Miscellaneous Ramblings

A few Corvair-related tidbits from the last few days.

• Talked to Brianna on the phone this past weekend. She shared with me that Heidi was idling smoothly again. A week or so ago, I’d gotten a phone call from her telling me that her car was idling roughly. I assumed it was a bad idle circuit on one of the carbs. I asked her to do the “hand over the carb opening test”, but before she could get to it the idle smoothed out and Heidi is running like a top again.
• Victoria tried driving Glinda Saturday, but the car died at a nearby stoplight. In a mild panic, she forgot to shift the car into Neutral, so it wouldn’t restart. She and Mikhaila pushed the ornery vehicle into a nearby parking lot. She then called me, in tears, to ask what she should do. I calmly asked her if she’d put the shifter into Neutral – she hadn’t. Once she’d snicked the lever from D to N, Glinda started right up and V drove her home.
• Last night I pulled the carburetors off Ringo and installed them on Glinda. Only a tiny adjustment was needed to lower the idle speed. No more bogging down, the engine starts right up and idles nicely, and the responsiveness is impressive. I still need to verify the two are balanced, but they’re good enough for now. Since those are my racing carbs with the relocated jets, I’ll be rebuilding Glinda’s original carbs in the near future. I’m jealous – Victoria has a nice-running LM.
• This morning Victoria successfully drove Glinda to school for the first time. TYL (see sidebar)!!!!
• It’s getting cold here in Baltimore. That means it’s time to install the lower shrouds on Glinda and Lucy. I won’t put Lucy’s on, however, until I stop the oil leak. Glinda’s will go on tonight – after I make sure all the exhaust gaskets are doing their job. I don’t want to set off the Carbon Monoxide detector.
• V and I also need to adjust the accelerator pedal’s location on its shaft. It’s currently too vertical.
• Tomorrow the Hershey Car Corral and Flea Market begins. I’m preparing for my Friday visit by making a list of the parts and tools I’ll try to get deals on at the swap meet. I just checked the weather prediction for Friday and Saturday (the car show) and it’s going to beautiful. Another TYL and I am so excited.