New but old member

[cavalierguy73]

My name is Bruce Herschberger and my involvement with Corvairs began in 1970 when I was 15. My dad had owned a 1960 Corvair and sold it because you "couldn't" convert it to propane. He was very disappointed when production halted in 1969 and decided that a Corvair would make a good !st car for me. A local banker had a 1965 Monza for sale and we bought it. I drove it all summer and loved it! As winter approached my uncle (dads brother) convinced me that we should "fix it up" over the winter. The banker had not driven the car in winter as the heater was insufficient for Wisconsin temperatures so the car was rust free. My uncle had built a mid engine Lotus 23 with a corvair engine that he campaigned in DSR class in SCCA in the early 60s and he was all fired up to hot rod the Monza. We completely disassembled the car replacing suspension bushings, bearings, springs and installed Koni shock absorbers, Fitch GT suspension, quick steering arms and metallic brake linings with new master/wheel cylinders. Then my uncle convinced my dad that we could convert it to LP by running engine oil thru the converter that liquid propane into vapor. Since propane "likes" higher compression, more lift/duration cam profiles we ordered a modified 140 from Bill Thomas (in California I think). Then we got a Ieco manifold that we mounted a Impco 4bbl mixer (carb). Some where my dad connected with Tom Seversin (big corvair guy) who owned a bodyshop in Madison. He conviced us to get a 1966 transaxle so we rebuilt one with limited slip. Brilliant move we would need it. And since none of us liked the tealish green Tom repainted the car a burgundy red. We installed a Corsa dash and LTD bucket seats. 14" minilites with Michelin radials. Mounted 2 33lb fork lift cylinders in the trunk. When the suspension and brakes were done I drove the car with the stock 110 to Madison so Tom could paint it. (cold ride!) By the time we got it back the transaxle was done and the engine had arrived. By mid April we rolled it out for its "shakedown" run. Little did I know how often we would replay that scene over the next few years. We were shocked at how fast it was. I told my dad and uncle that on a curvy road I could beat them. So we raced! My dad had a GTX with a 383HO on LP, about 350hp and my uncle had a 1966 Chevelle SS with a 396, about 400hp (modified).I did beat them! We swapped cars and the Corvair always won. We all liked the Corvair best. Then we attended the 1971 CORSA convention in Chicago. My dad (always the promoter) had signs made up for the Clean Air Vair and my dad had the 2nd fastest time in the slalom. I think overall but it might have been in class. A local TV station was on hand filming and that when we all gathered to watch the telecast the focus was on the Clean Air Vair. The car was very well received and Tony Fiore, the editor of the CORSA magazine asked my dad if we could build him a car and we did. A green 1966 4 door. Then my dad and I went out to Connecticut to see Bill Fitch. My decided to buy his business and build Sprints but try as I might I couldn't convince to buy the Phoenix, a steel bodied Corvair based sportscar Mr. Fitch had made in Italy, I think. He only wanted 10k which I thought was very reasonable. Part of what came with the sale was a GM built display of the late model Corvair rear suspension/trans/engine cutaway powered by electric motors. Way cool! I think it got donated to a museum. Over the next 5 0r 6 years Solar Automotive built 44 Sprints and Cavaliers the last one being a gold Sprint I built for a California man in 1976.

[doug6423]

[flat6_musik]

Welcome, Bruce! Wow, what an amazing awesome story! I wonder how much extra power the LP contributed to....? Feel free to share any/all your pics from back then! What do you have "on the burner" right now, corvair-wise? Great to have you aboard.....

[bbodie52]

This link will take you to a post about the Solar Cavalier Corvair that was added to the Corvair Forum back in 2015...

viewtopic.php?t=9412


...And much more...

WTB : Solar Cavalier EMBLEM

http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,1078712

Solar Cavalier

I remember back in the early 1970s seeing an article about the Solar Cavalier Corvair. I really wanted to find a way to have one, but as a junior enlisted member of the Air Force with a wife and small baby, it was simply not possible. OH WELL...

[cavalierguy73]

I remember the green Sprint but do not remember who bought it. The drawing of the Sprint with the picture of the Bearcat in the corner was made by Paul Nikolai who designed the Bernardi and since his middle name was Bernard my dad named it after him. My daughter remembers rides in the Bearcats/Bernardi that I was building or fixing and finds online stories on the cars and she asked me where the name came from and she said she has never seen the truth revealed. I told her the Corvairs were a lot more fun to drive. Thanks for the memories.

[cavalierguy73]

As it turned out the propane car, soon after the convention, developed a knock and when disassembled we discovered it had 13:1 compression and the knock was caused by the slight buildup on the crown of the pistons. Based on what we discovered later it would probably dropped a valve seat because propane has higher combustion chamber temperatures than gasoline. The Solar engines had 10.5:1 compression and with the stock cast iron exhaust manifold they were prone to drop valve seats. Headers eliminated that issue but my dad liked the sound of an after market dual glass pack design so we got a lot of practice replacing heads! lol I still have a Solar engine that has a stud pulling out of the case and various diffs and transmissions and a Meyers Manx body, so I dream about building another dune buggy. I am still a proponent of propane. I just finished converting a small generator and plow snow with a Honda ATV I put on propane.

[bbodie52]

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=53 ... 2019840437

[cavalierguy73]

I'm sorry Brad I don't do facebook. my email is bhersch@ymail.com. if that works.