrain. I don't mind lying on the floor with my special rug.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

This is what I'm doing with mine. It's amazing how much of the engine is accessible for gasket/o ring replacement while still in the car. Like nothing I've worked on before. The laying on the floor part is getting really old though. I see a rack in my future. Maybe I just need a special rug???

[fatpad00]

An engine can often be made well by fixing the oil leaks and getting it running good without actually "going in".

If i can help it I certainly dont want to open it up. I was advises previously that the pushrod tube O-rings are a high probability leak point, so I am planning to replace those, but aside from the valve covers, I'm not planning to open anything else up. I'll inspect the cylinders when i change the spark plugs.

If you start untorquing the top row of head nuts that have been exposed to the elements you can open up a Pandoras box of issues.

already learned this lol. They actually still had the original engine and gave it to me also. The block and head cooling fins are corroded to absolute hell, so I figured i would use that as a guinea pig. I started breaking down one side and when i went to take off the first head nut, the stud turned with it. glad i tried it on the old engine first because i certainly do not want to deal with that

[jimbrandberg]

A lower stud can come out with the rocker stud but it's usually no big deal as long as there's no aluminum on the threads. I put them back in with red Loctite to the proper depth, some you can see with the top cover off. I use a ball bearing in a rocker stud to put them back in which helps it to release easily especially with some oil in there.
The studs on the end cylinders have the cylinder baffle clip but no big deal to deal with those.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[Dennis66]

At least spin the fan by hand. If it is difficult to spin, only turns as long as you are moving it, or makes noise, probably time to replace (we'll get to the details). If it spins freely and makes no noise or roughness, it may only need greasing (there is a process / tool for that). Dennis

[fatpad00]

If it spins freely and makes no noise or roughness, it may only need greasing

it turns fairly easily. I'll add regreasing to my "after it runs" list. it sounds like it should be simple.

[Dennis66]

It's actually kind of tricky. Someone once offered a tool. I made my own. Dennis