SFBA/Valley Picnic. Saturday, August 8 th 12:00 Noon. - Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont. Steve & Heather s 65 Corsa 140 WEB

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1 The Official Publication of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Corvair Society of America --- Chapter 947 Dedicated to the enjoyment, history and preservation of the Chevrolet Corvair produced from 1960 through This unique, rear-engined, air-cooled automobile WEB grabs as much attention today as it did 50 years ago! VOLUME 264 AUGUST Letter From the Editor 3. Minutes of the Last Meeting 3. Treasurers Report 4.. Coming Events 4.. SFBA Corsa Meeting Schedule Quarry Lakes Park Maps 6. Walt Anderson s Parts for Sale 7. Steve & Heather s 65 Corsa 140 Restoration Project 11. Corvair Classifieds Look for us on the Web! Steve & Heather s 65 Corsa 140 SFBA/Valley Picnic Saturday, August 8 th 12:00 Noon - Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont SFBA Corsa - August 2015 page 1

2 Letter From the Editor We had a good turnout at the last meeting. Eleven people showed up counting two guests, Steve & Heather Heeter. Steve & Heather recently picked up a '65 Corsa from Skip Polacchi as a joint restoration project. This was in pretty rough shape, but Steve is a metal fabricator and is looking forward to the Corvair body work! This is right up his alley. The traffic was particularly heavy this evening. Seth said it took him 1 ½ hours to get here from San Jose. Ouch! We do appreciate his taking the time to attend. I know if it took me that long I wouldn't be making every meeting. Don't forget the Fan Belt Toss is coming up in October. Make your reservations soon. This is the best Corvair event outside of the Convention on the west coast. And is only a short (9 hour) drive away! This year the grand prize is an EZcarlift rather than a Corvair. This should appeal to many and it is a lot less work for the host club. On pages 7 & 8 I included pictures of Steve & Heathers 65 Corsa Project Car. Steve sent many pictures and I included those that I felt gave a good overview of the project including how ambitious it is and what progress they have made already. I am sure Steve will keep us updated on their progress. Pictures like these make the newsletter far more interesting. So don t be shy about sending me pictures of what you are working on! Our next meeting will be our annual SFBA/Valley Picnic. This will be Saturday, August 8 at Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont. I will get there early to try and secure a convenient spot (same as previous years). The BBQs should be ready by noon. There will be burgers, hot Current SFBA Corsa Officers President Tony Richards, PO Box 765, Mill Valley, CA Lonetree12@yahoo.com Vice-President Harry Kypreos, 7840 Creekside Dr, Dublin, CA HKypreos@epicor.com Secretary Treasurer Membership Library Newsletter Clark Calkins, 1907 Alvarado Ave., Walnut Creek, CA (925) CaCalkins@astound.net Fred Garrity, 113 Alamatos Drive, Danville, CA Committees Harry Kypreos (address above) Dave Newell, 1481 Hamrick Lane, Hayward, CA (510) Clark Calkins (address above) Editor At Large Tony Richards (address above) Refreshments Internet Web Ed Rodrigues, 1702 Nelson St, San Leandro, CA (510) CaCalkins@astound.net dogs, and tri-tip supplied by the Clubs. Just bring a side dish to share (salad, desert, munchies, drinks, etc.). By all means drive your Corvair is possible! This is always a fun event. It probably wouldn't (see Letter... on page 11) On The Cover: This is how Steve & Heather found their new project car at Skip Polachi s place in Manton. Actually a fairly solid car and all of the parts are there (all be it in boxes in the trunk and interior). Steve is a metal fabricator and the body restoration will be no sweat. See the many photos he took on pages 7 & 8. He has already made good progress. The Spyder Web is published twelve times a year by SFBA Corsa, Chapter 947 of the Corvair Society Of America (CORSA). The group meets monthly on the first Thursday at 7:00 PM at Harry s Hofbrau in San Leandro except for special occasions. Membership costs $25/yr (membership in CORSA, $38/yr, is encouraged). An associate membership (newsletter only) is avialable for $15/yr. Memberships begin on January 1 of each year (first year is prorated). Advertising space in the Spyder Web is available for $50/yr (1/4 page), $75/yr (1/2 page), and $100/yr (full page). Business card size ads are $25/yr but do not include a subscription to the newsletter. All material should be sent to the editor (address above) or ed to CorsaNews@Bigfoot.com. Material must be received at least two weeks prior to the next meeting date. USE OF MATERIAL: Written permission from the Editor is required for all original material for any use other than reprinting in a Chartered CORSA Chapter newsletter. Permission must be sought in advance for material reprinted herein. page 2 SFBA Corsa - August 2015

3 Minutes of the Last Meeting July 9, 2015 The meeting was officially called to order around 8:10 PM by Clark Calkins, President Tony Richards was unable to attend. This evening we had nine members and two guests, Steve and Heather Heeter who are restoring a '65 Corsa 140 convertible. Welcome! Treasurers Report: Fred indicated the bank balance was unchanged from the prior month (where the balance stood at $ ). That s about to change as newsletter expenses were turned in for $ which covers the first half of the year. Still the bank balance remains above the $3000 threshold for free checking. Membership: Harry reported no new members. Steve & Heather indicated they would likely join at the August Picnic. Great! Old Business: While we are hopeful that a more central meeting location can be found, members indicated that Harry's was an acceptable alternative. Marleen Garrity reported that the Black Bear Diner in Walnut Creek had a separate meeting room and they didn't charge for its use. Since Black Bear is going into the old Denny's in Danville, we have our fingers crossed. New Business: We are planning for a Tech Session for either our September or October meeting. This will be at Harry's house in Dublin. Details and a map will be published in the Spyder Web. Watch for it! Anybody need work done on (or questions of) their Corvair? Anyone have ideas for a theme this time? Lets talk about this at the Picnic. Seth reported that he now has all of the extraneous Corvair items from Bill Sweet's estate. The house is being sold. Amongst these items are two Greenbriar RC boats that Bill had built for the Fan Belt Toss boat races. These are available to anyone who wants them! Events: Seth reported on the National Convention in Knoxville, TN. It was very well attended, over 900 at the Banquett. Weather sucked. Hot & humid. Some rain but luckily not for the Autocross or Concourse events. There was a new '63 Corvair that was placed in the modified category due to a few non-stock items (lots of controversy about this). This was bought in Nebraska (by Lambert?) from a closed dealership. The car had never been sold. Seth felt that this should have been on display in the hotel lobby as it was essentially a brand new Corvair. The host hotel was very nice and everything was close. A shuttle took people to down town which was 1 or 2 miles away. The Autocross was held at an area 4 miles away. Seth sold lots of wires and other parts. Next year the Convention will be held in Springfield, IL. The following year it is back to the West coast but no location has been identified as yet. Harry said that Danville is again having their Hot August Nights car shows. July and August. The main street will be closed and lots of nice cars are Treasurers Report July 2015 Fred Garrity Checking Acct. Cash/Checks Beginning Balance $ $00.00 Income expected. Expenses Newsletter (July) (38.07) Picnic: Our Annual SFBA/Valley Picnic is scheduled for August 8th at Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont. Fremont is having algae problems with the lakes and is not permitting people or dogs going in the water. Clark checked and the park is open as usual (except for lake access) and the cost is still $5 per car plus $1 per dog. SFBA will provide burgers and dogs and Valley Corsa will bring tri-tip. Members are asked to bring a side dish to share (salads, desserts, chips, etc.). Let's have a good turnout (especially Corvairs). This should be fun! Tech: Harry bought a new steering wheel (from Seth?) and needed a puller to get the old wheel off. Seth made one from a scrap of Aluminum and a couple of bolts. Easy to make and quite handy. As a tip, be sure the front tires are aligned straight ahead prior to removing the old wheel. That way it will be easy to alight he new wheel. If the (see Minutes... on page 6) Ending Balance $ $00.00 (*) Newsletter expense for July has not been turned in yet. Bank balance still shows $ as of 07/26/2015. SFBA Corsa - August 2015 page 3

4 Coming Events August 8 Sep 3 Oct 1 Oct SFBA/Valley Corsa Picnic, Quarry Lakes Park, in Fremont, CA. Regular SFBA meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, E. 14 th St, San Leandro, CA. (tenative we may have a Tech Session instead) Regular SFBA meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, E. 14 th St, San Leandro, CA. (tenative we may have a Tech Session instead) 38 th Annual Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet hosted by Corsa West of Los Angeles, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, CA. SFBA CORSA Meeting Schedule 2015 Thursday Jan 8, 7:00 PM Thursday Feb 5, 7:00 PM Thursday Mar 5, 7:00 PM Saturday Apr 11, 7:00 PM Thursday May 7, 7:00 PM Thursday Jun 4, 7:00 PM Thursday Jul 9, 7:00 PM SFBA Regular meeting, Round Table Pizza, 7841 Amador Valley Blvd, Dublin, CA SFBA 43 rd Anniversary Dinner. Harry s Hofbrau, E. 14 th St, San Leandro, CA. Saturday Aug 8, 12:00PM SFBA/Valley Club Picnic at Quarry Lakes park, Fremont, CA Thursday Sep 3, 7:00 PM Thursday Oct 1, 7:00 PM Thursday Nov, 6 7:00 PM Saturday Dec 5, 7:00 PM Note this is tentative as we may have a Tech Session instead. Stay tuned. Note this is tentative as we may have a Tech Session instead. Stay tuned. SFBA Holiday Dinner, Harry s Hofbrau, E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. page 4 SFBA Corsa - August 2015

5 Quarry Lakes Park Maps Our next meeting will be our Annual SFBA/ Valley Picnic at Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont. If you haven t been there before this is a very nice park with plenty of green grass and lakes for fishing, swimming, etc. The city does charge a bit to drive into the park (about $5 a car; a bit more for dogs) and swimming is also a little extra. If you choose you can park outside the park and walk in. We won t be far from the entrance kiosk. There is plenty to do there for both kids and adults. Lots of hiking trails around the lakes. Tony and I will get there a bit early and try to reserve a suitable spot on the North side (see maps below). The BBQ should be ready to go by noon. The Club will provide the basics (burgers, dogs) so just bring a side dish to share (a salad of some sort, munchies, a dessert, sodas, or whatever) and your appetite. Help in managing the BBQs is always appreciated. This is usually a sunny park so sun screen and hats may be in order (we will try for a shady spot but no guarantees). Getting There: From I-80 in Fremont, take the Decoto Road (Hwy 84) exit East. Turn right on Paseo Padre Parkway, then left on Isherwood Way. Proceed to the park enterence on the right. From Mission Blvd (Hwy 238) in Fremont, turn South on Nursery Ave. (away from the hills) and right (West) on Niles Blvd. Turn left on Osprey Drive and left on Quarry Lakes Drive. Proceed to the park enterence on the left. For more information check out their web site ( QuarryLakes/default.html). SFBA Corsa - August 2015 page 5

6 Minutes... wheel is not aligned with the front wheels properly, it will still run and steer correctly, but the turn signal canceling cam won't work correctly. Steve is planning on removing the front suspension on his '65. Anyone have any helpful tips? Seth suggested that he first remove the front cross member and then the gas tank. Now the suspension components are easy to get to. To install a cam gear on the cam shaft, first heat the gear in a frying pan and cool the cam shaft with thrust washer and key already lubed in the fridge. Then with the gear on a flat surface gently force the shaft down into the gear. A few taps with a mallet is all you should need. Tip provided by Seth passed on from Bill Fisher years ago. More details can be found in "Performance Corvairs" on page 74. Also for those taking the heads off of an engine that has been together for a long time, Seth suggested that you first soak the head nuts with Kroil (or some other penetrant) and let sit a while. If you don't the studs may come out rather than just the nuts unloosening. Not the end of the world, but you would rather not remove the studs if you can help it. Good tip! Swap & Sell: Steve brought a bunch a extra parts he had found tucked away with his '65 but they were not for his car. Free to those that wanted after the meeting. Also he is looking for a wrecking yard that might have a '65 that he could cannibalize. A month or two back, Tony mentioned that a wrecking yard in American Canyon had Corvairs. This is on Green Island Rd about a mile off Hwy 29. Check a map as it is not real easy to get to if you are coming from the South. There are a couple of wrecking yards on this road so you may have to check around. Clark had one Corvair Shop Manual remaining. As it happened it was for the '65s so Steve jumped on it! Clark reported that he had received a call from Don Vera in Stockton. He had a '64 Convertible that he needed to get running so he can sell it. He was asking about shops in his area where he could take it (it ran when parked a few years ago). Clark provided him with the name and phone number of Central Valley Corvairs newsletter editor. He should know what's available in the immediate area. The meeting broke up around 9:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Clark Calkins, secretary Walt Anderson s Parts for Sale All new OEM parts, no rust in original boxes. Contact Walt Anderson. Oakland area, jwanders@swnet.com. Crankcase cover GM # $20 FC gear set 3.89:1 MG# $150 FC exhaust valves, set of 6 GM# $40 FC right front door lock GM# $30 FC left front door lock GM# $30 FC rear axle bearing 2 GM# $200 Axle bearing 63-64, rear GM# $150 Gear crankshaft flywheel/timing GM# $50 Exhaust valves, turbo, 6 GM# $40 Exhaust valves, 60-69, 6 GM# $40 FC head lamp bezel, very good, 1 no box - $25 Non-GM Parts Chenoweth Corvair two barrel carb, intake manifold, new in-box # $30 Crown Corvair to VW adaptor plate only - $30 page 6 SFBA Corsa - August 2015

7 Steve & Heather s 65 Corsa 140hp Restoration Project (photos by Steve, captions by Clark) Here the car is arriving at its new home. Should make a great project car. The car seems to be complete. Let s see, hub caps - check, muffler - check, seats - check. There is a complete 140 under there somewhere. There are more parts in the trunk of course. Some rust around the windshield as you would expect. And more rust by the rear window. Make no mistake, Steve knew exactly what he was getting into and this is just what he wanted. This is certainly more work than I would have chosen, but if you know what you are doing and have the right tools (and Steve does) these issues are all quite fixable. SFBA Corsa - August 2015 page 7

8 Corvair Restoration (continued) Starting in on the rear deck lid, Steve is bringing it down to bare metal and removing all dents. Here the deck is finished and painted. Great blue color! As you can tell, it really is their project car. Here Heather is removing the wiring harness and dash components. Here with all of the interior removed, it looks to be a pretty good floor board. It doesn t look like any panels have to be replaced. Here is the dash after Steve cleaned it up. Not sure if the gauges work or whether they will be replaced with more modern units. Look how nicely the hub caps cleaned up. Look brand new! page 8 SFBA Corsa - August 2015

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10 Classifieds... 1) Sedan: 8600 miles believed to be correct. Powerglide, Tinted Windshield, Manual Radio, Padded dash (cracked). Bought new in Long Beach by Ted's aunt and later used for errands on her ranch. Runs excellent. Had recent carb rebuild. Original Ermine White paint on hood & decklid need repainting (from bad storage in a barn) & LF fender has mild dent. Gray interior is original, fabric OK but needs vinyl on top of front seat replaced & new kick panels. Make reasonable offer. Car is in Los Gatos. Call Ted at or Dave Newell for pictures at chevrobilia@yahoo.com (01/15) page 10 SFBA Corsa - August ) Vallejo wrecking yard dating back to the 1960s still has many Corvairs, all for sale complete or will sell parts: Half dozen Coupes; 1 late 4dr; 2 vans/greenbriers; several 64 coupes; s; 3 early convertibles; 5 or 6 early coupes (one is a Spyder); blue Lakewood that ran when it came in; 1 rough wagon; plus engines, transaxles, turbo & carb. All undisturbed for 30+ years. Yard isn't normally open...call Charles Baker, (01/15)

11 Corvair Classifieds CORVAIR CARS FOR SALE ' 61 Rampside, Original condition. Rebuilt motor w/ 4k miles. Asking $4k OBO. Also have early engine/transaxle & misc early parts. Contact Dale Teubert, PO Box 233, Sierra City, CA (11/14) CORVAIR PARTS FOR SALE Corvair Engine Parts: Been in my garage for 34 years and have never used them. Starters, generators, alternator, cams, heads, cranks, pistons, cases, trans, turbo unit, engine, etc. Jesse Cruz, Clayton, CA (925) home (925) cell, (07/14) CORVAIR PARTS WANTED 110 Hp Engine: Rebuilding a Forward Control. Looking for a 64 or 65 FC engine. Call Todd Lyly (707) (Ukiah area). (11/14) CORVAIR PARTS FOR SALE (not local) Skip Polachi has the following parts for sale. Parts are located in Red Bluff & Santa Rosa. Best to call evenings (530) Besides these listed parts Skip also has many more engine parts, heads, cams, cranks, posi, turbo. All new or rebuilt. F/C Turned brake drums (2) - $20 F/C Good brake drums (2) with linings & springs - $20 F/C Hub caps (4) - $20 F/C Rear overload spring kit (new) - $100 F/C Front door NOS L&R lock latch - $30 F/C Complete Front & rear bumper guards (NOS) - $325 Spyder Front dash harness to fuse box for F/C - (price not listed) Spyder Dashes (3) - one is wooden face - $100 each Corsa Communiqués $150 Tires R14 on rims for F/C (2) - $ Wood wheels with hubs, horn & contacts. - (2) at $300 each, (1) at $200 Dave Newell contributed these two Corvairs for sale Here are a couple more that people have called me about. I think the '61 sedan's mileage is correct, though the car's had some bad storage and was subject to a lot of short trips, driven by the local reservation's Native Americans who helped out Ted's aunt on her ranch in San Jacinto. The delicate 700 seat fabric on the bottom cushion of the driver's seat isn't torn, which it surely would be if the mileage was A couple pics are attached. The Vairs in the wrecking yard have been there for over 30 years and many aren't easily accessible but Charles said that the coupes and sedan plus both vans can be gotten to easily. (see Classifieds... on page 8) Letter... hurt to bring a lounge chair or two as the concrete picnic tables can get rather hard. Remember that the lakes will be closed due to algae but the rest of the park (picnic areas and walking trails) will be open. Harry volunteered to host another Tech Session at his house in Dublin. This will be in place of either our September or October meeting. Watch the Spyder Web for details. Lets talk about possible themes at the Picnic.Bring your ideas! SFBA Corsa - August 2015 page 11

12 SFBA CORSA PO BOX 422 ORINDA, CA FIRST CLASS To: page 12 SFBA Corsa - August 2015