New-to-me 66 Corsa!

[Edz]

After 30-45mins in direct sunlight, mid afternoon, on mid 70's clear day. I measured 132' in the concave areas and a peak of 136' on the flat areas. Humidity is not much of a concern here, I live on a high plains desert about 4,000 feet up. From the research I did it seems how thick you apply the coats and the heat make the most difference. Some people even said spray it almost to the point of making it run. My first coat on the gauge surround was somewhat light in comparison to how I did the glove box surround. This time much more hair dryer time is planned. Davemotohead has a great post in a question I posted on his process.

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=9826

What I used to take the surface measurements

I had them baking in the sun for about 3-4hrs with a rotation to move the shadows around about every 20-30mins. I'm thinking I might construct a aluminum foil box to help direct more sunlight/heat if I do not think I have the patience for extended hair dryer applications. One thing I did different on the glove box surround was during the 15mins between coats I used the hair dryer the whole time vs I only hit the gauge surround for about 5mins between coats.

Baking in the sun

Btw on Saturday I inspected my rear brakes, here is the picture I took.

Rear pass.

[cad-kid]

The springs look good and shiny

[91blaze]

There are no guide plates on the rears, never understood it myself but that's how they are. The event was pretty cool, nice to meet new people. On the topic of the dash, I got some spray on truck bed liner and used it for my dash I'm putting together. It makes a pretty nice texture without any hassle and as a bonus it won't get damaged. I will have pictures in my project thread once I get it done in a week or so.

[BobWitt]

So with Blaze, Cad-Kid and Edz all missing the 'guide plates' - along with Clark's saying they were not needed - I plan to move on after I receive one spring I've ordered. Brake Corners nearing completion. I've said it before - glad I don't need to feed the family with this type of work - we would all be thiner!

In the mean time, I finished assembly and adjustment of my steering gear tonight! Really? 3.5 to 4.5 inch pounds before the lash adjust, + 10 but less than 14 after... Took some work to find a torque wrench to accommodate this low of a torque! I wonder how often this procedure is followed, but managed to dial it right in...

Yet something else moved to the 'complete' column...

More to come...

[steve57]

I read thru your posts last night. I liked that repair on gas gauge you made. Looks like something I would do. Much rather repair a part if I can than buy another. Keep up the postings some of us may not comment often but were still following along .

[GasDaddy140]

My Corvair friend, you have selected some styling wheels to choose from. I almost went for those old Camaro Z-28 type. Your front-end and suspension work is beyond excellence!

[BobWitt]

Steve57 and GasDaddy140 – thanks for the comments – keep them coming!

Wow – took the week off with the intention of getting some of the ugly, dirty work behind me, and although I did not get started until Wednesday, I’m pleased with the progress going into the weekend…

I wanted to get the undercarriage cleaned up, rust treated, and painted and the old front brake lines removed. No way to make this work fun working on scraping and wire brushing above your head on a creeper. Nothing to it but to do it.

I used a variety of wire brushes in a drill and cleaned up the trunk-under, fuel tank bay and floor boards back to the rise at the rear seat. All surface rust that did not clean-up was treated with phosphoric acid, and rinsed.

Under the trunk, before...

After everything dried out, I managed to get a base coat on everything and then put a top coat on the floor pans. Plan to top coat the rest between the frame rails to the front bumper tomorrow.

Under the trunk, with base coat...

Under floor - left side fully brushed, right requires more work...

Under the floor - after top coat!

On to the wheel wells - using the heat gun and a flexible putty knife overall the undercoat came off well – but it also exposed a few secrets. The following two shots show the same area, rear of the passenger front wheel well - both before and after strip…

Passenger front Wheel Well, rear - before...

Passenger front Wheel Well, rear - after stripping...

What I found in both wells was crevice corrosion in the seam that runs around the parameter of the wheel well, in the cross-car seam as well as a number of surface corrosion patches. Still no perforation found and the corrosion found is minor. All of this is currently being processed with phosphoric acid converter (another fun job). I plan to rinse them tomorrow and seal the seams with a 2k seam sealer and paint before the end of the weekend. Add some undercoating to the wheel wells and I’ll be ready to (finally) reinstall the brake lines, speedo cable, column, steering gear and front suspension!

Then I can get back to finishing that brake job, wiring, dash, electric fuel pump… etc. etc..

But, once this painful process is done, it is all clean reassembly work!

As always, more to come…

[cad-kid]

Nice work! I need to tackle my wheel wells.

[BobWitt]

I had high expectations for last weekend, and managed to get all of it done – except undercoat which I got on this evening…

The following after more wire brushing, rust conversion and seam sealer.

Then base coat (not shown) and the following in Top coat…

Then last but not least, undercoat… Not as thick as that factory stuff, but I think it will do…

While on the creeper doing the top coat to the trunk area, I got this nice shot looking rearward…

And I took the following two pictures in a full-length mirror on the floor…

Tomorrow evening we are supposed to have low 80’s and low temperatures. I going to give the dash and glove box surround another try. Everything is primed and ready to go. Then, this weekend…

Getting closer, but, more to come….

[cad-kid]

Great pictures!

[BobWitt]

As expected we had perfect weather last Thursday (for Michigan) to give Crinkle Paint another try. I did not want to get started on too much, not being able to apply heat at the right places when needed – So I started out with only the dash board. Temps in the low 80’s and humidity ~45% and…

… Success! Pulled the masking off on Friday and reassembled to the cluster. Ready to install…

Although the cluster came out well, the glove box door and surround will need to be stripped and tried yet a 3rd time – unbelievable. A bug landed on one and some cotton wood tree fuzz on the other. I continued with the process applying heat and it also did not crinkle like the dash. Seems to me the steel substrate on the glove box door and surround (yes mine is steel) does not heat as evenly as the aluminum of the dash. Oh well, if it was easy everyone would be doing it…

After I finished the undercarriage, I got into the trunk and gave it a deserved sponge bath. Found some areas where the sealer was giving away and some corrosion was starting. Did the clean-up and acid treatment, rinsed and coated. A few shots…

This was of course in preparation to install the Dual Circuit Master Cylinder. I did not like where Clark's bent the long OE line and passed it through the Front of Dash way inboard, so I decided to modify their lines and do something that is better to my eye. To assure I was not violating space required for other under-dash Items, I installed the IP harness and Brake/Clutch pedal assembly… The headlamp and wiper switches are installed, as is the grommet and connection to the forward lamp harness. So I guess I am in reassembly mode!

For the rear Brake Circuit, I chose to pass it through just rear and inboard of the OE pass through.

I then had to modify Clark's Steel line…

On the inside, I will still need to shorten the OE line and put a new double flair, but To my eye it is neater…

I also managed to install the new front lines and tonight I used a pressure bleeder to flush the OE line to the rear. I pumped about a half of a quart and then blew it out with air, then followed up with another half quart and more air. It was flowing clear once done. At the rear, I was collecting the fluid out of the old rubber hoses, so none of this dirt passed through my new wheel cylinders. Tomorrow I hope to borrow a hydraulic flaring tool from work and finish this under-dash fitting and install my new rear brake hoses. Then the rear brake circuits will be complete.

Over the weekend I also installed the Dash Pad and my new Clark’s front Speakers… The speakers are very easy – as the instructions said, a direct replacement…

Tonight I also managed to top coat my fuel tank – ready to assemble and then install. I sealed it a month or more ago…

When I went to install the speedo cable, I learned it was seized – thought it was good when I took it out last November – put in the order and received conformation it is in route today.. So, if this coming weekend goes well, I will be able to install speedo cable, cluster, column, steering gear, fuel tank and front suspension!

Anyone have hints or tips on how to fold up the glove box or manipulate the replacement antenna mast into the fender?

Love it when things come together! More to come…

[BobWitt]

My week, in pictures…

Finished pluming on the rear brakes.

Finished installing the LED IP backlighting and have never shown – Glad I went with the cool blue.

Received my speedo cable, installed it, and the cluster. Not real happy with the ragged edge of the IP pad. I guess I should have replaced the foam… 8 (

Installed column and steering gear. That is a loaner steering wheel until I finish my two tone blue one.

Yes, that was the fuel tank you see with the steering gear. Installed fuel tank and front suspension.

That was all yesterday! Today I went through and torqued and added cotter pins to all of the steering links – was doing the final front brake shoe adjust and noticed the right front was not ratcheting – took it apart again and it seems the adjuster is rotated a little too far counter-clockwise for the ratchet to work. Any ideas?

Next comes brake bleeding, fabrication of add-in to main body wiring harness to accommodate the electric fuel pump and installation of all. Then add all the stuff back into the tunnel, close it off, and then…

Anyone have some 140 primary carbs and 66 carb linkage for sale? Might want to go that way before I try to add the Dellorto’s back on. It would be good to only be trying to tune carbs, rather than trying to diagnose engine, ignition and carbs with no "known-good" components!

I have the windshield scheduled for install Wednesday, as always...

More to come…

[cad-kid]

Nice progress! That brake should adjust under driving conditions. But the connecting link could be bent causing this issue.

[BobWitt]

It has been a few weeks and I have not taken it easy…

I finished adding the electric fuel pump and mounted, added wiring to the Body harness to get power to the front, added a fuse and relay block, and ground the relay coil through a new oil pressure switch. Also added a momentary ‘prime’ button under the dash so I can operate the pump without oil pressure.

I know, pictures or it did not happen…

In the photo with the relay center you can see the new 8-way connector on the Main harness, bringing power up for the pump, a ground back to the battery, the two extra wires in the “Corsa” harness, wiring to the pump and oil pressure switch. In the oil pressure switch picture you can see I had to add an elbow – the taller switch would have gotten into the alternator fan and pulley. As I had to remove the tensioner and alternator, I reassembled with coupling nuts to ease future access.

My brother came up from Columbus and helped do a bunch of ‘two men’ jobs – bleeding the brakes, installing the clutch and e-brake cables, shift tube, heater ducting, emblems, rocker moldings, etc… I still have a few adjustments to do, but this was a HUGE help…

After he left today I sanded and painted the wheels, tires on order and should be in tomorrow. This is gonna work out nicely.

So, Steering – Done, Brakes – Done, Fuel Pump – Done, A few items left on the electrical punch-list, but minor. Tomorrow, finish shifter (and other) adjusts, rebuild carbs (Dellorto’s), flush fuel line with fuel pump and fresh fuel in the tank, install carbs and rest of the fuel pluming from where the main line ends, and then…

More to come…

[cad-kid]

Wheels look great

[BobWitt]

Well, finished the adjustments, ran the steel fuel line to the rebuilt carbs from above the left axle, and a bunch of this and that...

I pulled the rocker covers and loosened all rockers two turns and did the Service Manual adjustment at #1 and #2 TDC... Ended up with the compression returning to #6... Was 70 and is now 140... So, Jeremy (cad-kid), you are not the only one who lost compression through inheriting too tight valves! I'm thrilled.

Primed, had to 'adjust' to account for a leak or two. But after priming, fired right up.

Had to head off right away to the dealer to get the front end alignment. Not bad in the front - a little toe work was all that was needed. Learned the right rear has a camber issue - in too much at the top (out too much at the bottom?) - looks like the control rod bushings are way in need of some attention. This the plan for next winter. Also found there is a significant gear oil leak - seems to be coming from the bell housing. I fear saturating the clutch, should I limit my driving until this is resolved? I thought it was odd I had to add 3 quarts of GL-4 before it came out of the plug. Maybe I over-filled? Gonna read the manual again...

Returned home after the align and gave her a bath. A few shots... More to come...