Richard's Corvair

The Restoration of my 1960 Corvair

Body and Engine Inspection

Truck ride to the body shop

Car in place in the body shop

Front disassembled

Right front disassembled

Car full of parts

Floor rust

Rusty and burned right interior

Rusty door sills

glass

Rear without bumper or lights

Closeup of rear

Engine hanging on lift

End view of engine

Cylinder head

Inside of cylinder head

Rust in combustion chamber

Closeup of head

Head with water

Combustion chambers

Clogged cylinder jugs

Clogged oil cooler

Clogged cylinders and head

Oil pan and strainer

Crankshaft

Closeup of crankshaft

Closeup of camshaft

Closer view of cam

Piston and rod

Shims in bearings

Closeup of bearing pitting

Pitted and worn bearings with shim

Gap from worn thrust bearing

Closeup of thrust bearing wear

Pitted bearings

Worn thrust bearing

Three pistons

Welded piston

Closeup of clogged cylinders

Broken cooling fins

Broken fins on jugs

Carbon and oil on valves

Valve wear

Worn valve guides and carbon

Carbon on valves

Damaged valve stem from rocker

Oil pump

Rust in diferential

Chipped teeth in 1st-2nd gear

Closeup of chipped teeth

Weeks 3 & 4

Here is the car arriving at the body shop. so now it is in two places, with the mechanical part in a another shop about 3 miles away and the body at the body shop where it is promised for May 31, 2007. (We only missed that date by two years .)

The body is now almost stripped, showing more rust than noted before, including under the roof rails. All side glass, windlace, rubber weatherstripping, and fuzzies are removed.

The floor pan shows a lot of rust and will have to be replaced or welded. The rear window will be removed and saved, but it will need polishing. The windshield will be replaced. All rubber and fuzzies will be replaced.

The damaged tail lights will be replaced by a set of tail light and backup lights.

We are taking the engine apart, measuring and preparing to order parts.

The crankshaft and camshaft appear to be straight, but the wear in the thrust bearing and shims in the main bearings are not good. There was so much lateral play in the crankshaft that the starter could not engage the flywheel.

There is a lot of corrosion in the rod bearings. The crankshaft looks like it can be re-ground to eliminate the wear and corrosion. I will need to machine it to .010 and buy the appropriate bearings.

The pistons have a lot of carbon on them, and a few burn or damage marks. I will replace them.

Note detail:
◆ Zooming in with the camera we see some of the problems.
◆ Cylinder filled with mud and rust.
◆ Corrosion and pitting of worn main bearing.
◆ Wear of Thrust Bearing and Crankshaft - 5 times the maximum.

One piston has been broken and welded back together.

Cylinder cooling fins are broken on 5 out of 6 cylinders, reducing cooling and eliminating their use for reconditioning. The cylinders are worn beyond .010, so I will have to go to cylinders, pistons and rings at .020 oversize. The cylinders are also adapted from a VW.

Intake and Exhaust valve stems are worn, as are guides, allowing a lot of elliptical free play that will be impossible to correct. Tops of 3 valve stems are flattened and expanded, requiring filing to remove them through the valve guide.(I later found out that these valves are adapted from a Nissan.)

The transmission has a little corrosion on the shafts and some teeth, but very little obvious wear. There are a few chipped teeth that I should be able to grind and reduce the possibility of breaking off. (I found out later that the minor wear that I saw was causing noise that I did not like and decided to replace.)

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