Visiting the Ranch

Saturday morning I thought I was getting up before anyone in the house when I drug myself out of bed at 7:30. I was wrong. Brianna and Nicholas had already been up and running (literally), and they arrived back home as I was fixing myself breakfast. I had resigned myself to leaving Glinda’s front bench seat out of the load of parts going up to the Corvair Ranch, but Nicholas was kind enough to help me carry it out of the temporary garage and place it atop the pile in the back of the truck.

I arrived at the Ranch shortly after their 9 AM opening, and snapped a few photos of the bed-full before Jeff and I unloaded it onto a pallet. While he gathered the new parts to fill my shopping list, I chatted with a couple ‘vair guys about their projects. Jeb has dropped a 140HP with a modified Powerglide into his Greenbrier and is in the process of putting in aftermarket A/C . Tom pulled a turbo Corsa convertible out of Jeff’s collection of restorables and gave me a tour of what it’s been through. I told him I had some serious rotisserie envy as he spun the bare body around on its axis showing me the results of the body being acid dipped (to remove the paint and body putty) and dipped e-coated. The trick, he shared, was minimzing the air pockets that prevent the coating from getting to nooks and crannies. Looked like his coater was about ninety-nine percent successful.

Back to see how Jeff was doing. He’d pulled together the fuzzies, weatherstripping, and air cleaner brackets for Scarlett and the steering box for Glinda, but couldn’t come up with a 500 fender badge for a ’68. I quickly offered to go walk the yard with a borrowed putty knife. I relished the excuse to wander amongst the dozens of parts cars. Model 500s are much rarer than Monzas, so I had to pass by quite a few LMs until I came across the first 500, and quite a few more before I found a 500 with a badge still in place. Fortunately, it was the stick-on ’68 style I needed for Glinda and it was in the same slightly worn condition as Glinda’s existing one.

While the pile of parts I was to take home was significantly smaller than the one I’d brought Jeff, I knew that they were worth some serious money (the fuzzies and weatherstrip pieces alone have a Clark’s list price of nearly $300). Expecting to write him a check, I was thrilled when Jeff told me since I’d given him some good stuff (mainly the bench seat and a EM posi-traction differential), he’d call it even. What a guy!!!!!

CPotD #49 (Interior Inspiration)

As I mentioned in my previous post, the past weekend was filled with car work. A big portion of the two days was spent working with my buddy, Bill, on his ’64 Tempest. Now I’m really inspired. Unfortunately for the fleet, my motivation is not to spend hours wrenching on Corvairs. What I’m really inspired to do is drive my ’65 LeMans convertible out of its storage lean-to and into the garage forsaking all other cars. Lucky for Lucy, Glinda, and PartsCar, there’s still a foot of snow on the back lawn so the LeMans isn’t going anywhere.

To re-focus my inspiration, I found a photo of a restored ’67 Monza interior and I’m making it today’s CPotD. One of the nicer surprises that came with PartsCar were the bucket seats. I like the slimmer, tapering look that started with ’67 over the squarer, blocky seat backs of previous years.

An option in ’67 was headrests. This picture shows them installed on another ’67. While I think the seats look cleaner without the headrests, they sure would be a nice safety addition. I imagine they’d be quite difficult to hunt down.

CPotD #48 (A Very Nice Blue)

As promised I took a picture of the inside of PartsCar's trunk-lid where the paint was not faded. It's a really nice color, so I made it today's CPotD.

CPotD #37 (Uh-Oh, Legal Issues Ahead)

Today’s CPotD is my photo of PartsCar’s VIN superimposed over her lower front fender. It’s also a picture of an anomaly. Read on.

I had quite the surprising revelation last night when I took a look at PartsCar’s VIN. A visit to the Corvair VIN decoding website told me:

“Your car is a 1968 500 2-door coupe.It was the 3808th Corvair built at Willow Run that year.”

This cannot be since PartsCar is a 1967 model. She’s got a ’67 interior (for the most part) and she does not have the side marker lights mandated starting in 1968 – hence the photo of the lower front fender. Getting a title for car with an illegal VIN will be problematic, to say the least. Back to Plan A?

A Glinda Setback and More PartsCar Time

I fired up the heaters yesterday afternoon so Victoria and I could work on her car without freezing. Our project for the afternoon was bleeding Glinda’s brake lines. After gathering all the tools, I sat down in front of the left rear wheel while Victoria took her seat behind the steering wheel. After a couple dozen cycles of pump, pump, hold, loosen, bubbles, tighten, Victoria claimed the pedal was feeling different. After another dozen, she informed me there was brake fluid dripping onto the car floor. We attempted to tighten the connection where the new brake line entered an elbow under the dash. Unfortunately, we found I had cross-threaded the fitting when I installed it, so no amount of torquing was going to produce a pressure-tight joint. We gave up, unscrewed the brake line connectors from both ends of the elbow, and removed it from the car. I’m calling the Corvair Ranch today to order a replacement. Hopefully, Jeff’s got a GUP on hand since I couldn’t find a GNP in Clark’s catalog (see sidebar for definitions).

After that disappointment, I told Victoria she could go inside to clean up and warm up. I should have found some positive Glinda task we could do, but I was too frustrated to be that rational. Instead I turned my attention to PartsCar. Out came the front bucket seats, and an inspection of their undersides indicated the springs were rusty, but solid. I then gathered up all the bits and pieces that covered the floor and separated the keeps from the keep-nots. The keeps included the two Monza fender badges and a couple exhaust hangers that I’m sure were used to support the dual exhaust setup (u-pipes and glasspacks) I found in the trunk. Amongst the keep-nots were some rusty bearings and seals as well as the bolts I’d just broke removing the seats. While vacuuming up the bits of glass from the broken driver’s door window, pieces of wasp nests, and other detritus, I was pleased to find the carpet in pretty good shape. Looks like Betty’s going to get black carpet to replace her current nasty rubber mat flooring. I’d put the carpet in Glinda, but Victoria deserves nice and new as opposed to old and odiforous.

PartsCar Teardown Commences

Last night I pushed PartsCar into the garage ahead of a snow event since dry pavement provides better footing than snow-covered. Proving that I actually own a digital camera and know its operation, I took a series of pictures which I’ve posted on Flickr. Too bad PartsCar is title-less since, at first glance, she appears fairly solid. Fulfilling her moniker, she’ll provide good parts for Glinda and Betty including fender lips and floorpans.

After taking pictures, I decided I needed open the trunk and see what surprises may be hidden there. Since I had no key, I needed to break in without breaking anything. After disassembling the right headlights and bucket, I was able to reach in and remove the three bolts retaining the trunk latch, and, after spinning off two of the nuts that held the grill bar and prying the grill bar back, the trunk opened to expose a nice surprise. Nestled in the crowded compartment were two vintage Keystone Klassic 13” wheels with four lug pattern for an early model Corvair. I should be able to sell them and possible for something more than Loriann paid for the car. On the downside, I broke the front grill-bar while “breaking into” the trunk. I wasn’t counting on using it anyway, but the loss still pissed me off. I was also disappointed to find that this car only had the single master cylinder setup instead of the dual I was hoping (planning) on swapping.

CPotD #22 (Six is My Lucky Number)

Sorry for the poor quality, but I hastily snapped this picture with my camera phone to share with my buddy, Bill. Today CPotD shows the newest addition to the fleet, and I’m calling it PartsCar. PartsCar was a Christmas present from Loriann (my lovely wife) and is the same car that was the subject of CPotD #13.

Every Corvair acquisition comes with its story, and PartsCar is no different. Soon after I posted CPotD #13, I mentioned to Loriann that it would make a nice Christmas present. After a couple days deliberation, she consented and I made plans with the seller to retrieve the car early January. A few days later, I received an e-mail asking me how soon I could come and get the car. Things had popped up at his end, and he was hoping to have the car gone by that weekend. My heart dropped since I didn’t have the Suburban to pull it home, nor was I going to be around to make the drive to Delaware. I immediately called the seller and asked if the following Wednesday would be okay, and he agreed. Yay, the deal’s still on!!!

The next hurdle was tires. PartsCar was not coming with roadworthy tires, so I needed to put together a set of four late model rims (5 lug) with safe tires. Tire number one came from Glinda’s trunk – her spare hadn’t seen the light of day since new, so even though it’s at least five years old, it looks new with no cracks. Tires number two and three were nearly new, but were currently mounted on Lucy’s early model (4 lug) wheels, so I needed to get them swapped onto Glinda wheels. That left just tire number four and one day. Easy, right? NOT! None of the tire stores in the area had a 185/80R13 tire in stock. The best I got was a, “we can have the tire first thing in the morning and ready to go by 9 AM.” I was on a relatively tight schedule for Wednesday, but that would work, so I loaded up three Glinda wheels and the two Lucy wheels into the Suburban and dropped all off at Merchant’s Tires around three in the afternoon. The first words I spoke to the guy behind the counter were, “You WILL have these ready by 9 AM tomorrow, right?” After he assured me it would not be a problem, I filled out the paperwork explaining the swapping I also needed done. After unloading all the wheels, my parting statement was, “You said this WILL all be done by 9 AM tomorrow.”

Wednesday dawned sunny but brisk, and while my dad and I loaded the back of the Suburban with tools, tow-bar, tow rope, rags, etc., etc., I kept thinking I should call Merchant’s. I finally did around 8:15. I was stunned to be told the tires wouldn’t be ready until mid-day. It had been a long time since I’d yelled into the phone, but I began to yell then. The manager at the other end of the line insisted there was nothing written on the paperwork about a 9 AM completion. More yelling, and he promised to have it all finished in an hour. Okay, I could deal with that - only thirty minutes overdue. I gave the seller a call to let him know I was running late, and fortunately he could accommodate. Right before we headed out the door forty-five minutes later, I called to confirm and was given some cock-and-bull story about a tire mounter working too many jobs, and mine will be a little late. I decided to drive over there anyway and see if my presence would hurry them along. As I walked in the door, the manager I had been talking with greeted me, apologized for the inconvenience, and then told me the tire was not even there. “The truck is two minutes away,” he told me. I was NOT happy, but what could I do? Dad and I loaded the empty Lucy wheels into the Suburban, and then loitered in the showroom for a few more minutes watching the parking lot for a truck, and seeing nothing. Finally, the manager reappeared and confessed that his driver was lost in Glen Burnie Now Glen Burnie is at least thirty minutes away. At that point I told the guy to forget it - I just wanted my tires and wheels back. He and his crew helped me to load the Suburban, and he told me no charge for the mounting and balancing of the two swapped tires.

It was now after ten, and I only had three good tires on late model wheels. We rushed home, and I selected the best Glinda tire left and pulled the best tire/wheel off Betty and we took off. Since I expected to be towing PartsCar when darkness fell, I needed to make a quick stop at Harbor Freight to buy a towing light kit with magnetic bases. A coupon and ten dollars got me just what I needed. As we crossed over into Delaware, it was after noon and we decided, after talking with the seller, to visit MacDonald’s before continuing our adventure.

Sandwich sated and filled with fries; we hit the road again and soon after arrived at our destination. PartsCar was waiting for us and looked just as advertised, so I handed over the asking price and then enjoyed a nice hour or so chatting with Mason as the three of us worked to mount the wheels, hitch up PartsCar, and route the towing lights. Before driving off, I filled the differential with 90 weight gear oil and made sure the transmission was in neutral. A few miles down the road, I re-checked the towbar and all looked good.

An hour later put us just east of the Bay Bridge when PartsCar started swerving back and forth. I slowed down and pulled over to check things out and immediately saw smoke coming from the right front wheel area. I’d been driving over sixty most of the way, so I decided to drop the speed down and stop more often. We made it across the bridge without incident and I pulled over soon after only to find more smoke. Thinking it was a bearing, I pulled out my Blackberry to look for a place to get some grease so I could repack the bearing before completing the trip. Not finding a parts store nearby, we decided to head for the nearest exit and find a gas station. We pulled in to an Exxon with a lube place in the back. I walked in asked for a coffee cup of grease. “I don’t know how to sell you that,” was the response the counter guy gave me. After fifteen minutes of waiting and discussing (including being told just greasing the bearing wouldn’t work and then being asked what kind of car it was as if Corvairs may need a different, exotic wheel bearing grease), I was finally able to buy a ten dollar cylinder of grease.

It was dark now, so with Dad aiming the flashlight, I tried to remove the hub from the spindle. With the nut off, the bearing looked fine, but the hub wouldn’t budge. It's the brakes not the bearings. Good. I cut the rubber brake line to relieve the pressure, but shoes wouldn’t release. With hammer and chisel I forcibly removed the two retaining pins and finally convinced the brakes to relinquish their hold on the hub. With all the brake hardware removed and the hub bearings filled with grease, we reassembled hub to spindle, mounted the tire, dropped the jack, and uneventfully completed our journey home.

Okay, it wasn’t uneventful. About thirty minutes from home, as we’re sitting in traffic on I-97, my cellphone rings. It’s Loriann and she’s not happy. She had to go fetch one of our daughters from a Girl Scout event and she had to drive Lucy. Well, Lucy had stalled and would not restart. She’d cranked it a few times, and now the battery was dead too. Dad and I got home, unhitched PartsCar, put the tow bar back in the Suburban and I headed to northern Baltimore to rescue my wife and daughters. I got there, hooked up the jumper cables, and she started right up. Vapor lock and an old battery conspired to strand them.

Back home again, Mikhaila, Dad, and I maneuvered PartsCar up the driveway and into its current parking spot. It was at that point, Mikhaila shared with me she wanted a four-door early model like the white one we used to have. Interesting. We'll see if she feels the same way in a couple years.

Another aside is since we live next door to the current mayor of Baltimore, we have a city police cruiser parked in front of our house 24/7. As we were unhitching PartsCar from towbar, a change in shift was taking place. One of the officers, a younger guy, asked me good-naturedly if I really needed another Corvair. I have talked with some of the cops about my old cars, but I was still taken aback by his question. I explained I needed a third late model coupe to balance the three early coupes. He chuckled and didn't hassle me about abandoning an obviously non-operable vehicle on the street.

When first I posted about this car, my intention was to strip the four-speed parts before dragging it to the Corvair Ranch. After getting it home, however, it looks like PartsCar will also donate its bucket seats to Betty and its sheetmetal to patch some of Glinda’s rusted out places.