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This project is not expected to be quick. To understand the process I will first note that I bought this car and am restoring it in Tarija, Bolivia. That is a city of about 130,000 people, located 120 miles north of the border with Argentina in a valley at about 6000 feet above sea level. At last count there was a car, truck, or bus for every 8 people.
I spend about 40% of my time in Tarija and another 40% or so in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Santa Cruz is a city of about 1,200,000 people about 450 miles from the border with Brazil in a very flat tropical area at about 1200 feet above sea level. At last count there was a car, truck, or bus for every 4 people.
Santa Cruz is also about 450 miles by mountain road from Tarija. (see map on right)
One of the first considerations is that there are very few parts stores in either city, and those that exist sell mainly parts for Japanese, Korean, Brazilian, Argentinian, or Chilean manufacutred cars. There are very few American cars in Bolivia.
So from the start I decided to make my list of issues as they came up and order from wherever I could, utilizing trips to the U.S. to bring in most of them, with the option of putting large items on my ocean containers of oil that ship out of Tulsa, Oklahoma every few weeks. It takes about 60 to 80 days to get things from Tulsa to Tarija.
I also have to consider the weight and size of what I try to bring on the plane. The recent reduction of luggage allowance to 50 lbs makes it hard to bring heavy things.
This meant I could not discover that I needed a part, order it, receive it by FedEx and install it. Nor could I go down the street to my local auto parts store and buy it. Yes, FedEx is physically an option, but the last $75 item I had shipped by FedEx cost me $275 in shipping and paperwork.
So I have tried to time my work around trips to the U.S. and trips to Tarija. I have obtained parts from various Corvair parts suppliers, ebay, and members of the very helpful Corvair community. As of this point I have obtained parts from:
- Junea, Alaska - USA
- McMinnville, Oregon - USA
- Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts - USA
- Tulsa, Oklahoma - USA
- Manassass, Virginia - USA
- Warenton, Virginia - USA
- Virginia Beach, Virginia - USA
- McDowell, Virginia - USA
- Corona, California - USA
- North Concord, Vermont - USA
- Golden, Colorado - USA
- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - USA
- Quincy, Massachusetts - USA
- Edison, New Jersey - USA
- Hesperia, California - USA
- Santa Cruz - Bolivia
- Tarija - Bolivia
- Buenos Aires - Argentina
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The actual disassembly, restoration and assembly also has its quirks.
With the exception of the used front suspension that I had shipped with drums of oil for my business from Tulsa on one of my 40 ft ocean containers, all parts from the U.S. have come in my suitcase or that of a visiting friend or child.
Once the parts are in country there is more to it than just bolting the parts in place.
I cleaned, deflashed and painted the rebored cylinder barrels in Santa Cruz after bringing them from the U.S., then took them in my 4Runner with the other parts to Tarija.
The trip from Santa Cruz to Tarija follows this course up and down the mountains.
(click to enlarge)
Within the area of Tarija, I am working in many different places on any given day.
- My home, located 14 miles south of the city: rebuilds, honing and other detailed work on small parts, as well as the polishing of most of the stainless steel and aluminum parts.
- My main shop, located 3 miles east of the city - dedicated to oil changes, car, bus and truck washes, but with ample space, water pressure, compressor, etc.: Washing, degreasing, sand blasting, straightening, polishing, cleaning of heads, some painting, etc.
- My secondary shop, located in the center of the city: Tire mounting, balancing and alignment.
- A mechanical shop south of the airport, owned by Jose Ortiz: Basic disassembly and assembly including hydraulic presses, heavy tools, valve seating, deflashing of heads, some painting, etc.
- A body shop 2 miles east of the city owned by Rene Calizaya: Sanding, welding and painting.
- An electrical shop on the nortwest end of the city for testing and restoration of anything electrical.
- A machine shop on the north end of the city owned by Juan Pinaya: Turning of crankshaft, installing piston pins and valve guides.
- An upholstery shop on the east edge of the city for reupholstering of entire inside of the car.
- Various machine shops around the city for removal of bearings and U-joints, resurfacing of the clutch, turning of brake drums, resurfacing of the pressure plate and flywheel, etc.
- The muffler shop on the north edge of the city for fabricating the muffler.
- A welding shop on the southwest side of the city for reconstructing the gas tank
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