<VV> First extended drive

[Louis Armer]

Hi Stephen, Firstly, congratulations on the rebirth of your Corvair 
and now, the thrill of being able to finally drive it.
Remember that the Corvair has a 108" wheelbase and that a rear engine 
car tends to feel different than anything
else on the road. The mushy feel may be a natural reaction to a 
different type ride. When I would drive my 1965
Convertible (Maderia) I would think that it was a bit mushy and 
leaned quite a bit compared to Darth Vair. However
the convertible would handle quite well even on bias ply tires. Many 
people gave the same handling description to
older Alfa Romeos but they were among the best handling cars of their 
era. Just a different approach to the same
objective. Give the Corvair a few more drives and get use to it. 
Right now you are "looking" for any and all problems
which is as it should be, but when you relax and drive the car 
because you just want a driving experience........THEN
is when you will really start to enjoy the nuances and uniqueness of 
the Corvair. Been there and done that. I never
drove a Corvair until 1991, never owned one and now love the concept 
from daily driver to show car to Greenbrier to
grassroots autocrosser/race car.

Chuck Armer



At 09:21 AM 7/6/2007, you wrote:
>         I took the Monza out yesterday for a little morning drive 
> and to get
>the state inspection sticker.  I also wanted to give the new CHTs a
>real world examination.  The car is a little mushy in the springs.
>Maybe it's the car or maybe I'm just used to the sport suspension on
>my Probe GT.  It wasn't unpleasant, just a little "Cadillacy" for my
>tastes.  The car has plenty of off the line power although I haven't
>gone past 3/4 throttle.  I took it on the highway and drove about
>fifteen miles.  The oil temp evened out at about 220 and the head
>temps stayed at 260 and remained very steady.
>         I received a lot of interest and comments on the car from the
>attendants at the inspection stations.  I had to go to three before I
>found one that had a working computer (storms here in Texas had
>knocked them out).  No one had any negative comments, everyone was
>either reminiscing about at time when they owned one themselves, or
>totally dumfounded about the technology because they had never seen
>one (mostly trying to compare it to a [ugh] VW.  I pointed out that
>it is more like a Porche than a "bug".
>         As I drove home on the city streets, the CHTs' would respond almost
>immediately to a change in grade.  As I would go uphill and the
>engine worked harder, the CHTs' readings would climb within a second
>or two.  BTW, I connected the gauge using telephone wire.  It's
>perfect.  It's the same wire size as the leads provided from Westach,
>it has the four wires necessary for the four connections on the dial,
>and they're sheathed from the engine compartment to the cabin.  I
>have the cold connections (the connection between the CHTs' lead and
>the wire to the cabin) located in the engine compartment right next
>to the battery.  That allowed me to use one of the left over holes
>for the fuel line fire wall plug to route the wire.
>         Now, if I can get the seat belt conundrum figured out, I'll 
> take the
>family for a drive.
>
>
>BTW, 77,700 miles as I was leaving the house.  Good luck?  You bet
>your sweet bippy.
>
>Stephen Upham
>Dallas, Texas
>Corvairium //
>
>Mid prod. #18732 -1965 Monza Hardtop 110
>Sierra Tan, originally (currently Copper) - Saddle, PG, A/C, original
>AM/FM, clock, tint, oil bath air filter, vertical bumper guards, rust
>free, w/ 77K _______________________________________________
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CORSA Tri-membership Chairman
CORSA Member
Corvanatics Member
Corvair Atlanta Director
SECC Member
1965 Corsa Coupe
1964 Greenbrier
1965 Corsa Autocross car 1/2 owner
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