My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

You read my mind!! I was going to go google search photos of 64 Monza 2 dr. Coupes to do a comparison and to see what I need to do to correct the previous owner's mischief LOL..!!! Yes, I think you are right about my hood.I bet it's a 63' hood... maybe a minor repaired front nose of it. I wish there was a way to tell what hood it is. The hoods on all of them in the photos fits nice along all seams. I like the front lettering. Now, I must seek a hood in my area if that's possible. I hear that there's a Corvair salvage yard in Deland Florida 30 miles south west of me somewhere. I may just replace the engine deck lid to save me some welding to fill in holes, I'll think that through unless one falls in my lap easily. Thanks! Now I have reference photos to go by!!! :tu: Scott
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terribleted
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by terribleted »

It is easy enough to find out. Strip the front of you hood down to metal. If there are holes it is 64, if not it is not:) Your rear lid looks correct for 64. the earlier rear lids used an emblem rather than separate letters, or no emblem at all. In one of your photos with the lid up it looks to me like the front panel may be miss-sharpened a little on both ends (little curves just inboard of the hood bumper stops that just do not look 100% correct in the photo). It is hard to tell for sure from the photo. If the nose was pushed in some in the past and repaired, the first thing that would be likely to be replaced would be the hood and it would very likely have gotten a no holes hood at that time.
Corvair guy since 1982. I have personally restored at least 20 Vairs, many of them restored ground up.
Currently working full time repairing Corvairs and restoring old cars.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

Another great example of an engine compartment that's not so dark and gloomy.... RESTORATION VIDEO?? Did someone say that the engine compartments were suppose to be ALL BLACK??? :dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7zBBxXsZUk

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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

A friend of mine gave we two really nice 8 track players to add to my current home 8 track stereo collection. I plugged one into the back of my AM/FM stereo amp and it plays like new!! The other is a Sears model made for automotive installation. He also gave me a couple hundred tapes of all kinds of music! I'm currently playing a Christmas tape from 3 tape set. The sound quality is superb!! I need to carefully find a place to install under the dash. I thought about going into the glove box but I doubt it. I about to remove the seats and the floor covering to inspect, repair and spray new floor/trunk spatter like in the trunk area. Such a clean look that needs a good clear coat to protect the under coating. Then a sound deadner padding before I lay in the new carpeting. Got my steering wheel adapter from Seth Emerson for my Signature wooden steering wheel and my pair of chrome mirrors also!

I want to stick it up on jack stands and drain the few gallons of gas from my tank so I can get the jist of just what condition the tank should be in even though it looks new as does the sending unit. Maybe just a fuel change for fresh fuel and filter. I'll burn off the old fuel in my lawn tractor. I was told that fuel preservatives will darken and discolor the fuel. I want to (check for the need to) tune/sync the carbs and I can't until I know they are getting fresh clean fuel.

Does anyone think that I can place a 2 X 6 under and across the underside of the car to reach both jacking points on the front side to side for the front and rear of the uni body area made for jacking the car up with my large floor jack , then place jack stands at each end of the board under the jack stand points? Any photos of this being done before? There in no room for a jack AND a jack stand.

Thanks, Scott
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bbodie52
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by bbodie52 »

bbodie52 wrote:Not a Good Idea!

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While it seems like a natural jacking or lift point (I used to do it too), jacking a Corvair or placing jack stands under the differential is not a good idea! The engine and powertrain are isolated from the chassis by rubber engine mounts — two in front of the transmission and one at the rear. These are strong rubber and steel mounts designed to hold the weight of the engine and transaxle as they hang from the chassis. When you jack up the car by placing a jack or jack stands under the differential, you reverse this load and you have the entire weight of the rear portion of the Corvair hanging from the engine mounts! The mounts were not designed for this, and the rubber that holds the mounts together can be compromised or weakened by placing this kind of unusual stress on the engine mounts. This could shorten the life of the engine mounts and ultimately result in an engine mount failure.

No Corvair shop manual shows the Engine/Transaxle as an approved or recommended lift point when jacking the car off of the ground, as shown below...

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Early Model (1960-1964) Corvair Lift Points

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Late Model (1965-1969) Corvair Lift Points

Corvair Forum :link: http://www.corvairforum.com/forum/viewt ... =80&t=5701
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actual pics of jacks in proper locations
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:link: http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,665888


Most jack stands will fit inside the triangular area at the rear. There are pleanty of lifting points in the front.

I keep a pair of these compact jack stands in my trunk. NEVER TRUST A SCISSORS JACK, HYDRAULIC JACK, ETC. TO SUPPORT YOUR CAR IF YOU ARE GOING UNDER IT! Also, never use concrete cinder blocks to support your car. They can fracture or crush under the weight without warning!

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Compact Jack Stands:
Torin T43004 3 Ton Aluminum Jack Stands (Sold in Pairs)
:link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007X ... PDKIKX0DER

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I have a little scary and bad experience with using a manual scissors jack. Here is my tale that I posted some years ago...
bbodie52 wrote:
SteveH wrote:...My car came with its original scissor jack but it was a solid immobile chunk. it works great now. I shot a coat of paint on it last night, just because I was so happy that it works now.

Your mention of an ancient scissors jack brought forth a shudder, as I remembered the last time I used an original Corvair scissors jack in the early 1980's. A failed rear axle bearing in my 1965 Corsa coupe during a cross-country journey in 1981 brought about a potentially fatal experience while passing through Cheyenne, Wyoming. Although I've told this story on the Corvair Forum before, I thought that you might enjoy hearing it. If you will bear with me for a few paragraphs...

::-):
bbodie52 wrote:A failed rear axle bearing was the only breakdown event where I've ever been stranded with one of my Corvairs while on a long journey. My family was with me as we were traveling from Thousand Oaks, California to Incline Village, Nevada — Lake Tahoe (573 miles), and then on to a shipping port in New Jersey, near McGuire AFB. We were shipping our 1965 Corsa coupe to Germany, to drive there during our three-year tour of duty with the Air Force near Ramstein Air Base.

My wife and two young sons (ages 5 and almost 3) were with me in September 1981. The journey was uneventful as we drove across a lot of barren and desolate country from Lake Tahoe, across Nevada, past the Bonneville Salt Flats, and spent the night in Salt Lake City, Utah (551 miles). The next day we traveled on to F.E. Warren Air Force Base, at Cheyenne, Wyoming (436 miles). Upon our arrival, we found overnight family quarters available on base. We were leaving the base to get a meal when I heard it: a squeaking, grinding sound from the right rear wheel! The wheel bearing was failing!! In something of a growing state of panic, I grabbed a phone book and began calling local auto junk yards in the late afternoon. Believe it or not I found a junk yard where the person on the phone thought he had a late model Corvair back in the yard somewhere. Leaving my family in the transient family quarters, I grabbed a taxi to the junk yard, and anxiously followed the manager out to the Corvair. It was a stripped vehicle with no powertrain and no wheels, sitting with the body on the ground. The right side was up against an adjacent junked car. The left rear wheel bearing assembly had already been removed, but I could see that the right-side bearing assembly was still in there! I couldn't reach it, but I could see it!

The manager loaned me some tools and a flashlight (it was getting dark, and the salvage yard was closing). I jacked the body up off of the ground using a bumper jack jammed into the body opening — where the engine normally exhausted heat. With the rear up in the air, I pushed the car to the left so that it fell back on the ground — but this time a foot or so from the adjacent wrecked car. Another turn with the bumper jack produced another foot of clearance for me to work in. The bearing hub seemed to turn smoothly, so I assumed that I had a good one!! I grabbed a socket wrench and an extension and removed three of the four nuts that secured the bearing assembly to the rear suspension. But then... DISASTER! The fourth nut was not coming off! It just kept turning while the blind stud that was not supposed to move was turning! I ended up working into the evening darkness with a flashlight, chisel and hammer, desperately trying to chisel the nut to release the bearing assembly from the stud that did not want to let go. The manager of the junk yard was waiting long past closing on a Saturday night as I labored to get the bearing assembly from the junked Corvair. Finally the nut split and I was able to remove it and the bearing assembly. I paid the manager and he agreed to drive me back to the Air Force base, where I went to sleep — cold, tired and dirty. I don't believe anyone in the family ever had any dinner that evening — we just went to bed tired and hungry.

But there is more to this story! On a cold Wyoming Sunday morning I went out to the parking lot and jacked the right rear of the Corvair into the air using the old scissors jack that came with the car. I had no jack stands to hold the car in the air, so I just decided to risk working on the car with only a 16 year old factory scissors jack holding the car up. :nono: The scissors jack worm screw squeaked as I raised the car, but I ignored it. I removed the wheel, half shaft, and worked to remove the bad wheel bearing assembly and brake backing plate. It was cold and the work went slowly because my fingers didn't work well in the cold. I was laying at times under the engine with nothing holding the car up except that jack. The right wheel and brake assembly was sitting on the pavement. Finally, after some hours in the cold I finished re-installing the "new" bearing assembly.

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With the rear wheel and tire back on, I began to lower the jack. I gave it about ¼ turn counter-clockwise, heard another squeak, AND THE JACK COLLAPSED!! The threads in the fixed nut that held the worm screw mechanism pulled right out of the nut!

My life had quite literally been hanging by a thread! If that jack had collapsed with me under the car, I would probably have been crushed by the heavy engine and powertrain. For much of the time when I was under the car, removing and re-attaching the half shaft between the differential and the bearing assembly, I was laying under the car with only a brake drum and my body there to support the car when it would have hit the ground.
:whoa: :eek:
After I quit shaking, I examined the broken jack. The worm screw moved freely back and forth through the now-stripped fixed nut, with no threads in the nut to prevent its movement. The scissors mechanism moved freely up and down.

There was an opened dumpster some distance away, and I hurled the broken jack into that dumpster — never to be seen again. I cleaned up, packed up, and we began travelling the remaining 1,743 miles to McGuire AFB, New Jersey. (I did stop at a Sears to pick up a replacement jack for the car, and I also managed to get two speeding tickets in Iowa on the next day! But otherwise there were no more significant events during our journey).

Now you can see why I stress safety when working on a car, and I ALWAYS secure the car with jack stands before I work under it! I was foolish that day, working unsafely out of necessity. Obviously, the risk was not worth it.
I had another bearing fail on my 1965 Convertible in the middle of winter when I was stationed near Ramstein Air Base, near Kaiserslautern, Germany (1980-1983). My father shipped a replacement bearing assembly from California to West Germany. I replaced it (using jack stands, this time) while sitting on a pile of snow in a Kapaun Air Station parking lot near the military post office mail room.
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

Thanks for that info! That makes it much more clearer and I can now see a way to get it up in the air. I also see what people mean by using a board with pads at each end and setting it at those two points at the rear jacking points. I have thick hard rubber pads that I will use on my jack stands to protect the paint and metal areas. And that is great that I can jack up the front from under the wheel chassis assembly. SWEET! Soon I'll have her up there to inspect, flush my gas tank, and spray another good coat of undercoating under the car.

And on another note, I've received my steering wheel, the steering shaft adapter w/ an adapter( 6 hole to 5 hole mount) for my 1964 Corvair installing the 5 hole steering wheel , and my new set of door mirrors!!!
:tu:
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

All hands on deck!! I'm kinda in a dilemma I believe. I received my adapter specifically for the 1964 Corvair from www.perfvair.com and the only thing that should work is the turn signal cancellation and not the horn without maybe some wiring which is non existent in our columns in the cam area. I thought this would adapt a steering wheel and use the existing horn components w/ the exception of the new horn button. Last time I did this was on my 1965 Impala without issues because i believe there was a ground wire of sorts. ANYWAY, I'm sure I'm not the only one to have been purged through a problem such as this and here goes where I am at:

I have photos of my situation and I found that the installation is only good for the cancel cam on my 1964 model. There's nothing else to go inside my steering wheel except the horn button requiring, I'm guessing two 'split' ground wires...... but what about that HOT pin I was given that sits in my steering wheel with nothing to hold it there? WAS I suppose to use my existing horn ring with my grant wheel? That wouldn't work either because there's not enough mounting for it to work. Here's photos for you to enjoy!!
Here, you can see the plastic protected from grounding ring with the three mounting screws and the area for the 'hot' pin that rides on a metal circle for constant positive connection. The new adapter only has the place for the 'hot' pin.
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Here you can see my wheel adapter w/ 5 hole adapter mounted with no way to mount that three screw plastic ring, only the 'hot' pin.
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Here's the horn button mounted in the Grant trim ring.


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Here's the steering column shot. It worked fine when I removed the steering wheel but I need to fix a sloppy turn signal lever. It seems the threads in the interior cam switch are a little warn. I feel if I can find or make two 1/8"( or thinner)thick nuts, I can place one on the lever all the way to the end, screw it all the way in, then apply the second nut on the threaded shaft leaving it a tad loose and snugging the outside nut up and it should remain tight for a while anyway. Anyway, back to getting my horn issues fixed.... More photos...
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I'm wondering IF the hot pin in it's plastic insulated sleeve is installed from behind or under the steering wheel and it is kept in tact by the rim it rides on that I see I need to clean up. That other metal ring I have don't make any sense and I think that is because my Grant steering wheel came with a billet aluminum horn button keeper. Anyway, can anyone make anything from these photos and what I'm not doing correct? I've looked and looked at the instructions,but, I think the difference it that there's no instructions for the electric horn button I was sent with my adapter. After the two tabs for a split hit wire as the horn button assembly has a ground clip making contact with the grant dress ring it snaps into. Thanks so much for your patience and help.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

OK, I installed my cancel cam with the supplied screws and did find that the brass 'hot' pin/plunger must install from the top of the wheel. I still don't see what holds it in and I don't see but maybe two small screw holes for whatever use. The other larger two threaded holes are for steering wheel removal. I also found that the plastic cam was modified already like the directions said to do, so I believe someone has installed a custom wheel before and removed it for a stock wheel. I'm sure it won't take much to make my horn operable.

Alright, my luck......The photo 'resizer' program is down for maintenance and when they re-open, I will down load my newest photos of the cancel cam installed with the brass pin.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

One thought was gluing that insulated brass pin/plunger into my adapter with E6000 and after it sets, give it a good dab all around the topside once I can flip the assembly back over, and I doubt I could solder a wire to the top of the pin so I could run a connector to the horn button. I could connect a wire somehow to that positive pin. I wouldn't trust an alligator clip. I probably don't have to do any of this but just thinking about plan B.... Just in case
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by terribleted »

If pushing your new horn button connects the 2 posts on the rear of the new button, then I bet all you need to do is supply ground to one post and connect the other post to the horn wire in the steering column. The stock horn button supplies a ground to the horn relay causing the horn to blow.
Corvair guy since 1982. I have personally restored at least 20 Vairs, many of them restored ground up.
Currently working full time repairing Corvairs and restoring old cars.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

I believe the button internals are instantly grounded once I snap this in place if you look to the side you will see a spring wire hugging the side of the ring that gets mounted. So, do you think I need to plug a +(positive) wire into one side of the button and a -(negative) into the other? Here are photos of the cam with the pin sitting in place. And I have to remember that the steering wheel spins,not the column so I have to think this wire route through so it don't look ugly. Why do they make these adapters if they have an issue for operating the horn????!! I never had this issue before with any adapter. It was well thought out.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

And remember,that power supply pin that get's power from that copper disc inside the column has nothing to hold it into place now. That is why I wondered if I should just glue it into the hub. The pin just sets in from the top of the hub and this new system has nothing to keep it secured. It would pop up when the steering wheel hub is installed and the pin hits that disc.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

I'm beginning to think I'm missing something from this kit.
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64CorvairMonza
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by 64CorvairMonza »

The cheap adapter for $50 from Clarks has the plate with the wire coming off it (positive supply) even for a grounding horn button. That disc with the wire is what I need. Maybe the horn button I got is for 65 and newer. But, I still can't secure that positive pin from sliding up and out! Not bad for $140 eh??In the one photo with the kit like mine, you see the wire connected to the positive plunger that I need. The plunger I got is for a different type of horn button like the metal chrome ones you snap in place. LOOK at the plunger with the wire attacked in the top picture. Is this something I can do, and how? Thanks.
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Re: My 1964 Corvair Monza Record Of Improvements

Post by doug6423 »

Thanks for posting all this. Getting ready to replace my turn signal switch, and this helps a lot on what I should watch for.


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65 Monza
Cincinnati, OH
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