New Corvair Owner Reno/Fernley NV

[Spidey]

New owner of a 63 Spyder Black with Aqua interior. What are some of the know issues with the turbo motors?

[66vairguy]

New owner of a 63 Spyder Black with Aqua interior. What are some of the know issues with the turbo motors?

You'll get a LOT of opinions. Keep in mind many turbo Corvair owners modify their engines!! First thing is to determine if the engine/car are modified. The basic complaints for a stock turbo is "turbo lag" or you have to wait after mashing the gas pedal for power to increase via boost. The cooling system is marginal for maximum power. Per Corvair engineer Mr. Benszinger the turbo boost is only meant to be used for passing or temporary maximum acceleration. If you keep the boost up for more than about a minute you can overheat the engine. Keep in mind that after far less time than a minute the car will reach maximum speed beyond legal speed limits. Many Corvair turbo owners drove these cars without any overheating issues, but you won't be going racing without modifications.

If the car is stock and unmodified (after over five decades it is unlikely, but possible), the 62-63 turbo cars used a unique coil and ballast resistor. The parts were used on the high performance Corvette engines of the same year. Now the coils are obsolete, and more importantly Chevy issued a tech bulletin to change the ballast and coil on Corvettes (normal driving, not racing) since distributor points life was a problem for average drivers (points contacts wore out in a shorter time vs. the customary period for the era). The good news is the 64 turbo Corvairs used the regular ballast and the same coil as the 140HP engines, BUT now the 140HP coil is obsolete. Many go with after market ignitions.

The other "issue" is the carburetors changed every year! Many have issues with the carburetor or replace it when they can't get them to work. The Corvair turbo had no wastegate to control boost so Chevy used a relatively small carburetor. Put on a bigger carburetor without other modifications and you risk over boosting the engine. BTW the stock carburetor can be made to work fine.

Over the years I've listened to, or read comments from some "turbo experts" and the only person who has consistently had no complaints about his turbo work/repairs is Steve Goodman at Rear Engine Specialist in Golden Colorado --- https://www.rearenginespecialists.com/

Enjoy the car.

[bbodie52]

Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

Turbo engines are somewhat more-difficult to tune and maintain, demand Premium fuel, and get relatively poor gas mileage. All Corvairs are aging and require regular maintenance. Usually an owner who is prepared to learn about their classic car and who is prepared to perform DIY maintenance and repair as a "shade-tree mechanic" will have a better relationship with the Corvair, because Corvair-qualified professional mechanics are rare and difficult to find. Most repair parts cannot be purchased locally, and will require a mail-order process. Even the 13" tires are obsolete and essentially only available from one manufacturer. (larger-diameter wheels and tires can be fitted for better tire options and availability, but the majority of modern 13" tires are for trailer use only and cannot be used on a passenger car).

Properly tuned and maintained, the turbo Corvair can be a lot of fun to drive. The added acceleration from a turbocharged engine gives it a more-sporty feel. I have been around Corvairs since my parents bought a new 1961 Monza 2-door coupe when I was 8 years old. They traded-up to a new 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible, and a few years later I learned to drive in that car and took my first driver's license test in it in 1969. I also learned to overhaul and rebuild a 1963 Corvair engine during my high school summer vacation that year, and went to my wedding and honeymoon in a 1962 Corvair Monza (powered by the 1963 engine I had overhauled in 1969) a few years later (April 1972).


Warren Bodie and son Brad at Edwards AFB Air Show in 1965 with our new 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible (140HP)



Now, my wife and I are age 70, and we still drive a pair of 1966 Corvairs as our daily drivers...



In years past I have driven Corvairs several times coast to coast, fully loaded with my family. We have driven them to the high mountains of Lake Tahoe many times, and throughout Germany while stationed there with the USAF. So you can see I look to Corvairs as reliable and fun family cars. In comparison, I would say a turbocharged 1962-1964 Corvair Spyder or a 1965-1966 turbocharged Corvair Corsa is a slightly-less practical version of a Corvair. More of a rarity, a little more difficult to properly maintain and tune, and because it gets somewhat worse gas mileage and needs Premium fuel it is a little-more costly to operate. But if I found a clean Spyder or turbo Corsa for sale and had the chance to buy it, I would do so in a heartbeat!!

The turbocharged engine has its own set of tuning and maintenance issues. The Carter YH carburetor that was adopted from the 1950s vintage is a somewhat difficult carburetor to rebuild and tune properly.

CARTER Y-SERIES

The Carter Y series carburetors were 1-barrel downdraft (YF, YFA, YS) or sidedraft (YH) carburetors used at various times on most makes of American cars and trucks, usually on 4 or 6 cylinder applications.

The chokes on these carbs were usually hot air operated automatic chokes, though some earlier models (and all the military models) were produced with manual chokes. Late model carbs (late 70's - 80's) sometimes had electric choke coils.

The Carter YH sidedraft carb (kit CK456) was used on a triple carb installation on early Corvette 6 cylinder engines and turbocharged Corvair applications as well as Nash, Dearborn Marine and others.

Carter YS carbs (kit CK518) were used on military Willys Jeep applications. These carbs were waterproof for fording.

The 1962-1966 Corvair was one of the earliest vehicles from Detroit to incorporate a turbocharged engine. As such, it has a relatively unsophisticated system to manage and control engine operation and the possibility of detonation occurring in the combustion chambers. Boost limitations limited by the turbocharger design and carburetor size, plus the use of a pressure timing retard device on the distributor (with somewhat marginal reliability and effectiveness) can permit the engine to be overtaxed — possibly permitting engine damage. Premium high-octane fuel is also very important to help control detonation. Modern synthetic oils do a better job of lubricating the turbocharger and dealing with the high heat levels sometimes encountered within the turbo. The engine is really designed for brief periods of turbo boost operation, and not for extended periods of boosted operation. (Operation and maintenance by a knowledgeable owner is helpful). Premium fuel mileage is somewhat poor. But driving a turbocharged Corvair can be a lot of fun!

(I melted a hole in a turbocharged engine piston one time in the early 1970s by driving the car under boost for an extended period on a warm day, while climbing a long uphill highway grade. With he windows down and the wind howling in the car interior I failed to hear any sounds of engine detonation until the engine blew. I was a happy teen-ager enjoying the feeling of turbo power.

Beyond these comments, it would be easier to answer your questions about your "new" turbo Spyder if we knew more about it, and more about its owner. Do you have any mechanical background or experience in maintaining your own cars? Is this your first Corvair? What condition is it in? Can you post some pictures of it, including the engine compartment? How do you plan to use the Corvair? Have you ever owned a classic, 1960s vintage car before? Where are you located? (There may be a local CORSA — Corvair Society of America — club chapter nearby, where membership and social gathering with other Corvair owners may improve your enjoyment of your Corvair).

So I hope you are enjoying your recent acquisition. If you can provide some information about your technical and mechanical background and about the current condition of your Corvair we can provide more specific information that will hopefully be helpful to you.

[bbodie52]

No Corvair does well on stale gasoline, and the turbocharged engine is the least tolerant of anything but fresh PREMIUM OCTANE fuel. The turbocharged engine is more difficult to properly tune, and the Carter YH carburetor has a reputation of being difficult to work with and very sensitive to high fuel pressures.

Holley fuel pressure regulators are designed to precisely control the fuel pressure from the fuel pump to the carburetor. Too much fuel pressure for a given needle and seat assembly can overload the needle and seat and may cause flooding or drivability problems. Each Holley fuel pressure regulator is fully adjustable so regulating the fuel pressure to your engines needs is a simple task. All Holley regulators are pre-set at the factory at 2.8 PSI so there is no guesswork when first installing the regulator. The Holley 12-804 fuel pressure regulator features 3/8" NPT in/out ports.
Features:

• Adjustable fuel regulation from 1 to 4 psi
• .220" (7/32") restriction
• 3/8" NPT ports ( 1 in, 2 out)
• Chrome finish
• Mounting bracket included
• Pre-set at 2.8 PSI

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_sy ... rts/12-804


Listed on Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Holley-12-804-Fu ... +regulator

https://www.amazon.com/Identify-Rebuild ... 897&sr=8-5




HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:


https://www.amazon.com/Identify-Rebuild ... s=bob+helt

[Spidey]

Thank you all for the great info. I do plan on working and learning about this little gem and nursing her back to health. It has sat for over 10 years so I will go through the whole fuel system and carb.

Thanks Again

[Spidey]

[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MwrlPZ ... e_link/img]

[Spidey]

[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MwrlPZ ... e_link/img]
[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/11UEvSe ... haring/img]

[bbodie52]

Spidey...
You are apparently attempting to post some photographs that are hosted by a secure website called GOOGLE DRIVE. It is not possible to display these images in this manner as they point back to URL addresses that are on a secure host site that would require a password to access them. Images can only be displayed in this manner if they are hosted in an open public website, like Facebook, where the public would be able to view them without special permission or a password.

GOOGLE DRIVE - You Need Access

The alternate method of displaying pictures on the Corvair Forum would be to actually upload them from your PC as attached files. This is done at the bottom of the editing page, by clicking on the ATTACHMENTS tab and then the Add files button. You can then select one or more image files to upload.

My 1966 Blue Corsa Convertible

They can be viewed in your draft post with Preview, or they will be seen when you Submit your posting for display. The images will appear at the bottom of the text area, unless you choose to embed them within the text area, placing your cursor where you want the image to be displayed, and then clicking on Place inline for the desired image file, as shown above and below...