Ira's 66 Corsa

[Ira]

Okay I was asked a couple of days ago to provide some pics of the newest addition to our family.

Every project my dad and I begin... start with photos of the car as we found it, loaded it etc... so I didn't really go out of my way to present it well... as the CD containing the photos will be given to the new owner along with the car and any supporting documentation.

Anyhow here's what I found when I pulled back six ratty old car covers.

Over thirty years under moist car covers equals hammered paint.

Once this crap has been removed off of the body the car will be looking much better.

The interior on the other hand is in excellent shape.

Just needs a bit of cleaning.

There's the proud father!

Ira

[UNSAFE]

Ira - that car looks to be in very good condition and will make a good base for your project.

Are you planning on doing any custom bodywork ? Any colors picked out yet ?

I know you said you're gonna autocross it - anything custom in the suspension dept ?

If you haven't driven Vairs you might be surprised at how well they handle with just a set of good tires .

Keep us posted please .
Kevin

[Ira]

Yeah... minus one dent in the pass. front fender this coupe is very straight. Doors don't drop or sag when you open them. No rust on the floorboards... once again it's a rust free-tight coupe.

Custom bodywork? Far as I can see right now the only body mods I would make are the addition of a rear deck spoiler, wannabe Yenko deck vents/scoops, and an honest to God air dam. Maybe the addition of some big ol' brake ducts... you never know with us. Once again it's all up in the air until it's on our rotisserie... things will change.

Speaking of change, I'll address your second question of color. First we were going to paint it a Cobalt (similar to our current 57), then it was PPG Titanium, then I decided to change the interior color to black and spray Garnet, then back to blue... hell we're all over the place! I do know one thing... my dad is extremely good with interior and exterior colors so his input will be heavily considered here. He'll tell you it's my car and I can do whatever I want but we've always worked together as a team, so I'm interested to see what he comes up with. I'm taking some interior samples to him this coming Friday so he'll have something to take to the paint shop and putter around with for a few days. So far Penske blue or Titanium are in the lead.

As far as the suspension goes... I have a complete brand new suspension (front to rear) with Koni shocks, HD springs (which will be cut) and the infamous Crown bracket. The only real money I need to spend is a front disc brake kit. It really all boils down to the budget. One thing I would like to try and build is a rear disc brake kit. Not really wild about spending $1,200 or more on rear discs... hell that's more than twice what it would cost to mount the same calipers and rotors on the back of my 56. Fortunately I'm surrounded by engineers and fabricators so it's a possibility.

You are correct... I've never ridden in or driven a Corvair. However, I've been around sports cars almost my entire life. Alfas, Subarus (WRXs and STis), Corvettes etc. and one thing is true for all of them: TIRES ARE EVERYTHING!

I'm willing to bet a set of barely-DOTs mounted on alloys with a stock suspension setup is pretty damned impressive... based on the low center of gravity and suspension configuration.

My wife's WRX is what I'm shooting for in the braking and handling department... speed wise I couldn't keep up with her on my best day... unless I build another engine.

which I happen to have a couple of. I'd love to hotrod one of these engines and I have the parts to do so (according to my father in law). I think I'm going to pay a visit to Steve at Rear Engine Specialists in the next couple of weeks. My father in law says Steve has a pretty wicked 63 that I need to take a look at.

Anyhow that's where we're headed... for now.

IRa

[Ira]

Okay so this posting is kind of in response to Tony's original question of what color we were choosing and his latest posting about his own color choice... (I'm still geeking out on the red with gray chevron Tony )

We have officially chosen a color for my 66 Corsa coupe.

The exterior body color will be.... 1994 GM Light Adriatic Blue!

So what the hell does that look like you ask?

Here's a sample of it on our "beater" 56 four door. PS... it's not the green I'm talking about.

To most it would appear like any other silver... right up until you see it in the sun... then you can see the hues of blue in it. I guess a better way to put it- Red is to Champagne as Blue is to Adriatic Blue. Anyhow the search for the perfect color was over once dad took the blue sunvisor and held it up against our Chevy. The blue hues really popped out.

So we had this car painted back in 02 or 03 and I never thought of it as a viable color for the Corsa. Funny though, I was going for an elegant approach and oddly enough Lt. Adriatic was used on 94 Buicks, Olds and Caddys (a trifecta of Old Lady Cars ).

The two things I like most about this color:

First it's a two stage paint (unlike most Caddy colors), so it's a lot less money in labor.... we're tired of candies (and three stages)... beautiful, but a pain in the ass to spray.

Secondly, when viewed up close it's much more than just silver or gray... it's got depth without massive metal flake... if you know what I mean.

Anyhow so step one is finished! Now all I have to do is get it to stop snowing and get her loaded up on the trailer!

This project is going to kick ass!

IRa

[Ira]

Be Careful What You Wish For!

Okay so I'll admit it... I've been moping around the last couple of weeks, day dreaming of working on our various projects while basking in the glow of the warm sun. Honestly I don't think I've ever been so ready for spring... at least not in the last thirty three years or so.

Anyhow, I've been chomping at the bit to start on the Vair project and can hardly wait to get it loaded on the trailer (that's when all projects become official).

Two days ago my dad approached me (via phone) with a challenge. In essence, he wants to have the Corvair loaded on a trailer four weekends from now. Apparently the Lincoln Park auto show's (or Autofest 2010) feature car will be the Corvair. He'd like to make a showing with a "under construction" Corvair and both of our tri fives.

The only problem with this scenario is all of the parts to my ride are scattered all over my father in law's storage shed/garage/house etc. (can you say pack rat?). Basically, I went from dreaming to acting in a day. So here we go with another one of Ira's patented rush jobs out in the elements. I hate working out in the cold .... I'm sure I'm not the only one.

So time estimate wise... how long will it take me to remove a running drivetrain out of my father in law's Corsa convertible and reinstall back into my coupe? I work pretty fast, but honestly I'm much more at home under the hood of a 55,56 or 57 Chevy... so this will be way different. I'm hoping I can get er done in a weekend but we'll see.

Before I sign off I want to thank everyone in advance for the advice I've received. As with every project it's the people behind the scenes who really make it!... Once again

IRa

[Scott H]

I have to work out in the elements too. My garage is full of, well, crap basically.
I am excited to see your Vair come together Ira. Take lots of pictures for us.

[UNSAFE]

Ira - I can R&R a Vair motor in less than a day without even breaking a sweat. Probably only a few hours if I didn't run into rusty bolts.

The Unipack drops out quickly with minimal bolts and wires ,etc.

Then just jack it into place and rebolt.

If you are only changing motor and not transmission it still might be easier to drop the whole unit and then swap transaxles.

The motor can be dropped by itself but you must use caution not to let the weight hang on the input shaft or all kinds of bad things can happen. Mainly the TO bearing snout wiill crack.

Same with reinstalling - use caution stabbing the clutch and keep the weight off the shaft.

I've done it many times alone with just a floor jack but a tranny jack or ATV jack might make it eaiser.

Oh yeah Ira - I feel so sorry for you having to work in the cold - We got almost 4 inches of snow and it's cold and windy tonight.

I dinged around in my tent garages for a few hours today and then said the heck with it - too cold.

Nice color choices . My old Tundra was a silver gray with a bit of purple in it . I really liked it until someone said it looked like lavender

[miniman82]

The motor can be dropped by itself, but you must use caution not to let the weight hang on the input shaft or all kinds of bad things can happen. Mainly the TO bearing snout will crack.

I didn't know this when I dropped my engine the first time, and having VW's in my blood I figured I could just do it the same way. Well, I did get the motor out and didn't break anything in the process but it was a PITA. I suspect it would not have been possible, except that my bushings back there were all shot to hell so they allowed quite a bit of movement. For sure I'll be dropping the power pack as a unit next time, it's so much easier.

[Ira]

Change of Plans:

Well guys it finally happened... I decided to keep this car for myself. I won't bore anyone with the details but let's just say something in my head snapped once my dad suggested we put a for sale sign on it at it's first car show prior to completion. It's funny but oddly enough I would rather own and operate this little car on a daily basis than one of my tri fives.

After sitting down and talking to Steve Goodman at Rear Engine Specialists, an action plan was formed and I know exactly what I want to do with this car.

I'll get more into details in the next couple of days but for right now I'm pretty excited to get this car back on the road and driven on a daily basis.

So it looks as if I'm into Vairs for the long haul. Didn't someone a while back actually predict this?

Ira

[Gregory_Miller]

These cars do get into your blood, congratulations on deciding to keep it. I hope to join the "Corvair owners" club again soon. I'm a po boy though, so we'll just have to luck into the thing. Mike J's spare 140 engine that needs rebuild sounds like the thing I need to steal!

[Scott H]

I'm glad you decided to keep the car. There is something special about these little cars.
Beware, they multiply too. I started out with one and now we have three and are about to get two more.

[Ira]

As far as the little guys multiplying... that won't happen. I don't have the space and honestly I try to pour my money into the tri fives, which is an excellent investment.

Unfortunately this also means that my Vair is on a beer budget... however I'm actually kind of looking forward to building a daily driver that doesn't require 40-65K to be cool.

Once again the road racing theme is big for me and the racing history of these cars is way rich... so I'll playing to the Corvair's strength.

Before going though, I want to extend a public round of applause to Steve Goodman at Rear Engine Specialists for taking time out of his busy schedule to set me straight on some urban legends and point me in the right direction regarding this project. His advice was down to earth and practical. I can confidently state that I will be a long time customer at Steve's shop.

IRa

[Ira]

Day One-

Well today was the first time I have seen my car fully uncovered.

Found a couple of bondo jobs on each quarter near the tail light cove. Both will be removed of course and repaired. All in all though, the body is very straight and rust free. UGLY... but straight.

Have a couple of Recaro seats (one brand new and the other out of our old GTV-6) that I'll be installing next weekend.

Really though, the two of us (the coupe and I) spent the afternoon sizing each other up and questioned what the hell we were both getting into.

A marriage made in heaven?... Hell yeah!

IRa

[Scott H]

[Mike J]

Good start Ira .... I'm already liking it.

Keep it up.

Greg - it's a good motor that may only need a few things. Not sure what the PO did (or didn't do) the motor was supposed to be stored in doors with the carbs off. ????? Who knows.

[Ira]

I will try to not disappoint.

Ira