SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

So if you hadn't seen it already, I dragged my dads (now mine) '68 Monza out of the depths of his garage in November from it's 32 year slumber:

Image

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7222


I've been trying to get the '68 to give me some sign of life. All the electricals are working and it cranks over, but it just would not give me any form of sputter.

I checked the timing a few times and everything looked fine, but nothing. Finally, I told my dad that I'm pretty sure the coil was shot that I needed to get a new one.

My dad came through for me and not only got me a new coil, but also got me a new Hot Spark electronic ignition from Larry at the Vair Shop. I was thrilled.

Today I installed it and here was the end result:



Now I need to get the fuel system up to date and the '68 could be up and running in no time!
1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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flat6_musik
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by flat6_musik »

That's neat! I would love to fire up a 'vair after such a long sleep....I dunno what I find so cool and exciting about it, but it is.
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

Well looks like it's definitely time for a fuel pump, so while I wait for parts, I will just take some pictures instead. :tongue:

Image


Image
1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by gpracer89 »

Neat!
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

Big update!

So the '68 has sat around all summer unloved because I've been busy, however, I recently lost my job and now I have had a little extra free time.

So as you may know, my '68 sat for 30 years and didn't run. My dad actually can't remember exactly why he stopped driving it. So last night I was determined to get her running.

I noticed primary accelerator pumps were not pumping, so I pulled them and found out that both accelerator pump check valves were stuck. So I got them freed up and every thing was pumping after that.

I pulled the plugs to see what condition they were in. Pulled all of them and found that not a single one of them was gapped, I couldn't even get the gap tool between the electrodes. So I gapped them and everything looked kosher, so I reinstalled them.

I then discovered the boots on the distributor side of the wires were too low and the terminals weren't reaching down as far as they were supposed to in the distributor. I just pulled the boots back a little and then I could feel them seat properly.

I now had fuel and spark but it would just spit and sputter. So then I adjusted the distributor. I kicked it over again and pow! She came to life!

Unfortunately, it won't idle. By the time I got it running it was almost 9pm and I didn't want to piss off my neighbors with the glasspacks, so that will be a project for another day.

I took a quick video of my success. And yes, I'm fully aware of the sparks flying out. I have to investigate further into what's doing that.

1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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County98
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by County98 »

She runs! Good job, I think it's awesome.
Cheers!

-Shayne
Lawton, OK

'66 Corsa work in progress
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=8079
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

So after having countless nights of no sleep due to having a stent from my recent kidney stone episode, I made a list of everything I need to do for the short term and the long term.

Short Term:

Engine - New or repair starter. Get the Carbs sorted out, rebuilt and synced. Ignition system needs to be finished and timing adjusted.

Transmission/Differential - Right now it's a custom 4-spider 3.89 with Posi. I'm going to go down to a 3.27 to squeak some mileage out of this sucker. My dad has a 3.27 on his '66 Corsa and its peppy. I'm not too concerned about acceleration.

Exhaust - Probably going to go with a stock dual exhaust for the interm. I want Headers, but they are pricey and the ones that are on the car are shot. I have the duals parts except the mufflers.

Brakes - Pretty sure the system is shot, just don't know where, so new lines, hoses, wheel cylinders, shoes, and reman the drums.

Wheels and Tires - This one has been bugging me. I think for the interm, I'm going to go with Cragar Soft 8's until I can purchase some really nice wheels. I'm trying to figure out the rubber, because the sizes I want are far and few in between.

Electrical - I have found that there are some electrical bugs do to the hack job somebody (probably dad) has done in the interior. Also the Reverse lights don't work, which I'm not cool with.

Long Term:

Engine - Rebuild. There are so many new (better) materials that are around now that weren't available 35 years ago when this engine was last opened up. I would like to keep it a 140, however, my dad keeps pushing the 180 Turbo motor. I don't hate the Turbo, but it's not the best design. He has all the stuff to build the 180 and he's always wanted to build one for himself, so I will probably opt for the turbo.

Exhaust - Going back Headers with some nice turbo mufflers if I stay with the 140. If I go 180, I am pretty much stuck with the stock style exhaust.

Brakes - Going to go with a front disc brake set up. While Corvair drums are pretty good for drums, they're still drums. I would like the upgrade.

Electrical - The entire car is getting rewired. I will not get crazy with it until it's time to restore the car. I'm going to have a newer style fuse panel that can take the load of all the stuff I am going to do to this car. I'm going to move the fuse panel from under the dash to the trunk. This is the unit I will probably go with:http://www.racersrods.com/, it's been recommended by other Corvair owners.

I'm also going to go with a higher amp alternator.

Lighting - Everything is going LED. Gauges, interior lights, taillights, turn signals, side markers, etc.

I'm going to do a headlight retrofit. I do like what Nate Wolfe did to his '65: http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.ph ... 727,page=1, so most likely will follow what he did. I am also going to take the suggestion he gave to me for for Halos. I'm going to do the 156 LED COB units.

I am also going to look at putting the COB Halos in the tail lights as a parking light, not a brake light. Not sure it will work with the diameter and gasket inside the tail light, but I want something bright that people will see when driving at night.

Interior- So, I'm pretty much going to go stock on the interior vinyl. After I get the car running and drive it around for a while, I will see if I can deal with the '69 high back buckets. If not, I will see about new seats.

I'm going to do a triple gauge set up above the radio bezel. Yenko Stingers and Fitch Sprints had the gauges up there, but there is one huge flaw, the gauges don't face the driver and they actually angle downward because the dashboard angles downward, so it doesn't work for very well for a quick glance. I'm going to get some of those angled bezels that will allow the gauges to face me. I'm going to go with gauges from http://www.speedhut.com, because I like their product and I can customize the gauges to look like they came from the 60's/70's.

I also am going to see if I can retrofit a '69 Camaro RS center console (the one without the gauges) and build up a center console that can house some speakers. I'm not setting my heart on it, it may not work.

Audio- I like music. I want to listen to music while I drive, that's one of my favorite things while cruising. So, I'm going to go with a RetroSound radio. From the couple Corvair owners that have bought the recent units, they really like them.

I'm going put a new set of speakers in the dash grille. As I said before if I can do the Camaro console, I will also have a set of speakers in there. I am also going to build a box for the parcel tray and have two 6" speakers with a 10" sub in the middle. I'm going to figure out a way to conceal it all so it doesn't look blatantly obvious. People are shady and I don't need someone trying to jack the stuff out of my car.

Exterior- Now this is the big one. I can't make my mind up, but it's a long ways off, so I don't need to fret.

I haven't decided on my color combo yet. It will be black and red for sure, but I'm not sure which on I like better. Chrome bits may end up body color depending on which direction I go with paint.

The Solar Roof is coming off and getting repaired. My dad told me that it didn't fit right and he had it wrapped in vinyl because it was cheaper that having someone reshape the fiberglass. It will be painted, no more vinyl.

I'm going to reshape the intake vents on the quarter panels. My dad originally wanted them to look like NACA ducts, but the guy who did the bodywork didn't listen to him. I'm going to go ahead and redo them to be shaped like NACA ducts.

Even though my dad had the decklid spoiler be a part of the body, it's all metal, so the decklid weighs a ton. So, I may go with a Yenko decklid If I can find one.

So that's that for now. I have plenty of time to change my mind, so I will update this list as I go.
1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

So my latest ordeal is the brakes. They are metallic, so they are rusted to the drums, so it is very difficult to push the car. I've wanted to roll it outside, but it's on dollies and my driveway is gravel, so it's time to free it up.

Well seeing that I only have one set of stands, I could only check one side at a time. So I put it in the air and checked the adjusters. They backed off just fine. The drums however were stuck to the hubs. After some beating, they came off. Everything checked out ok, so I put the drums back on.

On a side note, I found out that there were finned front drums on my car. Seeing that they weren't stock, I called my dad. He said that they are '68 Buick Skylark rear drums. They are the same dimensions as late model Corvair front drums, so that's why he got them.

Image

So I got underneath and pulled the tunnel cover off to see the condition of the brake lines. Everything looked solid, so I decided to see if I could bleed the system.

Unfortunately that was a no go, so I pulled the master out and found that the main piston would not come back out all the way. So I pulled it out, found it was full of crap, cleaned it up, checked the bore, which was smooth and put it back together.

So then I found that the brake petal had a lot of play in it. Couldn't figure out what was going on, but remembered my dad had left a brake pedal assembly in the trunk, so I pulled it out and checked it out. Apparently the one in the car had ejected it's bushings at some point, so I pulled the clutch/brake assembly. So I swapped in the other bushings and then found out I marred the end of the shaft, so I can't get the clutch pedal back on. I just need a file and a tap and die set to repair the threads and I should have it back on.

Also, with letting the car sit overnight, I found a brake fluid leak on the floor. I will have to investigate further.
1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by cad-kid »

Interesting on the skylark drums. Sounds like you are making some good progress :tu:
Jeremy (cad-kid)
Kronenwetter, WI (Central Wisconsin)
SOLD 9-2016 65 Monza 4spd/140
My 65 Monza thread
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

So my dad finally elaborated to me how he built the engine in this car back then:

Punched out .060 over

TRW Forged Pistons

Rhodes Lifters

Aftermarket valve springs

Shaved 140 Heads

3/4 Race Cam

He also had a custom 3.89 4-spider Posi rear end built.

Once this dude is running, sounds like it will be pretty stout.
1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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Gregory_Miller
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by Gregory_Miller »

68.. my favorite year. I had a 68 140 4 speed my parents bought new and I got from them, and I drove it into the ground. I had added a fully-functional Corsa dash to it and replaced the crappy (imo) seats with some much more comfortable seats out of an Opel my dad had converted into a race car. Miss it to this day, but I console myself with this sweet 65 Corsa clone...
My 68 back in the 80s..
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My 65 that needs a paint job..
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

So I finally was able to push the car out of the garage after a year and a half. All the brakes are repaired and adjusted, so the car rolls very easily, but I'm waiting on a new line that goes from front to rear, so no brakes yet. Also found that the parking brake cable rusted in half and that it's back to having a no start issue.

Anyways I was able to get some better pics of my '68.

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1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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Gregory_Miller
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by Gregory_Miller »

It's got 69 front marker lights, the 68s were clear lens and amber bulb. Hope you figure out the no start problem quickly, easily and most importantly, cheaply!
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

Gregory_Miller wrote:It's got 69 front marker lights, the 68s were clear lens and amber bulb. Hope you figure out the no start problem quickly, easily and most importantly, cheaply!
You're not the first person to point out the marker lights. :tongue:
1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

Success!



1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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Re: SBF's 1968 Monza Coupe

Post by cad-kid »

:tu:
Jeremy (cad-kid)
Kronenwetter, WI (Central Wisconsin)
SOLD 9-2016 65 Monza 4spd/140
My 65 Monza thread
:soapbox: My YouTube page
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