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 1969. This unique, rear-engined, air-cooled automobile WEB grabs as much attention today as it did 50 years ago! VOLUME 267 NOVEMBER 2015 Look for us on the Web! http://clubs.hemmings.com/corsanews 2.. Letter From the Editor 3. Tech Session 2015 Notes 3. Treasurers Report 4.. Coming Events 4.. SFBA Corsa Meeting Schedule 2015 6.. Tech Session Corvairs 7. Update On Rob Massari s 64 Spyder 8. SFBA Cprsa Active Roster 9. SFBA Membership Application Form 11 Corvair Classifieds Seth Leading the Tech Session Next Meeting: Thursday, Nov 12 th at Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14 th Ave., San Leandro - 7:00 PM SFBA Corsa - November 2015 page 1
Letter From the Editor I hope you were able to attend our first Tech Session of 2015. We had a good turnout with twelve people showing up. As usual we started of talking Corvairs over coffee & donuts and then listened (and learned!) as Seth presented a Corvair Cooling System Maintenance work-shop. At about 12:30 we adjourned to the back yard for a BBQ. Harry & Carol have a very pleasant, shaded patio where we could relax and enjoy our afternoon lunch. The group broke up around 2:00. I wish to thank all of those who participated in the Tech Session. Especially Seth for the presentation and Harry & Carol for letting us use the garage area and hosting the BBQ. I hope everyone had a good time and learned something new! Following the Tech Session, Rob Massari decided that it would be worthwhile upgrading his Spyder to a 12 plate oil cooler. He is now actively looking for one of these (see Classifieds). He is also making good progress on rebuilding his engine following the over-heat issue several months ago. His photos document the work being done (see page 7). Also Rob thinks he found the real cause to his overheating problem. He writes: Luckily I finally found the culprit that caused the domino effect of over heating my 140HP engine. I just thought the fan belt broke. We did notice that when we took the oil filter off it had some unusual wear marks on it, but there were bigger fish to fry at that moment. The straw that broke the camels back came when my buddy remembered (during reassembly no less) and went back to give the harmonic balancer a tug - this is bolted directly to the crank shaft and should be very solid - it came apart in it's hand! Photo #1369 shows the parts of the balancer as they came off (including the big bolt that attaches it to the crankshaft). With the balancer removed you can see the wear Current SFBA Corsa Officers President Tony Richards, PO Box 765, Mill Valley, CA 94942 email: Lonetree12@yahoo.com Vice-President Harry Kypreos, 7840 Creekside Dr, Dublin, CA 94568 email: HKypreos@epicor.com Secretary Treasurer Membership Library Newsletter Clark Calkins, 1907 Alvarado Ave., Walnut Creek, CA 94597 - (925)478-8909 email: CaCalkins@astound.net Paul Lacey, 16550 Blackberry Hill Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95030 - (408)354-9393 email: pdmlacey@cs.com Committees Harry Kypreos (address above) Dave Newell, 1481 Hamrick Lane, Hayward, CA 94544 - (510)782-4265 Clark Calkins (address above) Editor At Large Tony Richards (address above) Refreshments Internet Web email Ed Rodrigues, 1702 Nelson St, San Leandro, CA 94579-2203 - (510)351-1237 http://clubs.hemmings.com/corsanews CaCalkins@astound.net marks where it was wearing directly into the engine case (Photo #1370 (you may need to rotate the photo so the timing "ribbon" is on top)). (see Letter... on page 10) On The Cover: Our first Tech Session of 2015 took place on October 3rd at Harry & Carol s house in Dublin. Beautiful weather and comfortable surroundings contributed to a very enjoyable day. See story and photos on the inside pages. 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 emailed 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 - November 2015
Over coffee and donuts before our main Tech Session started we discussed various aspects of Corvair body work and welding techniques. Marc just got his car back from the mechanic that was going to work on the interior and paint the car. He brought it down a year ago and after many months of delays finally had to give up on the shop. They did more harm than good, he was not pleased! The driver s side rear had a nasty wrinkle and the shop started to work on it but left it in worse shape than when they started. There was a lively discussion about how to straighten this out and make it presentable. The main topic this Saturday was Corvair Cooling Maintenance and Seth was the main presenter. He brought some examples to demonstrate the areas of concern and repair/maintenance techniques. Not a whole car mind you, just the necessary parts. Harry moved his Corvair out of the garage so we had more space for the demos. The Corvair, being air cooled, is very dependent on having adequate air passing over the engine. Seth talked about the fan and how maintaining open air passages helped cool the engine. Obstructions to look for (and eliminate or reduce) are debris (especially around the oil cooler), malfunctioning damper doors, and even mold flashing (due to hurried manufacturing) that can hinder air flowing around some cylinders. Most Corvairs use thermostats that open and close dampers on the rear of the engine while very early Corvairs used a device that restricted intake air. If a thermostat fails the doors are generally left wide open. While this is a safer approach it does not let the engine get up to proper operating temperature. Replacing and adjusting the thermostats is a tricky little job. Seth went over the steps involved. To adjust the thermostat and replace the pin that serves as a pivot for the damper doors, Tech Session 2015 Notes it is helpful to attach an extension rod to the thermostat link. For late models this is easy as the link is threaded 1/ 4x20 and a simple piece of threaded rod and a union (or coupling) can be fabricated. But early models use a much harder to find thread (¼x32 extra fine thread or maybe #12-32?) so it won t be so easy to make an extension rod. But you can still do it. You should adjust the thermostat such that the doors are fully open when it has expanded. The mounting bracket has a built-in stop. This lets you pull on the linking rod (use you extender) and the doors should be fully open when the stop is reached. The last step in reassembling is to insert the hinge pin. This is retained by a metal tab that gets bent back over the pin. If this has broken off (as is often the case) then you can use a sheet metal screw and washer to secure the pin or something similar. Seth suggested that you can use a nut & bolt (if you can get to both sides?). The Tech Guide probably has some other suggestions. Check into this. The oil cooler is also right next to the damper doors and it prone to clogging. Treasurers Report October 2015 (*) Paul Lacey Checking Acct. Cash/Checks Beginning Balance $3374.50 $00.00 Income Renewals $0.00 Expenses Newsletter (Aug-Oct)(**) (122.72) There is a cover plate that can be removed giving access to the top of the cooler. A small vacuum can be used or you can carefully poke out dirt and leaves. The folded-fin type of cooler, which is technically more efficient, clogs easier and is more difficult to clean. If the oil cooler is really gungy, it may be desirable to remove it so it can be cleaned more easily. And while you have it off you might want to replace the O-rings seals as this is a common source of oil leaks. To get all of the cooling air moving in the first place, the fan has to be driven by the infamous twisted belt. The belt should be inspected for cracks to see if it should be replaced (you may need to remove the belt to check). Various replacements belts are available. Some are a plain V design and others are notched or toothed design. Seth did not have a preference. When adjusting the belt tension, you should be able to barely turn the generator or alternator with your fingers. In 1964 Chevy introduced belt guides to help the belt stay put. At rest there should be about 1/ (see Tech Notes... on page 5) Ending Balance $3251.78 $00.00 (*) The Bank of America account was closed and a new Bank of the West account started. The opening balance is $3374.50. (**) These expenses have not been turned in yet. SFBA Corsa - November 2015 page 3
Coming Events Oct ober 23-25 th November 12 th December 12 th 38 th Annual Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet hosted by Corsa West of Los Angeles, Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, CA. Regular SFBA meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14 th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA Corsa Holiday Dinner at Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th Ave, San Leandro, CA. Meet in the front section this year. 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 Saturday Aug 8, 12:00PM Thursday Sep 3, 7:00 PM Saturday Oct 3, 10:00 AM SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA Regular meeting, Round Table Pizza, 7841 Amador Valley Blvd, Dublin, CA SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA 43 rd Anniversary Dinner. Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14 th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA/Valley Club Picnic at Quarry Lakes park, Fremont, CA SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. SFBA Tech Session, Harry & Carol Kypreos house, 7840 Creekside Dr, Dublin, CA 94568. Thursday Nov 12, 7:00 PM SFBA Regular meeting, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. Saturday Dec 12, 7:00 PM SFBA Holiday Dinner, Harry s Hofbrau, 14900 E. 14th St, San Leandro, CA. page 4 SFBA Corsa - November 2015
Tech Notes... 16 clearance between the guides and the belt. Seth showed a tool he picked up at a swap meet to help in tightening the idler pulley bolt. It looks like a severely bent end wrench (which is just what it is). Seth has the address of the person that makes this item. Regular wrenches can be used but it s a tight fit. As you know the cooling air, once it has passed over the engine, is also used to heat the car. The ducting should be inspected to be sure it s not leaking badly. A bad leak here can be just as detrimental as a stuck open damper door. On the inside of the car the heater ducks have rubber seals that may need replacing. These seals are riveted to a hinging plate. Seth showed how he fixed one by drilling out the stock rivets and using pop-rivets to secure a replacement rubber seal. You should also note that these rubber air hoses have been a source of other problems. These are about 4 in diameter and have a spring steel wire that holds it round. The ducting on the driver s side comes close to the starter and if any exposed spring wire touches the main +12v terminal, a bad short can occur. Also people have reported that spring steel wire had rubbed on an axle and cut a grove in it as the wire is harder than the steel axel. As you are already taking apart the hot air access doors on the inside of the car, you might as well clean out all the gunk that can collect in the channels below the doors. A well known source of rust in Corvairs. Use compressed air to blow out the junk. You will be amazed how much dirt and debris collects here. On late models there are plugs you can remove to allow better access. Might as well leave these out unless you plan to show the car. Following the presentation there was an extended question and answer session. It was good to see so much participation. Seth did a commendable job in presenting this subject in a very interesting way. Following the Tech Session we had a BBQ in the back yard. There were plenty of hamburgers and hot dogs, drinks and snacks. A nice covered patio area and Harry had a new, big gas BBQ to use. This made cooking the burgers and dogs fast much easier and quicker than at the Picnic in August. I wish to thank all of those who participated in the Tech Session. Especially Seth for the presentation and Harry & Carol for letting us use their garage and hosting the BBQ. I hope everyone learned something new! (L - R) Marc, Seth (mostly hidden), Paul and Harry talking Shop. Janet, Carol & Tony are winding down the BBQ. I waited until most had already left before thinking to take a picture. Sorry! SFBA Corsa - November 2015 page 5
Tech Session Corvairs - photos by Tony Richards Roger s Pretty Coupe.Nice wheels too! Marc just got his car back from the Interiors. None too pleased with the work they did. Roger, Rob, Paul and Marc are discussing repair Harry is backing out his 62 Coupe to free the garage techniques for his driver s side rear fender. for Seth s demo. page 6 SFBA Corsa - November 2015
Update On Rob Massari s 64 Spyder Rob believes this is the culpret for his overheating problem! If you look closely you can see the wear marks the damper caused. Notice how Rob has numbered the cylinders so they......can be put back in the original locations! Here is an example of a folded-fin oil cooler. At the airport everything must be labeled if it s not for aircraft use! SFBA Corsa - November 2015 page 7
SFBA Corsa Active Roster as of October 2015 Last name First name Address City State Zip Phone Date Email address - - - - - - - - Anderson Walter 3263 Butters Dr Oakland CA 94602 01/16 jwanders@cwnet.com Brutschy Marc 8467 Beverly Court Dublin, CA 94568 01/16 Calkins Clark 1907 Alvarado Ave Walnut Creek CA 94597 (925)939-8153 01/16 cacalkins@aol.com Chang Roger 3209 Pine Valley Rd San Ramon CA 94583 (925)829-9556 01/16 Rogchang1@gmail.com Coon Robert 51 Wildwood Place El Cerrito CA 94530 (510)236-3949 01/16 Dalforno Philip 2386 Westcliffe Ln Walnut Creek CA 94597 (925)937-3339 01/16 dalforno@pacbell.net Emerson Seth 3462 Kirkwood Dr. San Jose CA 95117 (408)247-2237 01/16 Sethracer@aol.com Frazin Jim P.O. Box 78261 San Francisco CA 94107 (415)337-4566 01/16 Garrity Fred 113 Alamatos Drive Danville CA 94526 (925)837-7291 01/16 Hall Richard 37473 Rockwood Dr. Fremont CA 94536 09/15 Hargrove Doug 2116 Winslow Court Modesto CA 95355 Jones Buck PO BOX 444 Pebble BeachCA 93953 01/16 Kypreos Harry/Carol 7840 Creekside Dr Dublin, CA 94568 (925)875-1408 01/16 Lacey Paul 16550 Blackberry Hill Rd Los Gatos CA 95030 (408)354-9393 01/16 pdmlacey@cs.com Langdon Robert W. 2801 Eganhoff Lane West Point CA 95255 (209)293-7290 01/16 rwlwp@volcano.net Lewis Ken 636 Park Hill Rd Danville CA 94526 (925)743-0770 01/14 kendlewis@gmail.com Massari Rob 250 Hartson Street Napa CA 94559 01/16 robm@napajetcenter.com Mathews Don 2523 Arapahoe Ct. Nampa ID 83686 01/16 page 8 SFBA Corsa - November 2015 Miller Joe 1444 Trojan Avenue San Leandro CA 94579 (510)351-6715 01/16 Newell David 1481 Hamrick Lane Hayward CA 94544 (510)782-4265 chevrobilia@yahoo.com Piper Vance 22 Estado Court Novato CA 94945 (415)892-8843 01/12 vancepiper@msn.com Polacchi John 5296 Wilson Hill Rd Manton CA 96059 (530)474-4227 01/16 Richards Tony PO Box 765 Mill Valley CA 94942 (415)246-9944 01/16 lonetree12@yahoo.com Rodrigues Ed 1702 Nelson Street San Leandro CA 94579 (510)351-1237 01/16 FayeRod@comcast.net Schnier Steve 36 El Toyonal Orinda CA 94563 01/16 steven.schnier@arentfox.com Thompson Kevin 28181 Riggs Court Hayward CA 94542 (510)538-0760 05/14 KThom28181@earthlink. von Hofen Chuck 1021 Meadow Brook Dr Brentwood CA 94513 (650)588-5632 01/17 Welter Ray 765 Lassen Street Richmond CA 94805 (415)272-2771 09/16 ray.welter@gmail.com Wimmer Herb 4275 Putah Creek Rd Winters CA 95694 (530)795-2443 01/16 Wright Grover 6971 Mills Lane Vacaville CA 95688 (707)448-3659 01/17 Please let me know if this information is in error or out of date!
SFBA Corsa - November 2015 page 9
Letter... The wear mark is at about the 2 o'clock position. This also explains the unusual wear on the oil filter. A new balancer (with timing marks) and seal/gasket run about $250 for parts. Labor and humility are free. ha-ha-ha I received the following note from Toni & Mike Lewis who had the Corvair parts for sale in Lafayette. Just wanted to thank you for putting our parts out in the newsletter. We did sell them today to a guy that lives in Antioch. Whoopee! They are all gone! Toni. She is obviously delighted that the parts are all gone so they now have room for their other projects. Paul is in the process of setting up a new bank account for us. The BofA account was closed and Paul will open a Bank of the West account. He expects this to be a free account with no minimum balance requirement. That would be great. Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 12th at Harry s again. Ed has reserved the front section as before. This is a week later than usual as Harry s was already booked for the 5th. page 10 SFBA Corsa - November 2015 We felt it was better to wait a week than try to have a meeting somewhere in the center section of the restaurant. You know how hard it is to hear. Also our annual Holiday Dinner will be Saturday, December 12th also in the front section as the back section was taken. Our first choice date (Dec 5th) was booked for both the front and back sections. Harry s is getting very busy these days and it has me a bit concerned as we rely on this venue for our meetings. If we don t get the front area, the general restaurant noise makes hearing the discussions difficult. If anyone has suggestions for another place, pass them along!
Corvair Classifieds CORVAIR PARTS WANTED 12 Plate Oil Cooler for for my 140 HP engine. I believe it would have to come from a Spyder or Air Conditioned engine. Contact Rob Massari (email RobM@NapaJetCenter.com) or cell (707)480-9079. (11/15) 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)474-4227. Besides these listed parts Skip also has many more engine parts, heads, cams, cranks, posi, turbo. All new or rebuilt. F/C Fuel Tank, boiled, sealed & painted. Asking $135. F/C Turned brake drums (2) - $20 F/C Hub caps (4) - $20 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 1970-2000 - $150 Tires 205 75R14 on rims for F/C (2) - $75 1964 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 108600. 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 65-66 coupes and sedan plus both vans can be gotten to easily. 1) 1961 700 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 408-204- 6447 or email Dave Newell for pictures at chevrobilia@yahoo.com (01/15) 2) Vallejo wrecking yard dating back to the 1960s still has many Corvairs, all for sale complete or will sell parts: Half dozen 65-66 Coupes; 1 late 4dr; 2 vans/greenbriers; several 64 coupes; 2 1960s; 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, 707-642-9903 (01/15) SFBA Corsa - November 2015 page 11
SFBA CORSA PO BOX 422 ORINDA, CA 94563 FIRST CLASS To: www.californiacorvairparts.com page 12 SFBA Corsa - November 2015