Just some random Shots of the Corvair and CB550.

Corvair upgraded control arm.

Here is an update to my bad control arm. This is re-enforced because the rotting stamped steel is fairly weak. New ball joint, and custom made Bronze bushings with zerk fittings for lubricating.

Original post here.

Corvair Roof Rack

I made a roof rack.

It started as a brand new pallet that once held a xerox machine for shipment. I have a new found respect for people who make things from reclaimed pallet wood. It is very difficult to get clean planks without them splitting.

I used danish oil and then lightly torched the planks.

The roof rack itself, is a pre "NRS" quick n easy setup.

I used stainless 1/4" hardware.

The cross beam planks are reclaimed cedar.

Corvair Pushrod tubes, seals, and gaskets.

I won nearly 2 sets of "B" stock Chrome Push-rod Tubes on ebay for net to nothing, knowing that I had to do all the push-rod seals. Yesterday, I tackled the job. Installed the chrome tubes, seals, powder coated the valve covers, and cold set the rockers. For the powder, I mixed a bit of Prismatic's Sparks Blue with their Wintergreen. It was a guessing game, but they came out really nice. I did the cold set as per the book, and driving it all day today was great. No valve noise at all. No more oil leaks either.

Corvair Equal Length Big Bore exhaust.

I'm an exhaust guy. Its what I do. It would not benefit me in anyway to leave the exhaust on the corvair alone. Not only is the pipe that's on there restrictive, it was only meant to be temporary anyway.  I wanted to try my hand at something equal length, and larger bore. Nothing crazy. I had this dynomax muffler laying around so I blasted it and powder-coated it that zoomies purple color. I also had a v-band clamp and flanges and figured it would be nice to be able to quickly remove the muffler to do valve adjustments and whatnot. The system still starts at 1.5" because I do not have flanges that work for the 1.75" pipe. This is fine for me though as its only an 80hp model. If I had the right flanges I could make the complete primary tubes 1.75". The "y" pipe, or collector is 2" into 2.25OD which then goes into a 2.5" bend which is realistically still only 2.25" in the radius and into the muffler. The primary tubes fit snugly into the 2" and all is welded. The muffler outlet and tail is 2.25". At no point, other than the immediate entrance to my "atomic header" is the diameter less than 1.75" ID.

Here's what came off...

Here are my supplies.

My fabbed collector.

Inside.

Starting to get an i dea of what the hell I was doing.

The plan continues to come together.

One solid serpent.

Some of that good VHT stuff.

On the car.

Shamless Holesaw.

In truth it sounds very similar to what it did before, but it definitely breathes better. It almost like someone was standing on its chest and now it just flows really well. There is a significant gain in the higher rpms. The major thing here is that with the suspension completely unloaded the swing arm will hit the pipe. I had to tuck it up high enough so the bottom crossover is still the lowest point. I like it! A LOT.

Corvair Headlight Wiring (and direct +12v source)

First thing I did before tackling any re-wiring was to run a 12v direct to batter power source to the cab. I got myself some stereo amplifier and soldered on some lugs. One side is connected to the starter positive with a 200amp circuit breaker (cuz thats all I had on hand) and then it goes through the tunnel to this little distribution block right by the fuse panel.

 

So now that I have a direct power source in the cab, I need to relay my lights. I got this harness and relays off of ebay. Its from china, but its pretty decent. I wired it in, made a little bushing through the wall and got to my distribution block. Now I have switched halogen lights direct to battery. 

Corvair Interior (part one)

Last night I stayed up late and repaired these warped cardboard trim pieces. The actual carpet in the car is going to be a very dark blue 80/20 loop, but I wanted to accent it with grey since my seats are gray. Next stop, Home Depot. 

I clamped these pieces in some ply wood after soaking them in adhesive. It worked, they straightened right out.

Yes, thats some high tech, heavy duty, duct tape.

How cool is the reflection from the sun?

Corvair Floors

God. Damn. I sit here in bed, with my legs on fire. Why? You might ask... Weld Burn. I sat in this car for 5 hours today welding floors in. Its not beautiful, and I had to improvise quite a bit. The next step will be to get it in the air and weld up any seams that I couldn't get from above. Its solid. There's actually something holding the seat now. Good enough for a stanced driver.

A Few Corvair Updates

Well, its been a crazy few weeks. I don't get home till about 6:30PM and so I don't get a ton of time to work on anything. I got the carbs back from the builder, they are magnificent. The alternator fit nicely after modding the bracket a bit. I scored two brand new K&N's and installed all my tune-up components with a new Petronix flame thrower coil. I also installed my Ampco upper cylinder oiler. The fuel pump for some reason didn't want to pump fuel after I cleaned it out and so I ordered an electric unit. I still need to remove the tank and clean / seal it. If you notice, I also installed a 64 magnesium fan.

I pulled a valve cover and it looks pretty clean inside. I had to re-seal a pushrod, although eventually I will do them all.

 

I repaired alot of little things already. I did my best to seal the frunk even though there was a lot of rot where the seal goes. I also used gorilla glue (don't forget to always use some water) to glue my windows back onto the bracket. So far, worked really really well. 

I have an older Pioneer head unit that I made fit in the stereo mount. I stole some little speakers out of a multimedia setup and made a box that should fit where the single speaker used to be. I don't need the greatest stereo in this thing, I just want to be able to cruise with some period correct tunes. 

I started to upholster my bench seat. I used a seat cover that I trimmed and stretched over the foam and pad. Its all hog ringed and looks ok.

Top 10 Corvair Performance Mods (This is great.)

Top Ten Performance Modifications for the Corvair

#1- Rear Windshield Wiper (two-speed on Spyders) for early model so you can see where you've been.

#2- Dual Rear Wheels so all tires can be the same pressure, saves weight of spare, gauge.

#3- Glass Engine Fan so you can count shop towels, lost tools and discarded spark plugs inside turkey roaster.

#4- Rear license plate hinge to prevent bent plate from moronic gas jockeys looking for the cap.

#5- Large Orange Cat Deflector for convertible tops, makes scary noise, unstable footing.

#6- Passenger's side Emergency Clutch Pedal for when the cable on the 'main' clutch pedal breaks.

#7- Powerglide Stereo option: Provides an Impression of Extra Shifts thru radio speakers to simulate HydraMatic.

#8- Chain Driven Fan (also see #2) with ten speeds, Shimano shift.

#9- 1968-'69 Ashtray Pad Extinguisher, puts out fire in foam padding of ashtray.

#10- Incense Burner for engine cooling air, makes heater oil fumes smell more like pine cones or potpourri bathroom spray.

Note: Author unknown, posted by "Brent" on the Corvair Center Forum with some corrections and modifications.

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Mouse Piss vs Aluminum.

I got the engine running with the help of a new starter and battery. The starter was rebuilt by an old time armature shop here in NJ. The old ratty carbs idled just fine but they're in terrible shape so off to Custom Rebuilt Carburetors, also a Local NJ business. I've used them before and they do great work. They rebuilt a 1960 Caddy Carb that no one else wanted to (or could) do. After that, I removed all the engine tins to find a really big mess.

After 3 days of soaking the corroded aluminum in PB Blaster, it looked like this: 

I decided to get a little more extreme and yanked my harbor freight soda blaster out of the shed. I have never used it before and I must say it makes quite a freaking mess. It is also quite effective. I hosed all the dust away with a hose. The slight brown that's left is so hard that it's like an epoxy. I can't even scrape it with an awl. This is as good as it gets. 3 broken fins were a result of aluminum oxidation winning the battle over cast iron. Pretty amazing.

1961 Corvair Monza 700 sedan

Well, I did it. I got a Corvair. It needs work, mostly interior believe it or not. I'm happy. At 500$ with a clear title I couldn't go wrong.