Richard's Corvair

The Restoration of my 1960 Corvair

Electrical Installations and Muffler Construction

Wiring harness building

Taping wires together for harness

Soldering connectors on wiring

Wires soldered and ready for connectors

Electrical connectors painted

Left front electrical connections and new windshield washer

Grinding bracket for alternator

Original generator with broken fan

Alternator installed

Alternador wiring

Dash wiring harness

Grinding horn rivets to repair horn

Insides of horn

New relays and fuses

Fixing gas tank surface

Installing gas tank

Installation of fuel pump under car

New steel gas line on left and seals

Same view after changing Air Intake tube and clamps

Right steel fuel line

Muffler forming

Positioning muffler end cap

Welding pieces for muffler

Muffler installed

Original car with no backup lights

Factory option with 1 stop and 1 backup light

Four tail lights and a set of halogen backup lights

Carb balancer

Balancing Carburetors

Engine finished with intake tubes

Engine with LED lighting

Month 27

The last picture is a night shot of the engine with 24 LED lights, activated by a contact switch when the hood is opened.

Since I used the original sending unit and the original base welded back into the new tank, I had to prepare a flat surface for the seal, than find a piece of hose the right size since the one I bought in the US was the wrong size. Here is the tank ready for installation.

I installed my electric fuel pump behind the floor support. After wiring I’ll make a protector plate to put under it. Then I replaced the gas lines with steel ones that were finally available, Putting a “T” right in front of the firewall. Here you can see the lines to the carburetors and the front engine seals I made earlier.

Changing over from the generator to an alternator is not as easy on a 1960 as other models. I had to take the grinder to one of the thermostat bellows supports and touch up the paint.

To finish off the engine compartment I added a layer of Dynamat Hoodliner to the firewall.

I also decided to convert my backup light installation to four stop/tail lights with halogen backup lights behind the grill. Each light has two bulbs, one directional and one distance. Here is the the original factory setup without backup lights, the first setup (as was a factory option in 1960) and the final installation.

After starting the engine and setting the timing, I balanced the dual carburetors with this home-made low cost balancing tool. The carb that is pulling too much will suck the water out of one bottle into the next, but not enough to suck it into the engine.

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