Richard's Corvair

The Restoration of my 1960 Corvair

De-Flashing Heads, Rear Suspension and Brakes

Old front brake drums

Sandblasted and painted front brake drums

Original shock obsorbers

New shock absorbers

Replacement crossmember with shock through support

Left front wheel assembly with shock absorber

New brake hoses

Honing the brake cylinders

Rear brakes from below

Rear brakes from above

Front brakes assembled

Old front wheel bearing

Old rear wheel bearing

New rear wheel bearing with box

Old and New rear wheel bearings

Pressing wheel bearing on axle

Rear wheel assembly

Testing tire and wheel clearance

An original tire

New Pirelli P400 14" tires

Original crossmember

Sandblasted and painted replacement front suspension

Original rear suspension-transmission-Differential

Sandblasted and painted rear suspension

Original Nissan valves

Testing the original valve springs

Worn rocker arm

Old and new lifters

Head before cleaning

Original head on car

Extra aluminum scrap on head

Head deflashed

Engine awaiting new parts for final assembly

Parts stored for next trip

Month 9

I finally got back to Tarija to spend a couple of weeks on the car in my spare time. I’m still missing some parts necessary to put the engine together, so I’m concentrating on the assembly of the rest of the suspension and brakes, getting started again on the body. It is now the rainy season, so rust takes over quickly.

Here we can see the comparison of the front brake drums before and after sand blasting, painting and turning.

The original 4 shock absorbers and the 2 that came on the used suspension were all very different and no two had the same resistance. I was able to get shock absorbers locally that are the right size double action, “Made in Japan”. I would rather have holes in the base “T” to put the bolts in and reduce the chance of them pulling out, but if necessary I will weld a piece across the end. One of the original shocks had pulled out of the top and wedged itself in the suspension. I’m not sure if the base “T” support is really a weak spot, as the original equipment shocks on my 4Runner broke at the joint rather than pulling out.

The brake parts all fit together nicely after blasting and painting. The brake linings on the original car were practically new, but I bought a set of new hoses. The brake lines look like I can clean them.
Here are the rear brakes, set up and ready. These do not have automatic adjusters.

The front wheel bearings (one shown) were very bad. I installed a complete new set.

The rear axle bearings were both in very bad shape. Here we see one of the original rear axle bearings disassembled and whole, as well as the replacement bearings. I used the hydraulic press to install the new bearings with about 6 tons of pressure to slide on the axle.

Here is one wheel mounted on the suspension to measure the clearance. Nothing touches or rubs. I want chrome lug nuts, but will have to buy them in the U.S. as they do not sell the 7/16-20 thread size here in chrome. I am using Pirelli P400 P195/70R14 radials with a 24.75 inch rolling diameter instead of the original 6.50 x 13 bias ply tires with a 24.44 inch rolling diameter.

Here you can see the difference in the front suspension between February and November. It is all assembled and waiting for the body.

I tested the valve springs and found that they are extremely weak, showing only between 12 kg and 14 kg at installed height instead of 26.3 to 29 kg and 50 to 60 kg at compressed height instead of 64 to 67.5 kg. I will order a set and bring them with me in January.

Here you can also see my worn rocker arm from sliding movement in poor oil. Also shown are the old and new lifters.

I decided to inspect the heads for flashing or what I originally thought was casting that was supposed to be there. Surprisingly I found a lot of extra aluminum to cut out as well as a lot of carbon that I missed by not having taken off the exhaust manifolds when I cleaned them. Now you can see light through the fins and the comparison between the original condition and the final, ready to install.

Here is the semi-assembled engine and most of the parts waiting for January for their final assembly.

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