<VV> Corvair a City Car

[NicolCS at aol.com]

<snip>
It is not that hard to build a Corvair highway cruiser.  A 3.27 rear 
gear with 195/75-14 tires gives 2,585 rpm at 60 or 3,015 rpm at 70 
mph.  To get the car rolling use a 64-65 FC 4-sp with the 3.65 low 
gear.  This gives about the same total 1st gear reduction as the 
64-65 car transmission with a 3.55 rear gear and 7.00 x 13 tires. 
This combo with a 140 using a 304 cam straight up and a  9.2:1 cr 
with modified squish combustion chamber will yield 30 m/g at 60mph 
and 26 m/g at 70 mph on 91/93 octane. Jim Davis <unsnip>

I've had the exact same experience in changing two of my Corvairs to reflect 
what's been learned in auto engineering over the last 40 years. The 
combination of the taller 3.08 axle and the wider-ratio 3.65 first-gear early trans 
yields a first-gear launch that's equal to a '65 3.55 transaxle yet provides a 
quiet and easy highway cruise of a littel over 3000 rpm at 70.  A side benefit 
with the combo is that 3rd becomes a useful passing gear at highway speeds.  
Part two of the program is to modify the heads for hi-squish/tumble with a CR of 
9 to 9.5:1.  (more power, no knocking).  My '67 140 is has this transaxle 
combo and it took the overall win in a regional economy run with 38.9 mpg.  Real 
world comes in between 25 and 30 mpg.  It's also immensly fun to drive - the 
best drivin' Corvair I've ever had.

I have two cars so modified, one a 140 with the PG 140 cam (889 cam "hopped 
up" with a 4 degree retard) and the other with a 140 with a "straight-up" 304 
cam.  In my experience, the 889 cam car is much more driveable and fun; it's 
easier to launch and provides noticeably more power in the mid-range.  When I'm 
driving with a little brio, (4000-4500 rpm wot shifting) the 889 cammed car 
pulls just about the same as the 304 car.  My next modification plan is to put 
an 889 cam in the second car - that's no small job but I prefer that cam so 
much I think it's worth the effort.

GM should have built the cars with this combo, in fact they did for a very 
short time in '63.  Does anyone know why they stopped offering it?
Craig Nicol