Corvair Forum

I did my intro awhile back, but figured this might be helpful to someone else while giving me a place to document my journey.

I've been interested in Corvairs for about a year, but being deployed on and off to Afghanistan has slowed my search. I'm 42 yrs old, but I was working on a project for my dad and I to do together and we decided on getting a corvair that needed a full mechanical do over. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly while I was still gone and before we could even pick up a car.

I completely sidelined the project of course, but my wonderful wife decided it was important to her that I have this to do for him, if not with him, and give me some way to keep the stress down. She's pretty awesome. Without my knowledge, she did the research and linked up with Marty Katz here in Vegas, who made the whole thing happen on the sly. She grabbed me one day to "help her on an errand" and we ended up at Marty's with a few bucks in her pocket to surprise me with my project. Most thanks to them both.

On to the journey...

I've noodled around with cars my whole life and am retired Air Force guy who worked on airplanes for 20 years. That being said, I don't know ANYTHING about corvairs. And even though I have one in my garage now, I still haven't even ridden in one that runs! I just sit in mine and make "vroom, vroom" noises.

I'll get help where needed, ask lots of questions here, and do A LOT of reading. As an Air Force guy, I'm used to figuring out mechanical stuff as long as I have a book, so my first car investment was $150 worth of reading materials, lol.

In the "Intro" thread, I was pretty amazed when Scott Howey posted he knew the car, and got a good laugh out of it.

From Scott:

"I know that car!!! That car has some history here.

Flat6Muzik on here initially told me about it. In fact it is the car that the whole "Smokin Deals" thread was started with. I was going to buy it for myself. I went and looked at it and I did want it but I was in the middle of building my '65 Monza so I told my friend Kregg about it. Kregg bought it and it sat at his house. Then when the TV show Lord's of the Car Hoards came through his house they wanted us to get people there to film them buying some of the cars. I called Marty Katz and he came and bought two cars, that '66 you now have and a Lakewood that Marty kept for himself.

The story I got from the guy we purchased the car from was your car belonged to his Dad who used it as a daily driver until he retired from Kaiser steel. He parked it and never drove it again. After he passed his son sold Kregg the car and Kregg sold it to Marty and now its yours. I am not sure if it was on TV but I think it has a small shot in there somewhere. If my memory is correct the guy we got it from was the second owner so you will be the third registered owner of it. Congrats on getting a very nice car.

Oh and the two small dents on the passenger rear quarter panel are from a bull.

Enjoy that car its a really good car to start with and being a '66 Corsa it will be well worth restoring.

I have some pictures of it. I'll see if I can find them for you."

Thanks Scott!

I don't do bodywork, so she's gonna stay ugly for a year or so. I plan on starting with all new fuel, including tank, then on to brakes and convert to a dual MC. From there I'll probably refresh the whole suspension and then try to get the girl running by fall.

This will be VERY slow, but I'm going to learn as I go and ask some seemingly basic questions maybe someone else can learn from too.

On to the pics:

Congrats! Thats a very nice looking project! Good luck with your build!

Some more Corvair porn:

Surprisingly rust free car, nothing rotted in trunk, or floorpans, just a few little holes around the windsheild, but after mucho reading, I expected that.

The deal we made with Marty includes a spare 140 motor, but here's what's in there now.
Trunk (tag is from 1980), hasn't been registered on the street for 34 years!:
From "Lords of the Car Hoards" filming:
My weapons:
Stripping out the stink and dry rot for fun...okay not so much fun...lol.

Be alert for the attack of the Killer Korvair mice! They LOVE the heating ducts and fan shrouds!
Cool ride, though. A nice memorial for your Dad!

Okay, first dumb question:

Initially I was really surprised and happy that all the glass was intact and the window regulators even still work (Un-lubed and au-natural). BUT, is there a way to get all this white crap off of them and can they be saved?
I'm assuming it's sun/rain/dust after sitting outside for...oh...3 DECADES or so. The windshield laughed at my meager efforts of cleaning, including vinegar, acetone, mineral spirits, windex. I was only able to somewhat get through a small square with a razor blade, but obviously I don't want to blade every inch of every window.

Most damage is on the outside (hence the razor blade). I had a buddy that used a restore kit on a drill once, but it left everything so distorted, he had to change his out anyway. I don't mind getting a new windshield later, but EVERY window? rather not.

In the age of HD space cameras and lasers, is there some super chemical that will dissolve this gunk and make my glass usable?

Here's an idea... try removing one vent window, or other small piece, and soak it in a bucket with water and dish detergent for a day or two. That MIGHT loosen some of the gunk, unless the glass is actually pitted on the external surface.
Just a thought...

Not a bad idea Skrain. Thanks buddy! If that works, at least I'll know all hope is not lost...

Have you tried some of the stronger automotive glass cleaner? Maybe it might do the job.

Get yourself some AMAZ! this stuff will clean anything off your glass including hard water stains,,this is the most awesome glass cleaner on the market!

Sweet! I'll give it a try. Does anyone retail it? Autozone, Walmart, etc? Or just order it online?

I just subscribed to your Youtube page also Dave. Good stuff and thanks for taking the time to make those video's!

Glad you like the vids! I get this stuff at the tru value hardware store in my town, I had some windows that sat under a sprinkler for 10 years and got baked on mineral deposits in the hot sun every summer,I tried simple green and clr and all the popular stuff but nothing would touch it,I got this stuff and you wet it with a rag and rub it around and the deposits just disappeared, you can buy a sample one at a hardware store and try it and see if it works for you.

Nothing too dramatic, but finally got some parts in and some time to work on the old girl.

Starting with fuel system, so pulled the car up on ramps and hoped it was high enough for now. Got the old tank out, but waiting now for the brake lines to come in. Figured I'm not going to do this twice, so time to change out the line running across the top.
Since I promised the wife my "hobby" would only come out of my $100 a week allowance, I've been starting the interior stuff to keep busy while I wait on some more allowance $$$ or parts to come in. I did manage to sneak in ordering up some Rust Bullet, so I have stuff to work on that's pretty much straight labor.
Stabilizer Bar bushings are shot. Pretty much ALL bushings are shot.
Plenty to do! I'm on a super small budget, but I don't screw around when it comes to fuel or brakes. Those will be almost entirely new when I get through them.

Cheers!

I scored a little Craigslist find today also! I'm not a huge fan of the Camaro wheels, but this is a budget build for awhile, at least I get her drivable and safe. Found a set of 4 15x7's, with the caps, and good tires for $75!

The downside is the last guy tried to spray bomb the wheels white...with no prep...with the tires on...on the car...

Easy enough to repaint though. Going to try rattle canning them, but doing it right with Eastwood aluminum wheel paint and some good prep. We'll see.

Tires on the back are 235/60R15's which should work fine, but fronts will have to go I think. They're 215/65R15's and I don't think they stand a chance in the fronts.

Anyway, another low dollar project to work on while my budget refreshes.
Okay, questions!!!!

1) While the tank is out, I see the steering column up in there. Is there ANYTHING I need to check/adjust/clean on that guy while it's easier to get to?

2) After I get the interior cleaned up and I coat it with Rust Bullet, I plan to Dynamat (or similar) the whole floor. Since it's butyl (maybe? At least sticky/compressible), do I need to put down any Seam Sealer at all? With the RB and sound proofing will that be good enough?

3) What am I missing so far?

Cheers!

Extremely high tech parts storage:
Pushed the car out and hit it with the hose. Nothing high pressure, just rinsed off a couple decades of dust.
Well crap. Not the end of the world, but found a couple rust holes in the driver floorboard. A little in front of the pedals, and a little right next to the shifter. The shifter part seemed weird to me since it's not a really low point.
Cheers!

Nice progress. Remove, clean up & re-lube the shifter while you have the carpet out (remove the center pan to access the nuts).

After getting all the crud out of her she looks like a pretty easy fix. Just a bit of rust in the floor but overall she looks pretty solid. I think you have real good project that will fit your budget. Best of luck & remember getting there is what it's all about. I've been on Social Security since 2002 so i'm doing my 64 on a tight budget too so I do what makes me happy.