Corvair Forum

Plus it's parked on the wrong side of the road.

The engine serial number (to the right of the alternator, between the top shroud and the oil filter adapter, might give a clue about the engine. The number starts with a "T", followed by four numbers, and ending with a one or two letter suffix code.

If you can handle the body repairs, the savings in not having to import the car from the USA might offset the body issues. Such flaws can be used to possibly negotiate a lower purchase price.

Are you looking for an all-original show car, or a daily driver? The 110 hp engine, alternator, etc. all make for improved performance and reliability. But perhaps you can use such "flaws" as the lack of original configuration to help lower the price.

Is it less expensive to take the ferry as a passenger on foot? Perhaps the seller can meet you at the ferry and drive you to see the car. It would help if he can fix the starter before you go. If you decide to purchase it can you obtain temporary tags to permit it to be driven back to the ferry?

Apologies...I sure shot from the hip that time. Didn't read the ad before commenting, seniors moment!

I will give the guy a call today to find out a bit more about it. It would be useful if it would start I could at least drive it onto the ferry and leave the trailer the other side.

Hi Andrew,

Currently building highly modified, ProTouring style '65 Monza (check my build thread).

Am based in the Midlands.

Good to see a rising interest in Corvairs over here :D

Good luck with your search!

PM me if you like

I spoke to the seller today, it needs floor pans which he has new panels for and the scuttle panel under the windshield has bondo in it. Usual corvair rot areas I think? He had the starter rebuilt but thinks they didn't change the pinion gear so he has ordered one. I would think anyone overhauling a starter would have noticed this so probably as Brad suggested broken ring gear is to blame. The carb had a sticky needle valve so he took it apart but failed to fix it so it needs doing properly. It sounds like he has imported it and realised it needs more work than he is capable of so is trying to move it on. He has it advertised for £4000 but has told me he will accept £3000 for it.
I will not be able to get there until next Saturday so I might have to call him tomorrow and pay a deposit or take a chance it will not be sold in the meantime if I am going to buy it. He seems like a genuine guy and he has told me about the bad things the photos don't show so it should be as described. I am under no illusion this will need a fair bit of work but should be a good base to start from.

I think you could find better in USA if it's got rot don't go there .....Dry state cars rule

You are the only one who can judge the condition of the car against your ability to fix it. There are many Corvairs in the USA that suffer from body rot too, and without being able to inspect the car personally the risk may be greater if you import a car. And, of course, the cost and complexity of importing a car from the USA adds significantly to your out of pocket costs. Hopefully a negotiated reduced price will help you to decide, but be careful in judging the car's condition against your time and ability to perform the repairs yourself.

If the starter nose casting is not broken or cracked, there may be no problem with the ring gear on the clutch pressure plate. But a broken weld on the ring gear can create unusual stress on the starter that can cause it to fracture. Otherwise it may only be a defect in the pinion gear or starter that is more-easily correctable by simply repairing or replacing the starter.

The other clutch-related issue I mentioned concerns a common problem with high-mileage Corvair clutches. The flywheel is riveted to a flex plate, and over time these rivets can loosen. This is commonly noticed by a rattling sound emanating from the clutch housing when the engine is idling with the clutch engaged and the transmission in NEUTRAL. If a rattling sound is heard, it will usually be silenced by depressing the clutch pedal. The throw out bearing coming in to contact with the pressure plate diaphragm spring fingers will dampen the rotating mass, which quiets the rattling sound. If you notice such a sound, the only cure is a clutch overhaul that includes repairing or replacing the flywheel (there are multiple options listed in the Clark's Corvair Parts online catalog).

http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... N&page=109


The "sticky needle valve" you mentioned can also be related to a leaky float where gasoline has leaked into the floats — causing them to sink and permit the float bowl to overfill.

If you find the flaws in the car realistically within your skill set to correct, you may be in a good negotiating position to take on the project car while getting a good price. As long as you are not buying a "bondo bucket" and you have the welding and body repair skills to correct the flaws, the 1961 Corvair may be a good starting point. Good luck in your Corvair hunt!

Hi I've recently bought a uk imported car , doing the registration now, only to find that the mot was incorrectly filed with the wrong ID number ! So took for another mot it failed ! Brakes not working I find this hard to understand as the mot issued when I bought the vair had 10 months left . ( I think it was issued illegally !)
At present I am importing all the brake parts as the slave cylinders are shot and one of the drums is over1/4inch warn to the point of seeing daylight through the drum. I paid £4000 . Bodywork is rot free but in need of painting.
So Bertle beware do your research
Cheers Paul

Well I have arranged to go to look at the car on Saturday morning, it is a 2 1/2 hour drive to the ferry, an hour on the ferry, half an hour drive the other side, say an hour looking/buying/loading the car and then back home. A fair day out, only problem is I have to go out to a ball Saturday night and if I am not in my tux ready to party by 6 I will be in big trouble with my misses. What could possibly go wrong?

Well I bought the car and made it back in time, just! It is going to need some welding but I will start a different thread when I start it.

http://s250.photobucket.com/user/bertle ... 5.jpg.html

Your day was wrapped pretty tightly, but as you said, it was a "fair day out"!

Congratulations!!

Looking forward to hearing and seeing more as you continue with your discovery and restoration. Please post some more detailed pictures of your newly acquired Corvair.

I rolled it off the trailer and bump started it today and it ran OK but I couldn't run it for long because of the fuel leak. I took the starter off and the pinion gear didn't look too bad, not great but not terrible. The wiring is a mess so I wonder if it is not getting enough current to throw the pinion out properly. It has two wires to the solenoid (other than the main battery feed) one on each stud. These wires then are joined together in the engine compartment and presumably go up to a starter relay or ignition switch, this strikes me as odd, I will have to work out how it is meant to be wired. I will have a more in depth look next weekend.
Anyhow I took some pictures of the body tags and engine number to see what I have got, the engine has the cast crank pulley so I guess not a 110 hp but a later engine all the same.

I will decode the body tag for you...

Here is a breakdown of the information on the body tag you provided...
BODY TAG INFO:

STYLE 61-0927 BODY WR 25693
61=1961
Model 0927 — 2-Door Monza Coupe — 4 Passenger, 09 = 900 Series Monza, 27 = 2-Door Coupe,
WR = Willow Run, Michigan, Production Sequence No: 25693
1961 Monza 2-Door Coupe — 4 Passenger, Total Production: 109,945.



TRIM 881 = RED
This 3 digit codes represents the interior color and seat type.

PAINT 900-5
900 = Black "Tuxedo Black" (exterior paint color), 5=Red (interior paint color)
The Corvairs have an extra digit on the trim or paint section of the tag. WRN has the extra digit for interior paint on the Paint section. 5 = Red

900 = "Tuxedo Black" Lucite No. 88L, Rinshed-Mason No. A 946, Ditzler No. DDL 9300


ACC: XAK

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

10927W189894

Your car is a 1961 Monza coupe.
It was the 89,894th Corvair built at Willow Run that year.

Corvair VIN Decoding Detail

Early Car VIN Detail

(1960-1964)



T0308RB

T = Tonawanda, New York (GM Tonawanda Engine Plant)
http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/comp ... wanda.html
0308 = Engine manufacturing date of March 08 (The year is never included in this date, unfortunately)*
RB = 1965-1966 140 hp, 164CID, Manual Transmission, Corvair Corsa ONLY.

* Since the engine case serial number suffix letters are specifically for a 140 hp, four carburetor engine originally installed in a 1965-66 Corsa, you can conclude that the actual engine production date was either 03/08/65 or 03/08/66.

The presence of a solid cast crankshaft pulley on this engine likely means that the original harmonic balancer had failed, and that a solid cast pulley was substituted as a cost saving measure, since replacement harmonic balancers are not inexpensive. GM engineers specified the need for a harmonic balancer on all 110 hp, 140 hp and turbocharged engines for a reason. The possibility of incurring harmonic-induced stress fractures or cracks in the crankshaft was real enough for them to mandate the use of a harmonic balancer. The only engine that did not receive a harmonic balancer was the economy 95 hp engine. The economy engine was less-likely to see hard driving at higher RPM settings, so under cost-cutting pressures the engineers likely compromised for the low hp engine only.

The 140 hp and 110 hp engine used the same camshaft grind. If your engine has two-carburetor heads mounted on the original 1965-66 cylinder barrels, the heads could be 110 hp (9.0:1 Compression Ratio) or 95 hp (8.25:1 Compression Ratio). If you can read the cylinder head casting numbers on the end of the head (next to the valve cover, but may be obscured by sheet metal), the nubers will tell you the cylinder head type. I have attached a copy of the CORSA Corvair Technical Guide 1+2 - Corvair Code Numbers to guide you in decoding these numbers (Page 5).

Sample cylinder head casting number location...

Well that's interesting if it has 140hp cases, would be nice if it has the heads too!
Not suprised it should have a red Interior there is evidence of it, however the black exterior suprised me. I am away working on site this week so I will look further at the weekend.

Well after a few hours messing about with starters outside in the cold, (it was 60 degrees here last week, today it was 35!) I have not got very far. I took the starter apart and the only rebuilding it has had is a shiny coat of paint. So I changed the pinion gear and put it together. On refitting it it initially turned the engine over enough to start it but it was engaging and slipping but it caught and started. After that it is back to just not engaging in the ring gear properly and squealing.
I am now not sure if I should try a fresh starter or maybe I have a flywheel problem to investigate.