New Corvair owner looking for mechanic in PDX

[eotku]

I am new to the forum and new to Corvair ownership. My wife and I just bought a 1966 2 door Monza with a 110 engine and PG transmission on Craig's list. It was a barn find and has 42 K miles. It has had the whole fuel system and brakes replaced/rebuilt. The person I got it from also replaced the oil pan and valve cover gaskets the day before we bought it. Car ran and drove great. (Except for having old bias ply tires on the front and radials on the back.) after driving the car 30 miles home and waking up the next morning I found that the engine was leaking a lot of oil. I am looking for a mechanic in the Oregon City Portland Oregon area to get it into a driver condition. Anyone have any area mechanic recommendations? Thanks for any help you can give!

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

I would like to encourage you to expand on your initial post and tell us more about yourself, your Corvair, and your goals for the 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 will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Knowing your location is also useful, because knowing where you live can sometimes suggest possibilities.

The link below will provide you with some useful websites. They include sites where you can download shop manuals and other technical guides an no cost. The publications are all in Adobe Reader (pdf) format. There is also a list of excellent parts suppliers...

Common and Useful Corvair Websites
viewtopic.php?f=225&t=6007

There is also a Corvair parts supplier only about 40 miles west of Oregon City, in McMinnville, OR. Although Clark's Corvair Parts in Massachusetts is one of the best and is my favorite, the convenience of having Corvair Underground so close to you may prove to be useful.

CORVAIR UNDERGROUND
FOUNDED IN 1974 Celebrating 42 years!
2735 Bunn Rd McMinnville, OR 97128
800-825-8247 503-434-1648
http://www.corvairunderground.com/

Finally, there is a CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapter based in Portland, Oregon. While the club chapters vary depending on the size and level of interest among the members, clubs often offer family-friendly meetings, training sessions, group scenic trips, competition events, picnics, and technical assistance. They could likely offer the best local advice in finding Corvair mechanics, body shops, and parts suppliers in your region. I strongly encourage you to check them out!

CORSA Chapter Locator - CORSA Oregon
Chapter ID: 970
Organization Name: CORSA Oregon
Street Address: PO BOX 1445, Portland, OR 97207-1445
President: Gary Baldwin, Phone: 503-245-4555, Email: garybaldwin@hotmail.com
Vice President: Regan Metcalf, Phone: 503-319-4675, Email: metcalfre@msn.com
Secretary: Barb Sizemore, Email: corvair@tds.net
Treasurer: Duane Cartwright, Phone: 503-658-2952, Email: dcartwright@frontier.com
Membership: Steve Brown, Phone: 503-628-0291, Email: stephen.g.brown@state.or.us
Newsletter Editor: Stacy Milnes, Phone: 503-516-7225, Email: sixteesboy@hotmail.com
Newsletter Name: Corvair-Sations
Website: http://corsaoregon.weebly.com
Email: corsaoregon@hotmail.com

Corsa Oregon is the local chapter of the national organization CORSA, CORvair Society of America.
Corsa Oregon is the home of Corvair fans in the Portland and Vancouver area.

We meet monthly on the FIRST Wednesday at the Oregon Stamp Society Clubhouse at:
4828 NE 33rd Avenue Portland, OR
Board meeting starts at 6:30pm, Regular Meeting at 7:30pm.
Come before 7:30pm to kick tires and chat in the parking lot!

[eotku]

Thanks for all the great information! Ok so more information about me. I live on 10 acres outside of Oregon City and am planning on building a 28 x 42 shop next year. I feel I have competent mechanical skills and tools especially on older vehicles. Back in the 70,s I rebuilt several engines and 1 automatic transmission. In the middle 80's I had a small 2 man auto body shop where I specialized in classic cars with several cars winning awards in car shows. Took a hiatus from cars for a few decades and am now getting back into it. In the 90's I got into art and illustration. In the 2000's I got into Artistic metal fabrication. Now days I work doing Photo retouching for a high volume photo studio in Portland. Cool Cars I previously owned: 67 Camaro with a turbocharged 327 (first car) 73 Vega with a 1963 215 aluminum Olds V8. 1956 Cadillac coupe. All owned back in the 70's. Current cars:2015 GMC Sierra, 1986 Porsche 928 car (driver), 1970 Chevy K5 Blazer, 1966 Corvair 2 dr Monza. I'll post more info and photos of the car this weekend.

[eotku]

Here are some photos. I found some 16 x 8 Iroc wheels to replace the old 13" wheels.

[eotku]

Photos

[eotku]

My plans for the car is to make it a driver. I was hoping to take it to a mechanic to fix the oil leak as right now I just don't have the time to work on it.

[eotku]

A few more photos

[eotku]

I'm looking for a local mechanic who could help deal with the engine oil leak as I just don't have the time to work on the car and would love to start driving it. I think that the guy I bought the car from and who replaced the oil pan and the valve cover gaskets either did I it wrong or missed something. Any recommendations would be helpful.

[bbodie52]

My plans for the car is to make it a driver. I was hoping to take it to a mechanic to fix the oil leak as right now I just don't have the time to work on it.

Any successful effort with your Corvair will require some investment in time to learn about it and to evaluate its condition. There are few professional mechanics around who are knowledgeable about Corvairs and willing to work on them. Ownership of a Corvair is definitely a hobby that will consume some time. Preparing your Corvair for reliable road service will also help to prepare you to deal with its needs as you drive it... especially if you experience any problems that might demand some roadside repairs.

Again, I suggest that you start with joining the local CORSA club chapter. They can suggest some local mechanics in your area, and you might even find some volunteers who are willing to assist you in working on your car.

[cad-kid]

[xrotaryguy]

You've got a rear-engine Chevy and a front-engine Porsche. Awesome! :)

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