<VV> Check EVERYTHING on a "new" corvair (LONG)

[Derek Archer]

I recently bought a dark blue 1964 Spyder coupe from a guy locally. The 
car was in very good condition with a rebuilt engine and turbo, new 
paint, among other things. I got it for $2,700! The car is so good I 
would have paid $6,000 for it! Besides all of the usual check of 
brakes, steering, engine, etc. It has all been little things (which is 
what makes corvairing so fun). Anyway, on Sunday I am to go on a picnic 
with my local club and was checking thermostat damper door adjustments 
(another story), I noticed a green wire sticking out of some taped 
wires near the coil which went to the temp/press sensors I noticed the 
connectors at that point were not stock, but I didn't think anything of 
it. Checking my shop manual, that wire was the warning buzzer wire. I 
grounded it and sure enough, I heard a functioning, albeit ill-sounding 
buzzer. Apparently whoever fixed that didn't consult the expanded 
diagram in the shop manual of that system and forgot to hook the buzzer 
in the circuit. While I was at it, I decided to check the wire going 
down to the "snap" switch. I looked inside the damper door and 
discovered something rather disturbing. The wire wasn't even 
connected!! It was just hanging there with electrical tape wrapped 
around it. And I thought, "What if my head temp gauge went out?" I 
would have had NO indication of an overheat condition. This would be 
bad. This is only one reason to check absolutely EVERYTHING on a new 
purchase even if it looks good on the outside.