Any Corvair folks on here?

I had a few over the years as daily drivers and collector cars.

I have also had a few and still have one a '68 Convertible basically original.

The reason I ask is because I am really close to closing the deal on a very nice '65 convertible and I will probably have a lot of questions.

I have read that the cylinder head temp should be between 400 and 600 degrees. What would cause the temp to go beyond these limits?

Thanks, Pete

The Corvair is not for everybody. They are very different to work on and the guys that knew them and worked on them are either retired or dead.
Rust is a problem. Rocker panel aea and around the windshield and floors of convertibles especally also the front suspension cross member.
Engine wise oil leaks in general, bad head gaskets.
As far as cylinder head temps. as long as the fan belt is turning the cooling fan and the correct octane gas is used head temp. is not a problem.
A commom 110 horsppower or up engine will require premimim gat to prevent preignition....if engine is driven and it is pinging the steel valve seat can drop out of the head.
A fun car to drive but can be a bear to repair or have repaired, They can have problems of there own such as expensive to replace or lubricate rear wheel bearings. clutch cables breaking, and transaxles going bad.

Thanks for the responses. Luckily, I have a friend who has owned and worked on Corvairs so I will depend a lot on him until I get a better understanding. That is if we can close the deal.

The "Corvair Guys" are a dedicated and diehard bunch. My Son, Sam, is one of them. They have great forums and are pretty welcoming to newbys. Modern materials have helped to overcome some of the mechanical issues that plagued the Corvair.
I drove one for about 75000 miles and still had it when I got married in 1971. Sam knows more about them than I ever did.
Corvairs are not for everyone but can be a fun and reliable hobby car. I say GO FOR IT. Especially since you have a Corvair buddy, already.

Maybe our Chat Czar could do something with our auto correct so that it does not Change Corvair to Corsair. It seems a bit disrespectful to a Chevrolet model that was produced for 10 model years.

Mike

Good evening! Can you help me with some Corsair questions. My dad, gone for 25 years, had a num beer of Corsair’s the nicest being a 63 convertible. So one of them is a believe a 66 convertible. 4 speed car has quite a bit of rust but all there. Does have a telescopic column which looks similar to the mid year corvettes. The tail if the car is silver, a significance similar to Big Block Camaros? I could get you photos but need some idea on how salable? He has a few other coupes as well. Just need to get started-3 brother involved so trying to do my homework.

There are 2 distinct model years of the Corvair. The early model 1960-1964 and the late model 1965-1969. The late model cars are much more prone to rust issues than the early models. Rust in the cars is very difficult to remediate successfully on late model cars because it is usually in the upper cowl area leading to rusting out under the windshield. This allows water to run down into the car causing rusted floor pans. The second most common problem is that the debris that gets into the cowl vent runs down into the door pillar area leading to rusted-out door pillars and rocker area.
The silver on the rear panel was only used in the 1965 & 1966 model years and it signified that the car was the Corsa model. It only came in coupe and convertible versions, and the engine was either the 164 cubic inches 4 carburetors naturally aspirated engine or the turbocharged single side draft Carter YH carburetor engine. There were more 4 carburetor engines installed in the Corsa's than the turbo version. The horsepower of the carbureted engine is 140 HP and the turbo put out 180 HP at full boost.

Gentlemen, for the Corvair enthusiasts in VCCA chat, I’d like to see a forum within VCCA chat, dedicated to the Corvair and its 10 year run with Chevrolet.
I have a source with a wealth of info and stories about the Corvair era.
I made a request for a Corvair forum in the General Discussions portion of the forum a few days ago.

Bob 1-18-23.

I finally got some pictures of the car. As soon as I figure out how to reduce the size I will post them.

I had a '64 Corvair in High School. That was the '80's. Loved every second in that "death trap", haha.