63 monza

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kenmcal
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63 monza

Post by kenmcal »

Hi All,

I just recently purchased my first Corvair. I was going through the local want ads looking for a project, and I found this 63' Monza 900. The last time the car was on the road according to the tags was 1972. It has 44,000 miles on it. I was told that the engine in it is not original it is out of a 1962 4-door. I did get the original engine, they said the 62' engine install is a 90 hp and the original engine was a 110 hp. The story I got was they rebuilt the 110 hp and it was hard to start with no power so they bought the car with the 90 hp pulled the engine, put it in, and it was blowing oil out the dipstick tube. I hauled the car home. Messed around with it, managed to get it started. The motor ran but ran rough. Just like you would expect with carbs that has been setting for nearly 40 years. This is where it gets tricky, and where I need some expert Corvair advice. I had the fan belt off so the fan wasn't turning, no blow by, no blowing oil out the dipstick tube. It seemed that the carbs were coming back to life so I decided to hook the fan up so I didn't have to run in it in short spurts. I fired it up with the fan hooked up, and it was blowing oil out everywhere out of the dipstick tube! I shut it down, disconnected the fan belt problem gone. But now, when I go to start it, the starter just grinds like it is not engaging the fly wheel. I will put some pictures, and any advice or help will much appreciated.

Thanks In Advance,
Ken
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flat6_musik
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Re: 63 monza

Post by flat6_musik »

Welcome Ken! Hey....I LIKE it! I don't know what's going on with that fan thing, but it sure sounds weird. Better continue on and see if that's really the case. There's something I like about these "time capsule" cars. I hope that floors are okay under that carpet. Have you opened the front trunk yet? What state are you in?
kenmcal
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Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:43 pm

Re: 63 monza

Post by kenmcal »

Flat6 Thank for the welcome, the pans look great i have the old carpet out now and I open the trunk the other day looks good there too. this car seems real solid it came with spare front and rear glass as well. oh and i am from Idaho.
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Trip
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Re: 63 monza

Post by Trip »

Looks like a great project! I've got a 63' Monza coupe too... it's my 7th? Corvair but my first early and I do love it!

I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you about the strange behavior, there'd have to be a heck of an air leak into the crankcase for the cooling fan to pressurize it and blow oil out! Maybe there is something goofy going on with the top cover (the one the fan is mounted onto). If you verify that it really is the cooling fan causing the oil to blow out pull the shrouds (you should do this first thing anyway to make sure there isn't a mouse hotel inside) and check it out.
Ray "Trip" Rodriguez III
Gouldsboro, PA
66 Corsa 140 coupe
65 Corsa 180 Turbocharged coupe
64 Monza Convertible
61 Air conditioned Monza coupe (Missy's)
See them here: https://tinyurl.com/ydc7txrf
kenmcal
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Re: 63 monza

Post by kenmcal »

OK heres an update I found my starter problem (see pic). I had a friend look at it he said that when the fan was not hooked up the engine was probable not working hard enough to build blow by. and he pointed out that the vent tube was pinched off it was connected to the breather cross pipe he thinks this is most of the problem. I removed the engine and trans. I im going to fix the starter and do a compression test and see what I get. If it is jest the pinched vent line then it will get new gaskets and seals new paint and reinstalled if not I will rebuild the original engine.

Thanks to every one for the help
Ken
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martyscarr
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Location: Eugene, OR

Re: 63 monza

Post by martyscarr »

Welcome to the forum, Ken.

I see your starter has a broken nose; very often this is due to a bad flywheel, one that has loose rivets. I'd check it before installing a new starter.

Marty Scarr
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Gregory_Miller
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Re: 63 monza

Post by Gregory_Miller »

What Marty said. Our fine vendors on both coasts offer both "DALE-style" bolted flywheels out West and another bolted flywheel from the East Coast vendor. Which way you go depends on where you live and the price/service level you wish. Other people can offer references as to reliability and their experiences with the vendors.
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Trip
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Re: 63 monza

Post by Trip »

That was a pretty brilliant thought your friend had! The cooling fan I'm told can take as much as 20-25 horsepower to turn.. though I imagine that is at higher RPM.... regardless it is a significant load and is a real possibility! The PCV tube being crimped on the vacuum side should cause oil etc. to come out the PCV tube into the air cleaner assembly rather than the dipstick tube and such... I had my air cleaner get plugged with oil once (about 10 years ago) when my PCV vacuum port got plugged up.
Ray "Trip" Rodriguez III
Gouldsboro, PA
66 Corsa 140 coupe
65 Corsa 180 Turbocharged coupe
64 Monza Convertible
61 Air conditioned Monza coupe (Missy's)
See them here: https://tinyurl.com/ydc7txrf
kenmcal
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Re: 63 monza

Post by kenmcal »

First off, I would like to thank everyone for their help and advise. The bad fly wheel thing is noted. I was playing with the timing and got it advanced to far and it kicked back on the starter about 3 times before it broke. So I am hoping that was what the problem was. I hit it with the pressure washer this morning. I couldn't find a compression guage. I took all the CV plumbing off, and replaced it with the crank vent off of the 63' engine. This one is a just a hollow tube that runs down under the engine and vents to atmosphere. The friend that gave me the advice also had a spare starter, turns out his starter wasn't any good, but between mine and his I was able to build a good starter. I put all the shrouding back on it off of the 63' engine, bench fired it on the little trailer that it is on in the picture, fan turning and everything, no problem. It ran good. ::-): I will keep you posted.

Ken
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Scott H
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Re: 63 monza

Post by Scott H »

Welcome and nice project. I like the 63's. We have two of them. Both not running yet. lol
Looks like you are making some good progress.
Scott
1960 Monza Coupe
1965 Evening Orchid Corsa Turbo (project)
1961 Rampside (project)
1964 Spyder coupe (patina car, running)
1964 faux Spyder (project/parts car)
1964 Monza (parts car)
1963 Monza (parts car)
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flat6_musik
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Re: 63 monza

Post by flat6_musik »

kenmcal wrote:.....and he pointed out that the vent tube was pinched off...
That's kinda funny....gawd, don't tell me somebody did that on purpose to stop the blow-by... :tongue: .....BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
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Gregory_Miller
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Re: 63 monza

Post by Gregory_Miller »

Excellent progress, should be back in the car soon, and running like a champ!!
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Corvair.crazy
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Re: 63 monza

Post by Corvair.crazy »

I love watching Corvairs getting new life breathed back in them. :goodpost:
Jon
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1962 Spyder convert
1961 Rampside
kenmcal
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Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:43 pm

Re: 63 monza

Post by kenmcal »

WAHOOO!!! :tu: It still need a ton of work before it hits the road but still its on the move. I included a pic of the front plate that still has the 1972 sticker on it I was 1 year old the last time this car was on the road.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIw_WUZXgOY
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kenmcal
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Re: 63 monza

Post by kenmcal »

Its been a prosperous week. As most of you probably noticed in the video, I got some new to me wheels and tires. I got it pretty much cleaned out (all the critters evicted). Today I tried to attack some of its wiring issues. I got most of the lights working, wipers working, I have power in/out of the brake light switch but still no brake lights? I suppose its possible both bulbs are burnt out, I will check to see if I have power to the back of the car tomorrow. My wife and I took it for about a 1/2 mile drive. When we first started out it was running a little rough, but it really smoothed out once it warmed up. I was a little surprised at how peppy it is. I noticed that the right front brake is grabbing, I am planning on repacking the wheel bearings all the way around, so I will get a good look at the brakes while I am doing that. The throw out bearing is dry and is going to need replaced. I am convinced that the fly wheel is shot, because I can hear it clunk when the engine is cranking over. I have another fly wheel I will give it try. I am really starting to invision this car back on the road. There is only one thing that is concerning me though, the left bank of the engine seems to be running hotter than the right bank. What would cause this? Carbs out of sinc? That is the only thing that I can figure. Any help with that would be appreciated. Here is some update pictures.

Thanks,
Ken
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flat6_musik
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Re: 63 monza

Post by flat6_musik »

[quote="kenmcal"I have power in/out of the brake light switch but still no brake lights? I suppose its possible both bulbs are burnt out, I will check to see if I have power to the back of the car tomorrow. My wife and I took it for about a 1/2 mile drive. When we first started out it was running a little rough, but it really smoothed out once it warmed up. I was a little surprised at how peppy it is. I noticed that the right front brake is grabbing, I am planning on repacking the wheel bearings all the way around, so I will get a good look at the brakes while I am doing that. The throw out bearing is dry and is going to need replaced. I am convinced that the fly wheel is shot, because I can hear it clunk when the engine is cranking over. I have another fly wheel I will give it try. I am really starting to invision this car back on the road. There is only one thing that is concerning me though, the left bank of the engine seems to be running hotter than the right bank. What would cause this? Carbs out of sinc? That is the only thing that I can figure. Any help with that would be appreciated. Here is some update pictures.

Thanks,
Ken[/quote]

The carbs being out of sync sounds like a good possiblility. Move the throttle linkage slowly from the engine compartment. Do both banks' carbs start actuating at the same time? Also, if you manually adjust the front brakes a little tighter with an adjusting spoon (Harbor Freight) the brakes should pull a little less. Just be careful if your wheel cylinders/master cylinder are from 1972.
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