<VV> <late spoiler>

mark@noakes.com mark@noakes.com
Fri, 05 Mar 2004 08:29:50 -0800 (PST)


Well, the front end is light and will therefore always be subject to influence by cross
winds and pressure waves from big trucks, etc.  I always kindof liked the really light
feel.  When I was driving my 66 every day in the late 70s including taking it on
500-1000 mile trips on the interstate regularly, I ran slightly larger tires on the back
than in the front...the rake was noticeable but just barely...I don't remember precise
sizes now.  I know it helped stability because the change was noticeable when I later
went to tires all the same size.  

This reminds me...my front spoiler was toast when I redid the car in the 80s and it has
never been replaced.

What are the spoiler options and advantages and disadvantages for each?  I'm not too
concernec about keeping it stock but also have nice wheel trim so don't want to flare
anything...just a good bolt-on spoiler.

Thanks,

Mark Noakes
66 Monza
Knoxville, TN

On Fri, 5 Mar 2004 10:57:42 -0500, "N. Joseph Potts" wrote:

> 
> I suppose I might clarify my recent report that the spoiler never seemed to
> make much difference in the handling of my 66 Corsa at speed.
>      I hate to criticize our (my, your) favorite car, but my car has ALWAYS
> had a rather light, drifty steering feel, and a sensitivity to crosswinds,
> as I suspect ANY light car might. I have taken my car through TWO
> generations of front shock absorbers (now running low-pressure gas from
> Corvair Motorsports) AND a change from 205/70R13s to 195/70R14s. That's
> right - 13-inch to 14-inch rims. The car is MUCH more stable with the 14s,
> but I STILL get the light, drifty feeling. AND I've replaced the original
> springs with new stock springs of the Clark's variety. That REALLY raised
> the car (I did this front and back at the same time). The car is now quite
> tall on its wheels. I need the clearance for deep driveways on high-crowned
> roads (drainage is a BIG issue here in South Florida - when it rains, it can
> do so VERY intensively).
>      I've thoroughly adapted to the feeling, and don't mind it at all, but
> when people not used to the Corvair drive my car, of course they comment on
> it. And I remember when I was in the same situation 8 years ago - I noticed
> it then, and still notice it when someone calls my attention to it.
>      I'm thinking that I might get the desired/reported effect from a more
> "aggressive" spoiler - one that was deeper, and perhaps even had an angle to
> it, as some I've seen and heard of do. I doubt I'll take the trouble - I
> don't care about it that much. But apparently I care enough about it to have
> made my observations, and reported them.
> 
> Joe (driving happily, if discerningly) Potts
> Miami, Florida USA
> 1966 Corsa coupe 140hp 4-speed with A/C
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> It is fascinating to read about it, not so much fun to live it. In 1973, to
> rest my 1965 Corsa Turbo-140, and avoid the 10 MPG mileage for a commute to
> school, I picked up a 1965 fader-blue 110/PG 4-door. Bone stock and a bit
> tired,
> but it ran fine. I was stopped in a California "road-side" inspection that
> they used at the time. The CHP officer (it might have been a San Jose
> Policeman)
> wrote me up for my headlight centers being too low ( the rule was 24" to the
> center of the bulb.) I took it to a gas station smog/light/brake inspection
> station near me, run by a guy who knew Corvairs. He told me about the
> exemption
> written in for the Corvair. I went to the local CHP office to get the
> "fix-it"
> ticket signed off. After about a half-hour of the local officer talking on
> the
> phone to Sacramento, he acknowledged the exemption and signed off the
> ticket.
> For many years after that, I kept the signed off ticket in my glove
> compartments of the Corvairs I had lowered to race in Autocrosses. I never
> had to
> "whip-it-out" again. All the 66 models had a taller front spring as stock,
> and
> always sat higher in the front. I believe the stock spoiler does, indeed,
> make a
> difference in the highway handling, especially in cross-winds. But use the
> 67-68 Camaro front spoiler. It looks almost stock (It IS a Chevy part, after
> all)
> and even more effective than the stocker, without being obtrusive or too
> crunchable. As to the California headlight law, I believe the Federal Motor
> Vehicle
> Safety Standards have superceded most of those type of laws. - Seth Emerson
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