New Corvair Owner - Hello!

[RossettiJ]

I just bought a 1965 500 Coupe last weekend. A friend of mine in our church group lost both of her parents within the last few years. Her dad had two collector cars that she needed to find homes for. The Corvair was a 2 owner car with 59,000 original miles. He kept meticulous records of all the work he did on the car from 1979 when he purchased it to 1992 when he took it off the road due to some unknown (distributor?) problem. It has sat on jack stands since then.

I trailered it from the Atlanta area to The Villages, in Florida last Saturday. So far I've been cleaning it up and haven't begun any mechanical troubleshooting. The barn-fresh driver-quality paint job has kept me busy so far. I'll get to the mechanical issues soon enough.

I've had antique cars before and look forward to the task ahead of me. This is my first Corvair and I'll be reaching out for help from this board very soon. I've been lurking here for as long as I have been considering this Corvair. I'm impressed by the specialized knowledge you folks have and the specialized knowledge it takes to know what to do with a Corvair.

John

[doug6423]

[Phil Dally]

We like pictures...please post.

[gbullman]

Welcome and good luck sorting things out. Like any car that has sat for a while usually the fuel system and brake system require the most attention to make them safe and reliable. Corvairs have another long term storage risk, animals building nests inside the cooling shrouds. At a minimum I would use a bore scope to look in each side of the upper shroud, if you see anything suspicious go ahead and pull it off, not that big a job.

When running reasonably well they are a blast to drive. Back in the day they were called the poor man’s Porsche and they don’t disappoint. I learned to drive on a Corvair and all these years I just thought a little oversteer was normal!

[jimbrandberg]

Hopefully the engine turns with a 3/4" wrench.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[RossettiJ]

Thanks for the notes guys. I don't know how to post pictures yet, but I have some to share once I figure it out.

I just got finished going through the stack of books and envelopes that came with the car:

Original bill of sale, protecto plate, etc.
Correspondence between the first and second owner regarding the purchase of the car.
Second owner's maintenance logs from 1979 to 1992.
All receipts from second owner's "restoration" and upkeep of the car.
1961 and 1965 shop manuals.
Many Clark's and Otto's catalogues.
Newspaper articles about Corvair collectors, Nader, etc.
Letter from GM to the original owner about CO contamination of heater air.

What a history lesson!

I have also buffed, clayed, and polished the paint. Looks good on the internet, but pretty sketchy in person.

[jimbrandberg]

I would get it running out of a gas can and only introduce the gas tank and chassis line after verification. The gas tank sender is easy enough to get out for a look and feel inside.
I have the luxury of a pair of test carburetors. They "always" need a little cleaning inside and new accelerator pump cups.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

[RossettiJ]

Just trying to figure out how to post pictures.

[joelsplace]

Looks great!

[Phil Dally]

Looking Good!! CO letter from GM sounds interesting...please scan and post.

[toms73novass]

Nice color combo

[fred bagnall]

I am really digging your 65-500. It looks like the twin brother to my 65-500 that I purchased in Washington back in 2019.

[RossettiJ]

CO letter from GM to original owner:

[RossettiJ]

Welcome and good luck sorting things out. Like any car that has sat for a while usually the fuel system and brake system require the most attention to make them safe and reliable. Corvairs have another long term storage risk, animals building nests inside the cooling shrouds. At a minimum I would use a bore scope to look in each side of the upper shroud, if you see anything suspicious go ahead and pull it off, not that big a job.

When running reasonably well they are a blast to drive. Back in the day they were called the poor man’s Porsche and they don’t disappoint. I learned to drive on a Corvair and all these years I just thought a little oversteer was normal!

Thank you for your suggestions. The brakes quit, just before we tried to load the car onto the trailer. We heard a click under the dash and then the brake pedal went to the floor. The brake pedal and the pin were still intact under the dash. Pumping the pedal with the lid off the reservoir showed rust or some kind of debris stirring up in the brake fluid. We decided not to spend time on it. I freewheeled the car down a hill, using the parking brake, and we loaded it up on the trailer with a come-along.

I hadn't considered looking inside the engine shrouds. I'll take your advice.

Now that I've cleaned the car and made it look presentable, I'll start figuring out how to get it started after 32 years sitting. I plan to pull the plugs and the distributor. I'll squirt some oil in the cylinders and try to turn the crank from the harmonic balancer. I may try to turn the oil pump with the distributor out.

If it turns over, I may do a compression check since the plugs are out.

I'll keep you all posted.

[RossettiJ]

I am really digging your 65-500. It looks like the twin brother to my 65-500 that I purchased in Washington back in 2019.

Nice car! I'm thinking about getting 14" or 15" wheels and using the same poverty caps. My caps are in poor shape though. I might want to find some better ones. The front looks better without the bumper guards. What's the emblem on your fender?

[RossettiJ]

I would get it running out of a gas can and only introduce the gas tank and chassis line after verification. The gas tank sender is easy enough to get out for a look and feel inside.
I have the luxury of a pair of test carburetors. They "always" need a little cleaning inside and new accelerator pump cups.
Jim Brandberg
Isanti, MN
CorvairRepair.com

Thanks for the advice. I've got a large plastic jar with a hose attached to it. I plan to remove the short rubber hose before the hard line going to the fuel pump. That will be my clean source of fuel. The prior owner kept things very clean and orderly. Hoping the carbs aren't gunked up.