<VV> VV Sheila's Monza (kinda long, nothing technical, minimal corvair)

[N. Joseph Potts]

John - Great post! The only thing that pleases me as much as young people
joining the Corvair hobby is women joining it (I've so far managed only
moral support from my wife and daughter, but I haven't given up on my
daughter).
     I don't know what engine you have, nor whether your #2 valve was intake
or exhaust (I'll bet intake), but MY 1966 140hp was kind of a one-horse
shay: within four months after I dropped Intake #5, I dropped Intake #2 on
the head I didn't replace/rework. If you're like me, you're not much into
re-emptive repairs, but as you may know, dropped valve seats CAN do a great
deal of damage in the engine.
     So I'd recommend you consider reworking that other head (maybe even
sending it back to the guy who did the #2 side) at leisure, now that you've
completed the Long March (congratulations to you and Sheila).
     By the way, scrutinize your engine from above (or below, if you
prefer). You'll note that #2 and #5 cylinders are kind of "hanging out" from
the rest of the engine. It's my belief that these cylinders get slightly
less cooling from the cooling system than the other cylinders, and that's
why THEIR valve seats are the ones that go first.

Joe Potts
Miami, Florida USA
1966 Corsa coupe 140hp 4-speed with A/C

-----Original Message-----
From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org]On Behalf Of John Miller
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 11:35 PM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: <VV> VV Sheila's Monza (kinda long, nothing technical,minimal
corvair)


  Those of you that were at the Iowa Regional may have met Sheila, the only
female to run autocross. Well the Vair bug has bitten her. Sad to say her
father died recently and it required us to fly to Bangor, Maine to put
things in order and attend the service. We stayed at her hotel in Eagle
Lake, Maine for a week and a half. While there we found a decent Black 66
coupe at a reasonable price and decided to purchase it
  The car needed a few minor things but ran out ok. We drove the car from
Hartford CT to Eagle Lake (700 miles no problems....well nothing of great
note...ok...a broken fan belt, a loose muffler and a pinhole leak in the oil
filter) Anyone who knows me knows Im always willing  for another Corvair
adventure. So fresh tires, new plugs, an oil change and we were off on the
drive back to Iowa (1700 miles). I was really glad to be heading home, Maine
was nice but cold and man those people talk funny there!
  We decided the best route was through Canada, Sheila was excited it was
all good...for the first 100 miles or so. Then the car started losing power,
backfired a few times. I stopped and changed the points, cleaned a couple
plugs although it sputtered a bit at low speed it ran ok at 70mph or 100kph.
At one stopped I pulled a valve cover and checked adjustments...I noticed #2
wouldnt adjust and had a funny rattle.... back of my mind saying no.....no
dropped valve seats till I get home. And we drove through Canada..... man
those people talk funny!
  Arriving at the USA crossing above Detroit we got treated to a two hour
wait in traffic just to get to the gate. And at US Customs we were told we
were "selected" for a random search. I guess anyone driving a forty year old
car through Canada must be doing drugs. It was amusing to see the border
guards confusion with the trunk until he pulled out a brown paper roll of
dried catwillows that Sheila had collected at one roadside stop. He was nice
enough to worry me a bit and after two more hours we were free to go.
 The car wasnt sounding good ...a lot of oil on moter and gassy smell...we
were tired and got a room on the outskirts of Detroit near
Ypslanti.....there was an airshow going on so I got to watch B-17's and
B-29's flying in formation over the hotel Oh yeah, these people sure talk
funny here too..... We got back on the road Monday morning at 5 AM headed
towards Chicago. Ok I have Hagerty roadside and AAA but Im wanting to
actually drive home. Sheilas a real trooper and  stayed in pretty good
spirits throughout so we decided to get some help.
  I called some Iowa Club members to get the number to the Vairshop in
Chicago. It was early and Sheila called and left a message for Larry
Claypool (Larry is a busy guy....I figured  the damsel in distress was the
best format) About an hour later Larry calls back and says to bring it
by....like we were already on our way there Larry!
  Anyway to wrap this up he got us in ....replaced the head (yep long gone
valve seat) tinkered with some other little things (I even learned a couple
new things, just hanging out there) He fixed us up.....charged us what I
thought was an exceptionally low price and did great work! (Oh yeah....he
didnt talk funny, either) Thanks, Larry!
  Sheila drove the car home very happy, it runs great. She was amused at the
thumbs up and the picture takers she passed on the way home. I told her she
would have a great time at the upcoming Fire and Ice Event in Marshalltown,
Iowa next month. She gave me the strangest look and said "racing? I am not
racing MY car!" I'm assuming that means she's racing mine....hey...how lucky
can a guy get?

                                                               John Miller
                                                               Pit Crew
Chief for Sheila's Racing
                                                               Iowa