<VV> Resurrection (long)

[NicolCS@aol.com]

Sorry to hear that you may have real trouble; not fun.  You might want to 
sort out whether you have oil pressure trouble or heat trouble. I suspect oil 
trouble since you have a nasty engine noise.  FYI, normal operating temperature 
is 250 to 300 degrees.  Some folks start sweating at 350, others 400, others 
450.  The red temp light for most models comes on at 525, on Corsas, Spyders, 
and A/C cars the red light comes on at 575.  I had an overloaded Corvair 95 
camper that I ran in the desert heat towing a dune buggy.  That one ran all day 
long at 475 and hit 525 on the hills.  I ran it for 12 years and about 100k 
miles with only one dropped valve seat. (Yes, the gauge was reading correctly).  I 
worried more about the oil temperature, for which I also had a gauge.  Ran 
about 190 to 230, above 250, I backed off. 

As far as having an engine problem after spending all the money, join the 
club!  There are about a million variables in rebuilding one of these engines.  
The biggest problem is that we are dealing, in many cases, with parts that have 
survived over 40 years and untold abuse.  I've had motors that took two or 
three repair cycles before I got all the bad parts out.  There's a humorous 
thread on VV that deals with "Ultra" this and "Ultra" that.  These "Ultra" parts 
are actually surviving original assemblies that apparently have not been 
subject to abuse, only neglect.  There's alot to be said for OEM quality and these 
surviving pieces carry that to the present.  I think it's reasonable to expect 
some setbacks when you are reviving a complex piece of equipment.  

Remember, Corvairs were the least expensive car from the least expensive 
division of GM. Most were bought by people who just wanted to run them out with 
the minimum expense. The cars rattled down the socio-economic scale from there 
with shoddier and shoddier repair along the way.  If every mechanic who worked 
on the car did a 95% job, imagine how all those little 5% shortfalls add up 
over the life of the car.  Pretty soon, the machine is either scrapped or 
"restored" (properly repaired overall).  You just have to chase down another of 
those little 5% items and repair it. There will probably be a few more bumps down 
the road too.  Take heart though, once you get everything "up to snuff", 
Corvairs are very reliable, happy little cars.
Craig Nicol