Richard's Corvair

The Restoration of my 1960 Corvair

Cleaning of Engine Parts

Dirty head

Power washing of parts

Head after diesel and power wash

Carbon in cylinder

Carbon caked cylinders and valves

Cleaning in drum of detergent

Cleaning of carbon in heads

Brass brush to clean carbon

Mini grinder to clean up carbon

Detail cleaning of carbon in compression chamber

Glue to hold VW cylinder

Cracked barrel

Different cylinder barrel heights

VW cylinder jugs

VW cylinder jug compared to Corvair

Old and new pistons

Engine block cleaned and ready

Engine covers cleaned and ready

Internal of engine covers cleaned

Dirty oil cooler-radiator

Clean oil cooler-radiator

Closeups of valve pushrods

Old distributor and rotor

Original generator and Nissan alternator

fuel pump

Push rod tubes

valve covers

Month 4 part 2

This is the second part of month 4.

The heads were quite dirty and cooling fins totally blocked, so I sprayed them with diesel fuel, let them stand for a week and then washed them with the power washer. After soaking in degreaser and laundry detergent they still had a lot of carbon on them, requiring a brass brush on the drill and a Dremel-type rotary tool with a small wire brush and then a stone to detail them.

The cylinder barrels in this engine had been adapted from a VW. One lip was turned on a lathe to fit into the head, The other end fit somewhat into the block with a lot of gasket cement that was very hard to remove. One cylinder ended up getting cracked in the process of removing it, but they will all be replaced anyway. As you can see in the picture, each cylinder was set into the block a different distance.

You can see the difference between one the old VW cylinder barrels and the new Corvair cylinder barrel that will replace it.

The next pictures show one of the old pistons and a new one, as well as the clean engine block pieces ready for assembly. The rest of the engine cover pieces received a scrubbing with steel wool and diesel fuel to eliminate the years of stains.

The oil cooler was so blocked that there was no way it cooled anything. Blocking the holes so no detergent would enter, I soaked it for a few days in detergent, then pressure washed it. Now it can cool the engine.
The push rods for the valves are extremely worn and will have to be replaced. So I will replace the hydraulic lifters where contact was made.
The distributor has the rotor cracked and glued together, as well as some play in the shaft and terribly worn cams. I will replace it with a new one with an electronic module instead of points.

The generator may or may not work, but most of the cooling fans are missing. I plan on replacing it with the alternator shown next to it. This is a 70 amp alternator from a Nissan that has an internal regulator and an internal fan that turns the same direction. (Later I was able to get a Corvair alternator.)

The mechanical fuel pump may or may not work. It appears to have been rebuilt with home made diaphragms. I will replace it with an electric pump.

The push rod oil drain tubes are now ready to paint, and the valve covers sanded and ready to chrome or paint.

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