<VV> Wheel bearings and a close call

[Lauren C Mizel]

First the question: I just had the state safety inspection done on my
Vair and it passed...the guy is a friend and told me afterward that after
he had done the inspection he noticed that there was way "too much play"
in my right rear wheel bearing and he was tempted to go back and fail the
car even though he had already done the inspection.  Here is the problem:
I just replaced that wheel bearing with a complete rebuilt unit from
Clarks!  Ugh...the idea of pulling it all back apart to replace something
I just replaced doesn't appeal to me much -- but I thought I read
somewhere that you can't really test Corvair wheel bearings by grabbing
the wheel and shaking it back and forth -- did I actually read that or am
I just making it up to save myself a hassle?

Second: My vair almost got me arrested!  I drove it over to the in laws
yesterday for a dinner of mutton and fresh corn from Moonlight in KY
(sorry, but there isn't much better than Moonlight bar-b-q) when a
helicopter started going in circles above our house.  It kept it up for
about a half an hour and finally I walked out in the front yard and just
watched it circle until it left.  Come to find out (from a phone call
from a neighbor) that a classic Chevelle had been involved in a murder
and someone thought my car was the culprit!  Two carfulls of detectives
invaded my in laws' neighbor's house and were keeping me and my car under
surveillance!  My wife, at one point, joked (before we knew what was
going on) that I should just start running madly down the street and see
what happened -- boy, I am glad I didn't take that dare!  In the end I
guess someone figured out (by running the tags) that my car was way too
cool to be involved in something like that...though I have seen a vert
Chevelle riding around and thought it was way cool too...

Steve Mizel, St. Louis
Corsa/Show Me CC
65 Corsa Vert 140/4