[V8Vairs] Looking for Dave W. in GIlbert AZ?

Dave Wenzlick davidwenzlick at cox.net
Wed Oct 8 09:44:52 EDT 2014


John,

I'm replying back to the group on this message so everyone will know that I saw the request to contact you. 


Name is Dave Wenzlick and I live in Gilbert, Arizona (Phoenix area) . You can search for me on corvaircenter.com and corvairforum.com as "azdave". I have three 455 Toro conversions in various conditions. 

The white one that I drive quite often is a 66 Corsa that I towed home from Albuquerque years ago, originally with a 425 Olds. The engine had a poor rebuild job and had one cylinder DOA. I replaced the engine with a known good 455 and re-engineered some of the suspension to be safer and road-worthy once more. It has a mid-mounted radiator just ahead of the engine with twin E-fans for cooling. It used to have a front mounted radiator at one point in its life but I don’t know when that was. It came to me with the mid-radiator and I kept it that way but in the summer I have to be careful to avoid extended freeway travel.  I’m guessing I’m at least the 3rd owner since the conversion was done. Most components are from a 66 Toronado. It has a TH425 automatic tranny with a switch-pitch torque converter. 

The red V8 I just got is a 65 Monza with a 455 Toro Olds. I’ve only had this about a month and it was trailered home and parked until I can rebuild the tranny later this winter. It has the best body of the three V8’s I have and has a front mounted radiator. This car was once owned by Ray Grady here in Phoenix. This one has components from a later Toronado but still has the TH425 tranny. The engine has “C” heads from an earlier engine so someone has done some performance work to this but I don’t yet know how much. The seller I got it from said he had the front radiator all sorted out and that even in the heat of summer it will run cool. Since I bought it with a bad tranny I can’t test that yet but it does have newer components including a burp tank in the rear and an inline water pump to boost the mechanical pump.

The root beer colored 65 Corsa needs the most work of the three. It originally was a 180 turbo but was cut up long before I got it. It was trailered home as a basket case after the owner passed years before I found it. It has all of the basics in place to complete the conversion. I did use the engine from this one in the white 66 above. I have a newly rebuilt 455 for this one with a hydraulic roller cam setup. That engine was originally a performance build for a jet boat.

I’ve previously owned both a Crown conversion and a Kelmark conversion many years ago so that is why I went after a Toro conversion when one crossed my path. I have no delusions about entering these in a slalom event or racing down a twisty mountain road. I just rumble around the valley streets visiting the many car shows and cruise-ins. I’ll likely end up with the best Toro conversion ideas and parts in the red Monza and eventually sell off the other two as I need room.

My email address is all over the web so email privately if you wish. I’ll do my best to answer questions but I prefer to work through threads on either of the two Corvair forums so that everyone can benefit from the V8 conversations and ideas. 

dave at rcaz.com

Dave Wenzlick
Gilbert, AZ

---- Marty Scarr <martyscarr at gmail.com> wrote: 

=============
It's actually Dave Wenzlick, who is from Gilbert, AZ

Check out his posts on corvaircenter.com on his V8 Corvairs.

Marty Scarr

On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 6:13 PM, <Lanning14 at aol.com> wrote:

> Recently saw a posting by Dave Gilbert regarding the Fan Belt Toss and
> noticed that he owns three V8 Corvairs. If you see this note, please
> respond
> off  line to _lanning14 at aol.com_ (mailto:lanning14 at aol.com) . Would like
> to
> discuss your Corvair Coversions
>
> John Lanning, KY
> 65 Corsa 4.5 L Coupe
> 66 Corsa 140 AC Convertible
> V-8 Registry, Pres
> _______________________________________________
>


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