Newbie pics of my 65

[King]

Here are the pics of my 1965 Corvair Corsa. Looks pretty good but I have a lot of work to do on the rocker panels.

[King]

What no one likes my 65???Thats ok I do!

[Beers]

Hey King, count me in! I like it as well! How is it running/driving?

[flat6_musik]

Looks great, King! How does she run? Weird, this is the first I'm seeing this thread.

[King]

Thanks Guys! The engine and the transmission are really good. Drove it the other day. I do need to replace the master cylinder. It's leaking a little bit. Got one coming from Clark's. I do have a little rust which is bothering me. But I will figure it out. All in all it's pretty nice little car

[terribleted]

Thanks Guys! The engine and the transmission are really good. Drove it the other day. I do need to replace the master cylinder. It's leaking a little bit. Got one coming from Clark's. I do have a little rust which is bothering me. But I will figure it out. All in all it's pretty nice little car

Dig into any rocker panel rust with vigor and replace or repair with welded steel as needed. The rockers are the primary structure in the convertible and doing any less is asking for trouble. Looks like the car might be a good candidate for repair, but, really can not tell about structural rocker rust until you strip paint and really poke around. Welcome, glad to help in any way I can.

[King]

Thanks much! Wish you lived around the corner!

[terribleted]

Thanks much! Wish you lived around the corner!

Thanks. Last restoration I did was from 2 states away:)

[King]

Thats crazy! Just real scared about the rust.

[terribleted]

Thats crazy! Just real scared about the rust.

You need to be, before you spend a wad on a car that is not structurally sound. Better to find it early than find it later.

[King]

How do I know it's a structural problem? Sorry but I am really new to this. Any tips or tell tale signs?

[doug6423]

Nice car King!


Sent from my iPhone using Corvair Forum mobile app

[plrgpr]

A couple of ways I’ve been told to check for structural reliability is to lift the entire side of the car with a floor Jack and check to see if the door gaps change and while it’s up on the Jack, check to see if doors open and close normally. Another check....raise the top a few inches, open the door, grab it at the lower back and shake it up & down and observe if there is any flexing around the cowl/windshield area separate from the rest of the car. Your car sure looks nice!

[King]

Thanks Guys! I will checkout your recommendations Gary!

[plrgpr]

[terribleted]

A couple of ways I’ve been told to check for structural reliability is to lift the entire side of the car with a floor Jack and check to see if the door gaps change and while it’s up on the Jack, check to see if doors open and close normally. Another check....raise the top a few inches, open the door, grab it at the lower back and shake it up & down and observe if there is any flexing around the cowl/windshield area separate from the rest of the car. Your car sure looks nice!

This is the way. A little door gap growth at the top of the rear of the door at the 1/4 panel is somewhat normal even if the car is not compromised. 1/8-3/16 gap growth would be fairly normal more is not. The door not opening well when jacked at the rear jack point does not bode well at all, unless the door is significantly out of adjustment or the hinges are worn.

If you are going to do repairs and paint for some of the obvious rusty spots like lower left 1/4 panel front (looks like a hole in your photos?), be sure to strip all the paint off the rocker panels and ideally out of the pockets behind the lower door hinges looking for any holes and filler. If there are any holes keep in mind that these areas rust from inside out, so, any holes you see in the steel are usually surrounded by areas of steel that are almost rusted through from the inside. Any holes in the rocker panels or posts should be cut out and the inside of the steel around them felt for more rust. If more rust is felt cut some more. If there are rust holes periodically along any significant length of the rocker panels the outer rocker panelsl should be replaced, Unfortunately, only after the car is braced so it can not sag during repair and the outer rocker skin is removed can the central heavy convertible steel brace be inspected to see if it is compromised as well.

You can use a refrigerator magnet and stick it along the rocker from the front to the rear to see how well it sticks. (Stick it to some other known solid steel for reference of how strong it sticks) If it sticks weakly along the rocker something is up like maybe holes filled with fiberglass or body filler. This method is useful in any suspected repair or rust areas and works to a point without paint removal to get an idea of what is under.