The Official Publication of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Corvair Society of America --- Chapter 947 Dedicated to the enjoyment, history and preservation of the Chevrolet Corvair produced from 1960 through 1969. This unique, rear-engined, air-cooled automobile WEB grabs as much attention today as it did 50 years ago! VOLUME 282 FEBRUARY 2017 Look for us on the Web! http://clubs.hemmings.com/corsanews 2.. Letter From the Editor 3. Treasurers Report 4.. Coming Events 4.. SFBA Corsa Meeting Schedule 2017 5.. Go For A Drive (GFAD) 9 Corvair Classifieds Steve Heeter s Corvair ready for the GFAD Next Meeting - Thursday Feb 2 nd 7:00PM - Black Bear Diner Hwy 680 at Sycamore SFBA Valley Corsa -February 2017 Rd in Danville page 1
Letter From the Editor Current SFBA Corsa Officers I hope you were able to attend our last meeting. We had seven members which is low because some usual attendees were not able to make it for a variety of reasons. President Tony Richards, PO Box 765, Mill Valley, CA 94942 email: Lonetree12@yahoo.com Vice-President Harry Kypreos, 7840 Creekside Dr, Dublin, CA 94568 email: HKypreos@epicor.com Secretary Treasurer Clark Calkins, 1907 Alvarado Ave., Walnut Creek, CA 94597 - (925)478-8909 email: CaCalkins@astound.net Paul Lacey, 16550 Blackberry Hill Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95030 - (408)354-9393 email: pdmlacey@cs.com Committees This came a little late for the last newsletter. I received a Christmas card from Fred and Marlene Garrity with the following message. I thought it was worth sharing. Dear Clark and Carol, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year! Enclosed is a check for the Club dues. We of course can t support the Club by attendance at meetings or activities but we really enjoy the newsletter. Thanks for it. Fred is doing as well as he can. He was hospitalized with a colon infection Dec 21 st and released back to Stonebrook Christmas Eve. So these assaults on his body makes it hard for him at times. This month Tony brought us some good & bad news. He is building a house in West Marin (or having it built). A huge garage and ocean view. That s the good news. But this will take him away from our locale so starting in April he will no longer be able to act as President for our Club. So we are looking for volunteers to take over. Don t be shy. There are several people that regularly attend our Membership Library Newsletter Harry Kypreos (address above) Dave Newell, 1481 Hamrick Lane, Hayward, CA 94544 - (510)782-4265 Clark Calkins (address above) Editor At Large Tony Richards (address above) Advertising Internet Web email Paul Lacey (address above) http://clubs.hemmings.com/corsanews CaCalkins@astound.net meetings that could step in including myself (anyone care to take over the newsletter?). This wouldn t have to be a full time position as others could take over if you were to miss a meeting now and then. Think about it. We still have a few months of Tony s services (see Letter... on page 8) On The Cover: Last month Steve Heeter organized his latest GFAD (Go For A Drive) event starting from Chabot College. This time he had some minor work to do on his Corvair first. He got to the staging area early so he could work on his car and still be ready by the planned starting time. See details on pages 5 & 6. The Spyder Web is published twelve times a year by SFBA Corsa, Chapter 947 of the Corvair Society Of America (CORSA). The group meets monthly on the first Thursday at 7:00 PM at Black Bear Diner on Sycamore Valley Rd in Danville except for special occasions. Membership costs $25/yr (membership in CORSA, $38/yr, is encouraged). An associate membership (newsletter only) is avialable for $15/yr. Memberships begin on January 1 of each year (first year is prorated). Advertising space in the Spyder Web is available for $50/yr (1/4 page), $75/yr (1/2 page), and $100/yr (full page). Business card size ads are $25/yr but do not include a subscription to the newsletter. All material should be sent to the editor (address above) or emailed to CorsaNews@Bigfoot.com. Material must be received at least two weeks prior to the next meeting date. USE OF MATERIAL: Written permission from the Editor is required for all original material for any use other than reprinting in a Chartered CORSA Chapter newsletter. Permission must be sought in advance for material reprinted herein. page 2 SFBA Corsa - February 2017
Minutes of the Last Meeting January 5, 2017 Following diner the meeting was called to order at 8:25 by President Tony Richards. We had seven members and no guests in attendence this evening. T-Report: Paul reported the bank balance, after current expenses, was $3030.83. Paul reported that he had paid $35 to CORSA for charter dues in 2016. But he heard back that we had not paid for 2015. Clark checked all records he could find and it does seem that we did not pay CORSA for that year. Paul will send them a check for that year. Membership: No membership chairman tonight, however neither Clark or Paul knew of any new members. SFBA memberships are now due for 2017. Cost is $25 or $30 if you are not also a CORSA member. A few people have paid but most of us haven t. Old Business: Tony turned in his expenses for the mailing he conducted last year (mainly postage). This resulted in 2 or 3 new Associate or Full members and several Charter Members. A good deal all around. Clark said that the PO Box has been closed and he is getting some, but not much, forwarded mail. New Business: Tony indicated that starting in April he is having a house built on his lot in West Marin. He has an ocean view and is planning on a house that sits above a 5-car garage and it will also have an attached 2-car garage. So all of his cars will be enclosed which is necessary due to harsh ocean weather. Sounds great! But to support this project, he will have to take a leave from SFBA. He will be too far away to attend meetings. So we are now looking for volunteers to take over as President. If you are interested, contact any Board member or shoot me an email. When the house done, maybe a Tech Session??? Events: Seth asked about the picnic date so he could get it included in the Valley Corsa s newsletter. The last newsletter indicated this would be on Ausust 5th. This date is still tentative so if anybody knows of conflicts, let us know. Everyone thought the Holiday Dinner was very good. The restaurant did a good job in taking our orders and bringing out meals in a timely fashion. Tony thought it was a bit pricey but this included coffee. And there was cheese cake for dessert! Tech: Josh said his starter broke on his 64 110. It won t engage (or is kicking out). He is looking to replace it. Seth mentioned that maybe the problem is with the solenoid contacts. The contact point is a square copper bolt that touches a ring and this bolt can be rotated exposing a new contact surface. This might be all that is wrong Treasurers Report January 2017 Paul Lacey Checking Acct. Cash/Checks Beginning Balance $3115.54 $00.00 Income Membership Renewals $25.00 Expenses Newsletter (Jan) ($39.66) Recruting Letters ($70.05) (*) Ending Balance $3030.83 $00.00 (*) My estimate to get the correct ending balance. with it. Josh was planning on dropping the engine anyway intending on replacing the flywheel and ring gear. His clutch is starting to make noise in 1st gear when it is cold. Noise goes away as it warms up. On his drive back from LA he had fuel pump problems (the diaphragm failed spraying gas everywhere). Luckily he had a replacement (don t we all?) and it didn t catch fire! Continuing the drive home he thought he could hear some pinging. Once he made it back he replaced the distributor and coil. See if that helps. He said he uses premium gas but racing gas is available at a few locations at $5-7/ gal. Seth and Paul mentioned that you can repair starters as all GM cars (of that era?) used the same components. The Corvair s only difference is in the housing that attaches to the opposite sides of the engine. Also Seth says if replacing, use US made components, which are still available, as these do make a difference. The subject of smog tests came up when talking about gas quality. It was (see Minutes... on page 6) SFBA Corsa -February 2017 page 3
Coming Events February 2 nd March 2 nd April 6 th April 21-23 rd Regular SFBA meeting, Black Bear Diner, 807 Camino Ramon, Danville,CA Regular SFBA meeting, Black Bear Diner, 807 Camino Ramon, Danville,CA Regular SFBA meeting, Black Bear Diner, 807 Camino Ramon, Danville,CA Capital City Spring Fling, Sutter Creek, CA. More info at www.northern-california-corvairs.com SFBA CORSA Meeting Schedule 2017 Thursday Jan 5, 7:00 PM Thursday Feb 2, 7:00 PM Thursday Mar 2, 7:00 PM Thursday Apr 6, 7:00 PM Thursday May 4, 7:00 PM Thursday Jun 1, 7:00 PM Thursday Jul 6, 7:00 PM Saturday Aug 5, 12:00PM Thursday Sep 7, 7:00 PM Thursday Oct 5, 7:00 PM Thursday Nov 2, 7:00 PM Saturday Dec 9, 7:00 PM SFBA/Valley Club Picnic at Quarry Lakes park, Fremont, CA SFBA Holiday Dinner, Location & Date to be determined. page 4 SFBA Corsa - February 2017
Go For A Drive - Steve Heeter We got the trunk and the engine lid seals done!!!! The old stuff was GLUED in all around so it took a while to remove... But it looks good and was worth the efforts. The security folks were very curious about the Corvair and were appreciative of us laying a drop cloth under the car and cleaning up after ourselves. We decided to do the window/door part and the drive to the coast tomorrow since today was a bit chilly and overcast. On Fri, Dec 30, 2016 at 11:53 AM, Steve Heeter <sgheeter@gmail.com> wrote: OK folks, Because of the HOA where I live, I cannot work on my car in front of my own house... So I am going to the big empty Chabot College parking lot to put in as much of my new sealing stuff as I can. My plan is to get as much done as I can by 12 Noon, and then GO FOR A DRIVE to the coast on Highway 92 and back. (Don t forget bridge toll) I have the following: Trunk lid seal Engine lid seal Fuzzies, Door seals Upper window/drip-rail seal and if I start feeling really Froggy... New carpet and rear cardboard. SO, I am inviting anyone who is interested or experienced or curious, to come help/watch/mock at 10am or just meet up at Noon to GO FOR A DRIVE SFBA Corsa -February 2017 page 5
Go For A Drive... This Saturday (12/31) Staging near the main entrance to Chabot College on Hesperian in Hayward ( X marks the spot) ( across the street from the Jack in the Box) I will be there at 10am at the latest. Minutes... said that GM always uses Chevron gas when testing. Also VW s ECM (electronic control module) was checking the speed differential from front to rear tires and also steering wheel position to determine engine settings. If the front wheels were turning much more than the rear wheels or if the steering wheel had not been moved in 2 minutes, then it must be on a test bed and the engine would run very clean. Cleaver but illegal. Someone brought up oddball Corvairs. There is the Corphibian (a Loadside modified for aquatic use) and the Electrovair (electric Corvairs). The Corphibian was successful (in that it didn t sink) but it seems the driver had to stand in the back (maybe for weight distribution?). The van is currently in a museum somewhere (Nashville or Memphis?). Tony and others mentioned the electric Corvairs Electrovair by Highvoltage Hotrods. They had models I, II, and III. Model I was a 64 Monza sedan, model II was a blue early model, and III was a cream colored late model. They have an interesting web site, check out highvoltagehotrods.com. Paint is always a popular meeting topic. Marc believes that today s clear-coat pint jobs are inferior to earlier paint. It seems like the clear-coat is flaking off many cars in his neighborhood. It could be that the formulation to meet newer clean air laws isn t as good or maybe people are keeping their cars longer and you notice this more often. Seth said that when the factory spray on a clear-coat, it doesn t wait for the underlying color to thoroughy dry. It just sprays over the semi-wet color coat. But the Bureau of Transportation does report that the average age of cars has increased from 8.4 yrs to 11.4 yrs over the last 20 years. So it may be a combination of both factors. Swap & Sell: Josh is in the market for a starter to cure the problem mentioned above. The meeting was adjourned around 9:00 PM. Respectively submitted, Clark Calkins, secretary page 6 SFBA Corsa - February 2017
SFBA Corsa -February 2017 page 7
Letter... before this needs to be decided. Again, think about it. Now on to other items, Steve organized another GFAD (Go For A Drive). He needed to replace some weather stripping and because his HOA does not allow any car work at his house, he was going to drive to Chabot College parking lot to do it. He figured it would not take him long. so afterward he would go for a drive to Half Moon Bay. He sent me and others an email message of his plans. I put the email message into an article you will find on page 5 as I thought others would be interested. Incidentally Steve is looking for a location he can use (rent?) to work on his car. He lives in San Leandro so the closer the better. If anyone knows of some option for him, he will be interested. Along these same lines, Josh said he has no problems with his neighbors. Many people in the vicinity work on restoring cars. A guy just down the street just restored a WWI ambulance. Came out beautiful! Josh said he was prepared for working on the Corvair by his stint in the Navy. He worked in the boiler room on the USS Constellation (a Kittyhawk class carrier). Trying to keep a 45 year old vessel running meant he had to get by without many page 8 SFBA Corsa - February 2017 new parts. Fixing old items or making replacements. Now when something breaks on his Corvair, he doesn t panic. We can figure this out. 2017 SFBA Corsa Dues are due now. As you know we try to keep everyone on the same dues schedule so we all renew on first of the year. If you joined mid-year then just pro-rate the dues at $2/month. This helps our planning. The dues are $25 for the year if you are a CORSA member or $30 if you are not (see Letter... on page 9)
Corvair Classifieds CORVAIR CARS WANTED Late model coupe, super straight, Monza or Corsa preferred. Evening Orchid would be best. Bruce Mooers, Napa aerea. (707)967-9600 - (12/15) CORVAIR PARTS FOR SALE Walt Anderson has the following parts for sale. These are NOS GM parts in original boxes. He is located in Oakland, call for details (510)531-1967, jwanders@ cwnet.com (04/16) License Lamp Housings, FC & Lakewood. Part #5954861 (2) $50/pair Exhaust Valves (2) with keepers fir FC and Turbo. Part #3821002 - $20 Oil Cooler - 8 Plate Part #3155403 - $25 Skip Polacchi has the following parts for sale. Parts are located in Red Bluff & Santa Rosa. Best to call evenings (530)474-4227. Besides these listed parts Skip also has many more engine parts, heads, cams, cranks, posi, turbo. All new or rebuilt. F/C Turned brake drums (2) - $20 F/C Hub caps (4) - $20 F/C Front door NOS L&R lock latch - $30 Spyder Dash - has wooden face - $75 Corsa Communiqués + Quarterlies, 1970-2000 - $150 1964 Rear Air Grill (NOS) $150 1964 Read Air Grill, very good. $75 1963-1964 Rear Axles with good bearings. $55 each 1964 Turbo Carb Kit, NOS major kit. $65 Early Bumper Guards, Reconditioned 4 complete sets. $180 per set Early Bumper Guards, used - very good, 4 complete sets. $100-$120 per set. Bill Thomas 4 carb heads (1 pr), angle port exhaust, all new parts $1500. 65-69 R+L Rear Control Arms (1 pr) w/rebuilt axle bearings w/backing plate. $1300 both. F/C Steering Box (1), excell used $75. All New Engine parts from crank to heads for a 145 cu motor $650. Late 164 Rebuilt Motor, TRW STO pistons, long block no carbs, dist, alt $800. Letter... (the Club has to pay CORSA for nonmembers). Either pay at a meeting or send a check payable to SFBA CORSA to Harry Kypreos (see address list on page 2). Harry handles our membership paper work and will pass the check on to Paul, our Treasurer, for deposit. Harry also keeps me informed so I can keep the address labels up to date. I know a few people have already paid for 2017 but I don t have a complete list handy. I will get a detailed list together and publish it in the next newsletter. That way you will know who and who not paid for this year (at least what our records show). Our next meeting will be on February 2 nd at Black Bear Diner in Danville starting at 7:00 PM. As usual I will try to get there early and reserve a table for us in the back where it is usually quiet. SFBA Corsa -February 2017 page 9
SFBA CORSA 1907 Alvarado Ave Walnut Creek, CA 94597 FIRST CLASS To: www.californiacorvairparts.com page 10 SFBA Corsa - February 2017