Corvair Forum

I joined in December 2011 and have working on my 65 vert off and on since then. I think it is time to get serious!

I am curious to know where members start when taking on their restorations. I know what I want in my final result, but I get overwhelmed with the process!!

I have stripped off all of the paint as I was curious to see what was hiding underneath. Even before the removal, I could see misaligned body panels and obvious areas where bondo lurked.

I am willing to put some money into the project as my skills are limited. What should I attack next? Suspension? Engine? bodywork?

The engine runs, but I want to have someone do a complete rebuild so I can trust the reliability. Any recommendations for engine builders? Should I start with the engine?

Should I start with bringing it to the body shop? Can the issues with the body alignments be fixed?

Some videos of the alignment issues before I stripped the paint are here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/My1965Corv ... _as=public

and some more pictures here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/11537730 ... 652/albums


I will take on the suspension rebuild and brake work, as that looks to be fun.

Just looking for feedback from those have jumped in!

mjhsandiego wrote:I am curious to know where members start when taking on their restorations.

Divorce court.


Seriously though, I don't have the time anymore to work on cars, therefore I pay other people to carry out my work for me. I hired a place in Milton Wisconsin to do mine, TLC Restorations. You can see by their page they do very nice work, but it isn't cheap...


http://tlc-restorations.com/current.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Welcome to the Corvair Forum! It is good to hear from you.

I would start with a written plan and a budget. Whether you are building a house or restoring a Corvair, a major long-term project with significant costs involved needs a plan. A plan would give you some idea of the costs involved for each phase of the plan (i.e. body restoration, interior restoration, suspension, brakes, power train, etc.). Cost estimates for parts can be developed on the computer using the Internet and parts sources with online catalogs, such as Clark's Corvair Parts. You can make a list of the parts you think you will need for each phase and include the item costs in your list. This will provide you with a list of materials for each project phase and a cost estimate. When you get ready to start that phase you can place an order for all the parts you need, so that you will have them in stock when you start the work. This will minimize any work stoppages due to a lack of needed parts. If outside services such as body shop, machine shop, wheel alignment shop, etc. will be needed, you can develop cost estimates with a few phone calls, or in the case of using a body shop you can arrange to obtain a written estimate that will cover the restoration work you want to have done.

Developing such a written plan on your computer will allow you to organize your thoughts, priorities, and finances, and will allow you to establish your priorities and make adjustments as needed. Having such information available to you on the computer will help to minimize unexpected surprises.

You have already indicated that you have done a lot of the work needed to evaluate the condition of the car body and chassis. If you feel that the bodywork aspect and paint are beyond your skills, arranging to have a reputable restoration or body shop evaluate your car might be a good idea. An experienced body shop technician can provide you with information and an estimate of the costs involved and the work needed based on his extensive experience. And since the car body and chassis is the core of your project, having an accurate and detailed evaluation of the car body will ensure that you know exactly what you're getting into prior to spending significant funds on the mechanical and interior aspects of your project. In the end you will have a detailed analysis of your car and the expenses involved in restoring it. This will help you with determining the affordability of the project, the priorities and sequence of events involved, and will help you to organize your thoughts and the restoration into a logical sequence.

You might consider joining a local CORSA (Corvair Society of America) club chapter, so that you can get feedback, suggestions, and ideas from other experienced Corvair owners. Interacting with CORSA club members and with Corvair owners on the Corvair Forum can provide you with an input of valuable experience and ideas.

I would suggest posting some photographs of your Corvair as it stands now. Detailed images on the Corvair Forum will help us to see aspects of your restoration project that might be difficult for you to describe in words. The more we know about you and your personal assessment of your abilities, and the more we know about your Corvair, the better we can support you with advice and comments.

The following link will take you to a section of the Corvair Forum that may provide you with useful technical information and websites:

Corvair Forum viewforum.php?f=225

Again, welcome!

mjhsandiego wrote: Can the issues with the body alignments be fixed?

anything can be fixed - just depends on how much $$ or how much filler you want to use. the pics/vids are good but you cant tell much until you get it bare metal. then youll know what you are dealing with.

the vair being the 1st unibody car gm made - doesnt always have perfect gaps like a new car. some of the stuff you are looking @ is normal on a vair. if you want perfect gaps then you need to do a lot of work the factory cars didnt have.

-Scott V.

start with a plan and a budget, then treble it and dont expect to see an end in sight anytime soon

Its a matter of personal preference. I just finished restoring my 1961 Lakewood. I felt that it was better to start with the engine so that I could get the car on the road, not as a daily driver, but just to be roadworthy. I didn't want to do the body work and paint and have a good looking car that you couldn't drive. Also, while doing work on the engine, even if you are careful, you are likely to put some dings and scratches in the new paint job. This is just my opinion. Its your choice. Good luck!

It depends on your intent. If you want to totally restore the car take it completely apart first. restore, replace or refinish every piece, part and fastener, then reassemble the car. This if done well will produce a near 100 point show car. What you actually do is based on your intent. What ever you do, approach it as if you were taking the whole car apart in that area where possible and fix or refinish things in that area while you are there. Obviously the more stuff you restore the better the car will be in the end......But ...beware if it is done while in use over time you may never "finish" (because you may get done and start again at the beginning):) But that's all good too.

I've been thinking a lot about this too. I agree with the above post restoring that way can be like painting the San Francisco bridge...as soon as you are done then you start over again.

My '64 is a driver, has no exterior body rust and is complete. Engine and trans rebuild done in 2006/1200 miles ago and seems to be solid but I plan to check compression, leakdown, etc this summer/fall just to be sure. It does have undercarriage rust in a few areas and I am really not sure how extensive. Rockers appear to be sold but there is some rust at the front and rear ends of them on the underside of the car. Also someone cut out the driver's floorboard and riveted a piece of sheet metal or fiberboard in it's place. There is always more than you think there is. Body seems to be straight, maybe a little sag on the passenger's side as the door drags a little but the door gaps appear to be even, so can't be that bad.

I have thought about trying to restore it in sections. Stripping/redoing the undercarriage between the wheels this winter, then front end next winter, engine-trans out/rear end the following winter, then full exterior paint the following winter. This would allow me to keep driving and enjoying the car each summer and avoid it being laid up for 3 years while I finish it. Will require me to remove and replace some of the same parts, esp for the full repaint. So a bit repetitive. The other problems is where do you stop? When the rust goes into one of the wheel wells, do you stop short of that and wait a year? Tough not to end up doing the whole thing....you know the San Francisco bridge thing...

I have also thought (and probably what I will do) I will strip it to the body, everything but the bare minimum stuff that makes it roll. Then roll it onto a trailer, take it to a restoration/body shop to do a rotisserie body restoration and paint. Then bring it back to my garage to put it back together piece by piece refinishing/replacing parts as I go.

I would love to do the body work myself. I have done body work in the past. But I have a job, young kids, and body work is very time consuming and VERY messy, as you probably know. Thinking I would like to hire this part out.

Budget...thinking I will be spending $15-20K. Time budget...thinking 1-2 years. But I have no idea...

It is nearly impossible to protect the undercarriage, powertrain, etc. from any significant body work and painting. (stripping is particularly difficult to protect from). When I do them over time driving them I do the body, paint and interior first (since interior must generally be out for proper body and paint....In many cases the powertrain should be removed for body and paint also), and follow up later with mechanical work, BUT, often the car dictates some of this. If the brakes and suspension are bad then chassis has a higher priority...a bad motor would give that a pretty high priority. A pretty restored powertrain can be easily removed for body stripping and paint and re-installed after. The undersides of cars done this way are never as nice as a body off ground up resto.

I really like to take them apart to what is welded to them and take them to the media blaster on a body rotator. while body work and paint is completed rebuild all the subassemblies, suspension, powertrain, interior pieces etc., then install on "brand new " body. This is slow going, I have done a number of Vairs this way. They have all taken over 750 man hours and some well over 1000 man hours. Cost of PARTS and MATERIALS have ranged from $10,000-$20,000 for stockish Vairs to over $30,000 for a full custom Crown car I built. The labor component can cost considerably more than the parts and materials if you are not doing it yourself. I have build ground up Vairs that have eaten $20,000 (clean cars that didn't need everything in order to be show) to over $50,000 once labor is included. A parts and materials bill for a ground up Corvair resto is often in the $15-20,000 range. The Crown car I built would have cost over $75,000 total for parts, mats, and labor at modest shop labor rates.

Wow.. I must give a huge thank you to all of the great feedback here. I will post some pictures of the work done so far. This is a solid car, very solid. My goal is simple. I want the car to look new!! I am not sure I will keep everything stock, but I love the character of the car as is, so I do not anticipate changing too much. I might lower the car a bit as I really like that look. Oh yeah... new wheels and tires!

Here is what I am willing to take on. Essentially, I don't mind the dirty work of cleaning something and slapping on a new coat of paint.
1. I can clean up the undercarriage and slap a coat of paint (color?) to keep it looking fresh.
2. I plan to drop, sandblast, replace all the rubber and paint the front cross-member. New bearing,brakes and ball joints.
3. Same thing with the rear suspension. New brakes and bearings (Why risk it!!)
4. I will remove the engine and have someone experienced with Corvair engines give me a price on a rebuild. ($5-7k). The engine runs now, but I want to know it was stripped down and cleaned up, so I can trust the reliability (at least a little!).
5. After I post pictures, you all can give me opinions on what I plan on fixing. I will bring the car to a body shop, as I don't have any welding skills. I would like to give welding a try, but I don't want to butcher my car!
6. Convertible top will be replaced. Should I paint the convertible frame or powdercoat?
7. New interior. Probably pretty close to stock. New carpet
8. Need a new front windshield, as mine is cracked.
9 All new rubber seals everywhere, window fuzzies.
10. Rechrome bumpers and other parts.
11. Nice paint job. Not sure which color yet. I am not very excited about the Medeira Maroon. There are so many nice colors out there!

I will post some pictures this weekend. I have stripped 90% of the paint so you will be able to see what I am facing. The car has been beaten up a bit, but what 48 year old car is perfect.

Thanks again everyone.

oh.. I forgot something!

I really want to put the car on a rotisserie. Anyone here willing to rent or sell me one? I don't to buy a new one if I can avoid shelling out $1200!

I built my own rotator based on an article in an old Super Chevy magazine. It is similar to the commercial units that sell for $1000 and up. Mine has no lifting jacks (they would be nice to have), but it has large Pneumatic tires (an upgrade on most manufactured machines and essential if you plan to move the car around much when it is attached. These large pneumatic tires allow easily loading the whole thing body and all on a rollback wrecker truck (be sure the truck is long enough a Vair on a rotator is longer than some shorter bed trucks) for transport and can be easily rolled over non paved surfaces. I do not think I saved much money when I built it, but, I am sure of its strength and the quality of the materials used.