Parts car update

So, it's not really a parts car, but we got the '66 for her engine so it makes a good title. She had a leaky wheel cylinder, which led to a few other things "while I'm there". In the spirit of keeping the project low buck, I'm installing some used Carrera shocks and swap meet short steering arms. I did get decent brake shoes to go on both axles, so it's low buck, not cheap.

If you can't drive a Corvair, you can't drive.

A recent post in reply to some of the usual Corvair comments on a blog about the Corvair entry in the 24 hours of LeMons:

Good read, and he makes a really good point about Corvair enthusiasts being a little too defensive about the cars sometimes, so I've decided to take a different tack, and basically be a curmudgeon (I'm old enough now :-). I posted this in the comments:

For anyone taking Corvair handling comments in the article seriously, let's point out that all the cars here are worn out, used up examples one turn of the tire away from a junkyard. Comparing the BMW to the Corvair in this context is pretty silly, no matter which side you take. However, the early Corvair handling - on an example in good repair - is merely different than most nose heavy examples from Detroit in the 60's. The reality is that the rear end breaks away quite smoothly, which of course *terrifies* the typical driver who equates this with what happens on the NASCAR highlights on their local TV sports cast (you know, the one that never shows racing unless it's a crash). I've autocrossed all three varieties, people who can't manage a car that wants to corner a little sideways suck as drivers. Kudos to Blake for not sucking.

Pistons ok?

I have a set of pistons and rods that were balanced previously. Now that I look at them, I'm a little concerned about the amount of material that was removed. It looks to me that the rod caps have had too much taken off, but I'm hoping the pistons are ok. Comments?

Found the problem

So, last update on the '66 Corsa was I had put a "basement" 110 in it that was said to be a good runner when pulled. On startup, it had enormous blowby out the vent tube, no apparent smoke out the tailpipe. My thought and the concensus on VV was that most likely a broken ring. Well, we were close, the #2 piston is eroded at the top of the cylinder all the way down to the top ring (click on the photo for a full size image):

The head looks ok, with just a little bit of aluminum sprayed into the coubustion chamber:

I am replacing the cylinders and barrels, my concern is what caused this, I would guess that it was running lean at some point. I'm using a different set of carbs but the head will go back on. Anything else I should look at? Thanks for any suggestions.

Tricky cylinder head nut tool

Following some posts on VV about the super two in one cylinder head nut tool that Snap On and Mac (and maybe others) made for Corvairs, I recalled there was a description in the CORSA Tech Guide for making your own. Since I have several engine projects in the works, and one just ready to torque a head on, I decided to make one up. I've also read a few other tips regarding sockets to use on the head nuts, so I combined all of the info I had together.

Basically, the tool is two sockets that can nest inside one another, with a 3" piece of 3/8" square stock and a spring joining them. That way driving one turns both, and the spring automatically extends the inner socket for you. For the sockets, I used a 14mm, which gives a snug fit on the top 9/16" nuts, and a 13/16" spark plug socket for the rocker studs. On the 13/16 socket, I filed the chamfer off since the hex on the rocker stud is so short.

Once assembled, I taped a 7/8" socket on the drive hex at the end of the spark plug socket to drive the whole shebang. There's just enough room under the intake for the tool to fit, and with the tight 14mm socket it helped to spray the outside of the upper nuts with WD-40 so the socket would slip on with the light spring pressure (a stiff spring would make the tool tough to use).

The result was good, although maybe not worth the time if you're only building one engine. Since I have a couple engine projects lined up, I think it was well worth the investment.

Photos:

A glimmer of progress

So, in my last update to the autocross engine project, I had just discovered that one of the out of production TRW forged pistons had been destroyed and the cylinder cracked when the valve seat dropped in the low mileage 140 from the "parts car" '66 Corsa. That was (I hope) the low point of the project.

Since then I got some tips on pressing wrist pins out of the rods, so I pressed the pin out. Good news is the rod (part of a Clark's balanced, sized, and ARP bolted set) appears to be ok. I'll have it magnafluxed and checked for straightness just to be sure, but they are tough so I'm hopeful. I also found something a little unexpected - the original nitrided crank hadn't been turned, just had .001 under bearings installed. I'll probably use this crank in another project and put a balanced one in its place. BTW, if someone has a good (studs intact) 164ci FC block I may be interested.

The block is ok, the cam journals are a little worn, measuring 1.442" (spec is 1.440"), but I think that might be ok. The studs have been replaced. One problem is the oil pickup tube is loose, if someone has a suggestion on fixing that I'd love to hear it - I suppose you could weld the hole and re-drill it if nothing else. I'll also be tearing down the old 140 that came out of the '65 Corsa, it has a lot of miles but if the cam bores are good I may be able to use it.

An Unfortunate Setback

A few club members came over today for our regular meeting, and we made the "cylinder holding tubes" out of some 1/2" copper pipe I had:



Then we pulled the #2 piston out of the engine from the blue Corsa that had dropped the #2 intake seat. Bad part - the piston top ring land has crushed enough to trap the top ring, the piston is deformed enough that the wrist pin doesn't move freely, and the barrel is cracked. If I can find a matching piston, I think I'll build the next engine with this set.




I'm not entirely sure I want to use the Isky 270 cam that's in here, so it may be for sale, along with the matching set of Source lifters.

Planning the foundation

So, I have this pile of parts in the basement, I need a plan for how I'm going to move from that to a running engine. Let's define some goals:

- Durability. I'd like to get 5 to 10 years worth of autocrossing and track events out of this build.
- Power level. Everything I've read says that a Corvair engine that stays under 6500 RPM will last a long time. To a certain extent, that limits other choices which will affect the overall power level. Let's say I'm trying for 160 to 180 net crank HP. That may not sound like much, but remember that 140 only makes 121 HP net, so a 160 HP net engine is a 30% increase over stock, 180 is 50%.
- Budget. I'm willing to spend for required items, but really trick stuff - custom pistons, fuel injection, etc., are out. Let's say that counting the parts I already have, and allowing zero for my labor, the budget is around $4000 total. If I focus on the base engine, then hopefully I can bolt on other parts as time and money allow.
- Rules. I can't really afford an SCCA SM legal engine, so I'm staying within the SP rules. That means the internals have to match one of the stock or Stinger configurations, within the limits of available parts, and there are many available "bolt on" mods. I'll be building a copy of a Yenko Stage III engine, plus any allowed SP mods.

Alright, those a pretty broad goals. To achieve the durability and power, the first step will be on the shortblock. I'll be reviewing other sources, but roughly the list looks like this:

- Blueprint oil system, enlarge passages as suggested in performance guides, smooth passages.
- Remove flash to promote drainback to the oil pan.
- Baffle oil pan. I have a system in mind using an Offenhauser deep pan. The Otto parts pan and baffle would be similar.
- Pin crank. Crank gears sometimes will turn on the crank.
- Select cam to be close as reasonable to Yenko Stage III "short track" cam. These cams were approximately 280 degrees advertised duration and .450" lift. There are several similar grinds available (e.g. OT-20). Use Source deep dimple lifters.
- Degree cam and install Otto Fail Safe gear.
- Pistons and rods are Clark's reconditioned rods with TRW forged pistons balanced set.
- Bearings are new, but check using Plastigauge anyway.
- Convert PCV to modern "cross flow" system.

Alright, that's it for now. I think this is a pretty good example of what a performance Corvair engine should look like, but there may be a few items I've missed, comments are welcome.

Bryan Blackwell bryan@skiblack.com
Bryan's Corvair Autocross Page
Corvairs: '61 Lakewood, '64 Greenbrier, '65 Corsa, '66 Corsa
'69 Road Runner, '97 Ford F-150, '99 Neon R/T
"Why do something if you're not going to obsess about it?"

A Fresh Start

After years (literally) of little bits of progress, I am finally at the starting line of getting a new engine built for the red 1965 Corsa.

For history, the engine that was in it I had rebuilt in the mid 80s. It had gone many miles and we'd had lots of fun in the car, but there was a clear problem with one cylinder on the left bank and wearing cam gear teeth that would sooner or later cause trouble. So it had to come out:



Engine number two I had bought in a 1966 Corsa, it was rebuilt by a gentleman in Seattle. He had done a lot of things right, but it was his first 140 so there were a couple things I might have done differently. The plan was to install it in the '65, but that was not to be, with only about 5000 miles, it dropped a valve seat. So, back to square one.

At this point, I have both engines out of the cars and in the basement. The '65s unit had a blown head gasket, but no other obvious issues with the heads. The 66 motor (actually another '65 Corsa engine) is still mostly buttoned up. It has roller rockers, forged +.060 pistons, ground crank, Otto valve covers, etc.

As much as I'm tempted to get it together as quickly as possible, I'm leaning toward pulling the '66s engine all the way down and taking care of the little details that I wish I'd done on my engine that weren't done on the second one. With any luck I'll have some updates to post over the next couple of months, and some updates on my site illustrating the new project.

In the meantime, best to you for the holidays!



Bryan Blackwell bryan@skiblack.com
Bryan's Corvair Autocross Page
Corvairs: '61 Lakewood, '64 Greenbrier, '65 Corsa, '66 Corsa
'69 Road Runner, '97 Ford F-150, '99 Neon R/T
"Why do something if you're not going to obsess about it?"

Corvair Conspiracy

For those of you out there who think there's more to things than meets the eye, I have a story for you. It seems I was caught in a web of conspiracy Monday, one that shows that it's best not to upset the female heart. The major characters are a van, a truck, and an otherwise ordinary appearing refrigerator.

Several years ago we decided we needed a minivan for the weekends and bought a '64 Deluxe Greenbrier - you may recall her from some of my previous posts as "Red Brier". Each spring, we load her up with baseball gear for our Little League players and drive her to practices and games. Nice thing is I can just leave the gear in the back, when It's time to go to an event we're all ready to go. She's gotten quite used to this, and apparently was looking forward to this year's season. Ordinarily I get all the pre-season maintenance done during Jan/Feb so Red is ready to go come the first weekend in March.

Now, the only problem this year is we have been remodeling our rental property to re-rent it this spring, which has consumed pretty much all my free time. Thus, when the first practice rolled around on Sunday, I had to load all the baseball gear in the back of Ellie's truck, which we affectionately named after the character "Blue". Practice went well, and I loaded all the gear up and came home. My guess is that night is when the plan was hatched.

Red: "Hi Blue, where've you been?"
Blue: "First practice of the season."
Red: "Practice? Baseball practice? That's MY job, and you know it."
Blue: "Don't get mad at me. C'mon, it's never our fault."
Red: "Of course, I'm sorry. But what am I to do?
Blue: "Don't worry, we'll think of something."
Mr. Refrigerator: "Maybe I can help, ladies."
Red: "Really? Tell me more!"
Mr. Refrigerator: "Well, what you ladies need is a day when they have practice and something else going on, right?"
Blue: "Yes, that would make them need you Red."
Mr. Refrigerator: "I can arrange it so they run out of milk."
Blue: "And then if I have a little 'trouble' then..."
Red: "They'll need ME again!"

Monday morning my phone rang. It was Ellie. "I'm at the dentist's office and my truck won't start." "Well, I'll come get you." When I got there, it turned out the battery had good charge, but all we got was a 'click'. Jumping the solenoid got the same 'click'. "Ok, we'll get it towed and I'll drop you off at the house," I told her. Then Ellie told me, "We need milk, you know, and I was going to get a bunch of other stuff. I need a car." So we went home, and I got the keys to Red. When I got outside, I turned the key and got really slow cranking and she wouldn't run. Red gave me a petulant look. "Oh, you ignore me and then just show up and expect me to start? Without even checking my oil? I don't think so." She stamped a tire in my direction.

So, I did a quick oil and tire check, then put the charger on the battery. Then I sweet talked her a little bit. "C'mon, let's just get to practice, then you can have a nice oil change on Wednesday. How about that?"

"Baseball practice, why I'd love to go to baseball practice. But not for you. For the kids. They REALLY love me, you know." "Now really, Red, you know we've been a little busy. I didn't forget you. Honest." I replied. "Hmm, well, I suppose. Make sure it's good oil."

When we walked out the door Trevor saw the gear in the van. "We're taking the van? Awesome!"

And all was again right with the world.

A Hint of Spring

Last Saturday's meeting at Ron Tumolo's house felt more like an early spring meeting what with the weather, not the first one of the year. Although Ron has a very nice garage/workshop, it's always nice when we can wander about the cars, we being Mike Puglisi, Darrin Hartzler, Daniel Goldberg, Greg Walthour, Ron, and me. Our host's project of swapping out the single speed wiper motor for the optional two speed unit went well, we also did a little coat hanger work on Daniel's extractor setup that was a bit low on entry to the driveway. Our other attending Corvair was Greg's '60, the rest of us showed up in water pumpers, the Corvair-frugal-guy award was won by Darrin with his $500 LeBaron Convert.

The start of a year is usually a time for looking ahead, with maybe a look in the rearview mirror to see how the road behind looks. From my driver's spot, things in the mirror look good - we got several projects done and member's cars on the road, our members attended quite a few events, and our meetings were a lot of fun. Seems like it was a good year for our Corvair club. I think we can make 2006 a good year too, we came up with several ideas for this year:

- Attend some more local events. With the way schedules often work, I hope we can also hit a few cruise type events that don't require a whole day to attend.
- Update our web site. We have several members with good ideas on a new club site, with several folks contributing it should make for a really nice site.
- From talking with folks in other clubs, many of them have activities for the non-gearheads in the family. One thing that came to my mind is a scrapbooking session (Ellie does scrapbooking). Drop me a note or give a call if you have another suggestion.

--Bryan

Corvair weekend

Had a good weekend - soccer and baseball on Saturday, then Sunday our local Corvair club's fall tour in the Greenbrier. We even dropped the kids off so it was just us and the dog, on a nice tour through the Virginia hills. One time it's good to be the last car is on a tour like this, we got to watch the other Corvairs the whole time, and catch the reactions of folks when our little parade went by. Best was a couple of kids, you could see one saying "What!?!?" as we passed

The 110 for the '66 Corsa is coming along, it's (I hope) a ready to go longblock so I'm just cleaning and resealing. Corvair engines are generally pretty durable, so I'm hoping it runs ok, so far everything looks good inside. There were the usual leaks and I'm putting in new crank seals since I figure the old ones are fairly tired. I got the last of the gaskets and seals done today, so next I'll deflash the heads and then start putting shrouds on. I'd like to be installing the engine sometime early November - hopefully I'll have a little more time to work then since the kids' sports seasons will be over.

A little progress...

I set this up to have a place for posting random thoughts where they'll be visible in one place eventually. Although I like writing articles for my static web site http://autoxer.skiblack.com, this may prove to be a way to get quick things up.

Anyway, the 110 for the blue '66 "parts car" is progressing. It's fun to see the look on someone's face on referring to that car as a "parts" car since it's so solid. I don't intend to have it hauled away to a crusher, but since I bought it for the engine the "parts" moniker seems appropriate. The past weekend saw the bellhousing go back on, all that's left to the reseal job is the oil pan and rear main seal.

We have the local club's fall tour this weekend as well, I'm not sure how much I'll get done, but it really pays to chip away at a project like this. Finding 4 hours is tough, but 30 minutes here and there adds up.

--Bryan