Corvair in Amsterdam

[Amsterdam]

Ever since my father came home with a '55 Chevy the American car fever set in with me at a very young age. It was a sight to see this white beast in the streets of Amsterdam...under pressure of my mum he had to sell the 55 Belair (gasprices!) he suprised us with a more economic 60's Rambler Classic..pushbutton automatic and all, it came out of the stock of the US Army in Germany. When I was old enough and worked for a GM dealer (Opel) this beautiful 70's Javelin SST was traded in and I was in awe...had to have it, somehow I got the money , bought it and drove it home. Parents werent pleased at all...had to get my drivers lisence first so the keys were taken away by them. Later I had sooo much fun with it...and the girls loved it too. Later in life I moved to Australia and as a car freak loved the Holdens and the Australian Fords and Chryslers.... Once back in Amsterdam I owned a Mercury Zephyr and a Mustang 2....and today I own a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr for as daily driver. A couple of weeks ago saw a 1964 Corvair Monza Spyder for sale in a decent state...I love the concept of the car and it looks at home on European roads. You guessed it, it is mine now and so there is a lot to learn about this funny but interesting car. Rob

[bbodie52]

Welcome, Rob, to the Corvair Forum!

I would love to see some photographs of your Corvair Spyder! The turbocharged 1962-1964 Spyder or 1965-1966 turbocharged Corsa is rare in the USA, and even more so in Europe! In 1980-1983 I was stationed with the Air Force near Ramstein Air Base (Kaiserslautern, Germany). My wife and I had two 1965 Corvair Corsas with us (140 hp non-turbocharged). They received quite a bit of attention in Germany!

I know gasoline is expensive in Europe, but you will need to use expensive high-octane fuel in your turbocharged Spyder. The turbo engine design relies on a properly tuned engine, a pressure retard unit on the distributor to retard timing during turbocharger operation, AND PREMIUM FUEL to prevent detonation and associated engine damage. There was no sophisticated fuel injection, computer-controlled engine back in those days to protect the engine. So try to become totally familiar with the engine maintenance and tuning requirements. Premium synthetic motor oil also does a better job of protecting the turbocharger from high heat accumulation in the bearing area. The turbo is really designed for brief periods of turbocharged acceleration. I discovered that years ago when I was a teenager and happily drove my turbocharged 1966 Corsa on a lengthy uphill highway grade on a hot summer day while keeping the engine under turbo boosted operation for several miles — until I melted a hole in a piston!

A turbo Corvair can be a lot of fun, when driven by a knowledgeable owner who is familiar with its needs and limitations!

[Amsterdam]

Thanks Brad for all the usefull information, regarding gasoline most Dutch service stations have a choice of A-5 and A-10 , 5 and 10 for the percentage of Bio Ethanol mixed. A-5 (octane 98) is regarded as a premium fuel with some additives better suitable for classic cars, so I guess that will be my choice when filling her up, even though a little dearer. I am not so sure of the choice for Synthetic engine-oil, because I learned that the esters in the Synthetic oil would play havoc with your natural rubbers in older cars thus causing all kind of leaks. Those esters are also used in the industry as plasticisers. Modern cars have synthetic seals etc so they are not affected by this.. On the other hand Synthetic oil is better thermal resistant than mineral oil, cold or warm has more or less an even viscosity and doesn't break down so easily.. Still there is a lot for me to learn on how to maintain and operate this car so I will be spending a lot of time on this forum for sure. I have to work out how to add a photo with this mail but I'll give it a go.
Thanks again Brad!

[66vairguy]

Enjoy your 1964 Spyder. In my humble opinion the 64 was the best of the EM Corvairs.

The posted octane ratings in Europe use a different formula than the U.S.A. In Europe an 98 octane would be about the same as 92 octane in the U.S.A. and should be adequate your car. Ethanol at 15% or less is not an issue IF you use ethanol rated flexible fuel line.

The biggest issue with oil is the turbo unit itself which uses oil to cool the bearings. Once the turbo unit gets hot from from producing a lot of power (climbing a hill or aggressive driving) it must be allowed to cool down before shutting off the engine. If you don't do this the oil will "cook" in the bearing housing and lead to bearing damage. While a synthetic oil is more resistant to this, it can still be an issue.

Today mineral oil based engine oil is superior to what was produced in the 1960's. Back then turbo Corvairs performed fine under normal driving conditions. Just change the oil frequently (I change my Corvair oil every 1,000 miles) and if the car is driven hard, then let it idle for 5-10 minutes before shutting off the engine.

Enjoy your car.

[Amsterdam]

see if I can upload some pics...

[66vairguy]

It's been awhile. That is a good looking Corvair.

It appears the mechanical fuel pump has been been replaced by an electric. If you want to remove the mechanical fuel pump, then the Corvair vendors make a plug you can install.

The alternator is another brand that has been adapted. If the fan belt stays on then the pulley alignment is good and it's fine.

Enjoy the car!!

[joelsplace]

I run Mobil1 0w40 in all my Corvairs with no issues. I even have one that doesn't leak. Yes some of them are Spiders.

[Dennis66]

One thing you will want to check. Because there have been some alterations to your engine, sometime when the engine is cool, check under the turbo and make sure the right front of the blower housing has either the 3'' flexible hose connected to the body or a cover over the hole in the blower. These hoses are often missing and the result is the #5 cylinder running hot - especially bad on a turbo car. Dennis

[Amsterdam]

will do..thanks!

[66vairguy]

I run Mobil1 0w40 in all my Corvairs with no issues. I even have one that doesn't leak. Yes some of them are Spiders.

Mobil 1, or any full synthetic oil is a good choice for a turbo engine.

I'll disagree on the 0W-40 . Years ago BWW had issues with the "0" weight oils. They look attractive to reduce parasitic drag, but with some engine the low zero weight is not adequate. Certainly the old Corvair engine is one of them.

I would use a Mobil 1 5W-40 or a 10W-30 that was the original viscosity. Except for sub freezing temperatures 10W30 is a good choice especially on an older engine with some wear on it.

I know folks like to say "My oil works fine", but old car folks rarely put that many miles on an old car. The BMW issues didn't show up until over 20,000 miles were put on the engines.

[joelsplace]

0w40 isn't any thinner than 10w40. It just flows better cold. Things get lubrication faster on cold startup.
I've put tons of miles on Corvairs. I used to run 5w30 until 0w30 came out. I did run Mobil1 15w40 Diesel for a while. When I switched from the 15w40 to 0w40 I noticed an immediate lowering of start-up noise.