<VV> Turbo Odyssey Part 28 -- Happily Ever After

[Norman C. Witte]

This post may be viewed on line at
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/28.htm

Warm weather is just about done here in mid-Michigan. This weekend I went to
my mom's house in Harrison. The peak has past for fall colors but the trees
are still beautiful. I helped mom get the docks out, changed the oil in the
lower unit of the pontoon, and finished a few other tasks that needed to be
done before the snow flies.

The Corvair season is just about over as well. The last couple of weeks have
been exciting but frustrating for me on the turbo project. Exciting because
the car is just about finished. Last week I had it towed (another story) to
DeWitt Service Center where my buddy Ty installed new wheel cylinders, new
brake flex lines, new rear shoes, a couple new brake lines, and a set of KYB
shocks I purchased from Corvair Motorsports.

The following day I took the car back to Bob Reeve, my body guy, to have the
doors and windows aligned. Once that was done, I installed the rest of the
interior, including sound deadening on the inside of the doors. I worked
into the evening on the interior project Thursday night, and it was nice to
have the boys keep me company.

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8709.JPG

The last couple weeks have been frustrating because of the run problems I
have been experiencing. Three times now the car has stranded me. Symptoms
included an excessively high idle, rough running, run on after shut down,
hard starting, and an annoying tendency to completely die shortly after
start up once it has been driven for awhile. Against better judgment I drove
it to work on Friday and found myself stranded in Mason after a hearing in
district court. When I returned Friday evening with the trailer to pick up
the car it of course started. As soon as I got home, I pulled the car off
the trailer, parked it in the garage, jumped into the Firebird and headed up
north to mom's place.

After returning home Sunday afternoon I showed Jake how the choke worked on
the mower and thus destroyed an excuse that had worked all weekend. I then
went to work removing the rebuilt carb I had purchased and reinstalling the
original unit. With the old carb installed the car ran poorly until it
warmed up--obviously some choke issues--and then settled into a smooth 850
rpm idle. I drove it around the block and was thrilled at the way the car
ran.

When I got home, I shut the motor down. No dieseling noted. Waaahooo! My
wife, who was just finishing blowing the leaves out of the yard, needed to
cool down, so I dropped the top and took her for her first ride in the car
since it was back on the road. The motor ran smoothly and on a last day of
Indian summer the air was comfortably cool but not cold. It was a short
drive, maybe two miles, but it felt great. It just felt great.

The car isn't finished yet. I have my Safeguard on order from Ray Sedman and
I am also waiting on restored seatbelts; I may post on these items as well.
There are still a number of electrical gremlins that need to be sorted out,
and I would like to post a gallery of pictures of the completed car if I can
find one more good day for taking pictures. But I think that this story is
complete. It's been a fun year and a half, and as always, I owe a huge thank
you to Virtual Vairs and even greater thanks to my wife, Joy. I cannot count
the number of times that she encouraged me to work on my car. I am probably
the luckiest man alive, and that has nothing to do with owning Corvairs.

I am looking forward to fixing the secondary on the red Corsa (I think it's
a float adjustment on the right side) and taking both Corvairs to Buffalo
next summer. It'll be a fun family road trip. Jake will have his learner's
permit, so he is excited that he will get to do some of the driving. I'm
looking forward to spending some time with the family and my Virtual Vairs
family as well.

See you there.

Norm Witte