wanted to say HI!

[bbodie52]

While traveling with the U.S. Air Force from 1972 through 1996 I traveled with Corvairs three times from the west to the east coast, drove them all over Germany, and throughout the USA. In all of those travels with my wife and two sons I had one rear wheel bearing assembly fail while passing through Cheyenne, Wyoming on the way from Los Angeles, via Lake Tahoe, and on to New Jersey to ship the 1965 Corsa coupe to Germany. I had another rear wheel bearing fail in Germany on my 1965 Corsa convertible. I also had a starter drive housing fracture once while stationed in Massachusetts. Those were the only breakdowns in those two Corvairs in that 24 year period! We had owned the 1965 Corsa convertible since it was brand new. I bought the coupe from my father in 1981.





When I bought the 1966 Corsa convertible in 2012, I took a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia to Lakeland, Florida to pick up the car that I had purchased from a classic car dealer via eBay. After completing the documentation in Lakeland, I did a quick check of the car, started it, and drove the return trip to our North Carolina home (565 miles) without any problems. I know they can break down, but I have a lot of confidence in Corvairs!

[gpracer89]

Good story & nice Corvair!

Greg

1969 Corvair Monza 140HP 4-speed

[curvesman]

Hats off to Brad, he can sure look up interesting things!

[curvesman]

Congrats on your corvair! Glad you had a nice trip back. We drove mine approximately 140 miles from north Ga home. It can be unnerving driving an old car that far. Glad you made it OK. I have owned my 61 for about a month now, and I love it. The comments are great too! I actually run fuel without ethanol in my Corvair because of the gummy residue it can leave behind. Good luck with your Corvair!

Thanks , I put around 2300 miles on mine. Someone told me (Norm in Deland Florida)that they use these Corvair engines in planes!!! When I heard that my worrys were over! In NY here its hard to find fuel without ethanol (not that I looked but will now!) Good luck with yours also!

[classicchevyowner7]

Congrats on your corvair! Glad you had a nice trip back. We drove mine approximately 140 miles from north Ga home. It can be unnerving driving an old car that far. Glad you made it OK. I have owned my 61 for about a month now, and I love it. The comments are great too! I actually run fuel without ethanol in my Corvair because of the gummy residue it can leave behind. Good luck with your Corvair!

Thanks , I put around 2300 miles on mine. Someone told me (Norm in Deland Florida)that they use these Corvair engines in planes!!! When I heard that my worrys were over! In NY here its hard to find fuel without ethanol (not that I looked but will now!) Good luck with yours also!

This may help you find a place near you that sells ethanol free gas. I used this to locate one near me. I havent checked in your area, but there might be one nearby. The website may help.
http://pure-gas.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[curvesman]

Congrats on your corvair! Glad you had a nice trip back. We drove mine approximately 140 miles from north Ga home. It can be unnerving driving an old car that far. Glad you made it OK. I have owned my 61 for about a month now, and I love it. The comments are great too! I actually run fuel without ethanol in my Corvair because of the gummy residue it can leave behind. Good luck with your Corvair!

Thanks , I put around 2300 miles on mine. Someone told me (Norm in Deland Florida)that they use these Corvair engines in planes!!! When I heard that my worrys were over! In NY here its hard to find fuel without ethanol (not that I looked but will now!) Good luck with yours also!

This may help you find a place near you that sells ethanol free gas. I used this to locate one near me. I havent checked in your area, but there might be one nearby. The website may help.
http://pure-gas.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the list but nothing near me

[classicchevyowner7]

thats terrible, but if you use an engine treatment you should be alright. Most people run ethanol in their corvairs and dont have any problem. I just dont like the fact that it gums up engine parts, but that can be prevented.

[bbodie52]

...Someone told me (Norm in Deland Florida) that they use these Corvair engines in planes!!! When I heard that my worrys were over!

http://www.flycorvair.com/

Lots of Photographs... http://www.google.com/search?q=corvair+ ... 44&bih=771

They also use Corvair engines in inboard boat engines, outboard boat engines, motorcycles, dune buggies, custom vehicles built for movies, tractors, dragsters... YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE CONTENTS OF THE NEXT LINK!

Corvair Powered Oddities -- Photo Thread !!!
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=5658&p=38474&hilit=oddities#p38474

[Nickshu]

Man that's a beautiful color combo! Congrats!

[curvesman]

Thanks to all, these engines go in anything I see now! Pretty COOL! Now my question is I noticed in the rear of my engine below the bumper there is 2 door flaps that I have missing. Are they important ??? Looks like to me they have something to do with cooling or heating?

[bbodie52]

They are thermostat-controlled airflow damper doors that block or restrict engine cooling airflow when the engine is cold or below desired operating temperature. The doors permit the engine to warm up to full normal operating temperature more quickly, and are more important during cold ambient temperatures. (Water-cooled engines also have a thermostat in the radiator coolant passageway to restrict coolant flow in the cold engine, with the same intent and purpose as the air doors and thermostats in the Corvair engine). Without them, the engine will take longer to warm up, and the chokes will remain closed or partially closed longer as a result -- which could degrade fuel mileage and fuel efficiency as the chokes remain closed or partially closed for a longer period while the engine slowly warms up.

The bellows thermostats are mounted on the lower engine sheet metal shrouds, below the exhaust manifolds. They are normally connected to the rear doors by long steel rods with a swivel threaded adjustment on the end. If the bellows fails, it defaults to the full-open position, so that the doors would never remain closed with a defective thermostat.

Rapid engine warm-up in the cold climates is also important as this affects heater and defroster operation and availability in the passenger compartment.

If you live in a warm climate, the thermostat doors have less of an impact if they are missing, since the engine will reach normal desired operating temperature more quickly in a higher ambient temperature operating environment.

Replacement doors and associated hardware can be obtained from the Corvair Ranch http://www.corvairranch.com or other Corvair parts providers.

[curvesman]

Thanks I had no idea what they were, Being here in Monroe the temp has been in the 30s so I would say I need them. I am going to look into buying them, Thank You for the great explanation, I took a good look at the car today on a lift and was very pleased with the way it looked. The only rust I noticed was by the drivers side behind the front molding. BUT when I use the defroster I hear the fan blowing but the windshield clouds up and I am always wiping it with a paper towel I think I may need a new blower motor with more power?
Thanks in advance

[bbodie52]

Also check for blocked ducts, dead animals, critter nests, broken/damaged "squirrel cage" fan, etc. The Corvair heater and defroster always seem to be marginal, at best, and need all the help they can get.

Clark's Corvair Parts heater items are around page 101 of the online catalog. Here are a couple of sample pages...

http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... w_page=101


http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... w_page=103


I've also attached some appropriate 1961 and 1964 shop manual sections, and a 1965 Assembly Manual section just to illustrate how the heater and defroster subsystems are configured.