Project "The engine is in the back????"

[HotRodKush]

I decided to sell the Camaro and do something a little different. After thinking about it for a while, and then coming across this corvair on Ebay, I knew that I had to change direction and start a new project around this car. Introducing project "The engine is in the back????":

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/hotrodkush2/100_1401-1.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/hotrodkush2/100_1408.jpg

I flew out to Indiana last weekend and drove it back 13 hours straight to NY (in the rain, the entire way). Now the fun begins - first thing's first, have to fix a fuel leak at the fuel tank and at both carburetors, and I need to rebuild the steering box because there's about 90 degrees of play in the steering and it's a little hairy to drive. But hey, it got me home.

After the initial mechanical repairs are done, I'll start to think of improving the handling. It already has Yenko sways on it and appears to be lowered. I'd like to get a set of 16" black Cragar steelies and some nice tires to replace the older Nova wheels and tires. The motor is cammed and has some carb and ignition work done. It's fairly quick, especially for a Corvair. Who knows, maybe one day it'll get a V8 swap (a guy can dream, can't he?).

Anyway, just introducing the project. I don't have any particular plan, just a general plan to improve the car over time little by little. It won't be a dedicated race car so I'm keeping the interior, just going to modernize it a bit and increase the handling as much as possible. I'll be double-posting here and on my website, but the site is just a build log - the real fun is getting everyone's feedback on the forum!

[terryr]

Neat. The rear roof line really looks altered.

[monza]

LSX in the back!!! V8's are so not practical to have a engine in the back seat.
Nice looking Corvair.

[Silver69Camaro]

Sounds like a good project for a LS3 and a Mendeola transaxle...

[HotRodKush]

The issue with putting a big motor in the back is the weight balance - a couple of guys have done it and apparently the handling suffers alot. A mid-mounted motor where the back seat is, gives the car nearly 50/50 weight distribution. There was actually a couple of companies back in the 60's/70's that did mid-engine conversions - Crown and Kelmark - but the parts are long gone and nobody still makes them. Still, not a bad project to try one day :thumbsup:

[Silver69Camaro]

Can't imagine a aluminum LS weighs a helluva lot more than the old iron engine...Porsche seems to do pretty well with their rearward weight offset too.

[HotRodKush]

After taking a week to assess the condition of the car post-trip, I set out to repair the most pressing mechanical issues first. My goal is to fix up the car as I drive it, with minimal downtime during the process, so my first shortlist of repairs are those most needed at the moment. After those are taken care of I'll take a look at improving the car further, like the suspension, wheels, tires, etc.

Current shortlist is:
Carburetor gaskets (leaking fuel at both carbs currently)
Sending unit gasket at fuel tank (again, leaking fuel)
Diagnose and fix oil leak dripping on headers
Rebuild steering box (too much play)
Replace carpeting and insulation (moldy and wet)

This list will get the car back into great running condition and let me drive the car as I work on the rest of it.

[HotRodKush]

While I'm waiting for my parts to arrive, I started taking out the old damp carpeting:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/hotrodkush2/2010-03-21142610.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/hotrodkush2/2010-03-21142558.jpg

I need to pick up a gallon of Goo Gone to remove the rest, it's all stuck to the flooring. Here's my collection:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/hotrodkush2/2010-03-21142631.jpg

During the week I'll do more, I just wanted to get the wet carpeting out of the car as soon as possible. I plan to POR-15 the flooring and lay down brand new carpeting and insulation as soon as it arrives.

[monza]

The issue with putting a big motor in the back is the weight balance - a couple of guys have done it and apparently the handling suffers alot. A mid-mounted motor where the back seat is, gives the car nearly 50/50 weight distribution. There was actually a couple of companies back in the 60's/70's that did mid-engine conversions - Crown and Kelmark - but the parts are long gone and nobody still makes them. Still, not a bad project to try one day :thumbsup:

A LSX motor is only slightly heavier then a stock Corvair set up. IMO opinion a properly set up LSX powered Corvair would change the entire Corvair after market and make it a viable Hotrod, it would rock.
Not much really to the parts Crown and Kelmark offered, I may still have some of the frame mod parts in my stash if thats the route you want to go?

[g356gear]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a394/hotrodkush2/2010-03-21142631.jpg


Looks like a skinned an old mangy coyote. :)

[g356gear]

It's a neat project. My dad still owns a few corvairs that he bought when I was a kid. His first car was a 61 4dr.

[HotRodKush]

A LSX motor is only slightly heavier then a stock Corvair set up. IMO opinion a properly set up LSX powered Corvair would change the entire Corvair after market and make it a viable Hotrod, it would rock.
Not much really to the parts Crown and Kelmark offered, I may still have some of the frame mod parts in my stash if thats the route you want to go?

You might be right about the weight of the LSX motors. I know that there's at least one guy that has done a rear engine LSX swap, but I don't know about the handling of that car. For me though, I've always had this image in my mind of a mid-mounted small block. It's one of those boyhood images that has stuck with me for years, so if for no other reason that's why I'm interested in doing it now.

If you want to sell any of the old parts, I'd be more than interested! I'm more interested in the Crown kits than the Kelmark, if you have any conversion pieces from them :thumbsup:

[monza]

You might be right about the weight of the LSX motors. I know that there's at least one guy that has done a rear engine LSX swap, but I don't know about the handling of that car. For me though, I've always had this image in my mind of a mid-mounted small block. It's one of those boyhood images that has stuck with me for years, so if for no other reason that's why I'm interested in doing it now.

If you want to sell any of the old parts, I'd be more than interested! I'm more interested in the Crown kits than the Kelmark, if you have any conversion pieces from them :thumbsup:

I'll look for the parts, that won't be a quick thing but I assume your not in a rush? Totally hear you on boyhood image and the mid mount, I'll not try and talk you out of it, but, have you looked at many up close, have you driven in them? For a full blown beast of a toy it is bad ass! It's also crazy- that engine is in the back seat!!

I have a few pics, specs and basic planning of the LSX in the back I'll forward you that info and contact info of people who have done it. Just think about it....

[HotRodKush]

Not in a rush at all - I'm thinking that I'll do some sort of V8 project next year sometime, after the rest of the car is all finished. Thanks for the info, I appreciate it - it'll come in handy when the time does come to do something.

[byndbad914]

that one looks almost in too good of shape to cut up for a V8 conversion :) That said, go mid-engine mount and use a simple LS1 with 915 Porsche transaxle and you will have a blast of a car... unless you have money to burn then tube chassis the rear with a cage and front tie points, run a hot-rodded LSx with 500+ HP but you have to go 930 trans (which I just sold my old one today) or really expect to pony up the $$ for a Mendy - trust me, I know :unibrow:

I have 525HP when I lived closer to sea level and my 914 is an absolute freakin' rocket and there was a guy with a blown V8 corvair that was rather rough in execution frankly but really pulled out of the corners.

I can tell you the stock chassis of that 'vair is just as wiggly-piggly as my 914 was and out of a corner, on slicks and on throttle I had good grip and power to ground, I could literally feel the chassis wind up on it and that is why I am tube chassis front to rear now. That and the 160+ mph front stretch speeds the car would reach at Willow Springs in SoCal.

This was my car a couple years back :cool:

[HotRodKush]

Tim, that's a helluva project!

Took care of the fuel leaks around the carbs today...or at least thought I did. I ordered a set of replacement spacers and base gaskets for both carburetors hoping to fix the big fuel leak I was having on both. The kit came with 2 spacers and upper/lower gaskets for those spacers:

http://guywithacorvair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-25-12.58.jpg

I started by removing both carburetors. As it turns out, ONLY the spacers were present when the carbs came off - no gaskets at all. Ya think that might leak a little?

http://guywithacorvair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-25-12.57.jpg

http://guywithacorvair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-25-13.121.jpg

Then came inspection and cleaning of both mating surfaces of each carb. Here's the bottom of the passenger side carb:

http://guywithacorvair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-25-12.581.jpg

Next, installation of the spacers with one gasket below and one above:

http://guywithacorvair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-25-13.00.07.jpg

And finally, installed the carburetors:

http://guywithacorvair.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2010-03-25-13.23.jpg

So, some good and some bad news. The car runs ALOT smoother, which means there was a considerable vacuum leak around those base gaskets before I replaced them. However, it didn't fix the gas leak that I had thought was coming from there. The passenger side is still leaking from somewhere - maybe the float is stuck open? Too much fuel pressure? Other gaskets leaking? I have no idea, I'll have to take another look next week. I'm pleased that the motor is running better though, at least an improvement of some sort occured even though it wasn't the intended one!

[monza]

A bit of a Corvair safety tip. You should ditch that glass fuel filter. IMO not good in any car but, particularly bad in a Corvair with that crazy belt set up and the off chance of flippin' a belt and hitting the glass filter.:rolleyes:

Good luck.

[HotRodKush]

Thanks, that's a good thought. I'll get a steel cased inline filter on my next parts run.