1964 Monza Sedan

[Dennis66]

1. Burned up ignition power wire was how I bought my first Corvair (1967 - 500 - 30,000 miles). The wire had burned up and melted tha housing on the automatic shifter cable freezing it up. But what do you want for $10.00 (1974). Got the car running, but went for a drivable 4 speed car instead.
2. Did I see an early model air filter set up in your treasures? Still have it? Dennis

[JohnDB]

Nice work you are doing.

Great ideal to add the "maxi fuse" to the main power line. The main wire to the fuse box will (just) handle 60 Amperes without melting the insulation. That is typically how a fuse is rated to prevent a car fire. I think it was finally model year 68 when the Corvair got a fuseible link installed on the supply wire.

Thanks, I put a maxi fuse in my Corsa as well. I figure with the long path through the tunnel to the fusebox it can't hurt. I carry a few spare fuses in each car as well, the maxi fuses can be a bit tough to find sometimes. I think the holder I bought for the Corsa was from Amazon and came with 10 fuses, I should be good for a while :)

It’s coming along nicely John! Yeah I think the fusible link in the ignition wiring is a great addition. I once had a ‘76 Plymouth that caught fire under the hood because the ignition switch broke when I went to start it. The wiring harness caught fire, so with quick reaction after seeing smoke I had to grab the battery cable and rip it from the battery without a wrench and put out the fire with a bucket of water. . It happens very rarely, but the fuse is worth the small investment.

Sounds like you were lucky to get the fire out, not a fun time I'm sure! Your car is coming along really nicely as well!

1. Burned up ignition power wire was how I bought my first Corvair (1967 - 500 - 30,000 miles). The wire had burned up and melted tha housing on the automatic shifter cable freezing it up. But what do you want for $10.00 (1974). Got the car running, but went for a drivable 4 speed car instead.
2. Did I see an early model air filter set up in your treasures? Still have it? Dennis

Sounds like a good deal on that 67!

Is this the early air filter you are looking for? I only have one, and the mounting post I think is correct for it. Not sure which side it is, maybe right for the PCV connection? Let me know if you need other pictures or were thinking of a different air filter part

[Dennis66]

Thanks. That's the right one. I'm going to need the whole thing, my '62 came with a '64 and newer air cleaner setup. I'm not in a big rush, as I still need to go through my engine. I will eventually want to go with a more original air filter setup. I'm kind of "scouting" right now, and it's good to know that you have at least that much. Dennis

[JohnDB]

Thanks. That's the right one. I'm going to need the whole thing, my '62 came with a '64 and newer air cleaner setup. I'm not in a big rush, as I still need to go through my engine. I will eventually want to go with a more original air filter setup. I'm kind of "scouting" right now, and it's good to know that you have at least that much. Dennis

Send me a PM if you want it, it's yours for the price of shipping. Not sure what size box it will fit in, but I'm pretty good at fitting stuff in USPS flat rate boxes

[66vairguy]

Thanks. That's the right one. I'm going to need the whole thing, my '62 came with a '64 and newer air cleaner setup. I'm not in a big rush, as I still need to go through my engine. I will eventually want to go with a more original air filter setup. I'm kind of "scouting" right now, and it's good to know that you have at least that much. Dennis

The 1962 model year Corair was the last year for the old engine crankcase open draft tube. So there is no PC valve or plumbing to the carburetor air cleaner. If you have an original 1962 engine with a draft tube the 62 air cleaners will work.

The 1963 model year was the first for the closed PCV (positive crankcase ventilation). It was developed by GM during WWII for military vehicles so they could drive through deep water. GM found the PCV REDUCED engine emissions by 50%!!! It was first installed on luxury cars to "keep the stink out of the car" during windows down weather. When air pollution became an issue GM allowed anybody to use it without patent fees.

Contrary to rumors, the PCV (installed properly with a good running engine) system does NOT impact engine operation or performance.

[Dennis66]

Yes, the old "road draft tubes". I remember seeing the vapors coming from the cars in front of us back in the days when lots of those cars were still on the road. Yes, it stunk. At some point, my '62 was upgraded to PCV - maybe even the '64 and up air cleaner was added then too. For me, while not going for an "All original", I would like things to match as much as feasible. I'm also considering adding an aftermarket A/C ta some point and this definitely wouldn't work with the 64 air filter set up (I do live in Florida - heat, humidity)
IIRC, PCV was originally required in California for the 62 year model, and was adapted in '63 for the rest of the country. Dennis

[66vairguy]

Yes, the old "road draft tubes". I remember seeing the vapors coming from the cars in front of us back in the days when lots of those cars were still on the road. Yes, it stunk. At some point, my '62 was upgraded to PCV - maybe even the '64 and up air cleaner was added then too. For me, while not going for an "All original", I would like things to match as much as feasible. I'm also considering adding an aftermarket A/C ta some point and this definitely wouldn't work with the 64 air filter set up (I do live in Florida - heat, humidity)
IIRC, PCV was originally required in California for the 62 year model, and was adapted in '63 for the rest of the country. Dennis

A/C on an early car is tricky. The factory mounted a HUGE condenser over the engine and I recall they used the FC aircleaners and PCV valve for a low profile. As best I can remember, they did have a PCV system on the A/C cars in 63 and 64.

You could go all original A/C and R12. Not an easy task as the old compressor is reverse rotation (only used on Corvair). R12 refrigerant is still sold, but few shops have the equipment to service R12 now.

If you go with a modern compressor and R134a you need a different condenser (evaporator is fine). The old R12 condensers were serial flow. R134a does absorb heat as well, or better, than R12. The problem is it does not give up heat as well in the condenser. So a combination serial/parallel flow condenser is used to keep the R134a in the condenser longer and an electric fan is needed as the engine fan volume is not adequate at idling or low RPM. On an R12 system, a lack of air flow just resulted in less cooling. On R134a the refrigerant pressure will increase dramatically as the condenser heats up causing damage to the compressor. This is the main issue with R134a. Poor condenser cooling will doom the system.

At one time Clark's sold a R134a condenser and fan that bolted to the EM engine lid. Not sure if it worked, but at least you could service the engine as the old R12 condenser had to be removed from directly over the engine fan to service the engine (the hoses were left intact). You can imagine how much the mechanics hated that setup. The other option is to install the A/C condenser in the trunk. Works, but I personally hate cutting a hole in the trunk.

[Dennis66]

If / when I do A/C, it will be an under dash cabin unit, most likely a "Denso type" compressor, and a condenser with electric fan, that can be mounted above the engine (the issue with putting A/C on an early model), and yet still be able to move out of the way for maintenance or engine repairs. For A/C. originality will be completely out the door. While currently expired with "retirement", I held A/C certifications for cars and also for medium and heavy trucks (Master Certification there). I also had and have a lot of experience with A/C in heavy equipment. While my experience included plenty of R-12, I try to stay away from that now. It all boils (no pun intended) to REMOVING heat from an area and dissipating that heat to another area. While the early model Corvair has it's challenges, even lowering interior temperature by a bit would be an improvement. Dennis

[66vairguy]

If / when I do A/C, it will be an under dash cabin unit, most likely a "Denso type" compressor, and a condenser with electric fan, that can be mounted above the engine (the issue with putting A/C on an early model), and yet still be able to move out of the way for maintenance or engine repairs. For A/C. originality will be completely out the door. While currently expired with "retirement", I held A/C certifications for cars and also for medium and heavy trucks (Master Certification there). I also had and have a lot of experience with A/C in heavy equipment. While my experience included plenty of R-12, I try to stay away from that now. It all boils (no pun intended) to REMOVING heat from an area and dissipating that heat to another area. While the early model Corvair has it's challenges, even lowering interior temperature by a bit would be an improvement. Dennis

O.K. you know issues with R14a. I revised my LM cars to R134a using the factory evaporator, but I revised the barb fitting to "O" rings. Clark's sells a 66 style bulkhead parallel/serial condenser I put fans on it. Clark's sells mounting brackets for the Sanden compressor. Keep in mind the compressor turns reverse compared to most applications. At one time Sanden said "no problem", then suddenly they deleted that it "turns either way" from all their documentation. Frankly I'm not impressed with the Sanden compressor. Denso is a good unit, but will it turn reverse rotation? I used the Eaton Aeroquip E-Z clip hoses and fitting. Popular on custom installs. So far NO leaks. See https://www.eatonpowersource.com/aeroqu ... p-fittings I had great luck using https://hosewarehouse.com/pages/aeroqui ... erformance to order parts.

Keep in mind the original EM A/C was an under dash unit. If you can find the old hardware that goes under the dash for the vents and controls, you can hook a new evaporator/fan assembly to it. Many have done that. Looks period if you are into that.

Since the Clark's EM condenser mounts on the engine lid (which is louvered) I'd take a look at it. I'm sure they will give you the volume numbers so you can see if it's adequate. See Clark's C11781 (not easy to find in their catalog) -- see https://ssl.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalo ... w_page=318

[Dennis66]

Thanks. All food for thought. also a "bridge" that is a way down the road (I just can't wait to get back on that road. The biggest issue I've found with R134A is that it leaks out of the service port Schrader valves. I'm figuring that this is because the molecules are so much smaller than the R-12 molecules (what they told us when it first came out - why we needed to replace the hoses). I usually replace the Schraders any time I'm servicing a system, but sometimes they STILL leak. When working with heavy trucks and equipment, I found the majority of times a vehicle came in was that they had lost refrigerant through the valves. Most of the goofballs I worked with really didn't know what they were doing - or didn't care. The vehicles would come in with "glow in the dark" under the hood because of so much leak check dye having been put in. I'd give them a good pressure wash bath, and "sniff" the systems. I preferred sniffing for finding leaks.
On compressors, I'll have to do a deeper dive on reverse rotation. I mean from my experience, the compressors have all been reed valves. They were splash lubrication. With that, all it should care is that pistons go up and down, and lubricant splashes around regardless of clockwise or counter clockwise. Now the issue could be the threads on the clutch shaft. Then again, Corvairs never had any reverse threads. Dennis

[JohnDB]

Got some time in the garage today to cross a few more items off the list. First up was making sure that the linkage from the gas pedal to the pivot on the trans was setup and adjusted properly, as well as some adjustments on the cross shaft on the carbs. Everything went pretty well, and hopefully is where it needs to be now.

Was then able to get the long tunnel cover back in place:

After that, I worked on the battery hold down. Somewhere along the way the bottom of the tray had been replaced, but the part of the hold down behind the battery was mostly missing. With a couple of holes I was able to adapt a generic hardware store clamp to do the job:

Some vintage Sears hold down hardware, and a new hold down bar from Clarks, and it seems pretty stable:

Also pulled and tested the horns, both were good, and cleaned up the grounds. Installed the bumper brace on the passenger side and found the driver side was only partially installed. All in place and secure now, and the horns are working as well!

While I was under the front, I noticed that the cross member has camber bolts in it - I thought the camber adjustment on an early was with shims? It has all the early spindles and brakes, maybe the lower arms got updated at some point? No complaints from me, should be easer to align

[66vairguy]

Thanks. All food for thought. also a "bridge" that is a way down the road (I just can't wait to get back on that road. The biggest issue I've found with R134A is that it leaks out of the service port Schrader valves. I'm figuring that this is because the molecules are so much smaller than the R-12 molecules (what they told us when it first came out - why we needed to replace the hoses). I usually replace the Schraders any time I'm servicing a system, but sometimes they STILL leak. When working with heavy trucks and equipment, I found the majority of times a vehicle came in was that they had lost refrigerant through the valves. Most of the goofballs I worked with really didn't know what they were doing - or didn't care. The vehicles would come in with "glow in the dark" under the hood because of so much leak check dye having been put in. I'd give them a good pressure wash bath, and "sniff" the systems. I preferred sniffing for finding leaks.
On compressors, I'll have to do a deeper dive on reverse rotation. I mean from my experience, the compressors have all been reed valves. They were splash lubrication. With that, all it should care is that pistons go up and down, and lubricant splashes around regardless of clockwise or counter clockwise. Now the issue could be the threads on the clutch shaft. Then again, Corvairs never had any reverse threads. Dennis

The old Frigidaire compressor has an internal oil pump. The Corvair version was special so the pump worked reverse rotation. The other issue is the "wobble" plate. Some compressors the tooth pattern is are not symetrical, so they don't like to be turned reverse rotation. On a Corvair forum someone called Sanden about deleting the reverse rotation note and the rep said "It will work reverse rotation, but expect the lifespan to be reduced".

[JohnDB]

Work has been busy and had me out of town, so progress has been slow. The weather this morning was terrible, but I was able to get the windshield washers installed and new hoses hooked up. Unfortunately, it looks like the washer pump needs a rebuild so I ordered parts - no amount of priming will get it to pump, the bellows probably dried out.

After about 1pm, the weather cleared up and my wife and I were able to get some things crossed off the list. The goal is to get the car inspected as soon as possible, and we're getting close. While not exactly needed for inspection, we decided to tackle the solid pulley to harmonic balancer swap, rear motor mount and an oil and filter change.

First up we pulled the oil filter, and then got the crank bolt loose:

Next we used the Blue Chip Tools puller and got the solid pulley out of there:

Then we pulled the rear motor mount, it has seen better days:

Had to run a tap into the crank, the old bolt wasn't in great shape - very glad I got a new one!

The old seal didn't look too bad, but I wasn't going to be this deep and not put in a new one - Blue Chip Tools installer works great!

Rebuilt balancer is in (this was in the parts that came with the car):

Rear mount back in and new oil filter and we're in pretty good shape. Still a few more items to reinstall, but storms rolled back in so we'll take care of it tomorrow:

[JohnDB]

We've been able to sync the carbs, dial in the dwell and timing and get the speedo cable hooked back up in the past few days. Today we made a short trip outside of the neighborhood, first for a wash:

And then down to our local ice cream stand:

The trans is still shifting a little strange on the low to high shift, but if we put it into L first and then into D, it seems to be better. I think the shift cable may not be adjusted properly, so we'll probably need to drop the pan and take a look soon. I need to see if anyone in the club has the alignment tool we can borrow.

The parts to rebuild the windshield washer pump were supposed to get here today, but they didn't get delivered. We decided to make an appointment for state inspection anyway, and it goes in this Friday! As long as the parts get here this week, the pump should be pretty quick to swap out the rubber parts - worst case I can always swap the pump from the Corsa to the Monza to get through inspection

[bbodie52]

The trans is still shifting a little strange on the low to high shift, but if we put it into L first and then into D, it seems to be better. I think the shift cable may not be adjusted properly, so we'll probably need to drop the pan and take a look soon.

[JohnDB]

Windshield washer parts came in yesterday, and it was a pretty quick rebuild. The full kit is from ebay, listed as a Camaro/Firebird kit, but GM used the same washer pump for a ton of stuff. The "top" of the kit is available all over, but this one also had the diaphragm which we also needed.

Pump out and apart:

new vs. old diaphragm - the old one was stiff and didn't move much, the new one suctioned itself to the work surface with a small push:

It's a little tough to get the new diaphragm on the post, you have to push against the spring and turn 90 degrees. After a few attempts we got it and put the new "top" on. Back in the car it didn't want to spray, so I ended up having to prime it by sucking through it, now it's working great and we're all set for inspection. Can't wait for Friday!