Since Tuesdays have become Track Day dedicated, I’m saving all my photos of strange Corvairs for Wednesdays’ CPotDs. This first one just got off eBay, but I don’t know what it ended up selling for. Gotta’ love the 70’s paint work. A real classic.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Ah Harbor Freight, Your Treasures are Irresistible
This entry could also be named, “I was only going to buy a face shield, honest!”
I was out this morning getting my license renewed, and even though I entered another time dimension when walking through their front door, my MVA experience only lasted an amazingly prompt twenty minutes. Understand that twenty minutes in Earth time is only seven minutes in MVA time, so having my mug electronically captured (I went for the smirk rather than the smile this time), eyes checked (yes, I still need glasses), address verified (like I could have found someone to buy my house), and organs dedicated (what will be left of them) in such a short period must have been a record.
But I digress. Since my ordeal had not been epic, I felt I had time to go two blocks down the street to the frugal mechanic’s favorite emporium of all tools Chinese. Harbor Freight, like the MVA has its own time dimension, but unfortunately time speeds up rather than slows down. A simple, quick stop for a single item always turns into a slow walk though every aisle to make sure I don’t miss that vital doo-dad or gizmo that they are just about giving away that day. So, even though the Safety Equipment aisle with the face shield I needed was right inside their front door, I could not resist walking round the store snagging essential articles until my arms were full. After an extra thirty-five dollars and fifteen more minutes, I finally escaped. I got exceptional deals on a couple flap wheels (for grinding down welds) and two hose hangers (better than big, loose nails for storing air hoses), decent deals on a package of ten cutoff wheels (all this sheetmetal work has got me running low), a bag of earplugs (so Victoria doesn’t have to share my earwax), and some butt weld clamps (no more wavy welds), and an okay deal on a tarp (now whichever project’s been relegated to the driveway will be somewhat protected).
Oh yeah, I did remember the face shield.
I was out this morning getting my license renewed, and even though I entered another time dimension when walking through their front door, my MVA experience only lasted an amazingly prompt twenty minutes. Understand that twenty minutes in Earth time is only seven minutes in MVA time, so having my mug electronically captured (I went for the smirk rather than the smile this time), eyes checked (yes, I still need glasses), address verified (like I could have found someone to buy my house), and organs dedicated (what will be left of them) in such a short period must have been a record.
But I digress. Since my ordeal had not been epic, I felt I had time to go two blocks down the street to the frugal mechanic’s favorite emporium of all tools Chinese. Harbor Freight, like the MVA has its own time dimension, but unfortunately time speeds up rather than slows down. A simple, quick stop for a single item always turns into a slow walk though every aisle to make sure I don’t miss that vital doo-dad or gizmo that they are just about giving away that day. So, even though the Safety Equipment aisle with the face shield I needed was right inside their front door, I could not resist walking round the store snagging essential articles until my arms were full. After an extra thirty-five dollars and fifteen more minutes, I finally escaped. I got exceptional deals on a couple flap wheels (for grinding down welds) and two hose hangers (better than big, loose nails for storing air hoses), decent deals on a package of ten cutoff wheels (all this sheetmetal work has got me running low), a bag of earplugs (so Victoria doesn’t have to share my earwax), and some butt weld clamps (no more wavy welds), and an okay deal on a tarp (now whichever project’s been relegated to the driveway will be somewhat protected).
Oh yeah, I did remember the face shield.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
CPotD #74 (Track Car Tuesdays)
Today’s CPotD showed up on the Fastvairs Yahoo group mailing recently. Posted by aeroned, it was taken at the Corvair Olympics a couple years ago. The Corvair Olympics was a three day affair with Corvairs running on a drag strip, autocross course, and a road circuit. For many this was the first time they’d been on some of these tracks. It was very entertaining reading all the accounts on Fastvairs and VirtualVairs.
This image and the many others I’ve collected and found like it, prompted me to feature the racey versions of 'vairs as each Tuesday’s CPotD from now on.
Monday, March 29, 2010
CPotD #73 (Corvairs, In Europe?)
When I was a child growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, we listened to the radio in the car. One of the few radio commercials I remember from that period of my life was for Berkeley Farms dairy products. “Farms, in Berkeley?” was the tagline in all their ads. Corvairs in Europe are as unlikely as cows in suburbia.
Today’s CPotD, however, is proof that there are ‘vairs across the pond. I don’t remember the 
occasion at which this photo was snapped, but the odd license plates are the evidence it was in Europe, and the file name leads me to believe it was a Swiss Corvair Club event. Also, here’s a photo of a VIN plate listing Antwerp, Belgium as the country of origin. According to Kent Sullivan's article, Switzerland was a second country of origin. Kent goes on to describe how the GM assembly plant would gather all the sub-assemblies and parts necessary to build a car, crate them up, and ship them to another GM plant for final assembly. These crates of parts were known as “Completely Knocked-Down” units.
occasion at which this photo was snapped, but the odd license plates are the evidence it was in Europe, and the file name leads me to believe it was a Swiss Corvair Club event. Also, here’s a photo of a VIN plate listing Antwerp, Belgium as the country of origin. According to Kent Sullivan's article, Switzerland was a second country of origin. Kent goes on to describe how the GM assembly plant would gather all the sub-assemblies and parts necessary to build a car, crate them up, and ship them to another GM plant for final assembly. These crates of parts were known as “Completely Knocked-Down” units.A Nice Fitch Phoenix Article
Confirmation
Even as Victoria and I cut off another section of Old Betty’s body yesterday, I was struggling with the decision I’d made to sacrifice what appeared to be a solid car. That changed after discovering much of Old Betty’s structure supporting the driver’s door hinges is fiberglass. In preparation for cutting off most of the left front fender, we needed to remove the “500” nameplate. The speed-nuts retaining the emblem are hidden behind the fresh air vent, so the kick-panel (the vent is integral with this part) needed to come out. As I started prying the rear edge of the panel off the pinch weld, I found, neatly aligned with the panel’s edge, a long flap of fiberglass. The patch looks like it extends across the portion of the body supporting the lower door-hinge. This is, unfortunately, a typical place where rust attacks LMs and is one of the more difficult places to properly replace. Additionally, we found this same area on the passenger side also has significant rust-through.
This latter discovery came when we removed the passenger door to give us better access cutting off the rear portion of the right front fender. Prior to unbolting the hinges, we drilled two small holes through the hinges and into the body panel. If I don’t use the door on New Betty, I’ll reinstall it to get it out of the way and the holes will make the process go quicker.
Victoria also put down some more Bondo on Glinda to smooth out some rough places around the windshield and backlight. She’s getting good at laying down the filler – practice makes perfect.
After stops at Home Depot (grommet) and Pep Boys (coupler and synthetic brake fluid), I now have all the pieces required to finish Lucy’s master cylinder swap. I still need to overcome the time and space factors of my TTT (see sidebar). With a wet weather forecast for the next couple of days and the garage filled, space can only be overcome by pushing Old Betty out into the elements. Not fun to do in the rain.
This latter discovery came when we removed the passenger door to give us better access cutting off the rear portion of the right front fender. Prior to unbolting the hinges, we drilled two small holes through the hinges and into the body panel. If I don’t use the door on New Betty, I’ll reinstall it to get it out of the way and the holes will make the process go quicker.
Victoria also put down some more Bondo on Glinda to smooth out some rough places around the windshield and backlight. She’s getting good at laying down the filler – practice makes perfect.
After stops at Home Depot (grommet) and Pep Boys (coupler and synthetic brake fluid), I now have all the pieces required to finish Lucy’s master cylinder swap. I still need to overcome the time and space factors of my TTT (see sidebar). With a wet weather forecast for the next couple of days and the garage filled, space can only be overcome by pushing Old Betty out into the elements. Not fun to do in the rain.
Friday, March 26, 2010
CPotD #72 (Speedy Spyder Successor)
The story goes that as Chevy was planning the introduction of the dramatically changed Corvair for the 1965 model year, they were still planning on using the Spyder name for their turbo-charged 2-door. There are even some GM photos floating around showing the Spyder insignia on the fenders of a LM coupe. For whatever reason, Chevy ended up changing the name to Corsa and this model lasted for two years. In addition to the turbo-charged engine, now 180 horsepower, the Corsa could be ordered with a normally aspirated 140 horsepower version. This setup included two extra carburetors mounted on special cylinder heads to improve air flow through the engine thus contributing to the 30 HP bump from the next hottest engine.
Today’s CPotD is courtesy of Norm Witte’s excellent website. He’s got one of these highly desirable CORSA turbo convertibles. There’s a great story behind the acquisition and restoration of this gorgeous vehicle on his site. Filled with photos, it’s well worth the read.
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