‘63 Spyder Convertible Turbo wakes up after 30+ years

[Victorialynn2]

I sold many of my late daddy’s cars, including a nice Rampy and Deluxe Greenbrier Van. This Spyder has been in storage and not registered since 1983. I shipped it from Texas and it’s on it’s way to my home in Oregon, near Portland and Salem.

I’m looking for someone in that area who is familiar with the turbo engines and can help me wake her up and evaluate her. I plan to get her running and keep her. I am not going to sell her. I’ve included a pic from around 1983.

My dad has many cars and I’m not sure why this one was never registered or driven after he retired and moved from NH to TX. No rust, interior and top is good. Obviously needs a good cleaning. Paint is shiny under the dirt. I cleaned up a 50 Ford Post like this and the end result was amazing.

[Victorialynn2]

Pics

[Victorialynn2]

[bbodie52]

I sold many of my late daddy’s cars, including a nice Rampy and Deluxe Greenbrier Van... My father...and my grandfather have always been Corvair collectors. My grandfather has passed, but I will always remember...

Welcome to the Corvair Forum! I'm glad to hear that you changed your mind and decided not to sell the Spyder!

I'm guessing that with a Texas point of origin and indoor storage from about the ripe old age of 20, the car is relatively rust-free and apparently undamaged. (Low mileage?) Hopefully it did not see any road salt exposure during the New Hampshire winters. Do you plan on any learning and performing some Do-it-Yourself maintenance? Driving a classic 1963 Spyder convertible around the beautiful northwest roads in Oregon and the neighboring states should be a real pleasure!

I would recommend contacting/joining the local CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapter. They should be able to provide valuable local advice concerning Corvair-qualified mechanics. CORSA club chapters often provide technical training and assistance, and you may find volunteers who can assist you in getting your Spyder road-ready. A new battery, new tires, and fresh fluids (engine oil/filter, gasoline, flush and replace the brake fluid, fresh suspension and transaxle lubrication) and clean/service or replace the rear axle universal joints and inspect/service the rear axle bearings and a good engine tune-up may be all you will need. Of course a thorough mechanical inspection, engine compression test, etc. is essential. You might consider installing a safer dual brake master cylinder upgrade http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... w_page=145, and upgrading the distributor with an electronic breakerless ignition system http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... ow_page=74 for less routine maintenance and improved engine reliability.

Removing your car from storage/Reviving a Dead Corvair
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There are three CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapters in Portland, Eugene, and Medford Oregon. The Portland CORSA chapter is the closest to your location...

CORSA Chapter Locator - CORSA Oregon
https://corsaoregon.weebly.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/corsaoregon/

Corsa Oregon
Corsa Oregon is the local chapter of the national organization CORSA, CORvair Society of America.
Corsa Oregon is the home of Corvair fans in the Portland and Vancouver area.

Oregon Chapter Meetings

We meet monthly on the FIRST Wednesday at the Oregon Stamp Society Clubhouse at:
4828 NE 33rd Avenue Portland, OR
Board meeting starts at 6:30pm, Regular Meeting at 7:30pm. Come before 7:30pm to kick tires and chat in the parking lot!

Corvair Society of America
Oregon Chapter
PO Box 1433
Portland, OR 97075-1433

68 total members

Club Officers
President & Tours: Regan Metcalf (2022)
503-319-4675
metcalfre@msn.com

Vice President: Nate Wolfe (2022)
​503-701-2607
natewolfe@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Duane Cartwright (2020)
503-658-2952
dtcartwright1@frontier.com

Secretary: Cheryl Higgins (2020)
higmic4@gmail.com

Meeting Coordinator: Craig Johnston (2021)
cvj@squirrelville.com

Membership: Mark Dustan (2020)
503-628-0291​
markdustan@cs.com


The link below will provide you with a list of useful websites that are Corvair-related. Some of the links will lead you to an extensive technical library that will allow you to download shop manuals and other technical references in Adobe Reader format at no cost. There is also a link that will help you to locate nearby CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapters. You will also find a list of essential Corvair parts suppliers. Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, MA is the biggest and oldest Corvair supplier in the world. You will find a link that can provide you with a series of videos that amount to a tour of the Clark's Corvair Parts facilities. I think you will be amazed at the quality of the reproduction components they offer — particularly the interior carpeting and re-upholstery items. Parts suppliers such as this truly make our Corvair hobby possible.

Common and Useful Corvair Websites

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I would like to encourage you to expand on your earlier post and tell us more about yourself, as well as about your Corvair. Some detailed photographs of the car — including the VIN (driver's side door jamb) and Body Tag in the engine compartment — can be very helpful. If you can provide your personal assessment of your mechanical skills and abilities, that would help a lot. Members of the Corvair Forum love to be helpful in assisting other Corvair owners with technical support and advice, but it helps a lot if we have some understanding of your technical background and mechanical abilities, your Corvair-related knowledge, etc. Helping us to know more about you will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Contacting local like-minded Corvair owners can add a great deal with their local support knowledge, assistance and advice.

I will always remember the Corvairs in the driveway he would be working on. He even had a Corvair RV that looked like a big fat white caterpillar. I used to go on trips in Oregon and rally's in CA with the grandparents in it.

[Victorialynn2]

Thank you so much for your post And all that great Info bbodie. Here is the fisher body tag and some more pics. Once I get her cleaned up I will take better ones. It was originally green. It has a 64 interior from another Corvair he had. He had a Clark’s book and some parts. It’s always been garaged, even in NH. He collected mint condition vettes in NH and had a huge shop. He owned a trucking company. He was a mechanic from a teen and a mechanic in the Air Force in Texas when young and he knew his cars and how to find rust free ones from the south. This, as the rest of his cars, is low mileage and rust free.

My grandfather was Fred Leary. Some old timers here told me about the tech bulletins he wrote for the Ultra Vans. So I have some knowledge passed down to me of Corvairs, but not mechanically. I did authenticate that this is a Real Spyder, but some things like paint and interior have changed.

As for me, I have no mechanical skills but I have friends with some skills Who help me maintain the Skyliner. I plan to find a mechanic who knows the turbo engine specifically if possible. I also have my fathers 57 Skyliner. The rest I had to sell.

I plan on joining the club and I belong to the Skyliner Club also.

[Victorialynn2]

More pics
Vin is 30967w226475

[Victorialynn2]

I have an extra set of nicer KH wheels I will put on and some spare hubcaps and parts kicking around.

[Victorialynn2]

While doing some research, I came across this. This was my dad’s and I sold it to Gary Zeller on eBay. I do not know him, but I washed this Rampy enough times that I’d know it anywhere. Note the marker lights and bedliner. https://youtu.be/DODABSb7PZU

I’ve attached a pic I took before I sold it, when I washed it in Texas on Christmas before shipping it to Oregon.

[bbodie52]

You even have those rare Kelsey Hayes wire wheels!!!

I taught myself to overhaul a 1963 Corvair engine at age 16 during my high school summer vacation. If you are so inclined I would recommend that you invest in some hand tools, jack stands, etc. and see if there would be some volunteer interest among CORSA club members to work with you on your Corvair, so that you could learn some mechanic basics and DIY maintenance. Doing so will (I believe) give you some improved understanding of what your father and grandfather experienced as they learned to work on Corvairs. It will raise your interest and self-confidence and pride of ownership as well.

Here is some info on the Kelsey Hayes wire wheel option for the EM Corvair...

Kelsey Hayes wire wheels were offered as an option on Corvairs from approximately 1962 through 1964. While I have yet to see any reliable source for the number of Corvairs so equipped between these years, I have seen numbers reported as low as 300 sets to as high as 500 sets. It is important to note that a full set of Kelsey Hayes wheels consisted of five wheels, four active and one spare. Regardless of the actual number of Corvairs equipped with Kelsey Hayes wheels, most sources note that as a $495 option on a $2,810 car, this option was a major expense and few owners appeared to be up for the expense.

Kelsey Hayes wire wheels as a package on a Corvair, consist of the following parts:

1. Five Wheels
2. Four Adapters
3. Four Knock-Offs
4.One spare tire adapter
5.One lead hammer

Corvair Kelsey Hayes Wire Wheels Value
http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,412911

Corvair of the Month SEPTEMBER 2017
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13294

[Victorialynn2]

Thanks for the info. My first order of business is finding someone who will help me get this running. This is proving to be a task. I have connections for other cars, but they don’t want to take this on. I’m not going to be able to do the work myself. I’ve contacted the president of the local chapter and it appears there are no shops, but people with full time jobs who don’t have time to do the work I need done. I’m going to keep looking. It’s too nice not to get back on the road.

[bbodie52]

You might check with the other two clubs in Oregon. They might have members or leads to qualified shops that could do the work in Oregon. Unfortunately neither has an active website, and both chapters may not be active at all. You might try the email addresses to see if the email is active and if you get a response, but you may discover that your local club is the only CORSA chapter left in Oregon.

Beaver State Corvair Club Eugene OR http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter973/
Email: gregorymiller69@comcast.net

Southern Oregon Corvair Owners Medford OR
Email: stanleyfamily1@attbi.com





You might be able to contact Lon Wall (GARIBALDI, OR) of Corvair Underground. Although his Corvair store is now closed and he has gone out of business, he was a major parts supplier based in Oregon from 1974 to 2019. Click on the link below for contact info. He may be able to suggest some leads for Corvair mechanic support in your area. Corvair ownership has always been primarily a DIY prospect, as qualified professional help is rare, hard to find, and often somewhat expensive. Sometimes CORSA chapters and their members may be of some help too, and of course a DIY learner can get some advice here on the Corvair Forum. But modern mechanics often do not want to relearn their skills when taking on classic car technology. Switching from a modern car to working on a Corvair is like learning to work on an older motorcycle — similar but different! They just don't want to be bothered.

The old site for
CORVAIR UNDERGROUND Inc.
http://www.corvairunderground.com/

[Victorialynn2]

We have spark and compression. What fuel was left was like tar, so new fuel tank and systems is the next step. Here is a pic after a bath. Will need a full detail inside and out, but we are making progress.

[joelsplace]

I've heard acetone dissolves that fuel tar like magic but I've never tried it.

[Victorialynn2]

Thanks. I’ll pass that along to my mechanic.

[Victorialynn2]

Hey folks, due to a combination of my mechanic having no room to work on this car in his garage, and the fact that I have a daughter who became disabled from a car accident, I’m going to be moving cross country and looking to sell this Corvair.

The KH original wheels I know are desirable and valuable. I have 4 on the car, 4 off. If anyone would like to advise me privately on value of them or the car, I’d sure appreciate it. Will be cleaning it up to take better photos with a detailed description.

What are your opinions on the best place to post it for sale? I want to get a fair price as it will be expensive to move cross country, so I can get support to care for my daughter from other family members.

Thanks in advance.