VairCor. Heart Of America Corvair Owners Association. President s Corner - Don Wagner

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1 Heart Of America Corvair Owners Association VairCor Volume 44, Issue 01 Inside this issue: President s Corner 1 Preventative Maintenance 2 Choose/Mechanics/Gas Guage 3 Program Requests/Christmas 4 Renewal/Texas gathering 5 Membership Application 6 Ads 7 President s Corner - Don Wagner January 2008 On Friday, December 7, HACOA had our annual Christmas party at Rheinland s Restaurant, with 27 people attending to enjoy the food and the great company! Thank you goes to Ada and Kevin Koch for making arrangements for the party and also to the officers, directors, chairmen and VairCor editor for their work this past year. I guess while I am thanking everyone, we need to go back to our Roundup in September where we had Travis running the show with Dominique and Beth doing most of the leg work. Corly with her great design for the T-shirts worked out just great! Mike and Fred deserve kudos for the tech sessions. Everyone who worked in hospitality, registration, judges for Concours, people that donated and begged for the door prizes deserve praise. As we start another year, I, as the new president, would like to challenge each club member to come to one meeting or event during the year so you get more involved in the club (more is better). It is that time of the year for members to pay $15 for this year's membership in HACOA and $38 for Corsa. The January meeting will be at Chappell's in North Kansas City and we will again discuss other places we may want to meet at. 6:45 - Board Meeting 7:00 - Social 7:30 - Business Meeting See you at Chappell's. Don

2 Page 2 THE PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SERIES VairCor Mike Dawson This month will be an attempt to help diagnose noises from the rear of the car. Drive train noises also apply to FC vehicles. A rolling noise that does not change in pitch from acceleration to deceleration in the same speed range is usually a wheel bearing. Wheel bearings on early models usually squeak or make a cycling growl. Late bearings will squeak, make a raspy noise or howl. A clank when starting from a stop or going into gear may be a U-joint. They can also make a clinking noise, usually at low speed. Loose axle yokes on early models and FC can make the same noise. Howling that changes noticeably between acceleration and deceleration is either a worn out pinion gear, mismatched ring and pinion gear or very loose or worn out pinion bearings. Thunking noises on late models can be either the top or bottom shock mount. Check for shifted lower bushings or rusted top mounting pads. The latter can be repaired. Squeaking from one side of a late model going over bumps can be a trailing arm bushing that has popped out of its shell. The arm is rubbing on the bracket and the tire is way out of toe alignment. A heavy thump or clunk going over a quick rise may be a separated motor mount on a 1965 model. The other models make less noticeable noises unless almost terminal. Best to check them every time you change oil filters if they are original. A loud squawk that occurs briefly as you push in or release the clutch is a pilot bushing problem. Always replace it any time the transaxle is separated as they take a set very quickly. A knocking noise at idle which disappears or gets quieter when depressing the clutch is a flywheel with loose rivets (all years, all models of manual transmissions). A squeal or light rattling noise that is only noticed when holding down on the clutch pedal is a clutch release bearing. More rear noises next month!

3 Volume 44, Issue 01 Page 3 Which One Do I Use? Parts is parts and art is art but not all combinations work together. AC or Champion spark plugs are recommended for the 57 Chevy and the Corvair. Bosch manufactures many different spark plugs and they have an online guide to recommend one for your car, even our older cars. In this case, however, experience tells our mechanics to use the parts manufacturer as recommended in your owner s manual. The latest greatest introduction on the market is not always the one that will fit your car. Iridium plugs sound good for a classic car with higher spark and longer life, but even Bosch does not recommend this type of plug for our collector cars. If it isn t broken don t fix it. If it needs replacing, stick with what you know works for your car. Mechanics Diagnosis Syndrome How many times has your car acted up for you but not when you had arrived at your repair shop? When we departed on our CHVA Fall Tour I asked our mechanic to adjust the idle of our 57 Chevy wagon as it was idling very low at intersections while stopped. We have had a great debate through the years as he does not like to have a car idle too high. He is not around when the car is warmed up and idles too low which makes me idle too high. This time I parked the car in our garage and gave him our garage door opener and key for the car. The carburetor had been rebuilt this past spring and the plugs and the tune up parts had only 5 to 6000 miles on them. The accelerator pump as it turns out was thought to need replacing and the number one cylinder appeared dead. When the car was test driven, after the liberal application of Gumout carburetor cleaner, the car did not shift correctly either. Whitey, my mechanic, is a Chrysler person but the Ford light bulb came on to check for a vacuum leak. With the leaking hose properly reattached and the Gumout having worked its way through the clogs in the carburetor, the new spark plugs (that replaced the fouled ones), new fuel filter and new plug wires and distributor cap made the car run like a top. The idle is higher than Whitey likes but that is okay for now. I will give the car some highway exercise on a more regular basis. No more ethanol either. Intermittent Gas Gauge After 50 plus years the gas gauge on the 57 goes up and down, regardless of how full the tank is, like the stock market on a nervous day on Wall Street. Whitey was going to give me grief about this till I told him that I have to whack it several times, in flight, to make it read correctly. Yet another winter project will be the new sending unit for the gas tank. Murphy s Laws do rule occasionally and the gas tank and sending unit for a wagon are different than for the rest of the 57 Chevy fleet. That extra 1.1 gallons makes all the difference in the range of driving between fill ups. If the EPA had rated gas mileage in the 50 s I believe this car would have achieved 15 Highway, 10 City and 11.5 average in all driving GPS Update The original Chevrolet Compass is now located above the rear view mirror and is wired there too. My road trips will now contain stops to adjust it for North, then East, then South and Finally West, allowing for and calibrating to make it just right. (GPS stands for Goldilocks Picking System or Grandpa s Play Station in a collector car).

4 Page 4 VairCor Meeting programs - As part of being vice-president I get the opportunity to schedule a brief program for each meeting. I would like to offer the group an opportunity to provide any input on what you would like to hear about or share with the rest of us. I always enjoy the meetings and would like to keep them interesting in the future. So please share what you would like to hear talked about at our meetings, there is a very good chance that someone in our club may be willing to talk on the subject. Likewise, if you have something that you would like to share please let me know. This could include vacations, recent discoveries that shocked you or changed the way you think of something, stories on the job, current headlines, or any form of education. Just because we meet under the name of a car club doesn't mean we can only talk about cars...let's think outside of the box. You can me at beaminscott@yahoo.com or call me at , I would like to hear your thoughts. Thank you, Scott Allison The 2007 Christmas Party at the Rhinland s Resturant in Independence was a great time had by many. We had a lot of laughs, great food and plenty to drink. I for one am looking forward to a New Year and lots of new adventures in my Corvair. My daughter (Kyndall) asked just the other day when we were going to go in the Red Car? Trust me, I want to get it out but the weather will have to clear a little first. I had some of my relatives from Indiana over that had not seen my car since I got it finished. They were surprised that I was able to do everything I did to it in such a small garage. Looking forward to seeing all of you out there and sharing in our hobby. Spring is just around the corner and non to soon for me. Have a great year everyone, Dominique Allen

5 Volume 44, Issue 01 Page 5 The NTCA is hosting next years H.O.T and the plans are coming together beautifully. Planned for April 18 thru 20 in Glen Rose, TX., Scott Netherton is heading the committee of Marty Kirkton, Robert Freeman Woo Wells and Denise Parsley who are responsible for putting this all together. Also, thanks to Cash Case for providing his exceptional artwork for this event. Additional volunteers will be needed at the event. Membership Renewal This year is rapidly coming to a close and the holiday season beginning. This past year has brought a great number of fun events with the start of the year with the Wagner's hosting a social in March, tour of the GM plant in May, Meeting in the Park in June, 2007 Great Plains Round up in September and soon the annual Christmas party. Next year is going to be as fun as this one with your help. It takes members to make the club what it is. Each and everyone of you provides a unique quality and flair to make things happen. Each of the events held this year was an idea by one or more members to make it happen. There are many new ideas floating around for this next year to have fun and enjoy each other and their cars. So, fill out the registration for next year on the next page and send it in. If you like you can fill it out on-line and save 42 cents and an envelope if you like at: Membership is only $15 for the year. Make checks payable to HACOA.

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7 Volume 44, Issue 01 Page 7 Tool Crib Tool Deposit Rental Fee Puller for Harmonic Balancer $3.00 $1.00 Ramps, Auto $4.00 $1.00 Torque Wrenches: 1. 1/2 drive lbs. $15.00 $ /8: drive lbs. $15.00 $2.00 Floor Jack & Stands $25.00 $3.50 Ring Grove Cleaner $3.00 $1.00 Dwell-Tach Meter $5.00 $1.00 Greaser: blower bearing & Idler Ply $5.00 $1.00 Hubs, Rear Towing for LM powerglide $10.00 $1.00 Contact: Ken Ragan Ragan Enterprises 212 Warner Rd Bonner Springs, KS kenrragan@sbcglobal.net FOR SALE '65 Monza convertible. 110/PG, turquoise on white. Older restoration, good top. Make an offer - call Dick Stofer at

8 Heart Of America Corvair Owners Association HACOA Oakland Ave. Belton, MO Editor, Dominique Allen Phone: Oldest Incorporated Continually Active Marquee Corvair Club 2007 Officers & Directors Don Wagner-Pres Scott Allison-VP Elaine Richardson-Secretary Dominique Allen-Treasure Directors Gary Moore Karl Cozad Jack Richardson Travis Bolton-Ex-Officio We re on the web at HACOA.ORG VairCor is the official publication of the Heart of America Corvair Owners Association, the oldest incorporated continuously active marquee Corvair club and Chapter 640 of the Corvair Society of America. The membership fee in HACOA is $15.00 annually, payable January 1. CORSA membership is required. HACOA monthly meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm., 7;00 pm Social at Chappell s. January Calendar January 1st January 8th February 12th February 14th Happy New Year Meeting at Chappell s 6:45 Board 7:00 Social 7:30 Very Little Business Just Fun - Come join in Meeting at Chappell s 6:45 Board 7:00 Social 7:30 Very Little Business Just Fun - Come join in Valentine s Day (Don t forget that special someone)