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drellie66
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Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2023 3:12 pm

New member

Post by drellie66 »

Hi all, I’m a new member on this forum and look forward to learning more about Corvairs.
My wife and I are second owners of a 1966 Corvair Monza 110. We purchased “Wallie” from my wife’s late Uncle’s estate a few years ago and have been driving locally because of an oil leak that gradually got worse.
Two weeks ago I finally rolled up my sleeves and changed the main seal behind pulley, the oil fill block cover, oil cooler seals and oil sensor that was leaking at crimp. I believe all leaks are fixed. My next project will be valve cover and oil pan gaskets.
I’m sure I’ll have a ton of questions as I work on the car and will get great advise form you all.
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Gasman63
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Re: New member

Post by Gasman63 »

:welcomeparty:
Glad to have ya in the group
Jerry...
1963 Corvair Monza Convertible 140 4 speed.
Colorado Springs :wave:
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Scott H
Site Admin
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Location: Hesperia, CA

Re: New member

Post by Scott H »

Beautiful Corvair! :tu: :welcome2:
Scott
1960 Monza Coupe
1965 Evening Orchid Corsa Turbo (project)
1961 Rampside (project)
1964 Spyder coupe (patina car, running)
1964 faux Spyder (project/parts car)
1964 Monza (parts car)
1963 Monza (parts car)
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Phil Dally
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Re: New member

Post by Phil Dally »

WELCOME!!!

Where are you located?
CA Central Coast
Vairy V8 Rides Again
Hulkster Gets a Diesel
Gem is Still My Favorite
Zonker Gets Turbo Motor
LA Angels Fan Since 1978
World Series Champs 2002
Only Own 10 Corvairs Now
Been Associated With Fifty+
Former Owner of SuperVair!
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bbodie52
Corvair of the Month
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Location: Lake Chatuge Hayesville, NC
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Re: New member

Post by bbodie52 »

:welcome2: :tu: :wave: Welcome to the Corvair Forum!

I hope you will tell us more about yourself, as well as about your Corvair. Knowing your location in the country may suggest some possibilities for obtaining assistance in the future. There may be a CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapter nearby that may be of help as you learn more about your Corvair, which appears to be very clean and essentially all-original! It might be helpful also for you to describe your DIY mechanical skills, knowledge and abilities. Knowing something about you, as well as about the condition of your Corvair, can help us to tailor our comments to be more-helpful.

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Can you post some additional detailed photos of your Corvair, including the interior, engine compartment, and trunk? Seeing those pictures can help us to know more about the origin AND condition of your Corvair!

For example, these two pictures may tell you something about my Corvair background. My parents bought their first Corvair (Monza coupe) in 1961, when I was eight years old. A few years later, in 1965, they upgraded to a new 1965 Corsa convertible. I took my first drivers license test in that convertible in 1969. I'm 70 years old now and still driving two 1966 Corvairs!

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Warren Bodie and son Brad at Edwards AFB Air Show in 1965 with our new 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible (140HP)

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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. You will also find a list of essential Corvair parts suppliers. Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts is the biggest and oldest Corvair supplier in the world. You will find a link that can provide you with a series of video presentations that amount to a tour of the Clark's Corvair Parts facilities. Parts suppliers such as this truly make our Corvair hobby possible.

Common and Useful Corvair Websites

Corvair Forum :link: viewtopic.php?f=225&t=6007

:welcome:
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
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doug6423
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Re: New member

Post by doug6423 »

:welcome2:
65 Monza
Cincinnati, OH
Project65
Posts: 509
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:03 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: New member

Post by Project65 »

Beautiful coupe! Welcome to the forum. :wave:
John
1965 Monza Sedan “The Phoenix”. Rebuild in Progress.
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carking1996
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Re: New member

Post by carking1996 »

Nice color! Welcome to the forum.
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drellie66
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Re: New member

Post by drellie66 »

Thanks for the welcome!
We’re located in Northwest Chicago suburbs and looking for Corvair clubs in the area.
Our car is a ‘66 Monza with 18,400 original miles. It’s all original except for headlights, tune up parts, some gaskets and seals. I will be changing the trunk and engine lid weather stripping soon.
It has some dings and a few scratches but good paint and clean lines.
I can’t wait to meet up with other ‘Vair owners and check out your cars.
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bbodie52
Corvair of the Month
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Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 12:33 pm
Location: Lake Chatuge Hayesville, NC
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Re: New member

Post by bbodie52 »

A very nice car! Since you live in the snow belt, please try to avoid driving your Corvair when the road salt is out and about! Salt, rust and corrosion is deadly for our aging late-model (1965-1969) Corvairs, which are a little thin-skinned when compared to Early Model (1960-1964) Corvairs. Whether LM or EM, all Corvairs are unibody construction and difficult to repair if salt, rust and corrosion invades the car. It is best practice to keep it home and garaged during the dreaded winter months.

Your Corvair is fitted with the old design single master brake cylinder. In 1967 GM switched to a somewhat safer dual master cylinder, that divides the front and rear brakes into two independent segments. If a brake wheel cylinder, brake hose, or steel brake line ever develops a leak, you will still have some braking capability from the other half.

:link: https://ssl.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalo ... w_page=145

Brake fluid is hygroscopic, in that over time it absorbs water from the air. This degrades the boiling point of the brake fluid (which can bring-on early brake fade if the brakes get hot), and can cause internal corrosion of the brake lines, wheel cylinders, and master cylinder, etc. It is recommended that the brake fluid in your brake system be flushed and replaced with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid every few years.

Also, you may have already discovered that the Corvair Powerglide transmission does not have a PARK position to lock the transmission when the vehicle is parked. The car depends completely on the aging parking brake cable and pulley system to hold the car still when parked, and this cable system can fail without warning! The plastic pulleys and steel cables should be inspected periodically for signs of decay or damage, and a new cable — especially the long cable from the passenger compartment, should be replaced if it ever breaks or shows signs of deterioration. I keep a set of plastic wheel chocks in my trunk, and if the car is parked on a hill I usually place at least one of the chocks behind the tire to keep the car from rolling down the hill if the parking brake ever were to fail. With a manual transmission you can leave the car in gear to help secure the vehicle on a hill, but with a Powerglide Automatic... :pray: :sad5:

:link: https://ssl.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalo ... w_page=148

An emergency travel kit in the trunk is a good idea when you travel in your Corvair. Things like a spare fan belt, some hand tools, wheel chocks, a good jack and a pair of jack stands, and a warning triangle or some emergency flasher lights and a flashlight can be helpful. I usually keep a copy of the 1965 Corvair Chassis Shop Manual in the trunk too. And when all else fails, a cell phone and membership in an automobile towing service, like AAA, has bailed me out more than once! Towing is expensive, so I found that AAA club membership can pay for itself if you ever have even one breakdown, failed tire, dead battery, etc. When driving an aging classic car, it pays to plan ahead!

If you provide a closeup of the VIN and Body tags on the engine compartment perimeter frame, I will decode them for you to give you a little-more information about your classic Corvair.

EXAMPLES...
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Engine Compartment Tags.jpg
VIN - LM Corvair Passenger Car VIN Tag Decoding.jpg

This video is loaded with tips and guidelines about maintaining your Corvair Powerglide automatic transmission...

:link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC_3OPrlXbg




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Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts.jpg
:link: http://www.ccecorvair.com/
Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts

About Us

From its introduction in 1960, the Corvair has enjoyed the distinction of being an enthusiast's automobile. In 1968 a group began meeting regularly in a Corvair owner's Oak Park living room. As the group grew, monthly meetings were organized at a local bar. As the club reached a membership of 100 in the mid 1970's the General Motors Training Center in Hinsdale became the venue for years of fun and informative meetings. Today the club has grown to over 200 members.

Meetings are held at the VFW Hall in Villa Park, Illinois at 7:30 PM on the third Wednesday of every month. Club business is presented and discussed during the first half of the meetings. The latter portion of the meetings are devoted to Corvair related entertainment ranging from movie nights to tech sessions and an annual Corvair parts auction. Above all the meetings are a chance for everyone to be with their fellow members and friends.

Our monthly newsletter, the Airhorn, is second to none. The tireless efforts of the editor and the contributions of material and stories from members make the Airhorn one of the finest newsletters produced by a collector car club.

CCE is also active in organizing events throughout the course of the year. Spring and Fall tours are a fun way to see many of the interesting sites in Illinois and its adjoining states. The tours are well organized and are always enjoyed by everyone who participates. There is nothing more fun than seeing the reaction of the people along the way as a "Cor-a-van" of gleaming Corvairs pass through their town.

The Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts is a diverse club that offers the opportunity for members to enjoy their cars and the company of others who share their love of Chevrolet Corvair cars and trucks.
:chevy:
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CORSA Corvair Technical Guide 1+2 - Corvair Code Numbers.PDF
CORSA Corvair Technical Guide 1+2 - Corvair Code Numbers
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Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
66vairguy
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Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:44 pm

Re: New member

Post by 66vairguy »

A good looking car!

Interesting about the radio - it is a Motorola! May have been dealer installed since the car does not have the engine shroud radio noise cancellation ground straps installed. The straps were ONLY installed on cars when the radios were installed on the factory assembly line. I don't see a capacitor on the voltage regulator, also just done at the factory if a radio was installed.

Motorola made a radio to fit the Corvair (I have one). The dealers could buy the Motorola radio for less than what the Corvair factory charged them. That gave them a better profit margin, or they could lower the price of the car to make a sale.

I also didn't see an antenna on the car.
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drellie66
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Re: New member

Post by drellie66 »

You sure have a keen eye to notice the radio and lack of a strap.
I believe you are correct about the radio being dealer installed. I have the cover plate that would have covered the hole for radio from factory.
There is an antenna, I have it retracted so it doesn’t catch on the cover.
There is so much to learn about the history of this car. We have an original bill of sale, you can’t read it any longer, but if you hold it just right you can read the typewriter stamping.
We are looking through old family slides looking for pictures of Uncle Wallly and the car.
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66vairguy
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Re: New member

Post by 66vairguy »

Glad to help add to the history of your car. Now when folks say the radio is not correct you can say "Yes it is for a dealer install". The Corvair factory assembly manual shows the items (capacitors and straps) added when the radio was installed at the factory. The radio blank off plate is neat. It is desirable to a few so don't toss it.

I put a retractable antenna on my Corvairs since I got tired of the stock antenna fighting the car cover.

NOTE: The Corvair ONLY offered a "power" rear antenna option in 1966, BUT it was NOT a fully retractable unit. Same with the Corvette (probably the same unit except for fender bezel). It was meant to be raised or lowered a few inches to improve AM radio reception. Some of the mid 50's luxury cars had a "power adjustable" antenna.

Once FM became an option the antenna became fixed length.

After "breaking off antennas" became a teenage fad the automakers moved to optional fully retractable antennas. Now cars are back to a fixed antenna, but they are nearly impossible to break off.
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gbullman
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Location: Northern New Jersey

Re: New member

Post by gbullman »

Welcome and what a time capsule of a car! It sounds like minimal changes / maintenance have been done to the car which is amazing after all these years. I suspect you’ll be doing push rod tube o rings at some point, seems possible the original ones are still in there.

I believe I’m the 4th owner of my car and bought it with well documented 69K miles which I thought was low, 18K is really amazing. Note depending on how much you start driving it you will eventually start to need replacing bearings in the alternator, fan and idler pulley. Those items do better with regular use.

Enjoy! I’ve put over 12K miles on my 66 in the last 3 years and loving every mile of it.
Gary Bullman
66 Corsa Convertible
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drellie66
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Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2023 3:12 pm

Re: New member

Post by drellie66 »

Thanks,
My spring project will be to change oil pan and valve cover gaskets. I might change pushrod tube orings while I’m down there.
66vairguy
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Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:44 pm

Re: New member

Post by 66vairguy »

drellie66 wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2023 9:17 am Thanks,
My spring project will be to change oil pan and valve cover gaskets. I might change pushrod tube orings while I’m down there.
The push rod "O" ring gaskets failed between 15,000 to 30.000 miles. Yours may have been replaced by now. The new pushrod "O" rings are a Viton material and fix the premature "O" ring failure. If yours are not leaking, then avoid a lot of labor and leave them alone.

The engine top cover is another oil leaking issue and can look like pushrods or oil pan leaks. The top cover holds the fan bearing and is a sandwich of top cover, gasket, steel baffle, gasket, engine block. The steel baffle between the aluminum top and block have different expansion rates. This ruins the gaskets and the top bolts tend to come loose. You will need new gaskests, and a flexible sealer like Permatex "High Tack Spray A Gasket" or "Gasgacinch". Clark's sells replacement "serrated" bolts that I dislike since they chew into the aluminum cover to hold. I use bolts with a flat and lock washer and they hold if torqued to proper specification. BTW --- The fan bearing in the cover should be replaced while the cover is off if it spins very easy, or makes a noise when spun. If the lube is still good the bearing will turn with resistance from the grease inside. When the grease fails the bearing spins easily, then after a while it fails.

Good luck with a nice car.
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