New guy. Put a deposit down on a 64 Spider Coupe.

[SpiderMan]

Hi, I'm new to Corvairs and the forum. (Don't you love the way spell check flags Corvair)
I had fun with a Corvair a friend lent me during college in the 70s. It was a late model and neither one of us recall the year it was made. I must want to relive that experience.
Anyway, after some research I decided I wanted the former body style but with rear sway bar and turbo hence the 64 spider. I also decided to shy away from convertibles.
I found a great specimen about 2000 miles away. It had been a phoenix Arizona car originally when the interior had been restored, and exterior repainted. (makes sense for an Arizona car). Right after that the current owner in Minnesota bought it, drove it a little then stored it in an enclosed car carrier for 20 years. It has two sets of wheels, a new set on original rims with wire hubcaps and a set of new alloy types with low profile tires installed.
The body and interior are "Saddle Brown". Guess I'll post a pic.
The owner has been quite up front about the car. A big plus is he claims there is no rust. He'll be taking a few more photos of the undercarriage at my request. Having been a New Englander, the concept of a rust free vintage automobile really excites me.
The carrier is currently snowed in so I won't finalize the deal until spring. No matter how I price it out, the best transport deal seems to be higher a car carrier company and that's what I'll do. Albeit, I am toying with flying out for an inspection. A great alternative would be to hire a knowledgeable local Corvair person to inspect it.
Anybody?
My experience - I've been a car mechanic hobbyist all my life. I rarely don't do my own maintenance and repairs. I expect at my age it's good for me to get in contorted positions underneath a car for a couple hours. I call it "auto mechanic yoga".
After high school I restored a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine convertible. As an adult I've owned/repaired/maintained two Mercedes Benz 300D diesels. I restored a 1950 Ford tractor too. I'm no stranger to points, plugs and distributors.
I have kept going a 2005 VW Golf 2.0 with 220K miles on it. I reversed the GOLF badge to read FLOG as it flogs me with repairs. At this point I've replaced every component below the knees twice, the timing belt twice, body work, etc. It's my daily driver. I also have a 2012 Kia Soul that never breaks in contrast.
This is not your typical good deal old corvair. I think it is priced right, below "fully restored" but above original condition with issues.
It has some issues. The engine leaks oil. The instrumentation not working, ie odometer not moving but speedo functional, tach not working, engine temp not working. The owner mentions the steering is a bit squirrely.
From what I have read, these are typical 60 year old Corvair problems that have solutions, like bushing/seals replacement/etc. The odometer may have no solution other than to buy a used replacement unless one of you know where I can get a replacement 2nd gear. Being an electrical engineer, electro-mechanical things don't scare, (he said with optimism)
I am fully aware this will be a "project" to some degree. I'm retiring soon and need a project though.
About the engine, since the odometer stopped working at 62k, it may have many more miles than that.
Would a compression check tell me anything?
It seems to me about everything on a Corvair is fixable with time and money. Assuming the engine has some life in it, this particular one may not need much. (Insert reality check).

[Wagon Master]

Beautiful car!!!
Second thing you need to do is look at the glove box door and both front fenders.
It's Spyder not Spider.
It's not all spell checks fault.
Now get out there and get tinkering and driving!

[SpiderMan]

Ha, that's right, my mistake.
So, what's the potential issues for glove box door and fenders, rust?

[66vairguy]

Ha, that's right, my mistake.
So, what's the potential issues for glove box door and fenders, rust?

That is a good looking car. Do you know when the pictures were taken? One issue of storing a car in a trailer is moisture. You will want to make sure the Spyder Instrument cluster surround bezel is NOT pitted. The glove box door frame bend is a known issue - fixable.

The speedometer ---- The EM Spyder and LM Corsa models had two odometers, one regular, one for trips (re-settable). The EM (60-64) cars speedometers input is about 100 (or 101) revolutions per mile (driven off transaxle - looooong cable). The LM (65-69) cars used 825 revolutions per mile (driven off front wheel). So the parts are different. I know from experience the extra trip odometer increased gear drive loads and the gears wear out. The gears in the LM Corsa are metal so after a when the lube dries up and the gears wear. You'll have the same issue with a good used unit IF YOU DON'T dismantle and lubricate it.

When the speedometer works, but the gear driven odometers do not it's usually failed gears. I've rebuilt about six of the Corsa units for myself and buddies. Very labor intensive and you have to find an old speedometer shop that can magnetically calibrate the speedometer needle spinning magnet, because once you dismantle the speedometer to replace the parts the bar magnetic field is changed. NEVER adjust the needle spring. It was set at the factory for proper linearity!!!! The magnetic field is "adjusted" while the speedometer is turning (so special equipment is required). I know the LM main input gear that fails is unobtainium now, I was lucky and found some good units. Clark's sold the intermediate gears at one time.

I've never worked on the Spyder speedometer, but I suspect it is the same as Corsa. Input shaft with needle bar magnet spins in a cup. That shaft has a spiral gear that drives a gear at a right angle that connects to another geared shaft that drives the gears for the main and trip odometer. The trip odometer is re-settable so the mileage wheels have little pawls in them to catch a grove in the odometer shaft to turn them back to zero. I find I have to dismantle the trip odometer (VERY CAREFULLY) and clean up the shaft and wheels. I lubricate the shaft with some Dexon ATF mixed with graphite powder. This reduces the drag on the input drive gears considerable. With some luck you may find the parts you need since the Spyder used the 100 revolutions which was common on most GM cars back then. Check with some of the speedometer repair shope listed in places like Hemmings.

The turbo ------------ As I've mentioned here recently ---- the turbo can be a mystery to most, but once sorted they work fine. Steve Goodman at Rear Engine Specialists in Golden, CO (high altitude) is very knowledgeable about the Corvair turbo and it's carburetor (which was revised every year).

BTW --- The 64 not only had the revised rear suspension, the engine was the newer long stroke design. The crank, crank gear, bellhousing (and a few other things I can't recall) were changed. So think of the drivetrain as a mix of EM and LM. Unique in many ways. ALWAYS find someone who understands this to work on the car. That said the 64 was the best of the EM cars and the only one I'd consider if I bought one. Good luck.

[SpiderMan]

Great info 66vairguy. Thanks. Yeah, the 64 is the year for me.
Great suggestion about the speedo. I noticed most vairs up for sale must have a dysfunctional odometer since the mileage is rarely noted.
I was quite lucky to find it in this condition. I'll need a bit more luck to close the deal and get it delivered.

[Dennis66]

You have an interesting dilemma. There are a few possible red flags in my book. The pictures clearly show the car for sale BEFORE it started snowing. This means it's been for sale for a while (one has to ask why). One also has to ask why something is advertised for sale when it isn't even accessible (I would be reluctant to put a deposit on a deal like that unless it was a super deal) Those are the first hurdles. A "new paint job" is always a concern for me. Questions: What kind if paint? Was there any body work done before painting? Were / are there any before or in process pictures made or available (the old "putty and paint make it what it ain't" thing) There is always a risk when buying something from a distance, one's definition of "good", or "cherry", can be vastly different from what you expect.
The engine: Again, one has to ask why that wasn't taken care of (engine issues). Personally, engine issues don't bother me, many years as a professional mechanic, and a few Corvair rebuilds under my belt. Compression and oil pressure checks are one thing, but I would still prefer to at least hear it run with a squirt of fuel down the carb. If you're not doing your own work, engine work can get pricey real fast.
You didn't mention anything about price. Personally, I think I would pay a little more for something that was a sure deal (I bought my convertible as a basket case, but the price and location were the deciding factors). I wish you the best, and if this is the car "for you", I hope everything goes well. Dennis

[SpiderMan]

Dennis66 I hear you loud and clear. The deposit was minimal so I am not too worried. I am working through those exact questions with the seller and he seems quite flexible including refunding my deposit if I am not happy (before it gets shipped) . The big problem is will I have enough info to be happy.
This one begs for a pre-inspection. I've e-mailed two members of the Minnesota Corvair club inquiring about hiring someone to do that. No reply yet. I'll keep trying.

[Gasman63]

WOW, Such great replies and comments!
I'm thinking I found a great forum here.
Sorry Spiderman, I didn't mean to steal your thread. I just needed to say this.
Good luck and I hope you find the car to be just what you are wanting and more.

[gbullman]

First of all welcome! Maybe it’s just me but I would have a tough time purchasing a car without seeing it myself first. The price of a weekend trip (or weekday if your work situation allows) will probably give you more information about the car than any other means. The 2nd best would be an inspection by a knowledgeable Corvair person. Probably worth joining CORSA just to find members in the area of the car.

To me rust is the deal breaker on any classic car, I just don’t have the tools or skills to do body work. Most mechanical items I feel I can handle. It sounds like you are in a similar situation to me as far as the condition of the car.

The car looks beautiful from the pictures, hopefully that is true in person as well.

Good luck on your pursuit of this 64.

[SpiderMan]

Yes, in the absence of finding someone to inspect for me, I'm concluding I will fly out there.
Initially, that was my intention until I checked the status of my frequent flyer miles. Over time Delta has devalued them. A few years ago I had enough for a round trip. Now I have enough for just half a trip. I haven't been flying for work as much in the last few years. I think I can combine frequent flyer with purchased miles and that's what I'll do to soften the blow.
In retrospect, an an inspector may not want to sign up for the task not wanting to be liable for a negative outcome.
These buy decisions are throw of the dice no matter how I look at it really. The nice thing about this forum and the web in general is I will educate myself as much as I can before I go.

[SpiderMan]

The red flags kept coming. Considering this, the seller is asking too much money. I'm passing on it. Stay tuned though. I found a nice 64 trubo convertible.

[Gasman63]

Sounds like you made the right choice.

[SpiderMan]

Ok, strike three I'm out. Another failed attempt at buying a corvair.
There are no Corvairs worth buying in the Northeast rust belt. Therefore, one has to trust the internet and look elsewhere. My third attempt has now failed like the other two. I'm done.
Cherish your vairs. They are getting scarce.

[gbullman]

I agree they are getting scarce but sometimes you get lucky. My wife found my 66 Corsa on Facebook Marketplace and the listing had a ton of pictures of underneath the car. No signs of rust in the pictures and same when looking at it on a lift. I think I got lucky that it was pampered it’s whole life, not driven much and apparently not driven during Northeast winters. It was located about 100 miles from home and quite an adventure driving it from there to here.

So don’t give up. And while there is a lot of junk on Facebook Marketplace sometimes you get lucky. I sold 2 classics and purchased my Corvair all through Marketplace and more than satisfied how they all turned out (this was late 2020, early 2021 so not sure what it is like today). You deal with a lot of low ballers as a seller but eventually I got serious buyers for both cars I was selling. The 55 and MG were sold and the Corvair was bought on Marketplace.

[66vairguy]

I have given up on cars I wanted, when I could not find a good example.

Gbullman makes some good points. Also note that many West coast Corvairs end up back east and they are garaged and taken care of. One of the advantages of keep in touch with Corvair clubs is they sometimes know of a good car that the owner may sell, but hasn't advertised.

When I moved from the "rust belt" to the dry West I was amazed how many "old" cars were still on the road. So --- yes it's more difficult to find a solid car in the midWest or back east.

[SpiderMan]

Update.
I found the car i thought I had bought on another a different website. There was a phone number and the guy that answered said the add I was referring to is a scam. I am in the process of getting my money back (Ihope) from the original website because it was never delivered.
Furthermore this guy gets 20 calls a day about the car that is no longer in his possesion.
At another site, the owner had left a number to call which is unusual. I called her and she said she had sold the car 4 years ago!
I won a bid on ebay for a car in NYC. The ownere cancelled the sale with no explanation. Luckily Ebay's escrow appears to be legitamte as I was refunded the money.
I have left very many "i am interested in buying the car" on a number oif websites. All have gone unanswered.
Fu...the web!