GET a GM Corvair shop manual for your car!!!

[terribleted]

Why is it that so many people try to work on these old cars without having and referring to a proper GM Corvair shop manual or manuals for their car. These manuals are readily available from Clark's Corvair parts and other places at reasonable prices (even free in digital form in many cases). https://www.corvair.org/chapters/corvan ... .php#C95RP Posters ask questions for which answers are obviously stated in the shop manuals. Posters are looking for procedures, photos or diagrams that are almost always in the manuals.

I have been working on these cars for over 30 years and still refer to the shop manuals for many repair and maintenance operations. There is simply too much data to remember everything. Working on your car without referencing the appropriate manual section is asking for trouble.

Using the shop manuals makes your repair so much easier, saves you from mistakes, and allows you to continue your repairs without waiting for perhaps erroneous info from other people on the internet.

Another beef I have. If you post for assistance on the forum, PLEASE state in your request the year and model of the car you are working on, since all Corvairs are NOT the same and procedures vary from year to year and car to car.

[bbodie52]

AMEN! I repeatedly post the following comments in attempting to get Corvair owners to use shop manuals, to inform us about their car, their capabilities and experience level, to download shop manuals and other references or purchase hard copies, or to further their level of understanding by reading automotive educational materials. I often attach pages, images, and sections taken directly from the GM shop manuals.

I started working on my Corvairs in the 1960s, but I still always use a shop manual as my "first tool" that I have on-hand before I pick up any other tools. Nobody is born knowing these things and there is always more to learn!

I would like to encourage you to expand on your earlier post and tell us more about yourself, as well as about your Corvair. If you can provide your personal assessment of your mechanical skills and abilities, that would help a lot. Members of the Corvair Forum love to be helpful in assisting other Corvair owners with technical support and advice, but it helps a lot if we have some understanding of your technical background and mechanical abilities, your Corvair-related knowledge, etc. Helping us to know more about you will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Knowing your specific location is also useful, because knowing where you live can sometimes suggest possibilities.

==========================================

The link below will provide you with a list of useful websites that are Corvair-related. Some of the links will lead you to an extensive technical library that will allow you to download shop manuals and other technical references in Adobe Reader format at no cost. There is also a link that will help you to locate nearby CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapters. While the Corvair Forum can be very helpful as you work on your Corvair, having local friends and contacts in your region who are knowledgeable about the Corvair can also be very helpful. These family-friendly CORSA chapters often offer picnics, group scenic drives, technical training and assistance, car shows, and competition events that can greatly enhance your enjoyment of Corvair ownership. You will also find a list of essential Corvair parts suppliers. Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, MA is the biggest and oldest Corvair supplier in the world. You will find a link that can provide you with a series of videos that amount to a tour of the Clark's Corvair Parts facilities. I think you will be amazed at the quality of the reproduction components they offer — particularly the interior carpeting and re-upholstery items. Parts suppliers such as this truly make our Corvair hobby possible.

Common and Useful Corvair Websites

viewtopic.php?f=225&t=6007

==========================================

Finally, you will notice that in my post here my name, location, and details about my Corvair are clearly posted and automatically appear in every post that I write. You can modify your User Profile to do the same, by scrolling to the top of the Corvair Forum screen and clicking on your logon name. Then select User Control Panel from the drop-down menu and you can customize your user profile to provide this important information so that Corvair Forum members are not left guessing when thy want to write to you.

==========================================

In addition to the factory shop manual, this book contains a great deal of performance information about the Corvair. As a teenager I read the earlier version of this book in 1970 and found it to be very valuable and informative. It is a personal favorite.
https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Corv ... +to+hotrod


===========================================================================================

The books shown below made a lot of difference to me when I was starting out with working on Corvairs as a teen back in the late 1960s. I was trying to follow the shop manual, but there was still a gap in my basic knowledge that often prevented me from really grasping what was going on. I discovered this series of books that was published by the people who published Hot Rod Magazine. I really devoured the contents of each book, and as I did, the "light" came on for me in understanding how electrical systems, carburetion and ignition systems, etc. really were supposed to function. If you are interested, these books can often be purchased used on Amazon.com, eBay, etc. for only a few dollars. If you are willing to invest some reading time, you may find them to be helpful. The book series is old, but they match the technology found in vintage Corvairs and other older classic cars.

Classic cars had a different way of doing things in the 1950s, 1960s and earlier, when compared to modern techniques utilizing sensors and computer technology to control fuel injection and ignition systems. There was a series of books that were published in the 1960s and 1970s that focus on basic principles of automobile design and function. These books covered basics associated with carburetors, ignition systems, suspension and brakes systems, etc. When I was a teenager I read through many of these books and they gave me a good understanding of the principles and functional designs that were common in the cars that I was interested in, including the Corvair. Once I read through these books, the shop manuals made a lot more sense to me as I began to understand how things function and what I was trying to accomplish in working on my Corvair. This series was published long ago (1960s-1970s) by Petersen Publishing Company, which was also associated with Hot Rod Magazine. With titles like Petersen's Basic Cams, Valves and Exhaust Systems, Petersen's Basic Ignition and Electrical Systems, and Petersen's Basic Carburetion and Fuel Systems, I was a teenager that found myself devouring much of the series to teach myself the basics that could be applied to most 1970s and earlier vehicles. The material in those books are now somewhat dated because of the change to computer-controlled electronic fuel injection and other sophisticated technologies that have been introduced in the subsequent decades. But I do feel a Corvair owner or any classic car owner could benefit from the material in these books. Many of them are listed as available on Amazon.com. If you would like to consider the possibility of reading through some of this material, the following link may help you to find what you're looking for. The cost of these books is low, and the investment in time that you might make in reading them may help you to develop a foundation of knowledge that will help you to leap ahead in your DIY maintenance efforts on your Corvair.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss ... automotive

ebay https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=b ... c&_sacat=0

[terribleted]

Thanks Brad. Putting your car in your sig is helpful, however, some have more than one car. If a person wants accurate data they should include basic data about what car they are working on in the body of their post so there is no confusion. Usually Year, model, what engine and what transmission is enough.

[wbabst]

I have to agree, after purchasing a car, one of the first things I do is starting hunting for manuals. The shop manual is a minimum, since I do all my own work, I look for the specialty manuals also. Even if you are a good mechanic the book is an invaluable tool. Being a mediocre mechanic I can't live without it.

[bobg1951chevy]

It's certainly not Corvair guys that don't utilize shop manuals.
I also own a '51 Chevy and it simply amazes me how these guys "rip and tear" into the car without having the slightest idea as to where they're going or why.
I agree and abide by the above posters ....... when you buy the car, buy the manual to go with it !

[Rons64]

And make sure you're looking in the correct section of your manual. I always buy the manuals right after I buy a different car. But the procedure for removing the vent window from a convertible is a bit different than removing one from a sedan. I missed that the first time.

[66vairguy]

Realize that these shop manuals had some errors. Not a complaint as the writers and illustrators had a huge task before computers.

One error I've seen cause problems is that in 64 the longer stroke engines had notched bottom cylinders so pistons should be loaded from the top, yet the manual says to load them from the bottom - a good way to break a ring(s).

See list of corrections started at the Covaircenter by the late Bob Helt ---- http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.ph ... msg-541943