<VV> New Corvair Owner-Tire pressure and Octane Question

[airvair]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Corvair ownership!

While there's some debate within the ranks of Corvair people as to EXACT
pressures to run, we all agree that you do indeed have to run lower
pressure in the front. I prefer 8-10 psi difference, and run 22-25 in
the front and 32-35 in the rear. This is true regardless of the type of
tire you're running.

As to the octane of the gas you should be running, that depends upon the
engine you have. Generally, all but the base engines were designed to
run on premium. If you have the original engine in your car, look for a
harmonic balancer and/or decklid emblem to see if yours is a premium gas
engine. Otherwise, use the block numbers (found between the top fan
shroud and the rear accessory housing - aka the generator/oil filler
casting) to determine the type of engine. The codes can be found in the
service manual, parts manual, or even online (I forget where, though).
Finally, if you experience any detonation, regardless of engine type,
you may need to retime the distributor and/or go to a higher octane gas.
You'll be most likely to get detonation under "extreme" circumstances,
like heavy throttle going uphill.

BTW, there are no "stupid" questions, only smartaleck answers. (G)

-Mark

KBOOSMAN at nc.rr.com wrote:
> 
> Hi all...I'm a newbie owner of a 1964 Monza 700 Sedan and I absolutely
> love it. But, since I know very little about Corvairs (yet) I have a
> question that I hope is not too "stupid". I know what the manual that
> came with the car says about the tire pressure being lower in the
> front than in the back (while I can't quote the exact numbers right
> now it's something like 12 psi in front and 26 psi in back) but does
> that hold true for the newer radial tires? I forgot to ask the person
> that I bought it from. Also, while the books says that the car will
> run well on "Regular" gas, was the regular gas in 1964 a higher octane
> than now? My owner's manual doesn't list an actual octane number so
> I'm not sure what to use. I have been using Regular (87 octane) and it
> seems to be doing fine, but then I've only had it 10 days.
> 
> Thank you,
> Karin
> 1964 Monza 700 Sedan
>