VAIRC R. Annual Charity Auction at the May Meeting. May Heart of America Corvair Owners Association

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1 Heart of America Corvair Owners Association 1964 Kansas City Area 50 years VAIRC R Volume 50 Issue 5 Editors Gary and Helen Moore On April 7, 1964 Governor Warren E. Hearnes issued a Certificate of Incorporation to the Heart of America Corvair Owners Association. Governor Hearnes, by signing and affixing the Great Seal of Missouri, declared the club had filed for and had met all requirements of the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of Missouri. HACOA was now official! HACOA s April 8, 2014 Meeting marked the 50 th anniversary of receiving our state recognition. As you may recall, at the Fall Fling Mike Dawson gave a program on the founding of the club. Mike presented Part II of the History of HACOA as the after meeting program. Among other things, Mike pointed out that there were 12 former presidents still active in the club with 8 of them at the April meeting. Mike asked for a show of hands and over half of the members present at the meeting had either served on the Board of Directors or as an officer (or both). Meeting Continued on page 3 A memorial service will be held for Jean St. John at 10 am on Friday, May 23, 2014 at the Missouri Veteran s Cemetery on the north side of Higginsville, MO. The street address is Missouri 13 Business, Higginsville, MO It is not necessary to drive a Corvair to the memorial service, but in honor of Jean s many years in the club, please do so if you can. A little get together will be held after the service at the home of Tom and March Casey, 303 South Russell, Odessa MO Mike Dawson reviews more of HACOA's fifty year history during the after meeting program. Annual Charity Auction at the May Meeting

2 Page 2 Social Calendar at a Glance Date Event Social Chair Scott Allison Sunday May 4 Spring Car Cruise to benefit R.E.A.P.* Dick Smith Ford, Raytown MO Saturday May 10 Spring Dust Off, John and Linda Mellies, Kansas City, KS Saturday May 10 NWMSR CRUISE-IN the VILLAGE, East Ridge Village Shopping Center, St. Joseph, MO (Come hear Benton High School Rolling (not marching) Alumni Band) Tuesday May 13 Monthly Meeting and Annual Charity Auction, Paul and Jack's Tavern, 1808 Clay St. North Kansas City, MO Saturday May 17 Track and Trailer Prep Day, Wes Mellies shop, Edwardsville, KS Friday May 23 Memorial Service for Jean St. John, Missouri Veteran's Cemetery, Higginsville, MO Saturday May 24 NOPW** Car Show, White Haven Motor Lodge, Overland Park, KS May 30-June 1, 2014 Tri-State Corvair Meet, Branding Iron Motel, Chama, NM Friday June 6 NWMSR Casino Car Show, Frontier Casino, St. Joseph, MO Saturday June 7 Working Tech Session, Mike and Sandy Dawsons, Belton, MO Noon till Done Tuesday June 10 HACOA Meeting in the Park, Sar-ko-Par Trails Park, Lenexa, KS Saturday June 14 St. Paul's Annual Classic Car Show, St. Paul's Methodist Church, St. Joseph, MO Saturday June 14 Paola Heartland Car Show, Downtown Paola, Paola, KS Saturday June TBA Christmas in June, Don and Wilma Cory's Kansas City, MO Saturday June 21 Juna Tuna, Terry Kalp's shop, Valley Center, KS Sunday June 22 Art of the Car Concours, Kansas City Art Institute, 4415 Warwick Blvd, KC, MO 10-4 Sunday June 22 The Village Church Ice Cream Social and Car Show, Prairie Village, KS Tuesday July 8 HACOA Monthly Meeting, Paul and Jack's, North Kansas City, MO Saturday July 12 Thunder in the Valley and Pre-Thunder Lunch Grain Valley, MO July 21-25, 2014 CorSA National Convention, Tacoma, WA Saturday August 10 Warm Springs Ranch Tour (Clydesdales!), Warm Springs Ranch, Booneville, MO August 15-17, 2014 Choo Choo Corvair Classic, Chattanooga, TN August 30-31, 2014 HACOA Labor Day Dust Up Event, Marshalltown, IA Sept. 30 Oct. 4, 2014 Great Plains Corvair Round Up, Branson, MO Saturday October 11 Annual Barta Chili Feed, Don and Irma Jean Barta's house, Kansas City, MO *Raytown Emergency Assistance Program. Please bring canned or boxed food to donate, cash donations also encouraged. **National Orange Popsicle Week, raising awareness of stroke in your people. Check the online Calendar for more information and additional events For more local cruises and car shows Go to ACCKC website. Announcement: There will be a 2014 Round Up Planning Committee Meeting starting at 6 pm before each monthly meeting through September. All interested members are welcome. by Bill Bennett First Saturdays in Blue Springs on the downtown Main Street. Second Saturdays at North Kansas City Pro Bowl in North Kansas City. Third Saturdays at Johnny Ray s Drive-in, Lees Summit. Fourth Saturdays in Belton on Main Street downtown. Last Saturday each month in Liberty on the Square downtown,

3 Page 3 The Dust Off will be a little different this year. Instead of going on a local cruise at the end of our usual activities, the plan is to drive to St. Joseph to the Northwest Missouri Street Rods car show. The drive is about 45 minutes at normal driving speed. The show will feature music by the Benton High School Rolling (not marching) Alumni Band. Our own Dean Sego plays first trombone and is the band s lead singer. The Dust-Off will begin at 10:00 am with the usual car display along Leavenworth Road in front of John and Linda Mellies house, followed by a potluck lunch, and the awarding of the Mellies Cup for the HACOA Member of the Year. For lunch Linda asks that everyone to bring a side dish and/or dessert. John and Linda will supply the meat, baked beans and macaroni salad, along with beverages; iced tea, soda (regular and diet) and water. If you would like a different beverage you can bring it along. They have plenty of patio and folding chairs, but bring a lawn chair if you want to sit on the lawn. The Northwest Missouri Street Rods Car Show starts at 5:00 in the East Ridge Village Shops parking lot, 3900 Frederick Avenue in St. Joseph. Take exit 47 from I-29 and head west a half mile. The entrance to the shopping center is on your right after you pass the Perkins Restaurant. continued from page 1 Mike also passed around a copy of the club s first newsletter; a postcard with the next meeting s date, place and time. We've come a long way; it won't all fit on a postcard now! President Cliff Carlino reminded everyone to bring items for the Annual Charity Auction next month. Scott Allison is now the new Social Chair and there are lots of things to do. Check the calendar on page two and the website. Kevin and Ada Koch are making arrangements for the Holiday Party in December. Plans are being made for it to be at Johnny Cascone's Italian Restaurant in Overland Park. Last year s hosts, Don and Wilma Cory, are planning a Christmas Party at their home in June. A new item for the calendar was a day trip to Warm Springs Ranch near Booneville, MO. The ranch is the home of the Budweiser Clydesdales. The warm spring weather brought out the Corvairs. Twelve members drove their Vairs to the meeting, four early models, seven late models, and one Rampside. After Mike s HACOA history lesson, the meeting adjourned to the parking lot. Jack Hill examines the first HACOA newsletter, a postcard announcing the time and place of one of the early meetings. In the past people have brought Peanut Clusters, Sego Cookies, fuel pumps, tune-up kits, massage coupons, pies, candles, candle holders, rear view mirrors, blenders, coffee makers, sunglasses, purses, Clark's Corvair Parts certificates, bicycles, jacks and jack stands, dollies and dolls, totes, toolboxes, timing lights, table clothes, ice cream makers, bird houses, car wax, car wash, car wipes, car magazines, car books, voltage regulators, beer steins, wine glasses, wheels, kitchen sinks, velvet Elvis paintings - the list goes on and on. Bring anything and everything (within reason), but don't forget your billfold. The Health and Police Departments have notified HACOA that a date with Bill Bennett will not be allowed as an auction item this year.

4 Page 4 By Mike Dawson Corvair Powerglide Identification Guide This is the third part of a series on the Powerglide and may help with identification of both complete units and the parts involved. The following is based on my personal experience working on Corvair Powerglides plus all the information I could absorb from other individuals in the same pursuit of this kind of knowledge, the late Bob Ballew in particular. Information from GM on the Corvair automatic transmission development is really rare and parts changes were made that were never revealed or added to the shop manuals. If you have a discovery not covered in my series, please share. There are basically two models of the Corvair Powerglide transmission, early and late, except that the late version of the Powerglide begins in 1964 when the more significant horsepower change was made. Most of the internal parts changes were made to accommodate the higher power with the use of higher pressures. This made it cheaper to accomplish since no changes were made to the clutch plates, band or converter. These parts seemed to accept the additional work without complaint. Identification: To the best of my knowledge there are no markings on the case that will establish the year. I have found stamped numbers on the pan, but could not fit them to years. A plastic vent was installed during the late production but that is not much help in the late/early identification. Early 60s had a unique shifter cable mount and a shield, revised in late 60 production. Dipsticks and tubes are different, but only between body styles (early and late) and the transmission itself may have been changed. The 64 has an early tube but is a late transmission. The throttle valve lever on the side of the transmission is a partial help. The used a lever with the front early ½" hole accelerator rod pivot late ⅝" hole hole measuring ½ inch. But since the 64 is a late model transmission with a ½ inch lever hole, you would need to pull the pan to check for a late style reaction plate to know for sure. (See following note on reaction plate ID.) All of the late ( 65+) lever holes are ⅝ inch. The 67 lever will not clear the early suspension and would need to be changed in order to install it in a car. If you have disassembled a Powerglide and are checking parts, here is my collection of early/late part differences. Keep in mind that pressures were increased to match the horsepower increase and the part changes make sense. Early and late parts need to be kept in their respective relationships or you will no doubt encounter trouble. Valve body reaction plate: There is a small square notch in the driver s side of the plate, and the round hole for the low servo is much larger on the late model: This plate is the best source of ID if you think you have a 64 that has the ½ inch hole in the throttle valve lever or if you just want to verify that you have a late style with the improvements. You can see the notch by pulling the pan only. Notch Valve body: The hydraulic modulator valve (booster) small end is.416 early and.484 late. If you have a very early model, the modulator valve body will have a pressure limiting valve. The late model detent valve assembly has a machined grove in the case next to the adjusting nut and a grove in the internal shaft. The late throttle valve has about 3 /16 inch of a stub which the spring sits on as opposed to the early which has a long stub. The springs used in the low-drive shift valve are different between late and early. Free length of the late spring combination: To check for a 140, measure the low-drive regulator valve. The diameter for a 140 is A 140 also has an H stamped on the end of the low-drive regulator valve sleeve you can see it from the outside of the valve body. The 140 also has some orange paint on the main part of the valve body. See Powerglide Identification on page 5

5 Arpil 2014 Page 5 PowerGlide Identification continued from page 4 Low Servo Piston, Rod and Return Spring: The late rod has a grove machined into it, and the early piston has a cast or mat finish to it while the late has a polished machined look. The apply springs are the same early and late but the return spring for the late has an additional ½ coil for a total of 5 vs. 4 ½ early. Planetary Unit: The quick identification is the thrust washer the early unit uses a flat washer that can be removed while the late style uses a needle bearing washer that does not come out without disassembly. The two are a different thickness. Priming Valve: There is a three piece priming valve added to the late model front pump cover on the drivers side. Watch for all three pieces. Oil Cooler Bypass Valve: The Corvair line of trucks and vans with automatic transmissions used a remote oil cooler located in the battery box. The transmission for this application had an oil cooler bypass valve located in a modified front pump body and the pump cover was fitted with two ports that attached the oil cooler lines. I have found this pump body (without the valve) used on 140 Powerglides. The only thing I can think of is left over parts utilized on the assembly line. Downshift Timing Valve: This was added in 1964 to soften the down shift since the pressures had been raised. This valve is installed vertically in the bottom of the case and held in by the reaction plate. When you remove the valve body on the late style, this valve sometimes falls out. The pointed end of the valve points down when you reinstall it. Front Pump Gear: The early style gear that is driven by the three-lug drive tip did not have a bushing in its center. The late style has a bushing that rides on a sleeve pressed into the pump body. The pump and their gears need to stay as a matched set you could not accidentally interchange a late and early since they would not fit.

6 Page 6 On a cool spring morning, April 5, many of the Corvair Club members met at my home for a hands on tech session. The goal was to install two windshields, one in my 62 Spyder convertible and the other in my 62 Lakewood wagon. Also scheduled was a new headliner for the Lakewood. The group started work promptly at 9:30 am installing the windshield in the Spyder. We rapidly learned that Armor-All and a pull hook were needed. Later flat tipped screw drivers and a large rubber mallet finished the job. We had the job completed in about an hour, the seal looked pretty good and we had it well centered. It was time to move to the Lakewood. Wes Mellies decided it would be easiest to install the headliner while the windshield was out. So that is what we did next. First all the metal bows in the ceiling were removed and inserted into the sleeves on the topside of the new headliner. Then the bows were reinserted in the roof locations. They were a tight fit, but Ray Sego, Gary Lehnen, and Wes had it finished in no time. The rear was glued and stapled in place, the sides were pulled and straightened, and it looks great. The final job was to put a windshield in the Lakewood. The wagon windshield differs slightly from the car models, but the installation is the same. With the practice on the Spyder under our belts, the windshield went in quickly. For lunch, pizza was served with drinks after the work was finished. Members attending with their Corvairs: Gary Wolfe, 1966 turbo; Jack and Donna Hill, 1965 Monza Convertible; Sandy and Mike Dawson, Greenbrier Van; Scott Allison, 1967 Monza 4-door; Larry Sherwood, blue 1961Rampside; Marty O Mara, 1964 Monza convertible; John and Theresa Miller, 1962 Lakewood. Also attending: Travis Bolton, Wes and Kim Mellies, Mark Whitman, Don Cory, Ray and Dean Sego, Chuck and Dorothy Morris, Gary Lehnen, and Rick Bowen. Top photo: Mike Dawson giving two-step dance lessons to Gary Wolfe and Dean Sego as Jack Hill and Marty O'Mara watch. Center: Preping the wagon for its new headliner. Bottom: Gary Jones setting in the bows for the headliner. I don't know why the engine cover isn't on. by Gary Jones Photos by Teresa Miller

7 Page 7 by Larry Sherwood What would be your perfect venue for a car cruise? The Parkville location offered many amenities for a cruise, including good parking, sights, shopping, and dining. Nine club members, including Scott Allison, Mark Whitman, Gary and Marty Jones, Don and Wilma Cory, Gary Wolfe, Kat King, Karl Cozad, Larry and Suzy Sherwood, and new members John and Theresa Miller from Des Moines, attended the cruise. That adds up to six cars, two wagons and one truck. The weather was great; sunny, breezy, and just warming up above jacket weather for a few hours. Most of the club members attended a pizza lunch at the Stone Canyon Pizza. The cruise attracted a large number of other cars and trucks, filling up both parking lots. Fast moving freight trains on a nearby track could be counted on to wake up anyone who was bored and nodding off! Photos by Teresa Miller

8 Page 8 Mike Dawson, Don Wagner and I recently received messages from former HACOA member Mike Sloan. Mike and his car were featured in the March 2009 VairCor. At the time Mike s Corsa Convertible was unfinished. It was in good shape mechanically, but the body, interior and paint were in need of attention. Mike now lives in Florida. He recently visited our website, read some archived VairCors, and thought he should check in and send a few updated photos of his Corsa. It felt good to read about what the club up there was doing. Makes me wish I was back up there again - well ok, maybe not - you still have winter up there! HA! My car is now pampered because it s in the garage all the time at the shop, and when it comes home, it goes in the garage, and I only have it out on nice sunny days. We have a lot of those here in Sarasota - they don t call it the Suncoast for nothing! Please share with the club and let them all know that I miss them and think about them often. --Michael

9 BENNETT PRO SOUND DJ SERVICE Experienced Disc Jockeys specializing in Wedding Receptions, Class Reunions, Company Parties, or any special occassion MUSIC FOR ALL AGES Cell: (816) Bus. Phone (816) Leave Message Page Kansas City Area 50 years 2014 Fred's Classic Auto Radios & Clocks 7908 Gillette St. Lenexa, KS SALES & SERVICE I buy: 1947 thru 1979 (no imports) Radios-Clocks-Parts Clock Movements Repaired or Converted to Quartz I sell: Tubes Speakers Vibrators NOS Parts For Sale: Reproduced end plates for the 12 plate oil cooler. These are the two pieces of sheet metal that help keep all the hot air from the oil cooler moving out the bottom instead of back in to the engine compartment. Many are missing because folks could not figure out how to install them or forgot them when they had the cooler off. $10.00 each. For sale: Internally regulated 63 amp Corvair Alternators $85.00 Exchange price Our 41st Year! Get the New Catalog If you did not get our new catalog in 2013, you can get one free with your first $50 order during (Addititional catalogs $3 with an order) The new catalog includes parts from the last 5 supplements as well as hundreds of improvements. This is our most major revision ever. Clark s Corvair Parts 400 Mohawk Trail, Shelburne Falls, MA (413) We will have our full display at the 2014 Great Plains Round Corvair Up in Branson MO. The Tool Crib club tools for rent Tool Deposit Rental Fee per month Harmonic Balancer Puller $3.00 $1.00 Ramps, Auto $4.00 $1.00 Torque Wrenches: 1. ½ drive ft/lb $15.00 $ /8 drive in/lb $15.00 $2.00 Floor Jacks and Stands $25.00 $3.50 Rebuilt Corvair starters with solenoid $90.00 Exchange price Professionally rebuilt Corvair clutch disc on a welded center Borg & Beck core with a thickness of.325. $45.00 exchange price with same core. Mike Dawson mdawson1961@sbcglobal.net Ring Groove Cleaner $3.00 $1.00 Dwell-Tach Meter $5.00 $1.00 Greaser: Fan bearing and idler pulley $5.00 $1.00 Hubs: Rear Towing for LM Powerglide $5.00 $1.00 Pushrod tube extractor $10.00 Contact: Ken Ragan Ragan Enterprises 212 Warner Rd Bonner Springs, KS kenrragan@gmail.net $2.00

10 Page 10 Article and photos by Wes and Kim Mellies March was a busy month for HACOA. Between the Round Up preparation and too many events to count it seems we all were going all directions. With that being said, Kim and I headed for Ozark Arkansas but as things go we had a last minute detour to Conway Missouri to check on Kim s grandmother. After getting everything straight we were back on the road by 10:00. We were way east of Ozark but with a little help from Garmin we had a route laid out and we were on our way. Working towards Fayetteville we wound around on what they called the pig trail. This is a winding road thru the hills and would have been really fun if we d had a Vair. Around 1:00 we made it to Jerry and Donnas where there was a party in full swing. There were a lot of Corvairs, Corvettes and just some cool cars. There was also lots of food, lots to see and lots to do - fun for all. The Pentzers have an unusual house that words cannot describe; this is something you just have to see to believe. Jerry and Donna are great hosts and we really enjoyed helping them celebrate their 10th Anniversary. Jerry and Donna Pentzer at the 2013 Fall Fling in Platte City, MO

11 Page 11 By Cliff Carlino May is here and that means it s auction time. Scour the garage for car parts, peek in the attic for neat old collectibles or fire up the oven to bake something delicious. Once again this year the proceeds of the auction will be held in reserve to ensure the club treasury has funds for any unforeseen expenses with the Branson Round Up, even though we are in very good financial shape and don t expect any surprises. After the Round Up the club will pool the proceeds from last year s and this year s auctions and choose which charities are deserving of our money. President Sunday, August 10 has been chosen for the daytrip to Warm Springs Ranch, the home of the Budweiser Clydesdales. The tour is $10 per person and it begins at 2:00. For those that are interested, we plan on meeting at Boonville at 12:00 for lunch and then caravan to the ranch. Tour space is limited so if you know that you want to go please sign up as soon as possible. See you at the meeting, Cliff September 30- October 4, 2014 Attention All Club Members! I volunteered to collect the stuff for the goodie bags for our Branson Round Up. I need your help. We hope to have close to 200 (two hundred) sign up for our Round Up. If every club member could come up with three to four items or as many as you can, it would be greatly appreciated. Some items might not fit in the goodie bags. In which case we would put a ticket into a goodie bag. The person who gets that bag would take their ticket to our hospitality room and match the number to collect their item. Items do not need to be expensive. They could be new T-shirts (car themed), new hat, tools, model cars, Corvair oil filters, Corvair parts, windshield washer fluid, a poster, car wax, art work or whatever you think is appropriate. Bring items to all meetings from now through August and I shall collect them. Thank you for your help. Don Barta

12 1964 Kansas City Area years 2014 Scott Allison's 1967 Monza sedan and Larry Sherwood's 1961 Rampside at the Parkville Car Show. First President of HACOA Gene Caldwell with future President Mike Dawson and early member Chuck Vorbeck. A few familiar faces preparing for the Old Shawnee Days Parade. Sometime around 1990? Left: Corvair Resort in Branson. from before the turn of the century Right: Day trip to the newly opened Strategic Air Command Museum in 1998.