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1965 Chevy Corvair van repair

52K views 289 replies 18 participants last post by  DSUZU 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
To keep the long story short, this is a friend's vehicle. It broke down on them, and I have Corvair experience and ended up making them a better deal on the repairs, so I'll be fixing it for them. Dennis
1965 Corvair Van 001.JPG

1965 Corvair Van 002.JPG

1965 Corvair Van 003.JPG

The engine is a flat 6, air cooled, 164 CID, 110 HP. Other variants were 95HP lower compression ratio, 140HP with 4 1BBL carbs, and 180HP turbo charged. The higher HP engines were not offered in the vans.
 

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#252 ·
That was some job on that Covair Van! I'd have to vote for the Coot next, it's ripe after 9 years and it is too cool to sit. It also looks like a great vehicle to take duck hunting. What is the history on this thing? I've never seen one but now I want one. I'm really partial to that marsh brown color too :D The 16 horse 2 cylinder sounds like it would be a fun upgrade to do. How much gear can you put in it. I'm thinking there is room for two plus a dog? Not much more though?
 
#253 · (Edited by Moderator)
It's baa--aa--ck! While Kendra still hasn't tagged the Corvair, she's been playing with it around the neighborhood. A few weeks ago, She mentioned that it had an oil leak. I said I'd take care of it (while cringing), but as I suspected (so far at least), it appears to only be the oil pan gasket. FWIW, the oil pan is an after market deep sump and is cast aluminum rather than the original sheet metal. I assembled it with a stock cork gasket, and because of the cork, I didn't use any sealer other than small dabs where the block halves meet and auxiliary case mounting. Because of the expanding and contracting, I found all of the pan bolts relatively loose. Rather than just tightening, I removed the pan and gasket, cleaned both well, and used gasket cement between the pan and gasket, and I will coat the top of the gasket before installing it back to the block. I also plan to seal each of the bolts with silicone as I put them in the holes and I will re-torque it after some run time. Dennis
ASLO: she is now talking about SELLING it!!! Her oldest is in college, and her second one is looking at starting in the fall, so she is thinking "need the money, not the "money pit". We'll see what happens. I know I'm not buying it. Dennis
It' baa-a-aack 003.JPG
It' baa-a-aack 002.JPG
 

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#254 ·
I cringed just seeing you bump this.......very happy to hear this & not something devastating. I'm not gonna comment on the mind of women tho.
 
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#255 ·
Thanks. For the most part, it's done okay. I mean when you think about it, there are over 30 parts to the engine block / crankcase as opposed to most conventional engines - maybe a dozen parts? (oil pan, block, head(s), valve cover(s). Add to that the mixtures of aluminum, cast iron and steel, and the different expansion and cool down rates and... I probably could have just tightened the bolts, but I wanted to be double sure. FWIW, her mind was in problem mode when she bought it and decided to make the long drive. She originally thought buy it, "play" with it a little, and maybe sell it and MAKE money on it. Well, some of us know how THAT goes. Usually, she is a very sound thinker and planner, I mean she had the money to buy it in the first place and THAT is because she is an extreme budgeter. Dennis
 
#256 ·
I was a bit worried when I saw this popped back up , probly more curious though ... Stupid thing !! All that work and she's thinking of selling it , I'd be a little disappointed , then again if it goes far away it'll be out of your hair lol

That pan looks nice and substantial I've never been fond of cork gaskets for that reason right there ... I'm just happy that it's nothing serious , still a pain in the butt :)
 
#257 ·
The shame of it is whoever did the original rebuild / restoration added the deep pan, but didn't extend the oil pickup tube to go to the bottom. You could have 3 quarts of oil and still starve the engine for oil. I had decided not to try to modify it myself either. Back in 1974 when I had my 1965 Corvair "Corsa" convertible, it had the same oil pan.
I have mixed feelings about the possible sale. On the one hand, I would have liked to driven it to work at least once to show the guys. On the other hand, yes, it would be out of my hair. I estimate she will loose about 5K on the deal if she sells. Dennis
 
#259 ·
Funny how everyone had the same gut reaction. I really think all the bugs are worked out. I rather enjoyed driving it around the neighborhood yesterday. On the one hand I wish she'd go ahead and tag it so I can drive it more ( :D ), but between paying taxes and "impact fee, I bet that costs her another thousand :x . On the other hand sell it, enjoy the memory and move on. Dennis
 
#260 ·
When my son move to the Jacksonville area last year he had to pay one of those "impact" fees on his 2000 Neon. In Nevada they call it a "basic gov services" tax. On older vehicles it is usually higher than the registration fee. And they charge it every year.
 
#261 ·
In Florida they just gig you for adding an extra tag. Worst part is when a kid gets their first car - poof! They get gigged for it. It seems like it is maybe 300.00? You add that to the tag fees, about 100.00 "transfer" fee (someone punches a few buttons on a computer), and the tax, which with her purchase price, will be high. For a vehicle coming into the state, it requires a verification inspection (make sure VIN on paperwork matches actual vehicle). It would be difficult to claim that she picked this car up for the usual "couple of hundred" lie.
For multiple vehicle owners this really sucks. You can only drive one at a time, yet they tax you on each one, and you have to have full insurance on each one. YET any scumbag can get a drivers license and go borrow or steal a car, crash it, and it is supposedly the liability of the vehicle owner.
Almost forgot. The wife put a picture of me and the Corvair on her facebook today, just because it is "what we were up to". She's already had about 10 likes - the first within minutes. Of course some of the comments were along the lines of "a pair of antiques" (me and the Corvair). Dennis
 
#262 ·
I like the idea of insuring the driver not the car.. after all it is YOUR record that affects rates on the cars not the history of the car.

I pay property tax on three cars a year and insurance is a cool $160 a month.

On the plus side a new car only caps at $300 on purchase price but they sure get the hell out of you on the annual tax.

"Pair of antiques" lol love it.
 
#263 ·
That's something my wife would say lol

I didn't figure anything bad happened with your work , it was more of the what did the lady do now type of thing ...

Wow and wow on that tax thing you guys have to pay , that's crazy rediculous if you ask me !! So glad Washington and Oregon aren't like that ...

Can you or her get a temp tag so you can possibly drive it once ?
 
#264 ·
I had the same oh no reaction the other day when I got the notification email.

In regards to annual vehicle costs, we pay state and local sales tax at time of purchase but have reasonable annual renewal fees. We pay something like 7% at time of purchase plus 2.25% up to around $100. There is also a $9 "emissions inspection" that keeps anything with a CEL from getting tagged. There is no insurance verification and annual renewals are like $24 if you don't have local fees (my city charges $5 if you volunteer the information that you live in the city limits). I grumble about some of it but it sounds like I get off easy in that regard.
 
#265 · (Edited by Moderator)
"They attract others". So I'm sitting at my computer this afternoon and my dog starts barking and I see this black Corvair in my driveway. Oops! As it turns out, the guy on the right lives 5 houses up from me and he does Porsches (914s). His Porsche buddy also has this Corvair , and they had to come pay homage. The black one is a 1964 Monza and he is second owner finding it in a garage here in St Pete. It even still has the "Ross Chevrolet" sticker on the back (Ross was THE Chevy dealer for a long time. Still there, but it's called Maher Chevrolet now). Original owner was a military officer and he had the Corvair all over the world. It may even be the original paint (it could use re-painting, but the owner says he wants to keep it just as is. Oh by the way, he seems to have a fuel pump problem :roll: (where have we seen that before). Had a hard time getting it started and I had to jump it from my Spacecab :D . Just had to post this. Dennis
1964 Corvair and friends 001.JPG


Oh BTW, the van still has a little oil leak. It's coming from the dipstick / fill tube which goes in the back corner of the engine. 1 small bolt and an O-ring. Gets fixed tomorrow.
 

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#266 ·
"Just had to post this"

yea i bet you did....you know all our hearts skip a beat every time this thread gets a bump....
 
#267 ·
You have little faith in me? Dennis
 
#269 ·
Really !! I'm just looking for the next adventure in Dennis land lol

That post you just wrote was well worth the read MR !! That would be neat to see an all original , and the fact that it's been all over the world is even more cool !!
 
#270 ·
That's not it at all D.....but i do poo myself just a little with each bump. :'(
 
#272 ·
-88- said:
That's not it at all D.....but i do poo myself just a little with each bump. :'(
I don't think I would admit that! :shock:
 
#273 · (Edited by Moderator)
bradzuzu said:
Really !! I'm just looking for the next adventure in Dennis land lol That post you just wrote was well worth the read MR !! That would be neat to see an all original , and the fact that it's been all over the world is even more cool !!
I wanted it :D . When I came in the house to get my camera I almost asked the wife "Talk me out of buying this Corvair for $1,000''. She probably wouldn't have taken that too well. She later told me she would have been ticked if I had agreed to work on it for the guy.
Jon: Yeah, the Coot is still in waiting. In between other stuff, I need to focus on re-roofing my workshop. :( . Maybe I should start a workshop build thread. We have vacation coming up next month.

Future "Dennis adventures" : This popped up on my radar last weekend. I've known about it for a year or so.
30_big.jpg

Drug smuggling operation that went bad back in 1981. Plane is still there (or some of it). Understand the scrappers have been hacking away at it. Thinking about going down there to see what's left. Best accessed by an airboat, but I don't have an airboat...yet :D
 

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#274 ·
DSUZU said:
Future "Dennis adventures" : This popped up on my radar last weekend. I've known about it for a year or so.
Drug smuggling operation that went bad back in 1981. Plane is still there (or some of it). Understand the scrappers have been hacking away at it. Thinking about going down there to see what's left. Best accessed by an airboat, but I don't have an airboat...yet :D
If you pull together the airboat in order to make this expedition, I might seriously considering driving down to join you! :thumbup:

Jonathan
 
#275 ·
That would be an adventure to go check out !! Hopefully no danger of getting shot at..

If that planes been there that long it must be a tough old bird since it survived all the Florida storms !!
 
#276 ·
The most current google earth picture shows that at least part of it is still there. There is a blue something that is probably the inboard section of the wing. Comments indicate that the roof has been cut away and I would guess the outboard wing section has been removed also. Wonder if the 2 200 hp inverted 6 cylinder engines are still there? I doubt I will be able to conjure up an airboat. I'm wondering how close I can get with my regular boat and an outboard. There is an airboat trail goingback to the wreck and circling it. Sadly, the google earth history shows the demise of the plane. We wreckhunters HATE scrappers. It's worse when they find and scrap out a WWII wreck. Out west, the guys regularly find sites where all that's left are the steel parts. One site is up in the mountains and they used pack mules to haul a portable smelter up there and haul the melted ingots back down. Another site (Bell P-39) has the 37MM cannon and .50 caliber Browning machine guns still laying there, but barely a sign of aluminum. This will most likely be a fall adventure - bugs, heat, reptiles.
 
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