Corvair questions

I am looking at buying a Corvair.

The seller says it is a 64 Monza but it has a 3 speed transmission.

Also how is the clutch adjusted in these? It slips horribly, as in giving it throttle in any gear makes it slip. I would be prepared to put a new clutch in it if I bought it but if it was just out of adjustment that would be even easier.

3-speed was standard equipment across the board. possible exceptions: spyder and corsa were almost 100% 4-speed, but there are a few documented 3-speed spyders and corsas. perhaps 4-speed was standard on those models but a 3-speed could be ordered. IDK why anyone would do such a thing.

clutch probably got wet with gear oil from failed input shaft seal. adjustment is via threaded rod which i believe is crimped onto the clutch cable at the transmission end of the vehicle. but i could be mis-remembering it. been a long time since i've had one. :-(

Angy is right. It is a threaded onto a rod on the cable just in front of the transmission on the passenger side. There are actually two points of adjustment, but both work off of the cross shaft just in front of the trans and are attached by cotter pins.

Look for oil (it kind of like the grime that is likely coating the bottom of the drivetrain, but more liquidy) coming out of the small hole at the bottom of the bell housing. If it is motor oil, it is likely a bad rear seal, if it is gear oil, then it is a input shaft seal. Both common, both require removing the drivetrain.

Honestly, unless the car is well maintained, you will likely need to to a re-seal on most of the engine anyway.

A tip with Corvairs (especially if you are a bit new to them): just buy a pretty nice one. They are so damn cheap (even restored), there really isn't a reason to by a fixer-upper unless you really want a project.

This one has a rebuilt engine. It runs pretty good but has a slightly high idle and diesels a bit on shut-down. The seller said it was because the timing is a little off at the distributor. No rust. Everything looks pretty clean and in place. Only $1300 OBO.

EvanB wrote: diesels a bit on shut-down. The seller said it was because the timing is a little off at the distributor.

Yeah. It just needs the timing set. Thats all, because thats cheap. Only reason I didn't set the timing was because I wanted an excuse to tell potential buyers.

Wouldn't have anything at all to do with poorly designed combustion chambers, carbon and modern swill that passes for gasoline.......

44Dwarf turned me onto to Dawn dishwashing liquid. Put in one of those two gallon bug sprayers with boiling water and spray it on the offending clutch.

Works like a charm! My Samurai head leaked into the bell housing via missing rubber bung.

Another reason I like it here.

Dan

The high idle could exacerbate the dieseling.

EvanB wrote: This one has a rebuilt engine. It runs pretty good but has a slightly high idle and diesels a bit on shut-down. The seller said it was because the timing is a little off at the distributor. No rust. Everything looks pretty clean and in place. Only $1300 OBO.

Probably diesels because it of the high idle and it wants Premium.

Might be a good deal because of the bad clutch (maybe even get it lower). Check for the oil leak. Worst case (if it's leaking) is the differential snout is cracked or broken (somewhat common) which requires the diff to be taken apart.

One important note: The clutch is mechanical, so if it is really out of adjustment there will be too much play at the pedal. The clutch pedal should only have about 3/4 of an inch of play before the clutch starts engaging. If you want to try and adjust it, you will just need a pair of needle nose pliers a 3/8 inch (maybe 7/16th?) and a jack so you can get under the car.

Look here (#24): http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog.cgi?function=goto&catalog=MAIN&section=MAIN&page=114

The clutch pedal has to be almost fully released before the clutch will grab at all.

Do you know what horsepower engine it has? That would be important to know.

Corvairs are cheap? This is not good news to future me.

Oh yeah. Really bad news... What is that body style called? How can I make one move with the quickness?

I hear these move them pretty quick

Here is a picture of the one I have my eye on.

Osterkraut wrote: Corvairs are cheap? This is not good news to future me. Oh yeah. Really bad news... What is that body style called? How can I make one move with the quickness?

1. in the most general terms, that's a "late model coupe". LMs were built from '65 thru '69 model years. Because that one is a corsa, it is either a '65 or a '66. if the Corvair script on the front is on the decklid, it's a '65. if the script is next to the driver's side headlights, it's a '66.

2. get in touch with Ray Sedman at www.american-pi.com. he's got a wealth of tricks for making corvairs scoot. i believe aircooled has some american pi stuff on his car.

EvanB wrote: Here is a picture of the one I have my eye on.

i'd rock that.

The reason it's so cheap is it's a 4 door. Nobody wants those. If you plan on selling it someday, don't dump a lot of money into it. A really nice one probably wouldn't cost much more than twice as much.

EvanB wrote: The clutch pedal has to be almost fully released before the clutch will grab at all.

Sounds like my first Subaru. Clutch cable was severely overtight. 150k miles and it'd never been adjusted in its life. On the way home from picking it up, the car wouldn't maintain 55mph without the clutch blowing away.

Backed the cable off a half-inch (!) and it had freeplay again. Sadly, the clutch was still shot, but it was at least drivable.

AngryCorvair wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: Corvairs are cheap? This is not good news to future me. Oh yeah. Really bad news... What is that body style called? How can I make one move with the quickness?

1. in the most general terms, that's a "late model coupe". LMs were built from '65 thru '69 model years. Because that one is a corsa, it is either a '65 or a '66. if the Corvair script on the front is on the decklid, it's a '65. if the script is next to the driver's side headlights, it's a '66. 2. get in touch with Ray Sedman at www.american-pi.com. he's got a wealth of tricks for making corvairs scoot. i believe aircooled has some american pi stuff on his car.

Actually there are two other ways to tell if it's a '65 from the rest of the late model years:

The Bowtie emblem on the front is painted red. All other years were blue. Also, the crossbar trim that the emblem sits on, is tapered to a point on each end. The later years are the same size all the way across and have kind of a trapezoidal look to them on the ends. (when you've been around Corvairs all your life, this stuff sticks out like a sore thumb)

The taillights centers are virtually flat, they have a little convexness to them. Every other year has a protruding center that is flush with the outer rim of the lens.

EvanB wrote: Here is a picture of the one I have my eye on.

Not trying to burst anyones bubble, but that's not a Monza. That's a 700 sedan that someone put Monza emblems on. Monzas were only coupes and convertables.

It makes more sense now why it has a 3 speed. It most likely has the 95 hp motor in it. It could also be that it has had the 110hp Monza engine swapped into it, and they left the original 3 speed instead of swapping in the better 4 speed.

If it's in good shape and sounds like it runs good, it's worth what he's asking. I would look to see if there is anyone local to you that services Corvairs.

My old boss is Larry Claypool. He is the unofficial Corvair Guru of the Chicagoland area, if not the Midwest. People have brought cars as far as Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee to have their cars worked on by him.

His website is here: www.vairshop.com (There are still pictures of me on his site! )

Chevy would put a three speed in anything. When I was working in a Corvette resto shop we had an all original 68 convertible with the rare 327/3 speed combination. The guy trying to sell it learned an important lesson that rare doesn't always equal valuble.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Not trying to burst anyones bubble, but that's not a Monza. That's a 700 sedan that someone put Monza emblems on. Monzas were only coupes and convertables.

your Vair Fu is strong. Master Claypool has taught you well.

I don't remember the 700's having that much brightwork around the windows. are you sure the monza trim level had not been expanded to the sedan by '64?

here's what I think is about the max rear tire you can package on an early sedan/wagon. these are 215/35-18's on 7.5" wide rims with +40mm offset.

ddavidv wrote: The reason it's so cheap is it's a 4 door. Nobody wants those. If you plan on selling it someday, don't dump a lot of money into it. A really nice one probably wouldn't cost much more than twice as much.

Well... one reason to have a 4 door is because of that. Not a lot are saved, so they are actually a lot rarer (these days) then the 2 doors. You will rarely see a 500 trim level car at a show, and they were the most numerous made (true of all cars of course). You don't buy a Corvair to make money anyway, so don't worry about the resale (it will always be bad).

It is a good point about paying more for a nice one. As an example you could have this (not in your area I suspect):

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/2011200535.html

For about twice as much. Not as unique as a 4-door (that rear window overhang is very funky cool), but in a very presentable condition. Parts are generally available, but engine rebuilds can be costly, so make sure the car has a good engine.

The red V8 is a 66 Canadian built Corsa Turbo bought from the wreckers in 79 rust free - not running for $50. Engine is an 03 vette LS1 with a 930 Porsche turbo trans. Weighs 2680 # - probably less now that I have swapped to a Fluidyne Rad replacing the 4 core beast that as in there. This car would absolutely destroy our 997S that has all the bolt ons.

The white LM is actually a 65 500 that was imported into Canada Illegally in the late 70's. The underside has been sandblasted and epoxy coated. The motor is a Blow through turbo - to4E with a WRX intercooler. Now that the $2010 challenge is over i need to get back to work on it.

Glad you like them :)

OK I FEEL LIKE A TOTAL IDIOT

I should have reconfirmed my thoughts BEFORE I opened my big fat mouth.

The 4-Door Sedans in every model year (Except 1960) was available in Monza trim.

AngryCorvair was correct to suspect that it was a real Monza model due to the brightwork around the windows. That was only available on the Monza. 700's had only chrome around the windshield and rear window. 500's only had rubber.

Now it comes back to what engine it has and the easiest way to know is by emblems. If you look at the decklid and there are crossed flags behind a horizontally opposed engine (seen in the pic below on the top left), that means there is a 110hp engine. If it just says CORVAIR across the decklid, it will just have the 95hp motor. Three speed transmissions were standard and it was extremely rare to see a car with the Monza trim level that wasn't a 110 w/4 speed.

AngryCorvair wrote: here's what I think is about the max rear tire you can package on an early sedan/wagon. these are 215/35-18's on 7.5" wide rims with +40mm offset.

I am interested in getting away from 15 " GM wheels. My dad (who had 4 Corvairs of his own) and I always get into arguments about wheels. I would like to get into the aftermarket, but my dad is worried that there are going to be too many issues with tire rub in the front and back. I would like to find a set of aftermarket wheels for my '68.

The only car my dad has with after market wheels are his '64 convert that had Ansen Sprints on it when he bought it.

I'm not sure I quite dig the wheels on that Lakewood, but it does look good.