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Post by Volktales on Nov 21, 2021 21:32:09 GMT -8
I will get back into this project later... The neighbourhood cats like it too, judging by all those pawprints all over it!
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Post by Volktales on Dec 26, 2021 20:04:48 GMT -8
Have barely even looked at it in over a month. Too bad it was not drivable right now. Apparently Corvairs are very fun in the snow!
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Post by alltypes on Dec 26, 2021 20:54:57 GMT -8
Drive it now...no one will see the blow-by trail, once it snows again ha-ha.
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Post by Volktales on Dec 26, 2021 20:58:38 GMT -8
That engine is going to be getting an "in-car" rebuild, meaning the heads will be pulled and new rings if the cylinders and pistons are ok. You just know I MUST fix this one up one way or another...
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Post by alltypes on Dec 26, 2021 21:00:26 GMT -8
Excellent...glad you're carrying on.
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Post by Volktales on Jul 10, 2022 21:33:18 GMT -8
Some of you might think I have forgotten about the poor old gold Corvair. Nope. I still love this car and it will be getting more work done to it as well. Can you see the latest improvement??? Yup. Installed the genuine correct original Trico wiper blades. And they are good used parts that came with the huge stash from the blue car. So no expenditure, just the way I like it...
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Post by PICTUP on Jul 11, 2022 18:31:38 GMT -8
Maybe that windshield needs a wash before wiping it with those NOS wipers? LOL!
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Post by Volktales on Aug 21, 2022 20:13:10 GMT -8
As you might have expected, nothing much has been accomplished on the gold Corvair. By me anyway. But.... A neighbourhood cat has taken it upon themselves to guard the car for me. This feline is out there quite often hanging out by the Corvair. Probably explains the paw prints all over the car... Glad it is getting some kind of attention...
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Post by Volktales on Oct 3, 2022 20:53:04 GMT -8
So it has been just a little over a year ago when the gold Corvair last had some attention to it's engine. Those with long memories might remember that the right bank of cylinders cut out completely when the engine was running after the oil was changed. This bummed me out, and a lot of other events have happened in my life since then... But on Sunday I had some time available to finally investigate what went wrong. The right carburetor was quickly extracted and disassembled on the bench. It did not take long to see that the float bowl was completely empty, indicating a problem with the needle valve. Which was indeed stuck with a tiny piece of debris. Cleaning this out restored needle function immediately. Reinstalling it back on the car was simple, and it happily started after a short period of cranking. One of the valve lifters had bled down however, and this unpleasantly was hammering away. I ran it for awhile, then shut it down for a rest. Went back about an hour later, and it started right up, and the clacking went away in about a minute. I convinced myself that the blowby was not quite as bad as it ran well again. At least this small victory took my mind off the issues with the blue Corvair for now. Since the gold one has been previously referred to as Goldie, I guess the other one should be called Bluey. Suuuurrrre...
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Post by Volktales on Oct 16, 2022 19:51:20 GMT -8
The gold Corvair has not been completely forgotten of course. Notice something different about it??? The missing emblem is missing no more. There was one in the second parts stash that came with the other car. It was not good enough for Bluey, but suits Goldie just fine... Someday she will see the road once again...
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Post by Volktales on Mar 19, 2023 22:13:07 GMT -8
So should I be even looking at this when Bluey needs so much attention? Well yes... I now realize the wheels I had gotten from my hot rod friend, Terry, are just too wide to fit well on the Corvair. And now Terry has a new project, that could use a set of rims like this for now. So I gave them back to him... And this is OK, because the rims and tires that were formerly on Bluey, can now reside on Goldie. And I installed Goldie's original hubcaps back on as well. Now it looks more like I remember it from over 30 years ago. If you squint. A lot... And you will notice a gas can and funnel nearby. Why??? It is never good to let them sit too long... Started just fine after sitting since October. It WILL be driven someday...
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Post by Volktales on May 1, 2023 22:32:26 GMT -8
So Reagh was having a dig around in his picture archive and discovered these... Yup. This is what Goldie looked like when Reagh discovered it only a short distance from his place. Look at how far down the poor old Corvair was in the ground! The weeds were trying to strangle it as well. And yes that was a 1959 Edsel station wagon parked next to it... At least the windows had been left up for all those years. That moldy shoe box on the seat contained the replacement carburetors, as the originals were rotting to nothing in the frunk... More weeds trying to prevent the car from escaping a slow death in that field. Now who would want a nasty old project like that??? Reagh just happened to know someone who might be interested, and he dragged it home to his garage. Him and Rob had a good poke around and determined that somehow the engine had not seized despite sitting for years without carbs bolted on. And also that the car was amazingly solid underneath and thus still potentially viable as a project. And then he dropped it off at my place and blew my mind as he somehow discovered the actual exact Corvair I had been dreaming about for decades!!! Just the other day I was sitting in it dreaming of what it could be... Again another thanks to Reagh for making the dream come true, which has led me to acquire more of these cars. Which just reinforces the dreams of restoring Goldie to what she looked like in my memories of course...
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Post by Volktales on Sept 4, 2023 21:47:16 GMT -8
Sooo, I have been doing a lot of house maintenance lately which is not particularly fun for me. But today it was time to take a break from all that and have a "me" day. So I managed to avoid doing all the things I SHOULD be doing, and work on something else, just because. And so it was spending some time with Goldie... Yes it is the worst condition car in my fleet, but still the one that has decades of meaning. So let's spend a bit of quality time in the engine compartment... So this is where the spare tire is supposed to go. Goldie was missing the spare and jack, so lets utilize that space for something more useful... Just have to unbolt the spare tire bracket first... And look what fits in there like it was made for it. I borrowed that boat tank from a co-worker and bought a new primer bulb and hose for it so it would actually work. Goldie's original fuel tank is too far gone, and the better spare one I have will not be installed at this time.... Also properly bolted in the battery, reinstalled the voltage regulator cover, and just made sure everything else in the engine compartment was relatively safe... Next up was unseizing the driver's window regulator, fixing the door lock, and reinstalling the door panel and window cranks that were formerly on Bluey. Then it was time to remove the cowl panel that covers the wiper transmission chamber. Because look at all that crapola in there! This poor car must have spent considerable time outside and under trees to accumulate all that debris. The moss was quite thick for sure. Because the car has been dry for sometime now, all this debris vacuumed up easily. Fortunately the rust in this area was not too bad. The "new" wiper blades I installed last year had completely rotted apart despite never being used, even once... And yes the car took a "drive" of sorts, if you count moving from the carport to the driveway. Note the new wheel chocks in action. The park brake still won't ratchet properly, and I still have not investigated as to why... Still it was good to get it out into the sun briefly. Lots of dust that I will not wash off just quite yet. Why? Because I intend to seal up the window seals with a bit of silicone to try to make the car a bit more watertight. It might have to sit outside for a bit, and I don't want it to deteriorate any further. A few more lights need to be fixed, and get the wipers back in action. The brakes are believe it or not, slightly working by themselves. The car's master cylinder was a rotten blob, and the fluid had long disappeared. When I put the new master cylinder on Bluey, for fun I installed Bluey's old cylinder onto Goldie and filled it with fluid. Despite not actually bleeding the brakes, there is some activity now and the brakes work a little bit. So why does any of this matter at all? Because I am going to take this car out for a real drive on the road and see just how it will actually perform. Maybe the blow-by will magically go away and the oil leaks will cure themselves. Maybe it will heal itself, just like Christine. Unlikely, but it should still be fun, and as promised, Reagh will get to be the passenger on the maiden voyage... Watch this space....
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Post by Volktales on Sept 21, 2023 21:12:22 GMT -8
Sooo had a few more minutes to myself... Yup. Put in a new bulb, and added Bluey's old lens to replace the missing original. Cleaned the rusty contacts, and let there be light! And guess what? The new phone WILL take in focus night pictures. Something the old camera could never do... Needed to tape up the holes in the tail-light lens. Thought it would be easier if I removed the lens. Bad idea. Some gluing in my future. Why? Because I do not have ANY spare tail-lights at this time. Eventually they will come... The smashed inner tail-lights are actually backup lights only. GM was cheapo on these cars, and only the outer lights act as brake, signals, and tail-lights. At least all rear lights are working now. Less to get a nosy cop interested if I get followed... Next up, repair the front lights. I actually enjoy working on electrical stuff like this, especially if it is old and decrepit. Like me!
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Post by Volktales on Oct 22, 2023 21:16:41 GMT -8
So had Goldie out for a cruise around the yard again. And this time a wash was in order as well. Amazing how the water on the hood makes the car appear still shiny... And this is why it was moved out of the carport. I was experimenting to see if I could squeeze both Goldie and my summer daily Civic together under the carport. Nope. Those Civics are fatter than you might think. The Civic got the boot later and will have to live outside this winter. Victor's old Civic will get the garage space this winter instead. Goldie is once again retaining the carport, as I want no further deterioration on this car. Goldie rewarded me by deciding to let the park-brake start ratcheting again and working properly for no obvious reason. And the main brakes continue to improve with better pressure and function despite no bleeding whatsoever. And even the wipers have begun to work a bit by themselves. And the best thing is, despite the engine being very tired and spewing oil, it still continues to start and run better then Bluey no matter how long it sits around. Hmmm. It was dark when Goldie made it back to the carport. No problem at all... This car WILL live again. For sure...
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