New-to-me 66 Corsa!

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cad-kid
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by cad-kid »

Congrats on driving your vair :partydudes:

Concerning the leak - if the car was level when you had both plugs out (diff and trans) - you didn't over fill it. Kind of hard to do actually while the trans is in the car and you are filling through the side plugs. If you are getting oil out of the hole in the bottom of the bell housing - your clutch is most likely is contaminated. I would run it but not take any hundred mile trips. Then you can pull the engine or better yet the whole power pack at a time of your choosing.

What did you find with the brake adjustment lever (part that actuates the star wheel)?
Jeremy (cad-kid)
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BobWitt
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

Jeremy - Reviewing my pictures, I fear the vehicle was 'nose down' somewhat when I topped the trans. What do you think? I only added fluid to the plug on the passenger side of the Saginaw box (66 model year).
20150701_191232[1].jpg
So far I have no odor or chatter from the clutch. I think I'm going to put a catch pan under the car and open the plug again now that it is on its wheels and see if any drains.

I had reviewed the 65 and 66 Service Manuals and do not see instruction for topping off! In 66 all the dip sticks for the manual trans and axle were deleted..

Reviewing the Owner's Manual, I now see the fill plug on the driver's side of the axle... I will 'adjust' using this port. So far I've only put ~35 miles on... Spent the day today cleaning the garage, can become quite a mess in 8 months!

I did nothing about the brake, I will monitor for pull - if it starts I will look closer into it.

My electrical punch list: 1) fixed Tach - the lead at the coil was on the + terminal, this was how I received. Moved the Brown/White wire to the negative coil terminal and now it works! 2) identified one brake/turn bulb with two dead filaments, another with one - was trying to make it hard by checking all the grounds first.

Tomorrow, going after the charging system for a Gen/Fan light and getting an inside rear view mirror added - unfortunately the nice new headliner provides no guidance to where it should go...

Monday night is a Detroit Area Corvair Club show and meeting - gonna drive it there!

More to come...
BobWitt - South East Michigan
Member: Corsa and DACC

1966 Corsa 140
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cad-kid
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by cad-kid »

There you go Bob, making me look at my 66 supplement so I can learn something new (66 & up have the trans fill plugs on the rh side) :wave:

You may know this but the manual trans shares its fluid with the diff via a small passage. To properly check and top off the fluid remove both plugs. Add as needed.

You car is close enough to level for a proper check. With my 65 I was surprised how large of a range is on the dipstick.
Jeremy (cad-kid)
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

Today I installed the inside rear view mirror - a bit nerve-racking as it looks like a new headliner and none of the holes are marked...

Also tried to tighten up the outside rear view mirror, installed wiper arms, new tail/brake lamps, seat belts and then went for a ride! The trans lube continues to mark its territory - I did not get to checking if I over filled... 8 (

The good news is there is still no chatter from the clutch. Looking to get my hands on a UniSym to try balance the idle operation out better....

Was doing another inspection with my son and found the rear Stop/Turn lights not working with the new bulbs I installed this morning... Found a handy guide to the connector at the base of the column from Craig N. Coeur d'Alene ID. on the Corvair Center forum. I was about to go back into the turn signal switch. Tested each of the following for voltage coming out of the turn switch - all was well. Then checked and found correct voltages at the main body harness connector in the engine compartment - kept chasing back and found BOTH of my new bulbs had opens in them... Here is the reference:

Late Model Turn Signal Switch IO…
Inputs:
White - from brake switch
Purple - from turn signal flasher
Brown - from hazard flasher (67 up)

Outputs:
Dark blue - Right front signal lamp
Light blue - Left front signal lamp
Dark green - Right rear stop light
Yellow - Left rear stop light
Black - to horn relay (ground)


I was also successful in getting the Gen/Fan light off. The regulator had no ground! I adjusted the voltage down a little and crossed another item from the electrical punch list. Installed the 2nd front seat and belts. My wife is going to the Corvair Club meeting with me tomorrow!

More to come...
BobWitt - South East Michigan
Member: Corsa and DACC

1966 Corsa 140
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

Woo Hoo!

Made it to my first Corvair Car Show last Monday - a milestone! The following pulled from the Detroit Area Corvair Club Facebook page - credit to Kerry Borgne for the photos. My wife and I were so busy talking to people we forgot to take a shot or two... I managed to get the cowl panel and wipers on before the show!
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I also self-nominated for the August Corvair of the Month of August. Be sure to vote! Maybe I could get Unsafe Kevin Wilson to be my enforcer!

Started this evening cleaning up the bright bits to move them from the old interior trims to the new... Two weeks from today is the GM Employee Car Show!

As always... More to come...
BobWitt - South East Michigan
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1966 Corsa 140
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cad-kid
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by cad-kid »

:thewave:
Jeremy (cad-kid)
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

It has truly been fun getting it on the road and driving a little, but I have some smaller chokes and jets coming, so I put it away and got started on finishing the interior…

I pulled all the bright bits from the rear trims and got about installing the jewelry onto my new Clark’s trims.. Started on the rears so I could learn before I did the fronts…
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After cleaning up and gluing, the instructions say let sit with a weight on it for 6 hours. While waiting for them to dry I started with the interior sound deadening.
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In total I’ve rolled out 3 rolls of the “Home Depot” Dynamat and think I’ll pick up 2 more rolls. I know I’ve read that someone did the job with three rolls, not sure how.. I pity anyone who needs to remove this – it won’t be me…

So, after the appropriate dry time – the rear trims look great with the jewelry in place! And now it dawns on me – I have no rear ash trays. If anyone has a set, PM me – off to find some more parts…
20150712_190810[1].jpg
I also thought there was a Corsa “C” on these trims – but I do not find evidence on my OE units… Do the Corsa “C” emblems only go on the fronts?

Off to peel the shiny bits from my door trims… Anyone know of a input shaft seal fix in a can? Really disappointed in this leak thing...

More to Come…
BobWitt - South East Michigan
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1966 Corsa 140
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91blaze
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by 91blaze »

Yes, Corsa emblems on front only.
'66 Monza Coupe Project: viewtopic.php?f=52&t=7188" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

I covered a lot of ground in the last week from the last update. I finished installing the sound deadener and then the package shelf cardboard. A mix up with me reading Clark’s catalog resulted in me getting a new vinyl for the back of the rear seat, not the package shelf vinyl. Oh well, installed it where it went (a nice add) and ordered the other. It may be a while before I disassemble enough to install…

I had to teach myself the proper order of assembly – package shelf, quarter trim, carpet, sill extensions, seat belts, seat back and lastly seat bottom… I was surprised to see how everything overlapped. Kind of a PITA, but it came out well.

Also it is interesting how the water management is done on the doors and inner quarters – they even included a slot at the bottom to drain back into the ‘wet’ section of the door and quarter. For this I used 4 Mil plastic sheet and butyl strip. You could clearly see the wet-out of the butyl behind the sheet. Came out well I think…
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20150718_150746[1].jpg
In the doors picture, above, I still had to pack strip-caulk into the run channel lower fastener pockets and tape the bottom corners of the ‘water paper’ slots.

I’m happy with how it all came out! I still have some work to do around the belt-line, around the windshield and back-glass, and need to install the sun visors and dome light, but it is now looking like a complete, useable vehicle for the first time since I’ve owned it.
20150719_141029[1].jpg
20150719_141010[1].jpg
The camera really accents a color mis-match between the door and quarter-trim and the seats that were upholstered by the previous owner. The color spread is not that drastic to the eye.

I love the detail! And that Clarks Console is really nice too!
20150718_160623[1].jpg
With all the positives, there were some pot-holes… I have replacement rear ash trays coming from DaveMotohead – but I just learned today that on of the door handles I have is not a Corvair handle! It will not snap in, so the driver’s door still has a loose handle – I’m keeping for now in my new cupholder.

The other disappointment was the new jets and venturi for the Dellorto carbs. I did get a Uni-Syn and managed to get everything balanced left to right and front to back. Also I have all the lash and play out of the linkages – both are sitting on the idle adjustment screw and open at the same time.

Changing the Idles from .60 to .55 was definitely a mistake, I changed them back already. Went too lean in the light & mid throttle. The 28mm venturi and 1.15 main jets are better than the previous 34mm w/ 1.45 mains, but it still is not right. At this time I’m wondering if I need smaller air correction jets or different emulsion tubes. This is an area that I don’t have great strength. I kinda wish I had the OE Carbs – at least I could get some help…

Views of the changes, 34mm on the left – 28mm on the right…
chokes.JPG
It is all good enough to make it to the GM Employee Car Show Wednesday! Looking forward to it..

More to Come…
BobWitt - South East Michigan
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1966 Corsa 140
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cad-kid
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by cad-kid »

Nice work!
Jeremy (cad-kid)
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by DT-VAIR »

Great progress - the car looks great! I can't wait till I can get my Vair looking as good as yours! Though that may take decades...! :goodpost: Love the detail pics! Have a good one!
1st one - 65 Monza Vert with power top and 110 with a 4 spd. Was a bit dilapidated but fun, 2nd was a 1965 Corvair Monza Convertible. PG - 1960 or 61 or 63 80 hp engine - we think...
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

Today I attended the GM Employee Car Show in Warren MI - Arrived before dawn and pulled out the SLR Digital Camera and tripod to take some bracketed exposure images. This is the longest trip I've taken in the Corsa to date - about 35 miles each way. Although the carbs are not dialed in and the input shaft still is leaking, she preformed well...

This was one of the best shows I have ever attended with over 900 vehicles on display! This is the first car show with my Corsa. The sun was just rising when these were taken. I used a trial version of "Photomatx" High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing software to combine the bracketed images into a HDR image. Because this is a trial, all of the HDR images have the "Photomatix" watermark.

There were way too many vehicles to share here. First, my Corsa and then I'll try to show the size of the event!
IMG_9519_20_21_tonemapped.jpg
IMG_9522_3_4.jpg
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Cars go all the way to the building in the background in the two shots above and below.
Cars go all the way to the building in the background in the two shots above and below.
IMG_9558.JPG
I've also posted a few of these in the August COTM thread - please don't forget to vote!

More to Come...
BobWitt - South East Michigan
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cad-kid
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by cad-kid »

Thanks for the photos of the employee car show. Great photos Bob!
Jeremy (cad-kid)
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

Pictures of other Corvairs at the employee show found on the other forum at http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,807481.

I did see a few of these, but not all...
BobWitt - South East Michigan
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by BobWitt »

I filed into the room, a little later than intended – people were already seated and in conversation. I think I’m not going to ‘fit in’ – but took a seat at a mostly-empty table… The meeting is called to order…

“I see we have a new attendee” the host declares, pointing to me – “Please introduce yourself.” I stand, a little uncertain, cleared my throat, and said “Hello, my name is Bob and I own a Corvair”. The crowd reply’s “Hello Bob – Tell us more.” I continued “I thought I could handle it – it was only one car. I could do most of the work myself and rely on Clark’s and others on the internet for parts.” I said.

“But, as I first got the car on the road, I needed more. And now I’ve resorted to buying -” I pause, a little unsure, “- buying NOS parts! And I’m thinking of getting a complete parts car!”… The crowd was silent, shaking their heads in disbelief… “This is how it starts” they are thinking… Then I woke up from the dream…

On a serious note, as I installed the interior I learned I only had one Corvair door handle – the other would not even lock onto the regulator spline.
20150727_190201[1].jpg
I threw out an email blast to the Detroit Area Corvair Club (DACC) members and none other than Ken Hand responded that he had a NOS handle. I had seen in Clark’s NOS catalog handles for above $60 and told Ken that I was not building a Concourse vehicle and was looking for a good used one, but I did ask how much. When he said $15 – I went for it. My first NOS purchase… Obviously from my dream, it had an impact!
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So this last week I’ve continued to work on the carbs, deciding to get one larger accelerator pump jets and a smaller main air correction jets. Both seem to have been directionally correct. I finally have it tuned enough to get to wide-open-throttle (would bog lean before if I tried). I heard a little pinging going on so I backed it down and will use premium next time I fuel.. Still have some leanness in the mid- to late progression. Not sure if different emulsion tubes would bring the mains in sooner – or if that is only dependent on the Venturi. The study and experimentation continues.

I had a number of little things to finish up on the interior and yesterday I had some time to clean-up and do some painting of some of the remaining interior trim. This really reinforces how much I should have looked for a black interior – they get to use some of these parts directly out of the box!
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But, it was a great day for painting – sunny - about 90 degrees and low humidity. I’m pleased how it came out…
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I still need to strip and try the crinkle paint on the Glove box door and surround and install the sun visors. Then I’ll have a complete interior! Can get back to that two-tone steering wheel sitting on my desk!

But all has not been rosy – while driving yesterday the speedo started to behave oddly – displaying too fast, not returning to zero… I pulled over and disconnected the cable and turned the speedo input backwards – then it returned to zero. I left the cable off for now. Maybe something got in between the cup and magnet? Hope I can repair it, my odometer did work. Maybe a reason to visit Bob’s Speedometer Shop in Howell, MI before things get worse… I haven't fully assembled and I need to take it apart and fix it already!

Also – it is August! This means I can drive all I want on my Historic Plates, and I’m in the running for Corvair of the Month!Vote here! --> viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10192#p69333

Tonight my wife and I went to the Cruse at Baker’s in Milford. Had a good dinner and looked at some cool cars. Tomorrow is the monthly DACC meeting – I’ll be there with the Corvair if it is not raining. Only one more weekend before the Woodward Dream Cruse, and the next weekend is the DACC Homecoming!

More to come…
Last edited by BobWitt on Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BobWitt - South East Michigan
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cad-kid
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Re: New-to-me 66 Corsa!

Post by cad-kid »

Good update :tu:
Jeremy (cad-kid)
Kronenwetter, WI (Central Wisconsin)
SOLD 9-2016 65 Monza 4spd/140
My 65 Monza thread
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