Victoria (daughter #3) had been hoping for a late model convertible as her father-daughter project Corvair, but when a decent '68 2-door presented itself for the favorable price of $1, she consented to revising her plan. Here's the story as well as what we've done towards getting Glinda back on the road:
Nov 13, 2008: At the November 2008 CORSA of Baltimore meeting I met a man who’d restored a ’68 2-dr back in the mid-80s. He’d driven it for at least ten years before losing interest. It’s been parked in his driveway ever since. He offered it to any club member for $1. I went home and asked Victoria if she’d be willing to settle for a 2-dr hardtop as our father-daughter project. Previously, I had given her free choice of any Corvair for our project, and she’d decided on a late-model (65-69) convertible. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to find a solid, affordable project for us. I told her that if a convertible came along in the future, we could change if she wanted. She agreed, so this Sunday she and I are taking the Suburban with a towbar, air compressor, and spare wheels/tires to the other side of Baltimore to tow home Corvair number five.
Nov 18, 2008: Yesterday, my daughter, Victoria, and I retrieved her $1 1968 Corvair Model 500 2-door hardtop without issue. We arrived at the gentleman’s house around 2:30 and were back in our driveway before 5. We were able to get three of the tires to hold air from my 12V compressor, so we changed the fourth with one of the spares I’d brought. The driveway was slightly sloped the wrong way, so we had to hook the tow-bar up to the rear bumper and pull her out to the street before reversing the tow setup. I’m torn about saying the car’s in better shape that I’d expected. The paint's in great condition where the rust hasn’t caused it to fail, but there’s more rust than I’d have wanted. I’ll be taking some “before” pictures in the next week or so (no sooner since I don’t get home before dark anymore). The worst places are driver’s front fender just ahead of the gas filler, around the front and rear windows, and in the wheelwell openings. The color of the car is Tripoli Turquoise and Victoria loves it. The black interior is like new. The engine and compartment look extremely clean. The guy had started the engine less than two years ago, and had driven it less than five years ago. He replaced the entire brake system only eight years ago, so this car could be on the road with little work. It would be nice to make it drivable quickly so I can easily move it in and out of the garage when I need the space for working on another car. Speaking of space in the garage, my youngest daughter, Mikhaila, and I spent about six hours together in the garage Saturday afternoon rearranging and throwing stuff away. We had a great time, and now there’s nothing on the floor along either side opening up a lot more space.
Jun 30, 2009: Played musical cars. Betty was moved to the driveway in front of the non-opening garage door. Glinda was pushed into the garage, placed on four dollies, and pushed into the left-hand bay. Now I need to get Victoria going on doing some work.
Jul 16, 2009: After having instructed Victoria how to remove the air cleaner assy and spark plugs, she completed the tasks. I also had her squirt some 30 wgt motor oil into each cylinder.
Aug 3, 2009: Victoria and I worked on Glinda yesterday. We cleaned and regapped the plugs. She reinstalled and hooked up the plug leads. We dropped in a battery, hooked everything up except the coil lead, and I had her turn the key. She cranked the engine until the TEMP/PRESS light went out. Then I connected the coil lead, and she turned the key again. The engine started right up and ran rather smoothly - no clattering of lifters - yeah. While we were working, a mouse started running around the engine and ended up heading down into the heater box area. I set two traps, so hopefully we catch it before it does any damage.
Aug 16, 2009: Victoria pulled the right, rear brake drum off and watched while I pressed on the brake pedal - nothing moved. The upside is the brake assembly at the wheel looks brand new - springs are still the right painted colors, shoes look to be hardly worn. I drove to the nearest NAPA and bought a new master cylinder. After bench-bleeding she and I swapped it in for the old one. We'll let it sit and hopefully the air will move to the top of the lines.
Aug 27, 2009: Carefully and slowly I pressed on the brake pedal. Instead of going all the way to the floor, it stops just short. I'm sure Victoria and I will get to bleed the system.
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