Corvair Forum

I've been posting about this car on another forum. But now, THERE'S AN APP! So here I am!

I uhauled it down from Madera CA to my place in Pomona. I do not recommend uhaul for this purpose. It was super expensive because of the miles. Maybe a Home Depot truck with a uhaul trailer?

The car has a rag top kit on it. It's got a 140, 4 speed, and posi. It also came with a spare 140, 4 speed, and another posi, all supposedly in good shape.

Engine #1 ran. It was LOUD! [emoji4] But I finally heard a head gasket leak over the noise and found a stripped head stud.

Engine #2 is in and I might start it this weekend.

Rust seems moderate to minimal. The interior is trashed. Paint and body is passable for now, maybe with some wax it'll even look decent.

Plans are to make this an occasional driver and auto cross car.












Playing musical engines

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Good you're getting back at it after leaving Phoenix. I see it came with the typical aftermarket 3-gauge upgrade above the radio.

Yeah, there are too many good deals here. I couldn't pass it up. I don't even have my CA license yet haha.

All electric gauges. Not a terrible setup.

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Thanks for posting about your project.

Nice looking project.


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Steel fuel line. I'm not a fan of steel braided rubber hose, especially when it needs to be routed past a fan belt.


From the under side.

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Hopefully I get away without running a fuel pressure regulator. We shall see.

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Looks like the goo came out of this one. I bet that means it doesn't work [emoji6]

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Coils are usually liquid-filled to help keep them cool. They are intended to operate in a continuous state of charge/discharge, on/off. If the ignition key is left ON for a lengthy period of time, AND if the points happen to be closed when the engine stops, current will flow continuously through the primary winding (unless the battery is drained). This can cause the coil to overheat and sometimes to burst as the liquid that surrounds the coil windings heats and expands to the point where the seal bursts and the fluid leaks out. Sometimes there is a manufacturing defect or poor design that can also cause an unexplained coil failure, or the primary circuit ballast resistor is bypassed, forcing the coil to operate continuously at 12 VDC, instead of a reduced nominal 7 VDC that is designed into most automotive primary circuits.

Vibration is also a possible cause of coil failure. The Corvair factory coil mount is directly on a stud that extends from the engine cylinder head. A lot of engine heat may be conducted to the coil mount, and engine vibration is also transmitted to the coil. Relocating the coil to a mounting point on the engine compartment perimeter frame can reduce heat and vibration and possibly prolong the life of the coil.

I think Flamethrower coils have been my #1 reason for coil failure. Every one I've ever used has either rapidly failed or not worked in the first place.

The good news: I tossed in an old AC coil and it fired up :)

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that Corvair was on craigslist for quite awhile. it"s good to see someone was willing to rescue it. good luck with your project.

Thanks! It was out in the middle of nowhere north of Fresno. Those far-flung sales are often good deals. It's got problems but I think they'll all get worked out.

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The 69 Corvair ran yesterday. As soon as it got fuel and spark it just flied right up and sounded GREAT!

I shut it off after about 10 seconds because I noticed the harmonic balancer wondering back and forth. Grrr... aaaaand time to buy a balancer. Luckily, I live in the same town as CA Corvairs. ;)

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Balancer changed. Thanks, California Corvairs for the rebuilt balancer! This time I ran it long enough to get all the lifters to quiet down. It sounds really great! Love these headers. Love the Holley carb. I've never actually liked a Holley carb before but this one works like a charm.

Now to install all the other little bits in the engine compartment and a new battery.

I need to figure out what to do with this single wire alternator too.

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Well, this isn't working. Suggestions? The linkage basically just tries to move up and down instead of fore and aft. Do I need to switch to a cable maybe?

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Nevermind, some idiot installed the linkage on the transmission bell crank the wrong way. Wonder who that was... [emoji85]

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