Chevrolet Corvairs!!
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Originally Posted by Gevans17
My dad had one he rebuilt after it had been under 9 feet of water in Hurricane Betsy in 1965. He paid $300 for it. His co-workers used to tease him because he locked it when he went to work. Looking back, I think I hurt his feelings when he offered to give it to me, and I said "no thanks".
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From: Marion, VA
Originally Posted by Netfly
I remember seeing the movies of how the rear wheel would tuck and flip the car when pushed in a turn. Was that a transverse leaf? I don't recall. With all the faster cars out there that was one I didn't want. I'd never drive one, but they look cool. Now the Corvette is a different story. That is one sweet ride for it's day. Any year.
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From: Marion, VA
Originally Posted by Oakroadjoe
Any trouble keeping the fan belt on? We sure did.
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From: Running Springs CA
Originally Posted by vaporloc
Jim did you have to reverse the rotation of the engine for aircraft use? They are really a stout little engine for thier size.
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Jim
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Originally Posted by jimandmandy
Propellers are avalable for CW and CCW rotations, so I just buy the correct one and leave engine rotation stock. The main problem was finding a starter that turns in the opposite direction (Subaru), since you dont have the stock belhousing/flywheel/transmission setup in an airplane. A custom machined propeller hub bolts on in place of the flywheel and the belhousing is cut down to form just an engine case cover. A Ford Taurus flex plate is sandwiched between the crank and prop hub and custom brackets hold the starter on top of the engine. Since the stock cooling fan, engine tin and the wierd belt and pulley setup is not used, there is a simple conventional mount fabricated for a small lightweight John Deere alternator.
Jim
Jim
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From: Lake Tahoe, Nevada
I always hated Nader because of his book, that effectively killed off the Corvair. After they went to full independent rear suspension they were great. It was the swing axle that caused the problems and lots of European cars had used that for years. (VW included.) But Nader went after GM instead of the other brands.
To me, it was quite a reach for GM to build something so different than the usual and I thought the last ones were beautiful. Had they been developed further they could have built an American Porsche.
To me, it was quite a reach for GM to build something so different than the usual and I thought the last ones were beautiful. Had they been developed further they could have built an American Porsche.
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From: Running Springs CA
Originally Posted by Bdox
I always hated Nader because of his book, that effectively killed off the Corvair. After they went to full independent rear suspension they were great. It was the swing axle that caused the problems and lots of European cars had used that for years. (VW included.) But Nader went after GM instead of the other brands.
To me, it was quite a reach for GM to build something so different than the usual and I thought the last ones were beautiful. Had they been developed further they could have built an American Porsche.
To me, it was quite a reach for GM to build something so different than the usual and I thought the last ones were beautiful. Had they been developed further they could have built an American Porsche.
That was back in the era of John Delorean, Ed Cole, etc, when GM was very creative. Fiberglass bodies (Corvette), independent rear suspensions (Corvette, Corvair, Pontiac Tempest), aluminum engines (Buick Skylark, Olds F-85, Corvair), tubocharging (Corvair, Olds F-85), Overhead cam (Pontiac Tempest), etc. Ford, by comparison, was conservative to the point of almost being stodgy, until Iaccoca came along.
It was really the Mustang that killed the Corvair. Ford came up with a sporty compact that was much cheaper to build, so the Camaro was developed to compete. Notice the similarity in styling between the first Camaro and last Corvair.
Jim
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From: Running Springs CA
Originally Posted by vaporloc
Jim; Do you think it would be better to run a turbocharged engine with fuel injection? You know in case you want to do loop-de-loops. Really just curious what the performance difference would be flying up side down?
It will have a single one barrel updraft Marvel or Stromburg carb or maybe a side draft Bing. I'm trying to stay safe in the air by following the KISS principle with my project.
Jim
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From: Marion, VA
Originally Posted by jimandmandy
I The stock Corvair turbo engine spins to fast to be viable. I need to keep the rpms down near 3000 for the prop.Jim
Last edited by osbornk; Sep 15, 2007 at 09:41 AM.
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Originally Posted by jimandmandy
I only know of one EFI Corvair flight engine and it is still on the test stand, not yet considered airworthy. While turbos are good for high altitudes, they also add weight, bulk and complexity to the installation. The stock Corvair turbo engine spins to fast to be viable. I need to keep the rpms down near 3000 for the prop.
It will have a single one barrel updraft Marvel or Stromburg carb or maybe a side draft Bing. I'm trying to stay safe in the air by following the KISS principle with my project.
Jim
It will have a single one barrel updraft Marvel or Stromburg carb or maybe a side draft Bing. I'm trying to stay safe in the air by following the KISS principle with my project.
Jim
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From: Running Springs CA
Originally Posted by vaporloc
I see. I never thought about the low RPM and weight factors. I heard once about a company that made "dry sumped" carburators for off road use. These carbs would deliver gas even upside down. I'am trying to think who made them. Let me see if I can research those just for curiosity.
Here is one: http://www.aeroconversions.com/carb_index.html
I'm considering the Bing, http://www.bing.de/shared/images/dat...er/type94e.pdf because it automatically adjusts for altitiude.
Jim
Last edited by jimandmandy; Sep 16, 2007 at 08:43 AM.
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Well it's official sportsfans. Jay Leno just bought a 66 Corvair Corsa Turbo Coupe saturday. I guess with his TV show magazine articles and website the prices of these little cars will go up out of my reach. People will start to think if Jay buys one they must be a better car then they were.
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