<VV> Corvair engine still going

[n5hsr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Underwood" <tony.underwood at cox.net>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 20:29
Subject: Re: <VV> Corvair engine still going


> At 02:45 PM 12/20/2009, n5hsr wrote:
>>OK, I want to know something.
>>
>>We had to have our valves 'ground' on our 62, and it needed it again at
>>94,000 miles when we sold it.
>
>
> Somewhere around that time '62 GM began assembling Corvair engines
> with new improved valves.   Valve head erosion even then was
> beginning to be a problem and the first few years Corvair production
> ended up with a higher than expected valve failure rate which they
> solved by making the valve heads out of tougher material.
>
> Been there done that...  swapped out heads on a couple of
> early-earlies with burned valves back in the day... not so much
> anymore since very few of those original engines with their original
> valves still remain.   Most have long since been upgraded or
> parted/scrapped.
>
> I still have a few burned valves in the basement somewhere around the
> carnage shelf.
>
>
>>I was only 12 when we bought it, and I daresay Dad didn't know anything
>>about the care and feeding of 145 ci/80 hp aircooled engines with
>>Powerglide.  I know he only used 20-20W oil in the thing.  I've been
>>learning since.  He had to ruin another car engine running 20-20W Kendall
>>oil in it summer and winter before I finally convinced him that modern
>>multi-vis oils don't have parafin in them and they don't ruin engines.
>
>
> No paraffin?   One of the primary qualities of PA crude oil was its
> high paraffin content which made it very desirable as a
> lubricant.    To this day, PA grade crude refers to oils that are
> better suited to lubricants than fuels partly because of their
> paraffin content.
>
Somewhere along the way Dad was taught that parafin in oils was damaging to 
engines.  Never found that out on my own, so I don't know where he got the 
misinformation from.  Probably George "It's the Tappets"Richardson aka the 
Coal Passer.

>
> Then again... 20 weight oil in summer, in a 'Vair...??     Not a good
> thing.  >:-o    Jeez.

And we drove the thing 600 miles down to Mississippi in July 1971 in one day 
and back a week later in one night.  Temps in Mississippi were over 90 at 
least and we drove almost to Gulfport.  That's the first time we had burned 
valves.  And I know that the oil filter got changed only every other change 
in those days.  And Dad never drove over 58 mph.

Hell, I run 40w in summer weather and
> sometimes worry if the temps get really high and the engine has been
> working hard.    Add to this the fact that some multigrade oils Back
> When were NOT all they were cracked (no pun) up to be, and would thin
> out to almost like water after a few too many heating-cooling
> cycles.   Castrol GTX 20-50 was an example...  run it a couple weeks
> and oil pressure would drop to half what's expected, drain it and it
> poured out of the drain plug hole looking like pouring hot coffee,
> possibly even thinner than coffee unless it's GOOD coffee.   ;)    It
> kinda alarmed me because I doubted that oil THAT THIN would do that
> good a job of preventing metal-metal contact on rod bearings and that
> particular engine made serious power and got worked VERY hard on occasion.
>
I used to use Castoroil GTX 10W40 in a more recent car and switched to 
Valvolene High-Mileage Oil.    Got 230,000 miles out of it and sold it to a 
girl who still drives it in town.

> I quit using it and went back to Kendall GT1 10-40 (the "green oil")
> racing oil (which had a lot of zinc and paraffin) and never had any
> troubles, ever.    Unfortunately, today's Kendall GT1 is not the
> same...   Brad Penn has reproduced the original formula GT1 racing
> oil which is even better now than it was then, complete with paraffin
> and zinc content.  And, it's green.
>
> That original formula was the only oil I ever saw specifically
> recommended by camshaft manufacturers like Crane, who stated in their
> break-in instructions to "be sure to use a premium quality high
> contact scuff resistant oil such as Kendall GT1".
>
We can't even get Kendall up here anymore.  (At least Dad had to quit using 
20-20W simply because we couldn't find it anymore.)
>
> Lately I've been running Rotella oil...  but it's harder to find the
> previous rating blends that contain a higher zinc content.    Got
> several gallons of the "good" stuff stashed in the garage but when
> it's gone I'm wondering where to go to find good oil for an engine
> with flat tappets without having to drive 55 miles (one way) to the
> nearest Brad Penn source.
>
>
> tony..
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I wish we had known some of this stuff in the good old days.

Imagine if we'd been able to replace the valves and the fan and get someone 
who knew how to tighten the belt right instead of overtightening it.  (We'd 
still had to deal with the body rot.  We redid the passenger floor pan twice 
and had to work on the left rear quarter panel near the taillight when the 
ground for the turn signal rotted out.  Unfortunately driving in Illinois 
will do that to a car when it's a daily driver.)    We never met another 
Corvair owner the whole time we owned it, other than Uncle Bill, who sold us 
the one we were driving.

Charles Fregeau