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Post by Volktales on Oct 2, 2022 22:00:08 GMT -8
Still trying to figure out exactly what is going on with this car. Grrr.
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Post by Volktales on Oct 9, 2022 20:32:53 GMT -8
Finally found a smoking gun. Actually, more than one. Pictures and solution should be up tomorrow... Too busy making apple pies tonight...
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Post by tony on Oct 10, 2022 9:13:02 GMT -8
MMMMM pie! 😋
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 10:36:02 GMT -8
 One of two. The VW symbol was a bit messy on this one as I kept eating the ingredients while making it... We also have a Costco pumpkin pie and whipped cream for desert as well so I will have a hard time moving later tonight... |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 11:00:49 GMT -8
Soooo, here we go again...  The bench starter has been installed into the Corvair, and sits nicely where the spare tire normally resides. For this test I am using the starter function, and providing power to the coil.  Note that the ballast resistor wire is bypassed, and a 3 ohm coil has been installed (the original is 1.5 ohms). Installing things like this bypasses ALL of the cars wiring and will prove if any of the wiring, or ignition switch, and multiplug connectors are faulty. And the result was the car would still not start... Bummer, but at least we know what the problem is not...  So what to try next? The rotor was the same one all along and it looked fine. Or did it? The grey one in the center was the one installed and checking it closely revealed that rivet that holds the springy center electrode to the brass contact was loose. Checking with an ohmmeter revealed inconsistent resistance. Was this the problem all along??? Of course the car started immediately after this rotor was replaced with the spare one shown on the right of the picture. The left one is a worn looking original Delco part. So was Corvair nirvana restored??? Yet another test drive was preformed and it ran decently, except at high RPM's where it still struggled and misfired. I figured that might be fuel related as opposed to ignition and would deal with that later. The car ran decently otherwise for the rest of the day of course... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 11:17:05 GMT -8
 Meanwhile I thought it was time to order some new ignition parts for the Corvair. Once again I put in a Rock Auto order and the parts arrived in a few days. No idea why they shipped the parts in a box that was four times bigger than necessary... Anyway I bought new NGK plugs, wire set, cap, distributor gasket, and coil. And all this stuff for about the same price as what Lordco wanted for a coil. You can see why Rock Auto is so popular... So before these parts arrived, it was time for another test drive. It actually stumbled a bit not long after startup, and I put it down to possible carburetor icing as I let it idle for awhile before leaving. Once warmed up a bit more, the stumble went away and it ran decently, except for the usual high RPM performance. In fact it ran just like the previous day, so I guess I was finally getting somewhere... So the following day it was out for yet another drive. I did not even make it around the block...  For the first time since I have owned it, it actually outright died while driving. I did have some warning, and turned around to head back to the garage and almost made it. It died in the alleyway behind my Mom's neighbour's house, which was fortunate as all my tools and test equipment were close by. Hooking up the bench starter once again, I immediately checked the spark. And no surprises, it looked very weak and was intermittent. Knowing it could not be the coil by this stage, I bypassed the resistor for a hotter spark, and figured this would get me back as it always worked it the past. Not this time... So I grabbed the old baseplate with points and condenser still on them, and slammed them back in the distributor. This allowed a weak looking, but consistent spark, and the car barely started. It did run enough to get me back to the garage where it promptly died again. This time the spark stayed, yet would absolutely not fire at all. Cracking the fuel outlet line to one of the carburetors revealed almost no fuel pressure... Here we go again... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 11:22:50 GMT -8
 So the next day was booked for finding out once and for all was wrong with this car... First up was checking the fuel supply line from the tank to the pump. At least this was easy, as the fuel outlet from the tank is very accessible. The hose looked fine, but let's take it off and see if any fuel flows out of the tank...  That looks just fine... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 12:28:37 GMT -8
The line between the tank and the fuel pump was also blown through and there were no restrictions. So time to get into the pump...  Corvair fuel pumps are held on by one set screw with a lock nut, so they are simple to remove. So let's crack this one open and see what we find...  One of the first things spotted was some metallic grit inside of the pump. Why???  That paled in comparison to the next issue, however. Those round things are one way check valves and that one is obviously not seated correctly. This could cause internal leakage and pressure issues. But the problem was much more obvious than that...  The one on the left is the one that was installed on the car. The right one is from the spares pile. Can you see what is wrong??? Yup, that valve that is not seated correctly is actually in backwards! It must have somehow come loose and flipped itself around as the pump will not work like this at all. Could it have been loose and rattling around for some time??? That would cause intermittent performance issues. Also note that round cork gasket was loose and floating around inside the pump body...  A closeup reveals that maybe when the valve was installed, the person doing it had the tool off center. Looks like a crescent shaped imprint of where they "missed" on the edge of the hole there. The valve was reinstalled correctly, and staked in place to prevent it from falling out again...  And look at all the spares! There are parts of SIX more pumps that came with the car, and enough good parts to build three of them back together again. Several of them had loose valve issues, and all of those were the replacement pumps, not the original GM versions. Good old aftermarket stuff...  And I also removed and checked all FOUR fuel filters on the car. Each carburetor has its own sintered bronze filter, and all of them were just fine and dandy... Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 12:52:52 GMT -8
 At the same time I chose to install some of the newly arrived parts from Rock Auto. This new "Standard" brand coil was installed, along with a brand new distributor cap, NGK sparkplugs, and wire set.  For testing purposes, I did not reinstall the original points and condenser that came with the car, but instead used the complete baseplate from my spare Corvair engine I bought last year. I lubricated the rubbing blocks on the movable part of the baseplate, and installed a new foam oiler that provides lubricant for the heel of the points assembly. The spares stash held several new oilers, which was nice as there was none on this particular assembly. With the points all cleaned up, it was ready to be installed. Then other issues were discovered...  Once installed it was impossible to set the point gap correctly. Why? Turns out the pivot shaft on the baseplate was badly worn, which meant the point gap was highly inconsistent. This kinda sucked, but I later discovered the parts stash held four more of them, three in excellent condition...  With regards to the NFG on the crappy baseplate, this is an industry standard notation in which the "N" stands for "No", and the "G" stands for "Good". The "F" you will have to figure out for yourself... While reinstalling the "good" baseplate, something else came up. I decided to recheck the operation of the vacuum advance canister. I had checked this when I first got the car, and it worked just fine. Well it was not fine now, and would not hold vacuum at all! Really? Are you kidding me??? So this was replaced with the one from the spare engine, and it worked just fine. What other stupid problems will I run into now???  How about this? I decided to take a boo at the oil cooler which is mounted under this removable plate. And sure enough there was a chunk of paper towel stuck in there, and it was certainly not one of mine! The official Corvair manual even states to remove this plate every so many miles to see if junk is collecting there. They were correct... And yes that Scotchlok from a previous owner needs to go bye-bye...  So after all this stupidity and new parts thrown at it, would the car actually start and run properly??? Amazingly yes. The test drive revealed all drivability problems were gone with good performance at all speeds and RPM's. And the next day it ran fine as well. I have not had a chance to drive it since then, but it BETTER keep driving just fine. If it does not, then I think a good cry is in order. We will see... |
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Post by PICTUP on Oct 10, 2022 21:58:33 GMT -8
One of two. The VW symbol was a bit messy on this one as I kept eating the ingredients while making it... We also have a Costco pumpkin pie and whipped cream for desert as well so I will have a hard time moving later tonight... You mean you're not bringing this along to the meeting???  Regarding the Corvair...Good Job! Now get some better tires so your right ankle doesn't get sore making your foot hover over the go pedal....  |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 10, 2022 21:59:59 GMT -8
^^^^^ Like you really think it survived past dinner time???
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Post by PICTUP on Oct 10, 2022 22:07:17 GMT -8
^^^^^ Like you really think it survived past dinner time??? Well, no. |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 16, 2022 19:25:22 GMT -8
Sooo, the Corvair is continuing to run well, and I have been out enjoying it this weekend. Otherwise I did not work on it much this week, but I did get a nice new shipment of parts!  These were yet more extra parts that would have come with the car when I bought it, but were discovered a couple of weeks later once I was home. This box contains a bunch of Corvair oil filters, along with a bunch of Ford filters for some reason. There is also a couple of wheel cylinder rebuild kits there, as well as a new choke pull-off (handy as I managed to break one of mine while changing the sparkplugs...)  And how about a bunch of NOS parts, including flex hoses, bushings, exhaust hangers, dash bulbs, and a brand new gas pedal of all things...  And good used parts including a lot of front end bits and pieces, hinges, hoses, cables, etc...  And a set of NOS brake shoes so old, that they still contain asbestos. Mmmm, the good stuff!  Another engine rebuild gasket and seal kit is nice as well. These kits ain't cheap. Just looked it up at Clark's Corvairs. Their deluxe kits are $250 USD! Holy crapola!!!  This was in the box as well. Remember those nasty '70's aftermarket stick on colour matched rub strips??? Glad the previous owner did not stick THOSE back on!!! Continued... |
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Post by Volktales on Oct 16, 2022 19:44:30 GMT -8
There was also another box crammed full of miscellaneous good stuff that I managed to forget to take a picture of...  This instrument cluster will come in handy as well. Not for Bluey, but Goldie will benefit.  My shifter quadrant lettering is damaged on the gold car. This will work just fine. Note the round black knob for the shifter. This is from a later car, as this "safety knob" replaced the sharp chrome T-handle found on the '65-'66 cars... Also notice the lack of a "P" on the quadrant...  The labeling is also a late car feature. By this time GM was only doing what was mandated by the government to keep the cars on sale. The earlier cars had unlabeled controls and I guess that was considered "dangerous" by the late 1960's. Wonder how GM managed to sell a car with no PARK position in the transmission by then...  And finally, look what else was in the stash. Yup it is a really piece of trash book, but people lapped it up back then and no doubt had at least SOME effect on Corvair's sales. This was not my favourite piece of literature however. There was a minty owners manual for a 1966 model as well. And even better it was the non-reproduced Canadian version, which has a completely different cover than the available US models. Cool! So yes I am very happy with the new parts stash. And I must thank both Rob's son (who lives in Kelowna and picked up the parts and stored them for me), Rob (for organizing this), and Reagh (for traveling that far and bringing the parts back), and Jeanette (the previous owner), and her friend Bruce (who handled the sale) and who made me aware that more parts were found. It all worked out just great and I couldn't be happier... Now for my next trick, do I reinstall the Pertronix and see if it actually is faulty??? And tires... |
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Post by Volktales on Jan 1, 2023 19:09:56 GMT -8
Soooo, I have not really touched this car for awhile. It is sitting in Dad's garage where I parked it in October and has not been touched since. But something weird was going on with it...  Throughout the summer when driving this car, it did not smell "gassy" when sitting in the garage. But as time went bye, this seemed to be getting worse and worse. I never saw any leaks, but suspected the smell may be from a slightly stained carburetor. Then one day I thought I would remove the gas cap to see if there might be some pressure in the tank...  Removing the cap revealed an almighty WOOOOOOSH of pressure from the tank! And this was on a car that had not been started for over two months! So then I did a little investigation... Apparently the proper Corvair fuel caps are of the old school design and are vented to the atmosphere. The replacement ones like this one, appear to be vented, but in fact are only vented in one direction (air can travel into tank, but not out). The result is a tank that can and does pressurize without any way to relieve that pressure when not running. The result can be flooded carburetors, as the fuel pressure can overpower the float needles, and even flooding the crankcase with fuel is possible. In my situation I think the constant pressure was causing fuel vapour to seep out of the carburetor float bowl vents. Once the pressure was relieved from the tank, the smell went away... Note the black circular item in the above picture is the one way valve assembly inside the fuel cap. It removed with ease from this version...  Put back together with a few parts left out, and now it passes air in both directions like it should. Easy fix. Checking out Corvair forums reveals this is a common problem and common fix as well. I like easy... Now onto other things... |
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With regards to the NFG on the crappy baseplate, this is an industry standard notation in which the "N" stands for "No", and the "G" stands for "Good". The "F" you will have to figure out for yourself...
