My 1st Vair - 1965 Corsa 140-4 hardtop

[SteveH]

ya think? LOL

I am so looking forward to the joy that will be head bolt removal.....

[bbodie52]

I am so looking forward to the joy that will be head bolt removal.....

You may find that looking for Corvair head bolts will drive you nuts! In any case, the article below may be of some help...

Removing Corvair Cylinder Heads
viewtopic.php?f=225&t=4063

[SteveH]

Yeah, but doing a full rebuild means I will be probably taking the studs out as well, but... You are correct, nut not bolts.

Thanks for the write up. Reading now.

[bbodie52]

Try to get those nuts off without removing the studs. The studs were not intended to be removed from the cases. I overhauled my first Corvair engine — from a 1963 Corvair 500 with a Powerglide transmission — during my summer break from high school in 1969. I had completed my sophomore year and was 16 years old. I was in San Jose, California and my father had purchased an old Corvair with a frozen engine for me to learn on. He provided the garage, tools, shop manuals and funding for machine shop work and parts — but I was on my own because he had been transferred by Lockheed to Southern California and the rest of the family would not be able to join him until December.

I learned to get that Corvair powertrain out of the car without dropping it. When I tackled removing the heads from the engine some of these rusty nuts on the top row rounded off and would not come off! My father told me about a technique using a center punch and a drill to hollow-out the damaged stud so that the rusty, rounded-off nut could be knocked off with a chisel. (Space is kind-of tight under that intake manifold!) One or two studs had to be cut with a hacksaw blade near the cylinder barrels. The bottom row of rocker arm studs all came out without a problem (no rust and better material that did not round off when using a six-point deep socket). I replaced the few damaged upper studs and ultimately was successful with rebuilding my first engine in a self-taught effort that took most of the summer. Then I discovered that the Powerglide transmission was filled with fluid that was full of contaminants and a burned smell, so I successfully overhauled the transmission too! The skills I developed, the lessons I learned, along with gaining a ton of self-confidence remained with me for a lifetime.

Take your time, follow the shop manual, and look to the Corvair Forum members for advice — I wish I had had such a fantastic resource in 1969! Enjoy your new hobby. If there is a CORSA club chapter in your area, you might consider joining them too. When you complete overhauling that engine you will discover the rush that comes from the first time you start it up and begin tuning it. And every time you drive that car will be a thrill — knowing that you rebuilt that engine back there!

I relocated my first engine into a 1962 Monza coupe that was fitted with a four-speed and needed a fresh engine. A few years later that car was my transportation to my wedding and on my honeymoon. It ran great as it powered that Corvair up the Pacific Coast Highway from Thousand Oaks in Southern California to the San Francisco Bay Area and back... my new bride and I had a great honeymoon and started our lives together with that Corvair!

[SteveH]

Thanks Brad,

I am active with the SFBA Corsa as well as CORSA member. This is my first Corvair, but certainly not my first engine. Not even my first air-cooled. The "Take your time, follow the shop manual, and look to the Corvair Forum members for advice" is absolutely spot on! I would add document, photograph the hell out of every step, bag and tag ALL parts, and clean and check for damage everything you remove before you put it back.

I am trying to get the heads off in time for the SFBA Tech day on Sept 10th. One of the guys is teaching how to deflash the heads and the plan is to use mine for the class!

We made some more "archaeology" progress last night.

Found a bit of dust in the heater tube....

Top Tins removed.

The distributor still will not come out, but it is now turning at least... slow and steady.

I would LOVE to get suggestions on the safest way to separate the power pack into its the main components. The pack is on a furniture dolly currently. I have an engine stand waiting for the motor once they are apart. I read somewhere about using LONG bolts to act as a slide....

Back to the research and planning side of the job....

[bbodie52]

When detaching the transaxle from the engine, you should be aware of the long input shaft that connects the clutch disc hub to the transmission. This shaft is about two feet long and splined at both ends. The large end usually sticks in the clutch, while the small end pulls out of the transmission. This leaves you with a two-foot shaft protruding from the clutch, while you are trying to pull a very heavy transaxle away from the engine.

The first time I ran into this predicament I had removed the starter and bell housing bolts, straddled the transaxle, and cupped the heavy transaxle in both hands while I was bent over and it was between my legs! As I pulled the transaxle free from the engine, I could see this LONG input shaft remaining in the clutch while I backed away... but there seemed to be no end to the input shaft! I didn't want to bend it or break the clutch throw out bearing shaft (snout) that was sticking out of the differential, so the only thing I could do was to struggle to continue backing up without lowering the transaxle to the point where damage would occur. Finally the other end of the input shaft cleared the transaxle, and I was able to put it down on the floor.



I would recommend using the floor jack under the differential to hold the weight of the transaxle, and then wheel the transaxle away from the engine. If the input shaft remains in the clutch disc, you can often reach between the bell housing and the face of the differential with one hand once the differential has cleared the bell housing by six inches or so. Then you can often pull the input shaft out of the clutch disc. It does help to have one or two friends around to help you with this process!

[SteveH]

Thanks! It will be just my wife and I, but I am sure we can manage it. Luckily my wife has small but strong hands ( frequently hears the call "hey, little hands") so that may help with releasing the shaft from the clutch. I will see if the heights of the floor jack and the dolly will allow for a level extraction.

Another suggestion that I read was using 4" bolts with the heads cut off to act as guides during the removal.

[bbodie52]

What you DON'T want is any lateral stress from the input shaft on that throw out bearing snout that sticks out of the differential! It is a machined casting that cracks easily. If it cracks the only way to replace it is to completely dismantle the differential, since it has to be removed from the inside of the case!

http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... ge=OTTO-26

[BobWitt]

Steve - I made 4x guide pins from 5 or 6" bolts, I had the engine on a cart and used the floor jack to manage the trans...

You continue to make great progress, carry on!

[SteveH]

Thanks Folks, and Bob that is what I did as well. Worked like a charm.

Here is a series of shots showing how far we got last night. One head OFF!! woo hoo!

THIS dirt jammed up in places like the clutch set and INSIDE the cylinders is why i did not even try to rotate the engine when i bought it.

My goal is both heads off this weekend so I can have them cleaned by next weekend for the local Corvair club Tech day.

The right side of the head shows it will clean up pretty well. that was just 5 minutes with a brush.

[SteveH]

cleaned up OK, but I'm gonna need welding/machining and new seats.

[cad-kid]

Amazing the condition and amazing the work you are doing. Thank for the update and good photos

[SteveH]

Goal achieved!

Lots of help from my Wife! Thanks Heather!

The casting number

[b74eqcm]

Love Heather's dew rag and slippers. Exactly the look my spouse goes for. :)

[SteveH]

In the realization of the amount of time the Filed Find is going to take to complete correctly, I decided to buy a Corvair to drive in the mean time

Going to go look at this on Saturday at Noon (driving to LA from SF area)

"1962 Corvair 2-door coupe. 4 speed. New Master Cylinder, 50 lbs oil pressure, gas tank
boiled out, Straight body, good tires and good brakes. Runs good. Clear title. $2500"

(Photos trimmed...)

Wish me luck!

[cad-kid]

Looks neat! I like the wheels